Sell your car in Maryland, from the harbor to the mountains
Maryland packs a lot of state into a small map — Beltway commuters, Bay watermen, I-81 truck country — and its selling rules are mercifully simple: sign the back of the title, hand over the keys, take your plates with you. Here's what the MVA actually requires, and what it doesn't.
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What Maryland requires when you sell
| Notary | Not required to sign over a title. The back-of-title checklist is the buyer's name and address, sale price, odometer reading, date, and every listed owner's signature (unless the names are joined by "OR"). The one exception: a Bill of Sale (form VR-181) must be notarized when it's used to establish the purchase price for tax purposes. |
|---|---|
| The title form | There isn't a separate one — ownership transfers in the assignment section on the back of the Maryland Certificate of Title itself. Your buyer then applies for their own title with form VR-005, bringing the assigned original, proof of purchase price, and a current Maryland Safety Inspection Certificate. |
| Lost your title? | File form VR-018 for a duplicate — fastest online through myMVA, though mail and branch visits work too. The fee is $40, and the replacement mails to the address the MVA has on record. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | Maryland has no notice-of-sale form to file. Your paper trail is the assigned title, a bill of sale, and the plate-return receipt — and that last one has teeth. Keeping registered plates on an uninsured vehicle draws a $200 penalty for days 1–30 and $7 a day from day 31, capped at $3,500 per 12-month period. Return the plates within 10 days of transferring the title and the penalties are waived. |
| License plates | They stay with you, not the car. Remove them before the buyer takes possession, then transfer them to your next vehicle or return them to the MVA — and if you're canceling insurance without replacing it, return them before the policy ends, not after. |
| Sales tax | The buyer pays it, not you. Maryland's vehicle excise tax is 6.5% of the vehicle's value, plus a $200 title fee. On private sales of vehicles 7 model years old or newer, the tax is based on book value — unless the sale price runs $500 or more below book, in which case a notarized bill of sale with a statement explaining the low price makes the lower figure count. Vehicles older than 7 years are taxed on the greater of the purchase price or $640. |
| Inspections | A Maryland Safety Inspection is required before a vehicle can be sold, titled, or transferred in the state. Roughly 1,600 stations licensed by the Maryland State Police perform them, and a certificate is valid for 90 days and 1,000 miles — in practice private sellers and buyers negotiate who handles it. VEIP emissions testing ($30, or $26 at a self-serve kiosk, every two years in 14 jurisdictions) is a registration obligation, not a sale requirement. |
Current as of August 2026 — Maryland tweaks fees and forms, so confirm the details on the MDOT MVA's selling-a-vehicle page before you sign anything.
Asked by Maryland sellers
Do I need a notary to sell my car in Maryland?
No — not for the title itself. Every owner listed signs the assignment on the back, and that's the whole transfer. A notary only enters the picture if you use the VR-181 Bill of Sale to establish the purchase price for tax purposes, which mostly matters when a newer car sells for $500 or more under book value.
Who handles the Maryland safety inspection in a private sale?
State law requires a passing inspection before a vehicle is sold, titled, or transferred, and the buyer needs a current certificate (good for 90 days and 1,000 miles) to title and register the car. In practice, who arranges and pays for it is negotiated between the parties. Selling to a cash-buying service sidesteps the question — the car is purchased as-is.
What do I do with my plates after I sell?
Take them off before the buyer leaves. Transfer them to your next vehicle or return them to the MVA — and keep the receipt. Returning plates within 10 days of transferring the title waives the insurance-lapse penalties, which otherwise start at $200 and can climb to $3,500 over a year.
Does the seller pay any tax when selling a car in Maryland?
No. The buyer pays the 6.5% excise tax when titling the vehicle, along with the $200 title fee. Your only likely out-of-pocket costs as a seller are a $40 duplicate title if yours has gone missing, and possibly an inspection if you agree to provide the certificate.