Maryland Vehicle Class Codes and Registration Fees: EV and Waiver Rules

Maryland vehicle class codes and registration fees work together as one system: the Motor Vehicle Administration assigns your vehicle a letter class based on its design and how you use it, and that class — sometimes combined with weight — sets your annual fee. Passenger cars are Class A, motorcycles Class D, trucks Class E, SUVs and crossovers Class M, historic vehicles Class L, and so on through more than a dozen categories under Subtitle 9 of Title 13 of the Transportation Article.¹ Fees shown below reflect the MVA’s current schedule effective September 1, 2025.

The Class Codes and What They Cover

The MVA assigns your class code at titling based on the manufacturer’s specifications, the vehicle’s weight, and how you intend to use it. The main codes:

Class A — Passenger cars
Class B — For-hire vehicles, including taxis and ride-share
Class C — Ambulances and funeral cars
Class D — Motorcycles
Class E — Trucks (light trucks, dump trucks, tow trucks, farm trucks, truck-trailer combinations)
Class F — Truck tractors
Class G — Trailers, semitrailers, and fleet registrations
Class H — School vehicles
Class J — Vanpool vehicles
Class K — Farm and island vehicles
Class L — Historic motor vehicles
Class M — Multipurpose vehicles (SUVs, crossovers)
Class N — Street rods
Class P — Passenger buses
Class Q — Limousines
Class R — Low-speed vehicles

Most classes also include a $40 annual surcharge that funds Maryland’s Emergency Medical Services system. Two classes — historic vehicles (L) and street rods (N) — are exempt from that surcharge.²

Annual Registration Fees

Passenger Cars (Class A)

Passenger car fees are tiered by shipping weight:

Up to 3,500 lbs: $120.50 per year
3,501 to 3,700 lbs: $125.50 per year
Over 3,700 lbs: $191.50 per year

The jump above 3,700 pounds is roughly $66. Larger sedans and heavier passenger-class vehicles land in that top tier.²

Motorcycles and Historic Vehicles

Motorcycles (Class D) pay a flat $105 per year. Historic vehicles (Class L) pay $55.50 per year, or a one-time $50 fee if the vehicle is over 60 years old, with no EMS surcharge on either.²

Trucks, Tractors, Trailers, and Buses

Class E trucks and Class F truck tractors are billed by gross vehicle weight, a per-1,000-pound rate plus a base amount. Class E trucks also pay an additional $75 registration increase and the $40 EMS surcharge on top of the weight-based rate. For Class F truck tractors:

40,000 to 60,000 lbs: $21 per 1,000 lbs plus $30
60,001 to 80,000 lbs: $22.50 per 1,000 lbs plus $30

Freight trailers and semitrailers (Class G) carry a flat $68.25. Passenger buses seating 36 or more (Class P) pay $945 per year.²

Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Surcharges

Starting in 2025, Maryland charges an annual surcharge on top of the standard class fee for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, meant to replace the gas-tax revenue those vehicles don’t generate:²

Zero-emission (battery electric) vehicles: $125 per year
Plug-in hybrid vehicles: $100 per year

The surcharge stacks on your class fee. A battery-electric passenger car over 3,700 pounds pays $191.50 in registration plus the $125 ZEV surcharge, or $316.50 per year before any other fees. The surcharges were established by Senate Bill 362 and are codified at Transportation Article Section 13-956.³

What You Also Pay at Titling

Annual registration is only part of the picture when you first title a vehicle. Two costs dominate the up-front bill.

Excise Tax

Maryland charges a 6.5% excise tax on the purchase price of most vehicles at titling. Rental vehicles pay 3.5%. There’s a minimum: the tax is calculated on a $640 floor, so a $300 car still owes $41.60 in excise tax.⁴

If you’re moving to Maryland with a vehicle titled elsewhere, you may qualify for an excise tax credit — but only if you title the vehicle within 60 days of establishing Maryland residency. Miss that window and you owe the full 6.5% with no credit for taxes paid elsewhere. Businesses relocating to Maryland face the same 60-day deadline.⁵

Title Certificate

A new or used vehicle title certificate costs $200, flat, regardless of value. A corrected title runs $80, a duplicate $40, a rental vehicle title $100, and an off-highway recreational vehicle title $70. Trailers under 3,000 pounds transferred to eligible family members are free.²

Dealer Processing Fee

Dealerships can charge a processing fee for handling title and registration paperwork. Maryland caps that fee at $800, a limit set by Senate Bill 362.⁶ Not every dealer charges the maximum, and the fee is negotiable. Ask what the dealer charges before signing; it’s separate from taxes and MVA fees and goes to the dealership.

