Get Help & Services

Get Help & Services

Maryland Legal Aid provides a full range of free civil legal services to financially eligible individuals from 12 office locations. Our legal work helps to protect peoples’ basic needs and human rights.

Get help now by calling 1-888-465-2468 or apply with online in-take.

Attend a FREE legal clinic for in-person help!

Get help at an office close to you!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I qualify for assistance?

Maryland Legal Aid’s services are free for financially eligible individuals which is based on income and assets available to the household. Household income must be below 125% of the federal poverty income guidelines. Review the guidelines below to determine if you qualify. Call 1-888-465-2468 to see if you qualify.

How do I apply for help?

You can apply online; call us at 1-888-465-2468 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.; attend a free legal clinic; or visit an MLA office.

Which types of cases do you not handle?

MLA does not handle active criminal cases; medical malpractice; police misconduct; attorney misconduct; car accidents; small claims; credit counseling, or immigration.

Will MLA ask me for money?

There have been recent scams with people posing as Maryland Legal Aid (MLA) employees asking that clients pay fees. MLA does NOT charge clients fees for its services. If you receive an email asking for payment, you should assume it is not legitimate and contact MLA.

Does MLA have a Weapons Policy?

Yes! MLA endeavors to maintain a safe operating environment, at all times, for all MLA employees and visitors.  As such, MLA prohibits all visitors from bringing weapons of any sort, into any of our offices/buildings.

Specifically, weapons include, but are not limited to:

  • Firearms and Projectile Weapons (e.g. Guns, Stun Guns, Ammunition, etc.)
  • Bladed, Edged, or Sharp Tools or Implements (e.g. Knives, Axes, Box Cutters, etc.)
  • Club-like Items and Striking Devices (e.g. Night Sticks, Brass Knuckles, Blackjacks, etc.)
  • Destructive Devices, Explosives, or Combustible Chemical Compounds and Mixtures (e.g. Gunpowder, Flammable Liquid, Fireworks, etc.)
  • Explosives, or other destructive devices, including their individual parts or components, that are designed, redesigned, used, intended for use, or readily converted to cause injury, death, or property damage

Authorized and licensed City, State, and Federal agents that enter our premises for emergency purposes and/or other official business are exempt from this policy.  However, this policy exception does not extend to private security officers, or off-duty law enforcement officers that are clients of MLA and entering our premises for services or other purposes. 

Quick Links


Consumer

Collection & Debt

Contact us if you are being sued or harassed by a debt collector, being sued for a student or medical loan, if your property has been repossessed, if your wages are being garnished, or if you are facing foreclosure and/or if you want to file bankruptcy.

Contracts/Warranties

Get help from an attorney to understand things included in contracts or warranties, or if you are being sued for breach of contract.

Other Consumer/ Finance

We can help clients who have legal questions and concerns related to their specific financial situation.

More Information

Additional issues include:
  • Bankruptcy
  • Collection Practice
  • Loans Installment Purch.
  • Predatory Lending Practices
  • Public Utilities
  • Unfair and Deceptive Sales and Practices

Employment

Wage Claims and other FLSA Issues

We can provide brief advice for clients who seek to recover backpay or unpaid wages for work performed.

Additional issues include:
  • Agricultural Worker Issues
  • Employee Rights
  • Job Discrimination
  • Other Employment

Family

Custody/Visitation

There are different types of child custody, which includes visitation, and we can provide brief advice and/or representation for parents seeking custody of their children.

Divorce/Separation

We provide brief advice and representation for clients seeking a divorce, separation, or annulment.

Domestic Abuse

We offer holistic civil legal assistance to victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse through partnerships with TurnAround, Inc., CHANA and the Prince George’s County Family Justice Center.

Support

We can link clients to a variety of support services that help with issues such as housing, unemployment, temporary cash assistance and/or food stamps, and mental and medical health resources.

Additional issues include:
  • Adult Guardian/Conservatorship
  • Name Change
  • Other Family
  • Parental Rights Termination
  • Paternity

Health

Long Term Health Care Facilities

We assist clients with maintaining and planning for long-term care solutions, including planning for incapacity.

Additional issues include:
  • Home and Community Based Care
  • Medicaid
  • Medicare
  • Other Health
  • Private Health Insurance
  • State and Local Health

Housing

Federally Subsidized Housing

Everyone has the right to a safe and affordable place to live. Contact us if you need help securing or maintaining a housing voucher.

Homeownership/Real Property

We can assist clients with change of deed, tax sales, and other legal issues related to owning a home.

Mortgage Foreclosures

If you are behind on paying your mortgage, Maryland Legal Aid’s Foreclosure Legal Assistance Project may be able to help. Call (888) 213-3320 for more information.

Other Housing

We can help clients who are facing homelessness by linking them with programs and resources, and possibly providing legal assistance that might remedy their legal issues and prevent homelessness.

Private Landlord/Tenant

We provide representation to tenants in rent court and brief advice for tenants who need help filling out forms or who wish to self-represent in court.

Public Housing

Find out if you qualify to receive public housing and get help maintaining your public housing voucher. You can visit one of our local community legal clinics for help.

Videos about Rent Court

Rent Court for Landlords (Video)
Rent Court for Tenants (Video)
Rent Escrow (Video)

Additional issues include:
  • Housing Discrimination
  • Housing Preservation
  • Mobile Homes
  • Mortgage Predatory Lending/Practices

Income Maintenance

Social Security

We can help clients obtain Supplemental Security Income (SSI) based on their total income and assets.

