Maryland Title Transfer Guide

In terms of state law, you have 60 days to title your car after the purchase date. However, you cannot drive the car until you get the tag and registration. And until you title the car and get your own title, your ownership is not registered on MVA records. Further, you don’t know if there is anything that stops you from titling your car until you go to the MVA. Considering these, we recommend titling your car at your earliest. If you do not want the registration, yes, you can get the plates/tags at a later time.

Under certain conditions, YES, you can title electronically through your MVA online account. This service is currently being introduced by Maryland MVA. Please contact the MVA directly at mva.maryland.gov.

When you purchase a car, there may be a chance that the previous owner has a lien on that vehicle. In that case, you cannot transfer the vehicle to your name until you provide proof of lien release. If you see the lien holder’s name on the title, you must get the lien release on title it self or separate letter or (In Maryland, lien is not released on the title itself) from the seller. This is required regardless of whether the seller paid it fully or not, in order to transfer the ownership.

You may bring a bill of sale along with the original title, but it is not required for older vehicles — the sale price can be declared on the back of the title and VR-005. However, if the vehicle is less than 7 years old, you may submit a notarized bill of sale unless you are prepared to pay the excise tax (6.5%) on the state-calculated book value. Submitting a notarized bill of sale lets you pay excise tax only on the actual purchase price. Tip: Find the model year on the title and subtract it from the current year to find a vehicle’s tax age.

The seller is not required to accompany you to the titling process at the MVA. As the buyer, you are responsible for the genuineness of all paperwork and for paying the applicable fees.

Any buyer not presenting in person can provide a power of attorney (notarization is not necessary) along with a copy of a valid government-issued ID.

You may get the safety inspection prior to titling your car. If you prefer, you can title first and get a 30-day temporary registration. However, you pay $50 for the temporary registration while a one-year registration fee is between $121–$192. If you don’t have tags to take the vehicle to inspection, the 30-day temporary registration is your only option.

Maryland MVA allows customers to pay the registration fee in two installments when you open an MVA online account.

Title and VR-005 form allow you to declare the current mileage, so you may not need to provide the odometer disclosure in a separate document. However, it totally ok to provide odometer disclosure statement VR-197 as well.

The seller will need to obtain a duplicate title in order to complete the title transfer process. No erasers or alterations are allowed on the title.