Maryland Insurance CE Requirements for Agents

Maryland continuing education requirements for Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance producers are administered by the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA). Maryland follows the 24-hour biennial standard that most states use, but adds a requirement that catches many agents off guard: P&C producers must complete a mandatory 2 hours of flood insurance CE as part of their total hours every renewal cycle. Maryland also enforces a strict completion deadline at least 15 days before your license expiration and offers no carryover of excess hours, making it one of the more rigid CE structures in the Mid-Atlantic region. Staying on top of these details is essential to avoiding a lapse that could cost you your carrier appointments and your ability to write business.

TLDR: Maryland P&C producers must complete 24 hours of CE every 2 years, including 3 hours of ethics and 2 hours of flood insurance. All CE must be completed at least 15 days before your license expiration. Licenses renew on the last day of your birth month biennially. No carryover of excess hours. Producers with 25+ years may qualify for a reduced 8-hour requirement.

Who Needs CE in Maryland

All Maryland-resident licensed insurance producers holding major lines of authority must complete 24 hours of CE per biennial license term. This includes agents licensed for Property & Casualty, Life, Accident & Health, and any combination of major lines. Holding multiple lines on a single license does not increase the total — one set of 24 hours satisfies all lines.

Maryland provides a notable exemption for long-tenured producers: agents who have been continuously licensed for 25 or more consecutive years may qualify for a reduced CE requirement of 8 hours per renewal (including 3 hours of ethics). Additionally, producers who are 70 years of age or older and have been continuously licensed for 25+ years may apply for a complete CE waiver through the MIA. These exemptions are not automatic — you must apply.

Other categories with different obligations:

• Limited lines licensees (such as credit insurance, travel insurance, or title insurance) may have reduced or no CE requirements depending on the specific limited line. Verify with the MIA.
• Nonresident producers are exempt from Maryland CE if they maintain compliance with their home state's CE requirements and their home state has a reciprocity agreement with Maryland.
• Surplus lines brokers are subject to the same 24-hour CE requirement as standard P&C producers.

There is no first-term exemption — newly licensed producers must complete the full 24 hours during their initial biennial period.

How CE Hours Break Down

Maryland requires 24 total hours of approved continuing education every two-year license term. Here is the detailed breakdown:

• Ethics/Consumer Protection (3 hours required): Three of your 24 hours must be completed in MIA-approved ethics or consumer protection courses. These hours count toward the 24-hour total — they are not in addition to it. Ethics courses cover topics including producer responsibilities, fiduciary duties, market conduct, and regulatory compliance.

• Flood Insurance (2 hours required for P&C): This is Maryland's standout requirement. Licensed producers who hold P&C authority and sell flood insurance, homeowners insurance, or commercial property insurance must complete at least 2 hours of flood insurance CE as part of their 24-hour total every renewal cycle. This is not a one-time requirement — it recurs every biennial period.

• General/Elective Hours (19 hours): The remaining hours can be completed in any MIA-approved subject area. For producers holding both Life/Health and P&C licenses, Maryland imposes a line-specific minimum: you must complete at least 6 hours in each line (6 Life/Health and 6 P&C). P&C-only producers do not have this multiline split.

Specialty Training Requirements

Beyond the standard 24-hour breakdown, Maryland P&C producers may need additional training:

• Annuity Best Interest (4 hours, one-time): Before selling annuity products, producers must complete a one-time 4-hour Annuity Suitability Best Interest Standard course approved by the MIA.

• Long-Term Care (8 hours initial, 4 hours ongoing): Before selling LTC products, producers must complete an initial 8-hour LTC training course. Ongoing LTC sellers must complete 4 hours of LTC-specific CE each renewal period.

These specialty hours may count toward your 24-hour total if the courses carry MIA approval for general CE credit. Verify with your CE provider.

