What MHIC actually is — and why the number matters more than the truck
The Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) sits under the state's Department of Labor, and any contractor who does residential work over $500 in Maryland needs an MHIC license. No exceptions — not for siding, not for gutters, not even for a "small repair from the storm."
A real Maryland license is a 7- or 8-character number that ties to a specific business, a specific surety bond, and a specific complaint history that any homeowner can pull up in under a minute. Apper Construction's, for example, is MHIC #05-146983 — issued back in 2016 and active without a single complaint on file ever since.
Crews driving in from out of state often work under a single shared license belonging to a project manager who's never on site, and some don't bother with the license at all even though Maryland code §8-301 makes that a misdemeanor punishable by fines and even jail time. The homeowner is the one left holding the bag when something fails three winters later, because unlicensed contractors are not covered by Maryland's Guaranty Fund.
The 60-second license lookup
Open the MHIC search portal at dllr.state.md.us, or just Google "MHIC license search." You'll need one of three things from the contractor:
- The company's MHIC number
- The business name (exact spelling)
- The full legal name of the licensed individual
Punch in any one. The result shows license status (active, expired, suspended, revoked), expiration date, bond information, complaint and discipline history, and trade names the license covers.
If a contractor pushes back on giving you the number, or says "I'll get that to you later" — stop the conversation. That single filter cuts roughly 80% of the door-knockers Anne Arundel residents saw this past spring.
"After I had two no-show roofing companies, I contacted Apper Construction on the recommendation of a friend." — Rex Hall, retired home-improvement contractor in Anne Arundel County, who hired Apper after two unlicensed crews ghosted him.
Seven red flags Maryland storm chasers all share
These patterns show up across Severn, Glen Burnie, Odenton, Columbia, Ellicott City — anywhere wind hits hard. Watch for any combination of three or more.
1. They knocked on your door
Reputable Maryland roofers don't drive 200 miles to canvas a neighborhood after a thunderstorm because they already have a six-to-eight week backlog of referral jobs that they trust more than a cold knock. The door-knock model is built around volume, fast turnover, and disappearing before warranty claims hit — usually three to five years after the install, when the original company has already changed names twice.
2. "We have leftover materials from a job nearby"
Translation: they have nothing leftover. Asphalt shingles come in bundles matched to a specific roof's square footage, manufacturer lot number, and color batch — meaning real material left over from a real job would be the wrong color, the wrong size, or the wrong production run for your roof anyway. This pitch is a closing tactic, not a discount.
3. They offer to "waive your deductible"
Insurance deductibles are a contract between you and your carrier. A roofer who promises to absorb yours is asking you to commit insurance fraud — and the Maryland Insurance Administration specifically flags this as a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. §1033.
4. Out-of-state plates and no Maryland physical address
Pull the company up on Google Maps and check the street view image of their listed office — if the address resolves to a UPS Store mailbox, a virtual office in a coworking space, or an empty lot out of state entirely, the truck pulling away after the deposit clears is the last contact you'll ever have with that company. Real Maryland roofers have a real Maryland office, and Apper's is on Thompson Ave in Severn — same address for the past decade.
5. The "sign today or the price goes up tomorrow" close
A real estimate written by a licensed Maryland roofer is good for 30 days because material and labor prices simply do not swing fast enough to justify the pressure. A pressure-close that demands a signature inside the same visit exists for one reason: to lock you in before you can check the MHIC number.
6. They want a large upfront cash deposit
Maryland law caps home-improvement deposits at one-third of the contract price, and that's only when the contractor needs the money to purchase materials before starting work. Cash-only, full-upfront, or "wire it to this account" are all unrecoverable when the crew vanishes, and the chargeback window on a credit card is much shorter than the timeline an absent contractor will use against you.
7. They quoted without going on the roof
This one cost a Severna Park homeowner thousands last fall. "Several companies quoted me thousands of dollars just to add sealant — without even going up on the roof to investigate," Raheem Persad wrote about his 2024 leak.
The crew that actually climbed it found missing ridge caps, pipe collars, and kick-out flashing — none of which a ground-level glance would catch.
What real Maryland paperwork looks like
A legitimate Maryland roofing proposal includes every one of these:
- The company's full legal name and MHIC license number on every page
- A specific scope — square footage of roof, manufacturer, color, ridge vent, drip edge, ice and water shield, underlayment type
- Manufacturer warranty terms separated from workmanship warranty terms (Apper backs every install with a 25-year workmanship warranty layered on top of the GAF or CertainTeed manufacturer warranty)
- A start date and a substantial-completion date
- A clear payment schedule tied to milestones, not calendar dates
- Proof of general liability and workers' comp insurance certificates issued to your address
- The federal three-day right-of-rescission notice
- Maryland's specific 5-day cancellation right for door-to-door sales (Md. Code §14-301)
If any of those are missing, the document isn't a contract. It's a deposit-collection form.
You already signed. Now what?
Maryland gives door-to-door customers five business days to cancel any home-improvement contract signed at the home, no reason required. Send a written cancellation by certified mail to the address listed on the contract. Keep the receipt. The contractor has 10 days to return your deposit.
If the contractor blew past the deadline, refused the cancellation, or never showed up: file a complaint with MHIC. Maryland's Guaranty Fund can reimburse up to $20,000 per claim against a licensed contractor — one of the few state-level homeowner protections in the country that actually has teeth.
Out-of-state unlicensed contractors are not covered by the Guaranty Fund. That's the whole reason the license check matters before you sign.
How Apper handles every estimate
Every Apper proposal lists MHIC #05-146983 on the cover page along with the 25-year workmanship warranty terms and the manufacturer warranty terms broken out separately in plain English, so a homeowner can see exactly what's covered, by whom, and for how long. Estimates are typically delivered within 24 hours of the inspection — drone footage included where the roof geometry makes ladder access risky or limited.
The crews are W-2 employees, never subbed out, and the same person who walks the roof on day one of the estimate is on site the day of the install. There's a physical office in Severn that anyone can visit during business hours.
Apper holds 4.9★ across 48 Google reviews, GAF Master Elite® status, and CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster™ certification. The license has been active since 2016 with zero MHIC complaints on file.
Free estimate, MHIC verified, inside 24 hours
Apper Construction has been licensed in Maryland since 2016 — MHIC number 05-146983, which you can verify yourself before you call. Roofing, siding, windows, gutters, and doors across Anne Arundel, Howard, and Baltimore County, with family-owned W-2 crews, GAF Master Elite® certification, and a 25-year workmanship warranty on every install.
Free estimates delivered inside 24 hours, with drone inspection where the roof geometry calls for it. Call 410-508-6141 or send your address and a couple of photos through the contact form. If the next post-storm door-knocker can't show you their MHIC number, send them ours.