If you’re getting near your Maryland insurance license renewal date, keep your license active by taking your Maryland insurance continuing education (CE) courses in advance of your expiration date.
This guide will provide you all the information you need to ensure you fulfill your MD insurance license renewal and insurance CE requirements on time.
 | Maryland Insurance License Renewal and CE Requirements |
|---|---|
| Expiration Time | Every 2 years |
| Required Continuing Education (CE) | 24 credit hours |
| Renewal Cost | $69 per license + CE course cost |
| Recommended CE Course | Kaplan Education Company |
Maryland Insurance Continuing Education
In order to keep your Maryland insurance license in good standing with the state, you will need to renew your license by completing your Maryland Insurance CE requirements before your expiration date.
In Maryland, insurance licenses expire every two years. The expiration will be on your date of birth, biennially, based on the anniversary of your original license year. This means that if you were licensed in an even-numbered year, your license will expire on your birthday in the next even-numbered year.
Maryland Insurance Continuing Education Courses
Insurance CE comes in many forms. Most folks nowadays choose to take a self-paced course online, but you can also complete your credit hours by attending an in-person class or even a scheduled online webinar.
Self-paced Course
The most common method of continuing education today. These CE courses allow you to log in to an online platform any time of day to complete your credit hours. Most of these courses are a mixture of video and text combined with a knowledge exam at the end. Some platforms even allow you to take the course from your phone, which could be useful if you’re short on computer time.
In-person Class
This is how continuing education courses all began. Join your fellow insurance license holders for a live class taught by an industry professional. You may be able to find a “school” that provides all of your state’s required credits in a few full-day classes, or you might also take some shorter sessions to fill part of your requirements.
Scheduled Online Webinar
This is essentially the same as an in-person class, except you don’t have to travel away from your home or office. You will be taught by an instructor who will deliver the lesson at a specified time. Many webinars even allow you to interact with the instructor if you have specific questions.
Recommended Course
For Maryland insurance CE courses and credits, StateRequirement recommends:
Tip: Most courses certify completion by taking either a knowledge exam at the end or by counting attendance to all of the scheduled classes. If you want to save time, it’s best to go with a self-paced course. If you want no exam, try an in-person class or an online webinar.
Maryland Insurance Continuing Education Requirements
The Maryland Insurance Administration requires that all insurance producers and agents complete their continuing education requirements before their expiration date. In Maryland, these requirements include:
- Twenty-four (24) total hours of Maryland insurance continuing education every renewal period, which is two (2) years
- Three (3) of those hours must be in the subject of ethics or consumer protection
- Two (2) hours of Flood Education is required for Property and/or Casualty license
- Two (2) hours of Long Term Care insurance is required for Health license
Note
If you have a producer license in more than one line of authority (ex. Property & Casualty and Life & Health), you do not need to take double hours. Your total amount of CE credit hours due is still twenty-four (24).
Insurance producers who have held a license for 25 consecutive years must complete eight (8) hours of CE per renewal period. However, they may have the CE requirement waived entirely upon request and with approval from the Maryland Insurance Administration.
Once you completed the insurance CE course, your CE course provider will send a certificate of completion to the Maryland Insurance Administration. Make sure to keep a printed copy of your certificate for your records.
Tip
It is recommended to complete all continuing education credits 30 days prior to the expiration date of the license. This will give the CE provider time to report the successful completion to the department of insurance. Your CE courses can be taken at any time within your license term.
Maryland Insurance License Renewal
After you have completed your continuing education requirements, you may renew your Maryland insurance license to keep it active.
Follow the steps below to complete your Maryland insurance license renewal requirements ahead of your expiration date.
Step 1: Complete Maryland Insurance License Continuing Education
Follow the steps above to complete your required 24 hours of CE.
Step 2: Apply for Maryland Insurance License Renewal
According to the Maryland Insurance Administration, you may renew your Maryland insurance license in two ways:
- Use NIPR. Choose the account where you signed up for during your Maryland insurance license application.
- Apply via NAIC’s Uniform Application Individual Producer License Renewal / Reinstatement Checklist.
