How to Fill Out Maryland Form VR-096: Historic or Street Rod Registration

Maryland Form VR-096 is the one-page Application for Historic or Street Rod Registration you file with the Motor Vehicle Administration to put a qualifying older vehicle on Class L (historic) or Class N (street rod) plates. You fill in owner and vehicle details, check one box for the category your vehicle fits, sign a sworn statement limiting how you’ll use the car, and submit it with the correct fee to the MVA.

Pick the Right Category Before You Start

The form makes you choose one of three checkboxes, and the choice controls your fee, your inspection requirements, and whether the application processes at all. Get this right first.

Historic, model year 1999 or earlier, unmodified. The vehicle must not have been substantially altered, remodeled, or remanufactured from its original construction.¹ Replicas do not qualify. Motor homes, tow trucks, tractors, and trailers are excluded.²

Historic, 60 calendar years or older, unmodified. Same unmodified requirement, different fee structure (see below).

Street rod, 25 years or older, substantially altered. A street rod is a vehicle at least 25 years old that has been substantially altered from the manufacturer’s original design — engine swaps, custom bodywork, drivetrain conversions.³ Old and factory-original goes on the historic side; modified but under 25 years qualifies for neither.

One note on the “20 years or older” language still printed on the form: Maryland statute now caps historic eligibility at model year 1999 or earlier, so a 2001 car does not qualify even though it’s over 20 years old.¹

Filling Out the Form

Download VR-096 from the MVA forms page or pick it up at any full-service branch.⁴ Every field matters; incomplete applications get returned.

Insurance

Enter your auto insurance company name and the policy or binder number at the top. Maryland requires liability coverage on historic and street rod vehicles, so use an active policy.

Owner and Co-Owner

Fill in the owner’s full name, Maryland driver’s license number, date of birth, phone number, email, and residential address including county. If the vehicle is jointly owned, add the co-owner’s name, license number, and date of birth in the next section.²

Vehicle Description

Enter the model year, make, body style, model, title number, and VIN. The VIN must be the manufacturer’s assigned number; homemade or illegible VINs won’t be accepted. Pull the title number from your Maryland certificate of title. If you’re titling and registering at the same time, the MVA handles both together.

Basis for Registration

Check exactly one of the three category boxes described above. Checking the street rod box for a factory-original car (or the unmodified box for a modified one) will stall the application.

Certification and Signature

By signing at the bottom, you swear under oath that the vehicle will be used only for exhibitions, club activities, parades, tours, and occasional transportation.¹ You are certifying that the vehicle will not be used:

For daily transportation such as errands or regular weekend outings.
For commuting to work or school.
For commercial purposes, including deliveries or rideshare.
Primarily to transport people or property on highways.

Street rods carry the same restrictions.³ The certification is made under penalty of perjury, and both the owner and co-owner (if any) must sign and date the form. If you plan to drive the car regularly, standard registration is the appropriate choice.

Fees

Historic vehicles, model year 1999 or earlier: $55.50 per year.¹
Historic vehicles 60 years or older: a one-time $50 fee. The registration is not transferable; a new owner pays their own fee.¹
Street rods: $55 per year.⁵

Make checks or money orders payable to the MVA. Your check must include your imprinted name and address, your driver’s license number (or FEIN if the vehicle is company-owned), and a home or work phone number.² Cash is not accepted by mail.

Where to Submit

Send the completed form and payment to the MVA’s main office at 6601 Ritchie Highway NE, Glen Burnie, MD 21062, or bring it to any full-service MVA branch.⁶ In person is usually faster because a clerk can catch missing information before you leave, rather than mailing the form back weeks later.

What the Plates Do and Don’t Exempt You From

Both classifications exempt the vehicle from any statute requiring the use and inspection of emission controls.¹

Safety inspection is where the categories split. Historic vehicles are exempt from periodic safety inspection only if the model year is 1985 or earlier; a 1995 car on historic plates still needs to pass a safety inspection. Street rods are exempt from periodic safety inspection regardless of model year.³

If you already hold historic plates on a vehicle newer than model year 1999, the 2025 statute change means you’ll need to re-register under a standard classification at your next renewal. The MVA has confirmed drivers making the switch do not need a new safety inspection if one is already on file from the current owner.

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-936
2
MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Application for Historic or Street Rod Registration VR-096
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-937.1
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Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Forms
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MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Fees and Payment Options
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MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. MVA – Glen Burnie