Renewal Terms and Late Penalties

Maryland issues registration for one year at titling or renewal, and you can renew for one, two, or three years at a time. Multi-year renewal simply multiplies the annual fee. No discount, but you lock in the rate and skip the annual paperwork. If you paid for a second or third year and no longer need the registration — you sold the vehicle, say — you can apply for a refund of the unused years.⁷

If your registration lapses, the MVA offers a payment schedule for select fees. Don’t pay within 120 days of expiration and the registration is cancelled outright, not just suspended, and your account is referred to the Maryland Central Collection Unit, which adds a 17% surcharge on what you already owe.² Driving on a cancelled registration carries a $290 fine per offense.⁸

Need short-term coverage while waiting for permanent registration, common after a private-party purchase? A 30-day temporary registration costs $50. Farm vehicles get a reduced rate of $20 for 30 days.²

Fee Waivers and Reduced-Fee Classes

Disabled Veterans

Maryland waives all registration fees for vehicles owned or leased by qualifying disabled veterans. The veteran must have a disability designated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that involves the loss of use of a hand, arm, or leg; total disability; or permanent visual impairment (central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with corrective lenses, or a peripheral field contracted to 20 degrees or less). Surviving spouses of deceased disabled veterans also qualify. Government vehicles owned and operated by the federal government, the state, or local jurisdictions are also exempt under the same statute.⁹

Historic Vehicles (Class L)

To register a vehicle as historic, it has to meet age rules that depend on size. Passenger cars, motorcycles, and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less must be model year 1999 or older. Larger trucks over 10,000 pounds, tractors, and motor homes must be at least 25 calendar years old. In every case, the vehicle cannot have been substantially altered from the manufacturer’s original design.¹⁰ Historic registration carries the lowest fees of any class, but the vehicle is intended primarily for shows, parades, and occasional pleasure driving rather than daily transportation.

Farm Vehicles

Farm trucks (a subclass of Class E) and farm vehicles (Class K) get reduced registration fees when used exclusively for agricultural purposes. Use is generally restricted to travel between the farm, farm home, and nearby locations, and the vehicles cannot be used for hauling products that have already been sold.

What Happens If Your Class Is Wrong

The class code isn’t cosmetic. The MVA has audit authority over registrations, and when auditors find discrepancies they notify the owner and require corrective action. Failure to fix the issue can result in suspension of all registrations tied to that owner, not just the misclassified vehicle.¹¹

Correcting a misclassification means paying the fee difference for the proper class, plus administrative costs. The larger risk is on the insurance side: if a vehicle is registered as a personal Class A passenger car but is actually being used commercially, an insurer can deny a claim because the registration doesn’t match the use. Intentional misclassification to pay lower fees is treated as fraud and can expose the owner to civil or criminal liability depending on the circumstances.

If you believe the MVA assigned the wrong class or charged the wrong fee, you can challenge the decision through the contested case procedures in Maryland’s Administrative Procedure Act, with a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.¹² Bring evidence — the manufacturer’s specifications, weight documentation, proof of use — that clearly supports the class you’re asking for.

1
Justia Law. Maryland Transportation Code Title 13, Subtitle 9 – Registration Classifications and Fees
2
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) – Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). MVA Fee Listing
3
Alternative Fuels Data Center. Electric Vehicle (EV) and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Registration Fees
4
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) – Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). New Vehicle Registration Fees and Term
5
Maryland MVA. Vehicle Excise Tax Credit for Business Entities Claiming New Residence
6
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). New Vehicle Registration Fees and Term
7
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) – Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). Renewing Your Vehicle Registration
8
Maryland Courts. Traffic Fine Schedule
9
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Transportation Code 13-903 – Vehicles Exempt From Registration Fees
10
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) – Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). Registration – Special Use Vehicles
11
Cornell Law School. Md. Code Regs. 11.15.24.08 – Preservation of Records and Audit
12
State Government Document. State Government Article Title 10 Subtitle 2 Administrative Procedure Act – Contested Cases