Every trailer pulled on a Maryland road needs a title and current registration through the Motor Vehicle Administration. Maryland trailer registration starts with a $200 title fee, an excise tax based on the trailer’s fair market value, and an annual registration fee that begins at $55.50 for the lightest trailers and climbs with weight. Registration renews annually, though you can pay for one, two, or three years at a time. Get the paperwork right the first time and the trip to the MVA counter is a single visit.
Documents You Need
Maryland will not register a trailer without a certificate of title in your name. If you bought new from a dealer, the dealer provides a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin. For a used trailer, you need the previous owner’s title, properly signed over in the assignment section. If the trailer came from another state, bring either a title already in your name from that state or a properly assigned title from the seller, along with a bill of sale showing the price, make, model, year, and vehicle identification number.1Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. Maryland Vehicle Title and Registration Information
You file everything on the Application for Certificate of Title, Form VR-005. It asks for your Maryland driver’s license or ID number, address, and full trailer specs: VIN, make, model year, body style, gross vehicle weight, trailer type, and length.2Maryland.gov. Application for Certificate of Title – Maryland MVA
Used trailers being titled and registered in Maryland need a safety inspection from a licensed Maryland inspection station. The resulting certificate must be issued within 90 days of your title application. Before you file, compare the VIN on the inspection certificate against the VIN stamped on the trailer and the VIN on your ownership documents. Any mismatch stops the paperwork.1Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. Maryland Vehicle Title and Registration Information
Homemade or Custom-Built Trailers
If you built the trailer yourself or bought one that never had a VIN, you cannot skip straight to VR-005. First you need an assigned identification number from the MVA, requested on Form VR-198. The form has checkboxes for the usual homemade categories: boat trailers, utility trailers, camping trailers, and others.3Maryland MVA. Application for Assigned Vehicle Identification Number
An MVA representative inspects the trailer, confirms no existing VIN, and physically affixes the assigned number plate. Once the number is on the trailer, you file the standard VR-005 title application. Plan for at least one extra trip compared to registering a factory-built trailer.
What It Costs
Title Fee
Maryland charges $200 for a new or used title certificate. The fee applies every time a trailer changes hands, not just the first time it’s titled. There is one narrow exception: trailers under 3,000 pounds transferred to an eligible family member can be titled at no cost.4Maryland MVA. MVA Fee Listing
Excise Tax
On top of the title fee, Maryland charges an excise tax on the trailer’s fair market value at the time of titling. For a private sale, the MVA calculates the tax from either your purchase price or the appraised fair market value, whichever is higher. On anything but the smallest trailers, this is usually the biggest single cost of getting on the road. Budget for it before you show up.
Annual Registration Fee
Maryland classifies trailers as Class G vehicles, and the annual fee scales with maximum gross weight. As of July 1, 2025, every fee level includes a $30 surcharge on top of the base rate. Current figures for 2026:
- Nonfreight trailer, 3,000 lbs or less: $55.50 per year
- Nonfreight trailer, 10,001 to 20,000 lbs: $154.00 per year
- Freight trailer or semitrailer: $68.25 per year
Fees above sit in Maryland Transportation Code Section 13-927.5Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Transportation Code Section 13-927 – Trailers and Semitrailers Class G (Trailer) Vehicles in General
Renewal
The MVA lets you renew trailer registration for one, two, or three years at a time.6Maryland MVA. Renewing Your Vehicle Registration A multi-year renewal saves you from tracking annual deadlines, but you pay the full annual fee for each year upfront. Renewal notices go out before your registration expires, and missing the notice does not excuse a lapse. Operating with expired plates is a misdemeanor carrying fines up to $500.7Maryland General Assembly. Fiscal and Policy Note for House Bill 635
Brakes and Lights the Inspector Will Check
Brake requirements are set by gross vehicle weight rating:
- 3,000 lbs GVWR or less: no brakes required, but any brakes installed must meet minimum standards.
