By Eve 
Maryland has enacted a new law that significantly changes how vehicles qualify for historic registration, ending a long-standing rule that allowed cars more than 20 years old to receive classic plates. Under the updated standard, only vehicles from model year 1999 or earlier are now eligible.
The change closes what state officials viewed as a growing loophole in the historic vehicle program. Previously, any vehicle older than 20 years could qualify, giving owners access to substantially lower annual registration fees and, in some cases, relief from routine inspections. Standard passenger vehicle registration in Maryland can cost up to $191.50 per year, while historic registration costs $55.50 annually.
Over time, however, the definition of “historic” drifted far from its original intent. By 2025, nearly one-third of Maryland’s roughly 190,000 vehicles registered with historic plates were built after 2000. Many of those vehicles remain modern enough to serve as daily transportation, despite state rules limiting historic plates to special uses such as shows, parades, tours, and occasional drives.
State officials concluded that the existing restrictions were not being followed consistently, prompting lawmakers to impose a fixed cutoff year rather than a rolling age requirement. The new law also requires applicants to certify that their vehicles will not be used for general daily transportation.
Supporters of the change argue that vehicles from the 2000s, while aging, do not meet a reasonable definition of historic and were never the intended beneficiaries of the program. Advances in vehicle durability mean that a 20-year-old car today may still be heavily used and even financed, unlike vehicles of similar age decades ago.
Critics point out that the new rule establishes a permanent cutoff rather than a flexible standard. Unlike a rolling 25-year threshold, the Maryland law freezes eligibility at 1999 unless future legislation changes it. That means vehicles from the early 2000s will never qualify, regardless of how old they become.
A bill introduced by Delegate Steven Jonson would restore a rolling 25-year eligibility rule, but until that proposal advances, owners of newer vehicles previously registered as historic must either return to standard registration or remove those vehicles from the road.
The change reflects a broader tension between modern vehicle longevity and legacy regulatory frameworks that were designed for a different automotive era.
Shawn Henry