Business license · Maryland

Does Your LLC Need a Business License in Maryland?

The short answer. Maryland requires a state license only for the business activities its law lists: Maryland's state business license, issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county and Baltimore City, under the Comptroller of Maryland's State License Bureau. Which activities are listed is explained below. Your local government may also require its own license.

Maryland Business License at a Glance

General state business license	Only for listed activities (see State license)
License name	State business license
Issued by	Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county and Baltimore City, under the Comptroller of Maryland's State License Bureau
State license fee	Varies (see Cost)
Renewal	Every year (see Cost)
City or county licenses	Local governments may require one (see Local licenses)
Trade and professional licenses	Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 30, 2026. See the sources.

Does Maryland Require a State Business License?

Maryland requires a state license only for the business activities its law lists: Maryland's state business license, issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county and Baltimore City, under the Comptroller of Maryland's State License Bureau. The activities are listed in Maryland's business licensing law, such as selling goods (a trader's license), restaurants, construction firms, vending machines and storage warehouses, and a grower, maker or manufacturer of goods does not need a trader's license. Ask the Clerk of the Circuit Court in your county or the Comptroller's State License Bureau whether your activity is listed, and buy the license from the clerk.

You apply for Maryland's state business license with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county and Baltimore City, under the Comptroller of Maryland's State License Bureau. Go to the application page.

Maryland's own guide to business licenses and permits is Maryland Business Express.

What It Costs and When to Renew

The trader's license fee depends on the value of your stock in trade, from $15 to $800 in most counties, $20 to $2,125 in Baltimore City and $20 to $1,600 in Baltimore County, unless your county or city has chosen a uniform fee of $15 ($20 in Baltimore City or Baltimore County). Other licenses under Maryland's business licensing law carry their own fees, and the Comptroller adds an issuance fee to each license.

It must be renewed every year. Every license year runs from May 1 to April 30, so the license must be renewed each year by April 30, and a business that starts after May 31 gets a license effective from the day it is issued.

City and County Business Licenses

Maryland Business Express says some areas of Maryland require a local business license, and tells you to contact your county's office of inspections, licensing or permits, or the county's Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Where Maryland points businesses for local requirements.

Professional and Trade Licenses

Maryland's Department of Labor licenses regulated occupations and professions through its Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, which oversees 21 licensing boards, commissions and programs covering 25 professions. Look up Maryland license requirements.

Our verified guides for specific trades in this state:

See trade and business license requirements by state for every trade we cover.

Worth Knowing in Maryland

The Comptroller of Maryland says not every business needs a state business license. If you are unsure whether your activity is listed, ask your county's Clerk of the Circuit Court or the State License Bureau before you open.

Other Maryland Registrations to Check

Maryland articles of organization, the filing that creates the LLC itself.
Maryland Sales and Use Tax License, for a business that sells taxable goods or services.
Maryland resale certificate, to buy inventory for resale without paying tax on it.
How to get an EIN, the federal tax ID most LLCs need to open a bank account or hire.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Maryland requires a state license only for the business activities its law lists: Maryland's state business license, issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county and Baltimore City, under the Comptroller of Maryland's State License Bureau. The activities are listed in Maryland's business licensing law, such as selling goods (a trader's license), restaurants, construction firms, vending machines and storage warehouses, and a grower, maker or manufacturer of goods does not need a trader's license. Ask the Clerk of the Circuit Court in your county or the Comptroller's State License Bureau whether your activity is listed, and buy the license from the clerk.
: The trader's license fee depends on the value of your stock in trade, from $15 to $800 in most counties, $20 to $2,125 in Baltimore City and $20 to $1,600 in Baltimore County, unless your county or city has chosen a uniform fee of $15 ($20 in Baltimore City or Baltimore County). Other licenses under Maryland's business licensing law carry their own fees, and the Comptroller adds an issuance fee to each license. It must be renewed every year. Every license year runs from May 1 to April 30, so the license must be renewed each year by April 30, and a business that starts after May 31 gets a license effective from the day it is issued.
: You apply for Maryland's state business license with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county and Baltimore City, under the Comptroller of Maryland's State License Bureau.
: Maryland Business Express says some areas of Maryland require a local business license, and tells you to contact your county's office of inspections, licensing or permits, or the county's Clerk of the Circuit Court.
: Maryland's Department of Labor licenses regulated occupations and professions through its Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, which oversees 21 licensing boards, commissions and programs covering 25 professions.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and agencies say about a general state business license, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you which licenses your own business needs: that turns on what the business does, where it operates, and what its city or county requires, and fees and exemptions change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the state agency named on this page, the city or county where the business is located, and any state board that licenses your trade before you open.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Maryland sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbr&section=17-1803&enactments=falseMd. Code, Bus. Reg. 17-1803, Trader's license required
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbr&section=17-101&enactments=falseMd. Code, Bus. Reg. 17-101, Definitions
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbr&section=17-201&enactments=falseMd. Code, Bus. Reg. 17-201, Licenses issued by a clerk
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbr&section=17-102&enactments=falseMd. Code, Bus. Reg. 17-102, Scope of Title 17 (business licensing law)
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbr&section=17-1807&enactments=falseMd. Code, Bus. Reg. 17-1807, Trader's license fees
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbr&section=17-1806&enactments=falseMd. Code, Bus. Reg. 17-1806, Uniform license fee selection
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbr&section=17-303&enactments=falseMd. Code, Bus. Reg. 17-303, License fees, late fees and issuance fee
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gbr&section=17-305&enactments=falseMd. Code, Bus. Reg. 17-305, Term of license
marylandcomptroller.gov/businesses/new-business/business-licenses.htmlComptroller of Maryland, Types of Business Licenses
marylandcomptroller.gov/businesses/new-business/license-faq.htmlComptroller of Maryland, Business License FAQs
businessexpress.maryland.gov/start/licenses-and-permitsMaryland Business Express, Obtain Licenses or Permits
labor.maryland.gov/license/Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.