Pennsylvania to Maryland: general contractor license reciprocity

No Maryland county or city licenses commercial building contractors on competence. The construction license is bought from the Clerk of the Circuit Court, who is a state judicial officer rather than a county licensing board, and the license is good statewide wherever it was issued; the only county-by-county variation is the fee, which is $15 in most counties, $40 in Baltimore City and Baltimore County and $30 in Cecil County. Clerks publish their own counter procedures and add a small issuing fee, for example $2 in Carroll County. Buy it in the county of your principal place of business, or, if the business is incorporated or headquartered in another state, in the county where you first do construction business in Maryland.

Baltimore County. The New Commercial Structure or Shell Building Permit requires construction plans signed and sealed by a registered design professional licensed in Maryland and the usual submittals, and names no contractor license, registration or qualification. For residential work the county checks state credentials instead, asking for the Maryland Home Builders Registration number on a new dwelling permit and the Maryland Home Improvement License number for an alteration or addition.

Baltimore City. The Department of Housing and Community Development handles permits through its ePermits and ePlans systems. Neither the residential nor the non-residential and commercial new construction category asks for a contractor license; the only contractor credential the city's construction permit guidance requires is on category III interior demolition, where the application needs the contractor's name and registered license.

Montgomery County and Prince George's County. Both license new home builders, and only new home builders: Montgomery County under Chapter 31C of its code, through the Office of Consumer Protection and a Board of Registration, and Prince George's County through a Building Contractor's License approved by its Board of Registration for Building Contractors and required 'to build ANY new residential home from the ground up.' Neither county license reaches commercial or general building work, and neither involves an examination. See the residential level of this page for what they require.

Local building departments everywhere in Maryland still issue the permits, review the plans and inspect the work, and a municipality may levy its own business taxes and fees, so ask the permitting office in each jurisdiction what it wants before you bid.

How it works in Pennsylvania. No state board licenses, examines or qualifies building contractors, so there is no qualifying party, no state trade or business-law exam, no state bond, no financial-responsibility test and no state credential for another state's license to convert into. Cities that license do it under their own ordinances through a licenses and inspections department, and their credentials are valid only inside their own boundaries. Two of the three largest programs test nothing at all: they turn on insurance, tax compliance, identification and, in one case, a federal lead-safety certification. Only Scranton asks for a passing score, and even that has an experience-and-references alternative.

Philadelphia. A Contractor License from the Department of Licenses and Inspections "is required for any business doing work that: Involves construction, demolition, or repair [and] Does not require a specialized company license." Complete demolition, electrical, fire suppression and plumbing each need their own specialized license instead. The company must hold a Business Income and Receipts Tax ID and a Commercial Activity License, be current on all City taxes, and file a Certificate of Insurance showing general liability of $500,000 per occurrence, automobile liability of $300,000 and workers' compensation of $100,000 per accident, $100,000 per employee and a $500,000 policy limit. The one competency element is safety training: "You must identify the supervisors responsible for construction projects. A supervisor can only be employed by one company. They must also show proof of completion of an approved OSHA 30 safety training course taken within five years of application date." The license fee is $126 and the renewal fee is $126, with a non-refundable $20 application fee applied to the license fee and the balance due on approval; renewing more than 60 days late costs 1.5% of the license fee for every month since expiry. Renewal keeps the same conditions, except that a supervisor whose OSHA 30 certificate L&I has already accepted may take 30 hours of construction or demolition safety continuing education instead of retaking the course. Apply through eCLIPSE or at the Permit and License Center, 1401 John F. Kennedy Blvd.; applications are reviewed within five business days. The governing ordinance is Philadelphia Code Title 9-1004.

Pittsburgh. The Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections issues just two contractor licenses, General Contractor and Sign Contractor, and they do not overlap. A General Contractor License is required for all work performed under a Commercial Building Development Application, for new one- or two-family dwellings, for renovations and additions to rental or investment residential properties, and for commercial and residential demolition permits. Bring a valid photo ID, a general liability certificate of at least $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, a workers' compensation certificate, a Tax Compliance Letter from the City's Department of Finance, and an EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting certification in lead-safe construction practices, which lasts five years. The 2026 fee schedule prices the General Contractor license at $90.00 for the initial application and $90.00 for each annual renewal, with a $50.00 late fee. Licenses expire 365 days from the date of issuance, with a 60-day grace period and late fees from day 31, after which the license lapses and you start again. Applications are handled entirely through OneStopPGH; PLI is at 412 Boulevard of the Allies, 412-255-2175.

Scranton. Code Enforcement requires a General Contractor License for "any other work done on a multi-family residential (3+ units), commercial, demolition, industrial, et. al." The license is issued to a named individual rather than a company, runs the calendar year, and takes two possible routes. Option A is the minimum paperwork plus "Exam Results demonstrating a passing score on a UCC exam or ICC exam in the relevant subject" - for a builder, the ICC General Construction Contractor category - and costs $225.00. Option B replaces the exam with four years of practical experience documented by W-2s or 1099s (or two years plus four years of relevant post-secondary education, counting each year of education as half a year of experience) and three reference letters: one from a contractor who employed the applicant, one from an ICC- or UCC-certified inspector who has inspected the applicant's work, and one from a licensed design professional. Option B costs $250.00. Renewal is $175.00 with a $50.00 late fee, due before your first permit of the calendar year or by March 31, whichever comes first. Everyone files identification, an indemnification statement, a disclosure statement covering litigation and any license revocation or suspension "by the City or any other jurisdiction," general liability, property damage and public liability insurance of $500,000 per person and $1,000,000 per occurrence, workers' compensation or an affidavit of no employees, an unsworn affidavit under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904, and a Single Tax Office registration number. Scranton enforces the 2018 ICC series.

Allegheny County. The county licenses no contractors. Its permits and licenses are road and bridge, dog, food facility, lead and asbestos abatement, marriage, passports, plumbing, swimming pool and facility rentals, so outside Pittsburgh city limits a commercial contractor deals with the municipality's own code office.

Everywhere else. Most Pennsylvania municipalities enforce the Uniform Construction Code through permits, plan review and third-party inspection agencies without licensing contractors at all, and the Act allows them to charge a reasonable fee for that. Check each municipality's code office before bidding.

Arriving from another state. Nothing transfers. There is no state application to file, no endorsement or reciprocity route to ask about, and no Pennsylvania authority that accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination or any other out-of-state contractor examination in place of a requirement, because the Commonwealth sets no examination requirement at all. The practical work is registering the business in Pennsylvania, buying the liability and workers' compensation cover each city specifies, getting the supervisor's OSHA 30 card for Philadelphia and the EPA lead-safe certification for Pittsburgh, and applying separately in every city where you will pull permits. If you also do home improvement work on one- and two-unit homes, register with the Office of Attorney General as well; that requirement is described at the residential level.