Before you sign with a paving contractor, spend ten minutes on a license check, a written scope, and a few good questions. Here's what to look for across Southern Maryland.
You’ve got a cracked driveway, a lot full of potholes, or a bid in hand from someone who knocked on your door. Now you have to pick a paving contractor out of a crowded field, and nothing about the choice feels simple. Anyone can say they’re licensed. Anyone can say the asphalt will be thick. The good news is that Maryland gives you a few things you can check yourself, most of them in about ten minutes. Whether you’re in Severna Park, Calvert County, or Lexington Park, we walk you through those checks, what a solid quote looks like, and where homes and businesses need different things.
Here’s what most “how to choose” guides skip. In Maryland, a contractor doing driveway work has to hold a Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) license. That includes gravel driveways and pothole repair. The rule is the same in Anne Arundel, Calvert, and St. Mary’s counties, and it gives you something concrete to check before you compare anything else.
Everything else follows from that. Asphalt is roughly 95 percent aggregate and 5 percent binder, according to the National Asphalt Pavement Association, so the name on the truck tells you very little. What separates a driveway that holds up from one that doesn’t is the base underneath, the thickness of the layers, and how well the mix is compacted. You can’t see any of that once the crew leaves, which is why the paperwork matters as much as the work.
Start with the license number, not the logo. Ask any paving contractor for their MHIC number, then verify it with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission before you let anyone measure a thing. If they hesitate or tell you the truck and business card are enough, you have your answer.
The license means something. To get one, a contractor has to pass a criminal background check, show financial solvency, have two years of trade experience, and pass an exam on home improvement law. Licensed contractors also pay into the Home Improvement Guaranty Fund. Consumer agencies in Maryland warn that unlicensed driveway work is a recurring problem, and driveway sealcoating gets singled out. The pitch is usually the same: leftover asphalt from another job, a price that’s only good today, and a deposit up front.
Driveway repairs aren’t emergencies. Nobody should be pushing you to decide on your front step.
Then get it in writing. A Maryland home improvement contract should carry the contractor’s name, address and license number, approximate start and finish dates, the work and materials, the cost and payment terms, and the warranty. If your paper is missing pieces, ask for them before you sign.
We hold MHIC license number 159766, and our BBB profile shows an A+ rating, accreditation since 2024, and zero complaints filed in the last three years. Look us up before you call, and do the same for anyone else on your list.
Say you’re holding three bids for the same driveway, and one is noticeably lower. Before you take it, find out what’s missing. Most of the time the gap is in the parts you can’t see: how deep the base is, how thick the asphalt layer will be, whether anyone is correcting drainage, and whether the old surface is torn out or simply covered over.
Ask for layer thickness in writing. Ask what happens where water collects, because a surface that slopes the wrong way holds water, and standing water speeds up oxidation and cracking. Ask about the warranty in writing too. A quote that says “pave driveway” with a number next to it isn’t one you can compare.
Timing plays a part as well. Asphalt works best from roughly April through October, with temperatures holding above 50°F. Laid too cold, it cools before it’s compacted properly, and that’s a common reason a new surface wears out early. Spring is when everybody calls, and April and May fill up fast, so late winter is a smart time to get estimates on the calendar. If you’re in Lexington Park, where soil near the Patuxent River can hold moisture and stress the base, how the sub-base is prepared matters even more.
We won’t throw out a number before we’ve seen the property, because the honest answer depends on scope, thickness, base work, and drainage. What we will do is walk it with you, tell you whether you need a patch, a seal, or a full replacement, and put the scope on paper so you can hold it up against anyone else’s bid.
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If you manage a shopping center, an apartment community, or an HOA across Anne Arundel, Calvert, or St. Mary’s counties, the checklist changes. The MHIC license covers residential work, meaning one to three dwelling units, so it isn’t the thing to lean on for a commercial lot. What you want instead is proof of insurance, references you can call, a contractor who deals with the county, and a written scope.
Your worries are different too. Potholes bring tenant complaints and liability, and a lot that’s closed for days costs you customers. You need someone who can pave, seal, stripe, and repair, so you aren’t juggling four vendors. That’s how we set up our property management and HOA work, and it’s why we start with an honest walk-through of your pavement before recommending anything.
Sometimes. It depends on what you’re doing, and it’s the question that catches business owners off guard when they’re comparing bids. A simple repave or sealcoat of an existing lot may not trigger anything new. A new lot, an expansion, or work that adds or significantly changes paved surface can, especially inside the Chesapeake Bay watershed, where stormwater review comes into play.
In Anne Arundel County, a Standard Grading Plan can apply when no more than 5,000 square feet of ground is disturbed. Go past the limits and you’re looking at a Grading Permit, handled through the county’s Inspections and Permits office. Because Glen Burnie and Severna Park are unincorporated, that process runs through Anne Arundel County rather than a separate town government. If your property is inside the City of Annapolis, don’t assume the same rules apply, confirm with the city and the county before anything gets scheduled.
In Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, the requirements can differ. St. Mary’s County’s subdivision ordinance calls for an all-weather paved surface on commercial and industrial developments, and construction entrances need to be in place before site work begins. If you’re developing in California, Callaway, or Lexington Park, bring that up with whoever bids.
The question to put to every contractor is simple: who pulls the permit, and who handles the stormwater paperwork? If the answer is “you will,” factor in the time. When one of our projects triggers county grading or stormwater review, we handle that paperwork as part of the job instead of handing it back to you. We’d still tell you to confirm the requirements for your specific lot with the county.
Phasing is the answer, and it should be settled before the first truck shows up. Instead of closing your whole lot, a good contractor splits the work so customers and tenants still have somewhere to park. On jobs along the Route 5 corridor in Callaway and across our service area, that’s the conversation we start with: which section goes first, where people park in the meantime, and when each area reopens.
Most commercial lots take three to seven days, and light traffic can often return within about 24 hours, though your timeline depends on the size and condition of the lot. Get the schedule into the written scope, along with the sequence of work: subgrade preparation, base compaction, binder course, surface course, and finish striping. If ADA striping, signage, or drainage corrections are part of the job, they should show up as line items, not surprises.
Drainage deserves a look before the paving does. A lot should shed water with no standing puddles in stalls or lanes, because pooled water is a root cause of early failure.
After the job, put an inspection on the calendar every spring, with a second look at heavy-use areas or after a hard winter. Crack filling and pothole repair done early are far easier than redoing a lot, and one contractor handling paving, sealing, striping, and repair keeps the whole thing simple.
Here’s the short version. Check the MHIC license number before you do anything else. Compare scope, not just price, and get thickness, base work, drainage, and warranty in writing. If you own a business, ask who handles the permits and how the lot stays open.
That works on any contractor, and we hope you use it on us. Edward Smith Paving serves homeowners, property managers, and business owners across Anne Arundel, Calvert, and St. Mary’s counties, and our estimates are free and pressure-free. We’ll look at your driveway or lot, tell you straight what it needs, and leave you with a written scope you can compare. If you’re ready to get started, reach out to Edward Smith Paving and we’ll set up a time to walk your property.
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