NIPR charges $5.60 for processing. The Maryland Insurance Administration provides no charge for processing, so it’s recommended to renew your license more than 30 days before your license expiration date.
Step 3: Pay the Maryland Insurance License Renewal Fee
The renewal fee is $69 per line of authority. To avoid paying late renewal fees, you must complete CE hours and apply for renewal at least 30 days before your license expires. The late fee is $100 per line of authority.
Pay the renewal fees via NIPR by credit card, electronic check, or your chosen online payment system. You may also send the NAIC’s Uniform Application Individual Producer License Renewal / Reinstatement Checklist to the Maryland Insurance Administration by credit card or money order.
Once you complete the steps above before your expiration date, you can renew your license in Maryland.
Congratulations!
You’ve taken the steps you need to take and now your insurance license is good for another two years!
What Happens If My Insurance License Expires In Maryland?
In Maryland, the Maryland Insurance Administration will send you via email a renewal notice within 90 days before your license expires. If you don’t renew your license on time, there will be a $100 late renewal fee.
There is no continuing education “grace period”. Not meeting your CE requirements prevents you from renewing your insurance license.
You may reinstate your license if your license expired within one year after the expiration date. The reinstatement fee is $100. You can apply for reinstatement via NIPR or send the NAIC’s Uniform Application Individual Producer License Renewal / Reinstatement Checklist to the Maryland Insurance Administration.
If you fail to renew your license after one year from your license expiration date, you must re-apply for an initial license by completing all the Maryland initial license requirements through NIPR Resident Licensing.
Maryland Insurance License Lookup
You can look up the status of your Maryland insurance CE credits and Maryland insurance license renewal by using these resources:
- View your current accrued CE credits using the Maryland State-Based Systems – NAIC tool.
- Check your renewal status via NIPR.
- If you don’t know your insurance license number (National Producer Number or NPN), you can find your name by using Name Search.
Maryland Insurance Administration Contact Information
Mailing Address:
Maryland Insurance Administration
Producer Licensing
200 Saint Paul Place, Suite 2700
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 468-2347
Fax: (410) 468-2399
Email: General inquiries: ProducerLicensing.mia@maryland.gov
Shelley Taylor-Barnes – Director of Producer Licensing (for questions about obtaining or renewing an insurance producer license): shelley.taylor-barnes@maryland.gov
Website: http://insurance.maryland.gov/
Maryland Insurance License Renewal FAQ
How often do I need to renew my Maryland insurance license?
In Maryland, the expiration date or renewal date is most often based on the requirement to complete continuing education (CE) hours every two years. You must renew by this date and meet your CE hours. You can find out when you need to renew your insurance license on the front of the license itself. The expiration date will be printed directly on the license. Make sure that you renew your insurance before this date.
How much does it cost to renew my Maryland insurance license?
Maryland charges a $69 renewal fee + CE provider cost. Check on Maryland’s requirements to learn more about the costs you can expect to renew your insurance license. Renewing your insurance license through the NIPR (National Insurance Producer Registry) comes with a $5.60 processing fee.
What are the continuing education requirements for Maryland in renewing my insurance license?
You should check with the Maryland Insurance Administration to determine how many hours you need and if there are restrictions on what kind of CE will be accepted. Continuing education topics include insurance policies, ethics, insurance law, and more. Some topics apply to all insurance agents, such as claims and tax updates. Other classes will be geared toward specific lines, such as property and casualty or life and health. See above to find out more about Maryland Insurance CE courses and requirements.
How do I document the completion of my continuing education courses?
Sending in course completion paperwork to the state is typically the responsibility of the course provider. As the individual taking the course, you will not need to send in documentation. If you want to check your continuing education progress and make sure that all completed courses are in your state file, you can use your state’s online system to look up license information, including continuing education completion.
What is NPN for an insurance agent?
You will need your National Producer Number, or NPN, to renew your insurance license. This number is assigned to each individual working in insurance when they are first licensed. If you are unsure of your NPN, you can look it up on the National Insurance Producer Registry using your license number or social security number.