- 3,001 to 10,000 lbs GVWR: brakes required on all wheels of at least one axle.
- Over 10,000 lbs GVWR: brakes required on all wheels.
Any trailer over 3,000 pounds manufactured after June 1, 1970 that uses air or vacuum brakes must also have an automatic breakaway system that engages and holds for at least 15 minutes if the trailer separates from the tow vehicle.8Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. Maryland Code of Regulations 11.14.05.04 – Brakes
Federal lighting rules apply on top of Maryland’s. Trailers 80 inches or wider with a gross weight over 10,000 pounds need retroreflective sheeting or reflex reflectors for conspicuity, plus front and rear clearance lamps. Trailers under six feet in overall length are exempt from front side marker lamps and front side reflectors.9eCFR. 49 CFR 393.11 – Lamps and Reflective Devices
Insurance
Maryland does not require a separate policy on the trailer itself. It does require the tow vehicle to carry the state minimum liability coverage:10Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) – Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). Insurance Requirements for Maryland Vehicles
- Bodily injury: $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident
- Property damage: $15,000 per accident
Call your insurer to confirm that your auto policy extends liability coverage to the trailer while it is attached to your vehicle. Most personal auto policies do, but do not assume. Note what your auto liability policy will not do: it does not cover damage to your own trailer in a crash. For that you need comprehensive or collision coverage written on the trailer itself.
Buying or Selling
When you sell a trailer, sign the title over to the buyer and complete the assignment section in full. The buyer submits the signed title, a completed VR-005, and a safety inspection certificate to the MVA, then pays the $200 title fee and excise tax on the purchase price or fair market value.1Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. Maryland Vehicle Title and Registration Information
A dealer purchase is simpler because the dealer handles the title paperwork. Private sales put the whole burden on the buyer. If the used trailer is less than seven years old, include a notarized bill of sale signed by both parties. Delaying the transfer creates a real problem for the seller: you remain the owner of record, and anything that happens with the trailer stays legally attached to you until the title actually moves.
Replacing a Lost Title
If the title is lost, destroyed, or damaged, request a duplicate through the MVA. You can apply online through myMVA, use a self-service kiosk at an MVA office, work through a licensed tag and title service, or go to a full-service branch. File the Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title (Form VR-018), signed by all owners listed on the title, with a copy of your valid ID.11Maryland MVA. Duplicate Certificate of Title Request
The duplicate fee is $40.4Maryland MVA. MVA Fee Listing If the MVA processed your original title but it was never delivered to you, submit a Certification of Non-Receipt (Form VR-091) by mail and the MVA will reissue at no charge.
Farm Trailers and Out-of-State Trailers
Maryland offers a “farm trailer or semitrailer” registration inside the Class G category. To qualify you must certify that you are a farmer and that the trailer is used for agricultural purposes. It is a distinct registration class with its own paperwork, not a blanket exemption.
Non-residents bringing a trailer into Maryland with valid registration from their home state can operate here without immediately titling it in Maryland. If you need to keep an out-of-state registered vehicle in Maryland for more than 60 days, the non-resident permit system covers students, military personnel, temporary employees, and medical visitors. For shorter stays, valid home-state registration is generally enough. Carry the registration card and proof of insurance whenever the trailer is on the road.
Penalties for Operating an Unregistered Trailer
Pulling an unregistered trailer on a Maryland highway is a misdemeanor. The maximum fine is $500, and prepayment penalties on an unregistered-vehicle citation run from $150 to $290. Driving without current plates displayed, or without a current registration card in the vehicle, is a separate misdemeanor with the same $500 maximum and a prepayment penalty of $60 to $70 depending on the violation.7Maryland General Assembly. Fiscal and Policy Note for House Bill 635
These violations do not put points on your driver’s license, but repeat stops stack fines quickly. Officers are required to report vehicles operating without validated plates to the MVA, which follows up to check whether the owner has come into compliance. The cheap path is to keep the registration current; a single citation costs several times more than the annual fee.