Louisiana to Maryland: home inspector license reciprocity
Maryland has a reciprocity agreement with Louisiana: a Louisiana home inspector can get a Maryland license without retaking the trade exam.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Reciprocal home inspector license for Louisiana licensees
A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.
The Maryland Commission lists Louisiana among the states whose home inspector licensees may apply for a Maryland license by reciprocity instead of filing the original application. A Louisiana licensee applies on the Commission's online home inspector application, chooses Louisiana as the reciprocating state, and files a copy of the Louisiana license together with a score report for the National Home Inspector Examination. The reciprocal route drops the 72-hour on-site training course and the high school diploma evidence an original applicant has to show, but it does not drop the examination: Maryland asks for the NHIE score report on both routes, so a licensee whose state uses a different examination has to sit the NHIE through PSI before applying. The money is the same either way, a $50 non-refundable application review fee and then a $325 license fee for a two-year term, and proof of general liability insurance of at least $150,000 naming the applicant must reach the Commission before the license is issued. If the Commission cannot verify the Louisiana license itself it will ask for a letter of good standing from Louisiana.
Section 16-3A-04 of the Business Occupations and Professions Article is the statutory basis and it is permissive: the Commission may issue a license by reciprocity where the applicant holds an active license in good standing from the other state and either became licensed there on requirements at least equivalent to Maryland's at the time or meets Maryland's current requirements. Appearing on the Commission's list is what makes the shorter application available; it does not by itself decide the file. Supporting documents must reach the Commission within 180 days of the application or it is denied and the $50 review fee is lost. Maryland sets no experience requirement and no supervised-inspection count for any applicant, so there is nothing of that kind to carry across. The Commission publishes no processing time for a reciprocal file.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Agreement
- Active
What you must already have
- Your Louisiana license must be active and in good standing.The Commission's own wording is that a holder of a home inspection license in good standing in one of the listed states should "consider applying for a reciprocal license". Section 16-3A-04(b)(2)(ii) puts the same requirement in the statute as an active license in good standing from the other state.
- You must have passed a licensing exam in Louisiana that the destination considers comparable.PSI Examination Services delivers the NHIE in Maryland, with test centers in Baltimore, College Park, Hagerstown and Salisbury. A Louisiana licensee who already sat the NHIE files the score report. One who was licensed on a different examination has to pass the NHIE before the Maryland application can go forward, because the only alternative Section 16-3A-03 allows is an equivalent the Commission itself determines.
What you'll do to get licensed in Maryland
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Non-refundable application review fee of $50, fixed by COMAR 09.36.03.01 as the reciprocal license application fee, the same amount as the original application fee. It is paid at the end of the online application. If the supporting documents do not reach the Commission within 180 days the application is denied and the fee is not returned..
- 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($325). License fee of $325, due once the Commission has approved the application and covering a two-year license term. COMAR 09.36.03.01 sets renewal at the same $325; reinstatement after expiry adds a $50 reinstatement fee, and a license cannot be reinstated more than five years after it expires..
- 3Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($150,000). General liability insurance of at least $150,000, required by Section 16-4A-04 of the Business Occupations and Professions Article. Proof must be filed before the license is issued and again at every renewal, the applicant's own name has to appear on the certificate of insurance, a company name may appear alongside it, and the licensee must tell the Commission at least 10 days before the cover is cancelled. Maryland requires no surety bond and no errors and omissions policy from home inspectors..
- 4Continuing education. Complete continuing education ($30). 30 hours of continuing professional competency education for each two-year term under COMAR 09.36.08.02, which does not apply to the first renewal after the license is issued. Since October 1, 2024 the 30 hours must include at least 2 hours on report writing and 2 hours on the minimum standards of practice, the hours must be earned in the 24 months before renewal, no more than 8 hours may come from any one subject area, and up to 30 percent may be taken outside a classroom..
Published fees on this path total $375, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Liability insurance
Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.
- Insurance · $150,000
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education · $30
How Maryland licenses home inspectors
Maryland home inspector · “Home Inspector”
Statewide license
Maryland licenses home inspectors statewide through the Maryland Commission of Real Estate Appraisers, Appraisal Management Companies and Home Inspectors, which sits in the Department of Labor's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing and works under Title 16 of the Business Occupations and Professions Article and COMAR 09.36. There is one license and no junior tier: an applicant needs a high school diploma or its equivalent, 72 hours of an on-site classroom training course approved by the Commission and by a national home inspection organization, and a passing score on the National Home Inspector Examination, which PSI delivers in Baltimore, College Park, Hagerstown and Salisbury. Maryland sets no experience requirement and no supervised-inspection count, so an inbound inspector's years of practice are not what the file turns on. Before the license is issued the applicant must show general liability insurance of at least $150,000 with their own name on the certificate, and that cover has to be in place again at every renewal; there is no surety bond and no errors and omissions requirement. The Commission publishes a list of 28 states whose licensees may apply by reciprocity, which replaces the 72-hour course and the diploma evidence but not the examination, and it tells an applicant from any other state to file the original application instead. The Maryland Home Improvement Commission license that contractors hold is a separate credential under separate law and does not authorize home inspections.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Maryland home inspector exam if I'm licensed in Louisiana?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with Louisiana.
- What does it cost to get a Maryland home inspector license from Louisiana?
- Published fees on this path total $375, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Louisiana work hours count in Maryland?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Maryland's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Maryland to Louisiana?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Maryland to Louisiana, the mechanism is endorsement.
Sources
- Md. Code, Business Occupations and Professions Article, Section 16-3A-03 - Qualifications of a home inspector applicant · Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. Sec. 16-3A-03 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Occupations and Professions Article, Section 16-3A-04 - Home inspector license by reciprocity · Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. Sec. 16-3A-04 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Md. Code, Business Occupations and Professions Article, Section 16-4A-04 - Home inspector insurance requirement · Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. Sec. 16-4A-04 · Maryland General Assembly · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- COMAR 09.36.03.01 - Home inspector license fees · COMAR 09.36.03.01 · Maryland Division of State Documents · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- COMAR 09.36.08.02 - Home inspector continuing professional competency: basic requirement · COMAR 09.36.08.02 · Maryland Division of State Documents · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- Apply for an Original Home Inspector License - Maryland Commission of Real Estate Appraisers, Appraisal Management Companies and Home Inspectors · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Taking the Exam - Maryland Commission of Real Estate Appraisers, Appraisal Management Companies and Home Inspectors · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Home Inspector Application - original and reciprocal online application, Maryland Department of Labor · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- License Requirements - Maryland Commission of Real Estate Appraisers, Appraisal Management Companies and Home Inspectors · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Maryland Commission of Real Estate Appraisers, Appraisal Management Companies and Home Inspectors · Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- National Home Inspector Examination - Exam Overview Packet · Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors · Other · verified September 17, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.