How to Add a Co-Owner to a Car Title in Maryland: Forms and Fees

To add a co-owner to a car title in Maryland, you sign over a partial ownership interest on the back of your current title, complete Form VR-005 with the new co-owner’s information, pass a safety inspection, and submit everything to the MVA with the fees. Plan on a $200 title fee, and a 6.5% excise tax on the vehicle’s fair market value unless the co-owner is a qualifying family member receiving the interest as a gift. Before any paperwork, decide how the two of you will hold title, because that choice controls what happens if one owner dies.

Pick the Ownership Type First

Form VR-005 asks you to check one of two ownership structures, and both include rights of survivorship: when one owner dies, the other automatically inherits full ownership without probate.¹

Joint tenants is available to any two or more people, whether that’s a spouse, parent, adult child, friend, or business partner.
Tenants by entireties is reserved for spouses only, and it carries some creditor protection in Maryland that joint tenancy does not.

Skipping this checkbox is a real risk. If the MVA processes the title without survivorship rights, the vehicle can land in probate when one owner dies. If the co-owner is your spouse, tenants by entireties is almost always the right pick. When survivorship later kicks in, the surviving owner applies for a new title and includes a certified copy of the death certificate.¹

Forms and Paperwork You Need

Maryland Transportation Code § 13-112 requires the current owner to formally assign a partial ownership interest when adding someone to the title.² Three documents do the work:

Your current title. Flip it over and complete the Assignment of Ownership on the back. The current owner signs as the seller/giver; both the current owner and the new co-owner go in the buyer/receiver fields, and both sign.
Form VR-005, the Application for Certificate of Title. Fill in the current owner’s details and the co-owner’s full legal name, date of birth, address, phone number, and Maryland driver’s license or ID number. Check the box for the ownership type you picked.¹
Form VR-103, the Gift Certification. Only needed when the co-owner is a qualifying family member and no money is changing hands.

Neither the title assignment nor Form VR-103 needs to be notarized. You sign under penalty of perjury, but a notary stamp is not required.³ If the person you’re adding cannot appear in person, Maryland allows a power of attorney to sign for them using Form VR-470.⁴

You Will Need a Safety Inspection

This is the step most people don’t see coming. Maryland regulations require a safety inspection whenever vehicle ownership is transferred, and adding a co-owner counts as a transfer of ownership interest.⁵ The vehicle has to pass inspection at a certified Maryland station before the MVA will issue a new title with both names.

Build time into your plan for this. If the vehicle fails, you’ll pay for repairs and a re-inspection before you can file the title paperwork.

Fees and the Excise Tax

The MVA’s fee schedule, effective September 1, 2025, sets the title certificate fee for a standard passenger vehicle at $200. Adding the co-owner to the registration card is another $5.⁶

The line that catches people is the excise tax. Maryland charges a 6.5% excise tax on the vehicle’s fair market value whenever a title is issued.⁷ On a $20,000 vehicle, that is $1,300.

Maryland law provides a full excise tax exemption for gift transfers between qualifying family members. Under Transportation Article § 13-810, the exemption applies when no money or other valuable consideration changes hands and the co-owner being added is one of the following:⁸

Spouse
Parent or grandparent, including step-parents
Son, daughter, or grandchild, including step-children and adopted children
Brother or sister, including half-siblings
Father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law
Niece or nephew, but only if the owner giving the interest is at least 65

To claim the exemption, submit Form VR-103 with your title application. Both the giver and receiver sign, certifying that no money changed hands.³ If the co-owner is a friend, unmarried partner, or other non-qualifying relationship, the full 6.5% tax applies. Factor that into your decision before you start.

If There Is a Loan on the Vehicle

If you’re still making payments, the lienholder has a security interest recorded on the title, and you cannot add a co-owner without the lender’s written permission. Call your lender and ask for a letter of authorization on company letterhead approving the ownership change. Some lenders allow it; others will refuse until the loan is paid off.

When the lien carries over to the new title, the MVA charges a $40 security interest filing fee on top of the $200 title fee, and Form VR-217 accompanies the original title to record the lien on the new certificate.⁹

Where to File

You can submit the application in person or by mail.

In Person

Most MVA branches require an appointment through the online portal. Bring the original title, the completed VR-005, VR-103 if applicable, the safety inspection certificate, payment for all fees and taxes, and valid ID for both owners. If one owner is signing through a power of attorney, bring Form VR-470 and a copy of the absent owner’s ID. An agent can catch mistakes at the counter, which often saves weeks.

By Mail

Send the original title and all completed forms to the MVA’s Glen Burnie office at 6601 Ritchie Highway N.E., Glen Burnie, MD 21062, Attention: Vehicle Services, Room 202.¹⁰ Use a traceable shipping method; you are mailing your original title. Include a check or money order for the fees. The new title generally arrives within a few weeks, though processing times vary. Private tag-and-title services can also file for you for a convenience fee.

Update Your Insurance

Maryland requires every registered vehicle to carry insurance at all times, with minimum coverage of $30,000 for bodily injury per person, $60,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $15,000 for property damage.¹¹ Once the new title is issued with both names on it, call your insurer to add the co-owner to the policy. Some carriers require every titled owner to be listed as a named insured, and a mismatch can create coverage gaps if the co-owner is driving during an accident. If the co-owner has a poor driving record, expect your premium to go up.

Co-ownership also means shared liability. If either owner causes an accident in the vehicle, both can be named in a lawsuit. If your real goal is letting someone else drive the car, adding them as a permitted driver on your insurance may accomplish what you need without putting them on the title.

1
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Application for Certificate of Title
2
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code, Transportation 13-112 – Transfer of Interest in Vehicle From Owners
3
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Application for Maryland Gift Certification
4
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Placing a Vehicle Into a Trust
5
LII / Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 11.14.01.14 – Vehicle Sale or Transfer of Ownership
6
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. MVA Fee Listing
7
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Industry Bulletin – HB 352 (BRFA) (2025) Changes
8
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code, Transportation 13-810
9
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Vehicle Registration Forms
10
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Do You Have Documents to Mail in to the MVA
11
Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. Insurance Requirements for Maryland Vehicles