Maryland
Every law and rule change USCLI tracks for Maryland, across the professions, on one page. Each entry links to its full write-up and official sources.
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Licensing Law Tracker
Maryland licenses private detective agencies, and certifies the individual detectives they sponsor, through the Department of State Police. In January 2025 licensing moved to the State Police electronic Licensing Portal, and since 2023 laws on online privacy, judges’ personal information, residential surveillance, stalking, and motor vehicle records have changed how investigators work.
Full Maryland page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (10 entries).
Stalking becomes a felony in aggravated cases
Stalking under Criminal Law 3-802, which includes tracking another person by a device without their knowledge or consent, remains a misdemeanor but becomes a felony, punishable by up to 10 years, when the offender is subject to a protective order or court…
Military and Foreign Service families may practice on out-of-state licenses
Both laws add State Government subtitles and amend Business Occupations and Professions 13-401(a) so that an active service member, a Foreign Service member, or a spouse who relocates to Maryland and holds another state’s license may provide private…
Motor vehicle records and immigration enforcement; privacy law exemptions narrowed
General Provisions 4-320(g)(2) now bars any recipient of Motor Vehicle Administration personal information, which includes licensed private detective agencies under 4-320(f)(3), from disclosing it to any person or government agency for immigration…
Residential visual surveillance added to harassment and peace orders
Criminal Law 3-803(b) now prohibits visual surveillance of an area of another person’s residence where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, when done with intent to harass, alarm, or annoy, after a reasonable warning or request to stop, and…
Visual surveillance law covers residences; licensed detective exception unchanged
Amends the visual surveillance with prurient intent law, Criminal Law 3-902, so that a residence, and any other place of private or public use, is now one of the listed places where a “private place” (a room in which a person can reasonably be expected to…
Officer Certification Tracker
The Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission (MPTSC) certifies police officers, must revoke certification for felonies and other listed grounds, and sets the statewide disciplinary matrix used under the 2021 Police Accountability Act. Since 2023 the State has raised the academy minimum to 850 hours, set firmer deadlines for misconduct cases, and opened positive-feedback records to inspection. From October 1, 2026, officers on duty in Maryland, including federal officers, may not wear face coverings except as a Commission policy allows, and uniformed officers must display identification.
Full Maryland page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (8 entries).
Face coverings barred and identification required for officers on duty in Maryland, including federal officers
“Law enforcement officer” here means a sworn member of a law enforcement agency of Maryland, another state, a political subdivision, or the federal government. Under 3-535, an officer “may not” wear a face covering while performing duty in the State except…
Charging-committee rules carry out the 2025 deadlines, reach agency-started complaints, and limit who can be charged
New .06E: for alleged misconduct involving a member of the public, the investigating unit “shall” forward its findings to the administrative charging committee (ACC) within 334 days after a public complaint “or initiation of a complaint by the law…
New deadlines for misconduct investigations and administrative charges
For an incident involving a member of the public, unless the conduct is under criminal investigation, the investigating unit “shall” forward its findings to the ACC within 334 days after the public complaint is filed. The ACC “shall” decide or ask for more…
Accountability-board rules redefine “local governing body”
The definition of “local governing body” in the police accountability board rules now names charter, code, and commission county bodies. The amendment does not change the misconduct deadlines.
Positive community feedback on officers: a uniform process, with agency records open to inspection
The Commission “shall” create a simple, uniform process for the public to submit positive feedback on officers. Each agency “shall” adopt it, post it on the agency website if the agency has one, and keep a record of positive feedback for all officers.…
Forensic Science Tracker
Maryland requires every forensic lab to hold a state license and licenses genetic genealogists, but it does not license individual analysts. In 2023 its Supreme Court barred unqualified firearms source opinions in Abruquah v. State, and in 2024 it rejected an amendment that would have aligned Rule 5-702 with the 2023 federal change. Since 2023 the State has set up an Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, limited police facial recognition by statute, added sex offender registrants to the DNA database, and revised post-conviction DNA procedure.
Full Maryland page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (8 entries).
Genetic genealogy affidavit: unknown perpetrator, and no need to exhaust every lead
The sworn affidavit an agent must submit, with prosecutor approval, to get judicial authorization for genetic genealogy now must state that “the identity of the perpetrator is unknown” (17-102(b)(1)(i)). The existing criteria were renumbered: a qualifying…
DNA database adds sex offender registrants and ties arrestee testing to probable cause
People required to register as sex offenders must give a sample when they first register (2-504(a)(4)). The old rule that an arrestee sample could not be tested “prior to the first scheduled arraignment date” was replaced: testing may occur only after a…
Post-conviction DNA procedure: a right to respond before the court rules
The order rescinds Rule 4-708 and amends Rules 4-707 and 4-709. The court may no longer deny a petition on the State’s answer alone. The petitioner may respond within 60 days after service of the answer; the 60 days used to run from the later of service or…
Facial recognition statute: lead-only use, verification, and suppression
The new subtitle sets the limits described above: evidentiary limits (2-502); permitted crimes, banned uses, database limits and independent verification (2-503(a)); anti-profiling rules (2-503(b)); and exclusion of results obtained in violation and…
Genetic genealogy rules do not apply to identifying the dead and missing
Title 17, which requires judicial authorization, licensed labs and genealogists, and other safeguards, “does not apply to FGGS conducted solely for the purpose of identifying an individual who is: (1) deceased; or (2) the subject of a missing person report…
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & Investigation