Keeping Virginia tags in Maryland after you’ve become a Maryland resident exposes you to a traffic citation with a preset fine of $290 and a maximum of $500, a separate misdemeanor charge for unpaid excise tax carrying fines up to $1,000, possible seizure of your license plates, and in Baltimore City, towing of your vehicle.1Maryland General Assembly. SB 357 Out-of-State Vehicles – Improper Registration Fact Sheet2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-809 – Determination of Taxes Relating to Motor Vehicles You also lose the credit Maryland would have given you for the vehicle tax you already paid in Virginia, so the back excise tax you end up owing is larger than it would have been had you registered on time.
When Maryland Starts Treating You as a Resident
The penalties only apply once you qualify as a Maryland resident under the Transportation Code. You meet that definition if you are domiciled in Maryland, if you own or rent your primary residence here and have lived here more than a year, if you operate vehicles from a Maryland business office or warehouse, or if you file a Maryland income tax return as a resident.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 11-149 – Resident Filing a Maryland resident return on its own is enough to trigger the registration requirement.
Keeping a Virginia mailing address or still owning property in Virginia doesn’t shield you. If you moved into a place in Maryland and started working here, the clock has started.
The 60-Day Deadline and the Tax Credit You Lose
Once you qualify as a resident, Maryland gives you 60 days to title and register the vehicle with the MVA.4MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. New Maryland Residents That same window controls your excise tax bill. Maryland’s excise tax is 6.5% of the vehicle’s fair market value.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-809 – Determination of Taxes Relating to Motor Vehicles If you register within 60 days and your vehicle is six model years old or newer, you get credit for the vehicle tax you paid in Virginia, so you pay only the difference. With Virginia’s rate running around 4%, the MVA’s own example shows a Virginia transplant paying roughly 2.5% rather than the full 6.5%.5MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Excise Tax
Miss the window, and that credit can disappear. On a $25,000 vehicle, the full 6.5% is $1,625. The gap between paying 2.5% and paying the full rate is roughly $1,000 you could have kept.
The Traffic Citation
Under Transportation Code ยง 13-403, the MVA can issue a traffic citation to a Maryland resident driving on out-of-state tags. The preset fine is $290, and the maximum is $500.1Maryland General Assembly. SB 357 Out-of-State Vehicles – Improper Registration Fact Sheet Law enforcement can write these citations during routine traffic stops once they determine you live in Maryland. A Virginia plate on a car parked at a Maryland address, with a Maryland driver, is often all it takes to prompt the question.
The Misdemeanor Charge for Unpaid Excise Tax
The citation is only the surface penalty. Driving on Virginia tags means you haven’t paid Maryland’s excise tax, and failure to pay that tax is a separate misdemeanor. On conviction, the fine runs up to $1,000.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-809 – Determination of Taxes Relating to Motor Vehicles That is on top of the tax itself, which you still owe.
Plate Seizure and Towing
If the MVA identifies persistent non-compliance, it can seize your license plates with help from law enforcement.1Maryland General Assembly. SB 357 Out-of-State Vehicles – Improper Registration Fact Sheet In 2024, Maryland enacted House Bill 332, which targets improper out-of-state registration specifically and gives Baltimore City the authority to tow vehicles belonging to residents who fail to register within 60 days.6Maryland General Assembly. House Bill 332 Chapter 648 Acts of 2024 The same law directed the MVA to study enforcement statewide, which has been read as a signal that towing authority could spread to other jurisdictions.
How Maryland Finds Out
Traffic stops are only one route. The MVA’s Office of Investigations takes complaints about out-of-state registration through a dedicated form, IS-132, and those complaints can open an investigation on their own.7MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Investigations and Compliance Neighbors, landlords, and coworkers who notice a Virginia plate on a car that never leaves the Maryland driveway can and do report it.
Who Is Actually Allowed to Keep Virginia Tags
Two groups can legally drive in Maryland on Virginia plates without becoming subject to the penalties above.
Active-Duty Military
Active-duty service members stationed in Maryland but domiciled in Virginia do not have to register their vehicles here. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects military personnel from being pushed into a new state’s registration system because of a duty station. The MVA publishes specific exemptions and extensions for qualified military members and veterans covering registration, titling, and inspections.8MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Military Service Members
Out-of-State Students
If you are a Virginia resident attending college in Maryland and keep your car here for 60 consecutive days or more, you may use a nonresident vehicle permit instead of switching to Maryland tags. The permit lets you operate your Virginia-registered car in Maryland legally. You apply with Form VR-111 and must provide proof of active Virginia registration, proof of insurance meeting Maryland requirements, and a valid ID.9MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Out-of-State Vehicles Staying for 60+ Days The permit is tied to you and your specific vehicle, has to stay in the car, and depends on your Virginia registration remaining active.
If you don’t fit one of those two categories and you live in Maryland, there is no legal path to keeping your Virginia plates past 60 days.
What the Comparison Looks Like
Registering on time means paying the excise tax at a reduced rate thanks to the Virginia credit, plus an annual registration fee that for most passenger cars runs between $120.50 and $191.50 depending on weight.10MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Fees and Payment Options11MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Vehicle Emissions Inspection12Maryland Department of State Police. Vehicle Inspections
Keeping Virginia tags means risking a $290 to $500 traffic citation, a misdemeanor conviction with a fine up to $1,000, the full excise tax with no credit, possible plate seizure, and in Baltimore City, towing. The math rarely favors delay. One traffic stop or one neighbor complaint can erase any short-term savings and then some.
Sequence Matters When You Switch Over
When you do register in Maryland, the order of operations protects you on the Virginia side. Virginia requires you to surrender your license plates when you move out of state, which you can do online through the Virginia DMV portal or by mail.13Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. What to Do with Your License Plates Do not cancel your Virginia auto insurance before surrendering the plates; if coverage lapses while your Virginia registration is still active, Virginia can suspend your driving and registration privileges.14Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Leaving Virginia The correct sequence is to secure Maryland insurance, register the vehicle in Maryland, surrender the Virginia plates, and only then cancel the Virginia policy.