Maryland at a glance
| Rule | Maryland | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| PSYPACT (psychologists) | Yes | 8 October 2026 |
| Counseling Compact (counselors) | Yes, not live yet | 8 October 2026 |
| Social Work Licensure Compact | Enacted, not issuing licenses yet | 8 October 2026 |
| Health-data or health geofencing law | Maryland Online Data Privacy Act | 30 September 2026 |
| Privacy law treating health data as sensitive | Maryland Online Data Privacy Act | 30 September 2026 |
Maryland licensing boards’ advertising rules
Ads, websites and directory profiles all count as advertising to a licensing board. These are the Maryland rules we check copy against, with links to the official text. Boards update their rules, so read the current version before you rely on a summary.
Maryland State Board of Physicians
- A physician may not tell the public they are board certified unless they are, and the claim must give the full name of the certifying board and the specialty or subspecialty. (Md. Code, Health Occ. § 14-503(a))
Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists
- Counselors and therapists licensed or certified by the board who advertise on the internet must include their name, credentials, and certificate or license number in the ad. (COMAR 10.58.03.07A(4))
Maryland State Board of Examiners of Psychologists
- Psychologists and psychology associates may not make public statements that are false, fraudulent, misleading or deceptive or that create unjustified expectations of favorable results, or solicit testimonials from clients vulnerable to undue influence. (COMAR 10.36.05.05A(2)(c)-(d))
Telehealth across Maryland's borders
Maryland is a PSYPACT state. A psychologist whose home license is in Maryland can apply for PSYPACT's telepsychology authorization and then see clients by telehealth in the other PSYPACT states, so ads can reach clients there too.
Maryland has enacted the Counseling Compact, but it wasn't live here yet when we checked. Once it is, a licensed professional counselor based here can apply for privileges to practice in other member states instead of a separate license in each.
It has also enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, which isn't issuing multistate licenses yet; the compact's commission expects its licensing system in 2027.
For physicians, psychiatrists included, Maryland is in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which speeds up getting a license in other member states but doesn't replace it.
Telehealth ads should only reach places where the clinician can legally treat: see PSYPACT and Counseling Compact states.
Practices near a state line often see clients from next door. Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, DC each have their own page.
Health data, tracking and Maryland law
Maryland's Online Data Privacy Act, in effect since October 2025, bans selling sensitive data, health data included, and bans geofencing within 1,750 feet of mental health, reproductive and sexual health facilities.
This is not legal advice.
How the states compare: state health-data laws.
What patients search for in Maryland
Searches a month that name a Maryland city, with the average cost per click, from Ahrefs (checked between 30 September and 5 October 2026). A dash means too few to measure; “near me” searches aren't counted. The Statewide row is searches that name the state.
| City | Therapist | Psychiatrist | Ketamine | IOP | Weight loss | Functional med. | Concierge | GI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | 600 $8.00 | 250 $4.50 | 70 $3.00 | 20 | 200 | 50 $2.00 | 50 $1.40 | 100 $1.80 |
| Frederick | 200 $5.00 | 150 $3.00 | 30 | 40 | 150 $20.00 | 20 | – | 250 $1.50 |
| Bethesda | 300 $2.50 | 150 $3.00 | 30 | – | 20 | 20 | – | 60 $1.20 |
| Columbia | 150 $5.00 | 90 $3.50 | 150 | 10 | 40 | 30 $4.00 | – | 100 $0.80 |
| Annapolis | 80 $3.50 | 80 $3.00 | 90 | – | 50 | 50 | – | 200 $1.10 |
| Statewide | 80 $6.00 | 150 $3.50 | 70 $4.50 | 60 | 20 $3.50 | 40 | 20 $1.70 | 100 $1.80 |
| Rockville | 80 $6.00 | 60 $3.50 | 10 | – | 70 | 20 $1.40 | – | 20 $1.20 |
| Silver Spring | 80 $7.00 | 40 $3.50 | – | – | 60 | – | – | 10 $1.10 |
Of the cities measured, Baltimore gets the most of these searches. Its biggest single search, “therapist baltimore”, gets about 600 a month. To turn a cost per click into a cost per booked patient, put your own numbers into the patient acquisition cost calculator.
Across the searches measured here, Maryland patients look most for therapists (about 1,570 a month), then psychiatrists (970). Baltimore alone accounts for 28% of them. A click on a therapist search here costs about $5.80 on average, above the $4.00 median across the 306 therapist searches measured on our state pages.
Fill The Lobby is a remote US healthcare marketing agency; the ads and pages we write for practices are checked against rules like these. See how we handle compliance.
Sources
- PSYPACT, compact map, checked 8 October 2026
- Counseling Compact, member map, checked 8 October 2026
- Counseling Compact, 10 states now offering privileges, checked 8 October 2026
- Counseling Compact, Pennsylvania becomes the 40th member, checked 8 October 2026
- Social Work Licensure Compact, enacted in 35 states, checked 8 October 2026
- Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, participating states, checked 14 October 2026
- IAPP, US State Privacy Legislation Tracker, checked 30 September 2026
- Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, US search volumes and cost per click, checked 30 September 2026
- Maryland General Assembly, SB 541 (2024), checked 30 September 2026
- Maryland Online Data Privacy Act, checked 30 September 2026
- Maryland State Board of Physicians, checked 5 October 2026
- Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists, checked 5 October 2026
- Maryland State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, checked 5 October 2026