Reduced Requirement for Veteran Producers

Producers who have maintained continuous licensure for 25 years or more need only 8 total hours (3 ethics + 5 elective) per renewal period. This is a significant reduction that rewards career longevity. Apply through the MIA to confirm eligibility.

Carryover and Course Restrictions

Maryland does not allow any carryover of excess CE hours to the next renewal period. Every cycle starts fresh — you must complete all 24 hours (including 3 ethics and 2 flood) during the current biennial period. This is one of the stricter policies in the country.

Course repetition is not permitted within the same compliance period or within 6 months of the original completion date, whichever restriction is longer. If you take the same course in two consecutive license terms, there must be at least 6 months between completion dates for the repeat to receive credit.

Renewal Timeline and Deadlines

Maryland producer licenses expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month, every two years. Your biennial renewal cycle is aligned to your birth month and repeats on a fixed schedule.

Maryland enforces a critical deadline that many agents from other states find surprising: all CE must be completed at least 15 days before your license expiration date. This is not a suggestion — courses completed within the final 15 days before expiration will not count toward your current renewal cycle. This early deadline exists to ensure CE providers have time to report completions to the MIA before the license processes for renewal.

CE providers have 10 days to report course completions, and there is a $1.15 per credit hour reporting fee assessed to providers. The combination of the 15-day early deadline and 10-day reporting window means you should plan to finish all CE at least 25 to 30 days before expiration to provide a comfortable buffer.

If your license expires with incomplete CE, you will face a $100 late renewal fee on top of the standard renewal fee. Producers who have been expired for less than one year can reinstate by completing all outstanding CE requirements and paying the accumulated fees. After one year, reinstatement is not available — you must reapply as a new applicant and meet all initial licensing requirements. During any lapse, you cannot legally transact insurance business and all carrier appointments are subject to termination.

Renewals are processed through NIPR or through the MIA's licensing system. The MIA uses Prometric/Sircon for CE tracking — you can access your transcript at Sircon.com.

Approved CE Providers

The MIA certifies CE providers and approves courses for Maryland credit. Prometric (via Sircon) is the MIA's designated vendor for CE services. You can search for approved courses, view your CE transcript, and manage compliance through Sircon.com or by contacting Prometric at 1-800-324-4592.

Maryland accepts multiple delivery methods:

• Online (internet-based, self-paced)
• Classroom instruction
• Correspondence (print-based study)
• Company-sponsored seminars

Maryland does not impose a minimum classroom percentage — you can complete all 24 hours through online self-paced courses from approved providers. There is no proctoring requirement for online course exams.

National providers including Kaplan, WebCE, ExamFX, and AD Banker offer Maryland-approved courses. When selecting courses, confirm three things: (1) the course is approved by the MIA for Maryland CE credit, (2) the course is tagged for the correct category (ethics, flood, or general), and (3) the provider will report completions to the MIA through Prometric/Sircon.

Because Maryland requires 2 hours of flood CE every cycle, P&C agents should build flood courses into their CE plan from the start rather than treating them as an afterthought.

Common Mistakes Agents Make

1. Missing the 15-day early completion deadline. Most agents think they have until the last day of their birth month. In Maryland, you must complete CE at least 15 days before that date. If your license expires on March 31, your effective CE deadline is March 16. Agents who finish their final course in the last two weeks are technically too late.

2. Forgetting the recurring flood CE requirement. Unlike most states where flood insurance training is a one-time prerequisite, Maryland requires 2 hours of flood CE every biennial renewal for P&C producers who sell property-related coverage. Agents who completed a flood course in a prior cycle and assumed it was done will find themselves short on hours.

3. Assuming excess hours carry over. Maryland offers zero carryover. If you completed 30 hours this cycle, those extra 6 hours vanish when the new cycle begins. Plan to complete exactly what you need each period — there is no banking strategy in Maryland.

4. Not meeting the multiline minimum. Producers holding both Life/Health and P&C licenses must complete at least 6 hours in each line. Taking all 24 hours in P&C topics will leave you short on the Life/Health minimum, and vice versa. Plan your course selections to cover both lines if you hold dual authority.

