Car dealerships in Maryland are open on Sundays only in Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties. Everywhere else in the state, licensed new and used auto dealers are prohibited from selling vehicles on Sunday under Maryland Business Regulation Code §18-101.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Business Regulation Code 18-101 – Retail Establishments; Sunday Sales
Where You Can Shop on Sunday
The three exempted counties sit in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, and they’re among the most populated jurisdictions in Maryland. If you live in or near that corridor, you’ve probably seen dealer lots open on a Sunday and assumed Sunday shopping is normal statewide. It isn’t. Cross into Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Frederick, Charles, or any other county, and dealer sales floors are closed.2Maryland General Assembly. Fiscal and Policy Note for House Bill 600
Shoppers in non-exempt counties sometimes drive to a Howard, Montgomery, or Prince George’s County lot on Sundays for exactly this reason. If a Sunday visit is important to how you shop, confirm the dealership’s county before you drive out.
What “Closed” Covers
The statute is broader than a cash-register transaction. A covered dealer cannot sell, barter, deliver, give away, show, or offer for sale a motor vehicle or a certificate of title on a Sunday.2Maryland General Assembly. Fiscal and Policy Note for House Bill 600 That language reaches test drives and showroom walkthroughs when they’re part of a sales effort, and even leaving a priced car on the lot can qualify as offering it for sale. In the non-exempt counties, a Sunday visit to kick tires isn’t something a dealer can legally host.
Service departments, parts counters, and body shops are a different question. The statute addresses selling, trading, and offering vehicles, not vehicle service. If you need a Sunday oil change or a part picked up, call the specific store.
Private Sunday Sales Between Individuals
The ban applies to “new or used automobile dealers.” Two individuals meeting in a driveway on a Sunday to sign over a used car are not covered. If you’re buying from a private seller rather than a licensed dealer, the day of the week doesn’t matter under this statute, and your location in Maryland doesn’t either.
The MVA titling and tag work that follows a private sale is a separate process on its own schedule. The Sunday restriction simply doesn’t reach the handshake part of a private transaction.
Why Dealers Take the Rule Seriously
A dealer who opens for Sunday sales in a non-exempt county is committing a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $10,000 on conviction.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Business Regulation Code 18-101 – Retail Establishments; Sunday Sales That’s the headline penalty, but it isn’t the one dealers worry about most.
The Motor Vehicle Administration has its own authority over dealer licenses. Under Maryland Transportation Code §15-315, the MVA can suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a dealer’s license for failing to comply with provisions of the Maryland Vehicle Law relating to vehicle sales, and it can impose administrative fines of up to $1,000 per violation in addition to or instead of license action.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Transportation Code 15-315 – Refusal, Suspension, or Revocation of License Losing the license ends the business. That’s why a lot in Baltimore County stays dark on Sunday even when the lot ten miles south in Prince George’s is busy.
So if you want to shop on a Sunday in Maryland, point your search at Howard, Montgomery, or Prince George’s County, or buy from a private seller. Any other combination runs into the ban.