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MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration

New Vehicle Registration Fees and Term

Bulletin | January 12, 2026

Updated:

Date: May 22, 2025
To: ERT Vendors, Dealers, and Tag & Title Agents
From: Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) - Central Operations 

PURPOSE
This bulletin summarizes the impact of House Bill 352 of the 2025 Legislative Session - PDF . This legislation adjusts registration fees for some vehicles by class and weight, changes the fees for certificates of title and the excise tax percentage, alters eligibility requirements for historic vehicles, and adjusts the formula for calculating cost recovery for miscellaneous fees.

HB 352 OVERVIEW
HB 352 (Chapter 604) of the 2025 Legislative Session – also referred to as the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA) of 2025 – includes:

  • Adjusted vehicle registration fees for Class A and M vehicles weighing more than 3,700 lbs
  • Adjusted vehicle registration fees for Class E trucks weighing more than 5,000 lbs
  • Adjusted vehicle registration fees for rental vehicles in Classes A, D, E, F, G, and M
  • Adjusted fees for obtaining a certificate of title
  • New excise tax percentage for rental and non-rental vehicles
  • Adjusted percentage MVA uses to calculate cost recovery for miscellaneous fees

The law is effective July 1, 2025. The updated fees will be posted at https://mva.maryland.gov/about-mva/Pages/fees.aspx. The fees posted MVA’s website include surcharge fees effective July 1, 2025, and are not itemized as they will appear in ERT systems or Customer Connect.

IMPLEMENTATION BY MARYLAND MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION
General Information: Starting July 1, 2025, MVA will implement:

  • Adjusted vehicle registration fees for certain vehicles in Classes A, E, and M. Registration fees will change for vehicles in Classes A and M weighing more than 3,700 lbs and vehicles in Class E weighing more than 5,000 lbs.
  • Adjusted rental vehicle registration fees for Classes A, D, E, F, G and M
  • A new definition of historic vehicles (Class L). The current “at least 20 years old” is replaced by “model years of 1999 or older.” This means that model years 2000 – 2005 vehicles that are currently historic vehicles must convert to a standard registration. These vehicles will also be subject to VEIP requirements and if there is no record of a safety inspection by current owner, a safety inspection.

New Registrations: The registration fee will be based on the vehicle’s registration month. This means that a customer issued a June month sticker will pay the current registration fee. If the customer receives a sticker for the month of July, the customer will pay the adjusted registration fee.

For customers receiving temporary tags for their new vehicle, the month sticker assigned to this vehicle will be the month the vehicle was acquired.

  • If the vehicle contract date is in June 2025 but the transaction “pends” or “finalizes” the transaction in July, the customer will pay the pre-July 1 fees and surcharges.
  • If the vehicle contract date is in July 2025, the customer will be charged the adjusted fees. 

Renewal Registrations: Generally, the registration fee will be based on when the vehicle’s current registration expires.

  • If the registration expires in or before June 2025, the customer will pay the current fees – even if the customer pays the registration after July 1, 2025.
  • If the registration expires in or after July 2025, the customer will pay the adjusted fees – even if the customer pays the registration before July 1, 2025.
  • Exception: If the customer renews their registration six months or more after their registration expires, the customer’s registration term will begin the month that the customer renews their registration. If the month the customer renews is after July 1, 2025, the customer will pay the adjusted fees. These customers will need to come to an MVA branch to renew their expired registrations.

Tag Transfer & Registration Correction: The customer’s registration period stays the same, and no additional registration fees will be due. 

Excise Tax Adjustment:

  • The percentage used to calculate excise tax for rental vehicles will be 3.5% (1) The percentage for all other vehicles will be 6.5%.
  • The minimum excise tax will still be based on the $640 purchase price.
  • Return to State customers: If the tax rate in the state where the vehicle was previously titled is higher than 6.5%, the customer will continue to be charged the maximum tax rate of $100.00.

The acquisition or contract date will be used to calculate the excise tax.

  • If the contract date is in June 2025, the excise tax will be 6.0% for non-rental vehicles and 0% for rental vehicles.
  • If the contract date is in July 2025, the excise tax will be 6.5% for non-rental vehicles or 3.5% for eligible rental vehicles. (2)
    (1) Under SB 281 and HB 475 (2025), replacement vehicles used by dealers are exempt from the excise tax for rental 
    vehicles. More information about this exemption will be provided in a separate bulletin.

(2) Certificate of Title Fees:

  • The certificate of title fee for vehicles has increased. The fee for:
    • Most vehicles (unless listed below) is $200
    • Rental vehicles is $100
    • Off highway recreational vehicles is $70
    • Motor scooters & mopeds is $40
    • Trailers weighing less than 3,000 lbs GVW and transferred to an eligible family member at no cost is $100

IMPLEMENTATION BY ERT VENDORS
ERT vendors do not need to make changes to implement the requirements of HB 352. Once MVA's system is updated, the updated fees will be transferred for each transaction. 
 

Want to learn more about electronic titling? 
We recently held two virtual town halls to talk about electronic titling. If you missed the town halls (or just want to watch it again), the recordings are available on MVA’s Dealer/Title Service Bulletin webpage. We presented the same information at both town halls but recommend watching the May 12, 2025 recording. 
 

If you have any questions or comments about e-titling please reach out to Shanequa Richards-Marks ([email protected]) or Tim Batts ([email protected]).