Maryland wants to know why your car still has out-of-state plates. Since Oct. 1, 2026, the MVA has been enforcing a new registration law. Senate Bill 111, sponsored by Sen. McCray, passed the House 117-20 on April 13, 2026, and Gov. Wes Moore approved it on May 12 as Chapter 487. When the MVA has reasonable cause to believe an owner lives in Maryland but has not registered the vehicle here, it must send a warning.
The owner then has 60 days to register in Maryland, display valid MVA plates or provide acceptable proof that Maryland registration is not required. After that, the MVA must impose a civil fine of “$7.00 per day of continued noncompliance for up to 60 days,” a maximum of $420, according to the bill’s fiscal note. If the owner still has not complied 120 days after the warning, the MVA must notify the local jurisdiction, and the county attorney may bring a civil action against the vehicle itself to immobilize it by towing, removal and impoundment, or booting.
How many vehicles the MVA is chasing
The fiscal note says the MVA identified approximately 77,550 individuals with Maryland addresses who have a vehicle registered in Virginia as of October 2025. The MVA assumes half of them, or 38,775, will comply in fiscal 2027, and the note estimates special fund revenue will rise by at least $15.4 million that year. The MVA says about 28,000 of the Virginia-registered vehicles were previously registered in Maryland. On its “Plate Where You Live” page, the MVA says over 98% of illegal out-of-state tags did not meet the safety inspection requirement.
What it takes to register
Registering requires an appointment and a pre-application, a Maryland safety inspection certificate (not required if the vehicle was previously titled in Maryland in your name), a Maryland license or proof of a Maryland address, the out-of-state title, Maryland insurance information and payment of fees, the MVA says. Emissions testing is separate: the MVA says a notice arrives about three months after registration.
The bill also temporarily exempts some vehicles from the vehicle excise tax, also called the titling tax. A vehicle qualifies if it was previously registered in Maryland, was later registered in another jurisdiction while its owner still lives in Maryland and is now being registered to meet the state requirement. The exemption applies “only on or before December 31, 2026,” the fiscal note says, and the note does not state the tax rate.
Who is exempt from registering
Current law, as the fiscal note describes it, lets nonresident students at Maryland colleges and universities, active-duty military and temporary employees obtain a nonresident permit with a $27 annual fee instead of registering. The MVA says active-duty service members stationed in Maryland, along with their spouses and dependents, can get the permit free.
Plates can be taken and unpaid camera tickets can block registration
The MVA may take a registration card or plate issued by another state if a Maryland resident has used it for more than 60 days and meets one of three conditions: two or more unresolved traffic citations, including automated enforcement citations; a license suspended for unpaid child support; or a registration suspended for a lapse in required insurance of six months or more. Local governments may adopt rules letting employees or agents take plates from parked vehicles that meet those conditions.
The law also lets the MVA administrator sign reciprocal agreements with other jurisdictions to enforce automated traffic camera violations. Under the fiscal note, unpaid local automated enforcement citations must be paid before a vehicle can be registered in Maryland. That makes an old camera ticket a registration problem.
Maryland is not the only state going after plates
Nevada asks the public to report offenders: its DMV opened a reporting tool last November. Maryland sends a letter, then bills you $7 a day. MDOT says registration and miscellaneous vehicle fees make up 17% of Transportation Trust Fund revenue.
What a Maryland driver on out-of-state plates should do
Check the mail for an MVA warning, because the 60-day clock starts with that letter. Book the registration appointment and the safety inspection before the Dec. 31 titling tax deadline if your car qualifies for the exemption. If you are a student or on active duty, ask the MVA for the nonresident permit instead of registering.
The state is counting on at least $15.4 million out of this. If you’ve kept the old plates to dodge the inspection and the appointment, what would have pushed you to switch: the $7 a day or the tow?