How to Complete and Submit Maryland’s License Plate Return Form (VR-027)

Maryland’s VR-027 form, officially the Tag Return Form, is what the Motor Vehicle Administration uses to process surrendered license plates. You complete the form, package it with your plates, and either drop it off at an MVA branch or mail it in. Once the MVA processes the return, it cancels your registration and issues a tag return receipt, which is the document your insurance company needs before it will cancel your auto policy.¹

Why the Form Matters Before You Cancel Insurance

Maryland law requires liability coverage on every vehicle with active plates.² Cancel your policy before the MVA has recorded the plate return, and you can be hit with an uninsured-motorist penalty even if the car is sitting in a driveway or already sold.³ Keep the insurance active until you have the tag return receipt in hand. The VR-027 is the mechanism that gets you that receipt.

Where to Get the Form

You can download the VR-027 from the MVA’s “Returning Your License Plates” page, pick up a paper copy at any branch, or grab one from the rack at a 24-hour tag return drop box outside a branch.¹ It is a short, single-page form.

What to Fill In

Pull out your current Maryland registration card or title before you start. The form asks for:

Your full legal name as it appears on the registration, plus a co-owner’s name if there is one.
Your current mailing address. The MVA sends any correspondence, including a refund check if you qualify, to this address.
The license plate number on the tags you are surrendering.
The title number from your Maryland certificate of title or registration card.

Sign and date the form at the bottom. Your signature confirms the information is accurate and that you intend to surrender the plates. If a co-owner is listed on the registration, both of you should sign.

How to Submit the Form and Plates

Take both plates off the vehicle, front and back. The MVA’s standard submission process covers returns of one to four sets of plates. Contact the MVA directly if you are returning more than four sets.¹

You have three ways to hand them in.

At the MVA Branch Counter

Place the plates and completed VR-027 in an envelope or bag and bring them inside during business hours. An agent takes the return and prints your tag return receipt on the spot. This is the fastest option if you need the receipt right away, such as when an insurance renewal is due the next day.

At a 24-Hour Drop Box

Every MVA branch has a tag return drop box outside that is available around the clock. Seal your envelope, deposit it, and allow at least 72 business hours before your receipt appears in the MVA system.¹

By Mail

Package the plates securely, include the completed VR-027, and confirm your contact information on the form is current. Mail to:

MVA Tag Return
6601 Ritchie Highway N.E.
Glen Burnie, MD 21062

The MVA recommends certified mail with return receipt requested so you have tracking.¹ Until the MVA logs the plates as returned, they are still active in the system and the insurance requirement still applies.

Getting and Keeping the Tag Return Receipt

Counter submissions produce an immediate printed receipt. Drop-box and mail submissions take at least 72 business hours to process, after which you can download the receipt through the myMVA online portal on any phone, tablet, or computer.¹

Give a copy to your insurance company so it can cancel your policy effective the date the plates were returned.⁴ Then hold onto the receipt indefinitely. If the MVA or an insurer later flags a gap in coverage, this is your proof the plates were off the road.

Adding a Refund Request

The VR-027 alone does not trigger a refund. If your plate’s expiration date is more than 12 months away, you can recover the unused second year of a two-year registration by filing a separate form, the Registration Plate Refund Application (VR-021), together with your plates and VR-027.¹ A $128 two-year registration returned in the first year, for example, produces a $64 refund.⁵ The check goes to the address on the VR-021 and typically arrives within about six weeks; contact the MVA if it has not arrived within six to eight weeks.

If the Plates Are Lost or Stolen

The VR-027 process assumes you have the plates to hand in. If yours were lost or stolen, report the theft to local law enforcement, get the report or report number, and order substitute plates through the myMVA portal or an in-person vehicle services appointment. Bring the police report with you.¹

1
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Returning Your License Plates
2
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-104
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-106
4
Maryland Insurance Administration. Vehicle Registration FAQs
5
mdtagsnow.com. Instructions for Completing Refund Application VR-021