5. Not checking your Sircon transcript early enough. Maryland's 15-day pre-expiration deadline means you need to verify your transcript earlier than agents in most states. We recommend checking at least 30 days before your license expiration. If a provider has not reported, you still have time to resolve the issue before the effective deadline passes.

How Maryland Compares to Other States

Maryland's 24-hour biennial requirement matches the national standard, identical to Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The 3-hour ethics requirement is also typical.

Where Maryland stands apart is the mandatory 2-hour recurring flood CE requirement. Most states require a one-time 3-hour NFIP course for flood insurance sellers, but Maryland is one of the few states that requires flood-specific CE hours every renewal cycle for all P&C producers who sell property-related coverage. This reflects Maryland's coastal exposure and the state's emphasis on flood literacy among producers.

The 15-day early completion deadline is more restrictive than most states, which simply require completion before the expiration date. States like Ohio and Indiana have no formal early cutoff — they recommend completing early but do not impose a hard deadline days before expiration. Maryland's rule means agents must effectively plan for a shorter compliance window.

The no-carryover policy makes Maryland one of the stricter CE states alongside Wisconsin. States like Tennessee and Ohio allow up to 12 hours of carryover, and Missouri allows excess hours to roll forward. Maryland's fresh-start-every-cycle approach means there is no reward for completing extra hours beyond the minimum.

The 25-year reduced requirement is genuinely producer-friendly and relatively rare. Few states offer this kind of reduction — most either exempt long-tenured agents entirely (like Tennessee's pre-1994 provision) or offer no years-of-service benefit at all. Dropping from 24 hours to 8 hours significantly reduces the compliance burden for veteran agents.

Maryland's $100 late renewal fee is moderate compared to states like Indiana ($120 reinstatement penalty) or Missouri ($25/month accumulating penalty). The key difference is that Maryland combines this with the 15-day early deadline, creating a tighter overall compliance window.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take CE courses online in Maryland?

Yes. Maryland allows all CE courses — including the 3 hours of ethics and 2 hours of flood insurance — to be completed online through self-paced courses from any MIA-approved provider. There is no classroom minimum, no live webinar requirement, and no proctoring requirement for online exams. You can complete all 24 hours at your own pace from any location. The key constraint is the 15-day early completion deadline — all online courses must be finished at least 15 days before your license expiration.

What happens if I don't complete CE on time in Maryland?

If you do not complete your 24 hours of CE (including 3 ethics and 2 flood hours) at least 15 days before your license expiration, your license will not renew on time. You will face a $100 late renewal fee on top of the standard renewal fee. You have up to one year to reinstate by completing all outstanding CE and paying all fees. After one year, you must reapply as a new applicant. During any lapse, you cannot legally transact insurance and your carrier appointments may be terminated.

Do CE hours from other states transfer to Maryland?

Maryland does not automatically accept CE credits from other states. Courses must be approved by the MIA for Maryland credit. However, some national CE providers offer courses with multi-state approval, so a single course might satisfy requirements in Maryland and other states simultaneously. Nonresident producers licensed in Maryland are generally exempt from Maryland CE if they maintain compliance with their home state's requirements under reciprocity. Check with the MIA or NIPR to confirm your specific status.

How do I verify my CE hours with the Maryland DOI?

You can verify your CE completion status through Sircon.com by logging in with your license information, or by contacting Prometric at 1-800-324-4592. Your CE provider is required to report completed hours within 10 days. We recommend checking your transcript at least 30 days before your license expiration — earlier than in most states because of Maryland's 15-day pre-expiration requirement. If you find a discrepancy, contact your CE provider first. If the issue is not resolved, reach out to the MIA at (410) 468-2000 or (800) 492-6116. Keep your certificates of completion as backup documentation for errors and omissions protection.