Whether it is a change of address, a replacement social security card, or to apply for disability (as well as check the status of your claim), you can do it here

SSDI

If you are disabled and unable to work, we may be able to help you obtain Social Security Disability Insurance.

SSI

You might quality for Social Security Insurance (SSI) if you are a senior, disabled or unemployed. We can assist clients with filling out forms and preparing for administrative hearings related to obtaining SSI benefits.

Unemployment Compensation

We can help clients complete the process required to receive unemployment compensation.

Additional issues include:
  • Food Stamps
  • Other Income Maintenance
  • State and Local Income Maintenance
  • TANF
  • Veterans Benefits

Individual Rights

Expungements

We help remove convictions on Maryland criminal records that are eligible for expungement. For help, visit one of our upcoming expungement/legal clinics.

Other Individuals Rights

We can assist clients whose civil/individuals rights may have been violated.

Additional issues include:
  • Civil Rights
  • Disabled Rights
  • Mental Health

Miscellaneous

Wills and Estates

We can provide brief advice for clients who need help drafting wills and/or advanced directives.

Additional issues include:
  • Advance Directives/Powers of Attorney
  • Fraud & Elder Abuse
  • Legal Assistance to Non-Profit Organization or Group
  • Licenses
  • Municipal Legal Needs

The Community Lawyering Initiative


Maryland Legal Aid’s Community Lawyering Initiative brings civil legal services and assistance for criminal record expungements directly to people in underserved neighborhoods and communities. Through this initiative, attendees can visit a number of weekly and monthly clinics where Maryland Legal Aid legal staff and and volunteers provide free, brief, one-on-one civil legal advice and criminal record expungements.

State & Regional Services


Migrant Farmworker Program

1-888-465-2468

Maryland Legal Aid’s Migrant Farmworker Program represents migrant and seasonal workers in the agricultural fields, packing houses, nurseries and food processing plants in Maryland and Delaware on employment-related matters. Typical issues include unpaid wages, substandard housing, discrimination, pesticide exposure, and inadequate access to bathrooms and drinking water. The Program conducts outreach to approximately 100 labor camps in Maryland and Delaware.

Foreclosure Legal Assistance Project

1-888-465-2468

Maryland Legal Aid’s Foreclosure Legal Assistance Project (FLAP) represents low-income homeowners throughout Maryland at all stages of the foreclosure process, including mediations, motions to stay and dismiss sales, bankruptcies, exceptions to sales, motions for orders of possession, and evictions. Advice and referrals to other resources are provided to applicants who we are unable to represent.

Long-Term Care Assistance Project

1-888-465-2468

Maryland Legal Aid’s Long-Term Care Assistance Project provides free legal assistance to help low-income people obtain long-term healthcare. Through this project, clients can get the services and supports they need, wherever they want to live, whether it is in their own homes, within the community through assisted living, or in nursing homes.

Child in Need of Assistance (CINA)

Maryland Legal Aid has contracts with the State of Maryland to represent children in abuse and neglect cases in Circuit Courts in many counties. These cases, also known as CINA (Child In Need of Assistance) cases, begin when the State of Maryland, usually through local county Departments of Social Services, removes an alleged abused or neglected child from his/her home and places that child in shelter or foster care for protection.

Maryland Legal Aid does not take calls from Maryland residents to handle these cases; attorneys on staff are assigned to cases by local Circuit Courts.

Visit the People’s Law Library for a detailed explanation of CINA case proceedings.

Maryland Senior Legal Helpline

1-888-465-2468

The Maryland Senior Legal Helpline is a free telephone hotline for people living in Maryland, aged 60 years or older. Attorneys who staff the helpline provide brief legal advice to callers or give callers a referral to another legal resource or an appropriate public or private agency. By providing these services over the telephone, seniors can get help for their legal problems without having to leave their homes.

Ryan White Project

1-888-465-2468

The Ryan White Project provides free legal services to Maryland residents who are HIV positive or who have AIDS and live in Baltimore City or Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, or Queen Anne’s counties. Proof of residency, income, and HIV/AIDS status are required to open a case. Legal assistance provided by Maryland Legal Aid is designed to address the health-harming legal needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, and to enable them to focus on fighting the effects of HIV/AIDS and staying well. Assistance provided by Maryland Legal Aid is an essential component of a holistic and comprehensive continuum of care for each client.

More Information


For more details about who is eligible for services, see Income GuidelinesFor those who qualify, there is NO FEE for Maryland Legal Aid’s services.

Grievance Process


You have the right to appeal a decision that you are not financially eligible for Maryland Legal Aid’s services or that we cannot handle your specific issue. The first step is to contact the chief attorney of the office making this determination. If you are not satisfied with the chief attorney’s decision, you may submit a complaint to Maryland Legal Aid’s Executive Unit.

If you have a complaint about how your case is being handled, you should contact the chief attorney of the office that is providing assistance to you. If you are not satisfied with the chief attorney’s response, you may contact Maryland Legal Aid’s Executive Unit. If the Executive Unit is unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, you may submit a complaint to the Grievance Committee of Maryland Legal Aid’s Board of Directors.

To contact the Executive Unit or the Board of Directors, write to:

Maryland Legal Aid
500 East Lexington Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Maryland Legal Aid’s brochures are to be used for general information only and are not intended to provide specific legal advice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the material presented in the brochures. To understand how the law applies to your individual circumstances, however, you should seek legal counsel. In addition, please check our contact page for the most up-to-date list of Maryland Legal Aid office locations and telephone numbers.