Maryland · State research dossier

Maryland practice guidance

Maryland regulates the five covered practice lanes through profession-specific boards and credentials. This guide separates supervised and independent credentials, then adds the entity, workforce, privacy, payer, facility, telehealth, and locality checks needed for a practice launch.

Public research guide—not professional advice.Verified against the cited official sources on 2026-08-11. Informational only; not legal, clinical, employment, tax, or billing advice.Editorially cross-checked by a second research agent. Professional approval was confirmed by the project owner on 2026-08-11; reviewer identity and credentials are retained outside this public guide.This remains informational research—not legal, clinical, employment, tax, or billing advice, and not approval by a regulator, licensing board, or payer.
Source verification
2026-08-11
Next scheduled review
2026-09-11
Independent cross-check
Cross-checked
Professional review
Approved — owner attested

Scope before answers

Who this guide is for

Practice owners, operations leaders, supervisors, and clinicians evaluating work in Maryland.

Coverage

  • Credential-level research for LCPC/LGPC, LCMFT/LGMFT, social work, psychology and psychology associates, and LBA practice.
  • Statewide operations research covering entity, employment, privacy, records, Medicaid, facilities, and local overlays.
  • Source-linked worksheets for launch, maintenance, telehealth, ownership, hiring, records, facility, and payer decisions.

Limitations

  • This guide does not determine whether a rule applies to a particular person or organization.
  • Payer contracts, facilities, employers, local governments, and federal law may add requirements.

Current and future authority

Transitions and conflicts

Future-effective, proposed, and conflicting sources are labeled instead of being blended into current requirements.

Regulator and credential map

Choose the profession before the rule

Each dossier keeps credential, supervision, cross-border, entity, client, records, renewal, and discipline research tied to the correct authority.

LGPC · LCPC

Counselors

LGPC and LCPC are distinct Maryland credentials. Verify the credential, supervision status, setting, scope, and current board instructions before assigning independent work.

Regulator
Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists

LBSW · LMSW · LCSW · LCSW-C

Social workers

Maryland social-work credentials have different practice and supervision consequences. Clinical independence should be tied to the verified credential and current Board rules.

Regulator
Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners

Psychologist · Psychology associate

Psychologists

Psychologists and psychology associates require separate role, supervision, verification, and telepractice analysis under the Psychology Board.

Regulator
Maryland Board of Examiners of Psychologists

LBA

Behavior analysts

Maryland currently uses an LBA credential administered through the counseling board. A national certification alone should not be treated as the Maryland license.

Regulator
Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists and Behavior Analyst Advisory Committee

Entity · workforce · privacy · payer · facility

Practice operations

A Maryland practice launch requires separate entity, workforce, privacy, payer, facility, professional-board, and county or municipal checks; an individual license does not answer those questions.

State launch checklist

Save evidence, not just answers

Public worksheets

Seven source-linked working tools

Print a blank copy or check items locally in this browser. No worksheet information is submitted to the site.

State practice launch checklistWS-MD-PRACTICE-LAUNCH · printable

Sequence authority, credential, entity, payer, facility, privacy, and locality checks before opening.

Credential and license-maintenance checklistWS-MD-LICENSE-MAINTENANCE · printable

Track verification, renewal, continuing education, audits, inactive status, and reinstatement.

Telehealth and cross-border decision treeWS-MD-TELEHEALTH · printable

Document the client location, practitioner authority, registration or privilege, consent, emergency plan, and payer rule.

Entity and ownership checklistWS-MD-ENTITY · printable

Review entity form, ownership, naming, registration, referrals, and fee-sharing boundaries.

Hiring and supervision checklistWS-MD-HIRING-SUPERVISION · printable

Collect credential evidence and document role, supervision, setting, hours, reporting, and payer enrollment.

Records, privacy, and breach-response checklistWS-MD-PRIVACY-BREACH · printable

Map state privacy, HIPAA, retention, access, security, breach, closure, and continuity duties.

Facility and payer applicability decision treeWS-MD-FACILITY-PAYER · printable

Determine whether a private office is also a regulated program or facility and confirm payer enrollment and billing routes.

Source inspector and freshness ledger

Controlling official sources

Open any record to inspect its authority type, identifier, effective date, verification date, next review, and direct official link.

CurrentStatutes and regulationsMaryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists
Source ID
SRC-MD-COUN-REGULATIONS
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentBoard notices and online applicationsMaryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists
Source ID
SRC-MD-BOPC-HOME
Authority type
Application
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentBoard of Social Work ExaminersMaryland Department of Health
Source ID
SRC-MD-SW-BOARD
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentBoard of Examiners of PsychologistsMaryland Department of Health
Source ID
SRC-MD-PSY-BOARD
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentLicensed behavior analystsMaryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists
Source ID
SRC-MD-BA-LICENSE
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentCounselor, therapist, and behavior analyst license verificationMaryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists
Source ID
SRC-MD-COUN-LICENSE-VERIFICATION
Authority type
License verification
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentSocial work license verificationMaryland Board of Social Work Examiners
Source ID
SRC-MD-SW-LICENSE-VERIFICATION
Authority type
License verification
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentPsychologist and psychology associate verificationMaryland Board of Examiners of Psychologists
Source ID
SRC-MD-PSY-LICENSE-VERIFICATION
Authority type
License verification
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentStart or manage a businessMaryland Business Express
Source ID
SRC-MD-BUSINESS
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentProvider enrollmentMaryland Medicaid
Source ID
SRC-MD-MEDICAID
Authority type
Payer guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentBehavioral health administration licensing and certificationMaryland Department of Health
Source ID
SRC-MD-BHA-LICENSING
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentMaryland labor and employment lawMaryland Department of Labor
Source ID
SRC-MD-LABOR
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source

Recent changes

Change log

  • — The counseling board transitioned its application workflows to the online system during June and July 2026.

Unresolved

Open questions

  • Confirm live compact availability and profession-specific Maryland implementation at the time of each cross-border service.
  • Confirm current county and municipal overlays for the actual business and service addresses.

Monitoring

Review cadence

  • Weekly during active legislation, rulemaking, compact launches, and implementation transitions.
  • Monthly for board, application, fee, payer, facility, and compact sources.
  • Quarterly for entity, privacy, breach, employment, and locality sources.
  • Immediate recheck after a legal or agency change; annual end-to-end audit.

Report a correction