How to Inspect a Maryland Car Title When You Buy a Car
Are you planning to buy a used car? How do you know if everything is good on the title your seller shows you? I will tell you how to inspect a Maryland car title like a pro. Not only that, I will explain how to find out if you need a bill of sale, what documents you need to take to the MVA, and even the fee to the closest dollar.
If you know all this, you can visit the MVA with peace of mind and get your title transferred in a few minutes. Some people visit the MVA several times with missing and incomplete documents and leave frustrated. You would not believe it, but this happens every single day at the MVA.
I believe this blog will give you all the information you need about how to title a used car in Maryland. Let’s get started.
Who Is This Guide For?
- You bought a used car and you hold the original title.
- You are registering this vehicle in Maryland.
- The sale is between private parties (seller and buyer).
Step 1: Confirm the Vehicle Information on the Title
When you buy a car, you will ask the seller for the title to do a quick review. But do you know what to inspect on the title? Let’s discuss it now. Different states issue their own specific titles. Even though the placement and information on the title may differ, the core information is similar regardless of which state issued it.
Any title will show the vehicle Make, Model, Year, and VIN. You can confirm that this title belongs to the vehicle you are buying by comparing the VIN on the title with the VIN on the vehicle. You will also see the title number, which is not particularly important to you at this point.
Step 2: Check the Mileage
However, you should closely look at the mileage indicated on the title. That is the mileage of the vehicle at the time the title was issued — usually when the current owner purchased the vehicle. With this, you have everything you need to figure out how many miles the current owner has put on during their ownership.
If any word or letter next to the mileage indicates it may not be accurate, that means the mileage is not actual. This can happen for various reasons, but what matters to you is this: if the mileage is not actual, it drastically reduces the value of the car you are about to purchase.
Step 3: Understand the Title Brand — Rebuilt vs. Salvaged
At the top of the title you can see the title type and the state that issued it. Some titles can be branded as Salvaged, while others are Rebuilt. Here is what that means for you. If you see “Rebuilt,” it tells you the vehicle was salvaged at some point and has since been repaired to running condition. However, because it was in a major accident, its value is significantly compromised. A rebuilt title can be transferred at the MVA, and the rebuilt status will be indicated on your new title as well. That does not mean you should not buy the vehicle — just do it knowing what you are buying.
If you see the word “Salvaged,” the story is a little different. Because it is important to distinguish a standard title from a salvaged title, almost every state issues salvaged titles in a different color. So what is a salvage title? In simple terms, DMVs issue a salvaged title after a major accident so the owner can complete the necessary steps to make it a rebuilt vehicle. If the vehicle you are buying has a salvaged title, it means the current owner has not completed those requirements and is passing that responsibility to you. You cannot bring a salvaged title to the MVA without required documents to transfer to your name. My advice: do not buy a salvaged vehicle without knowing exactly what you need to do before you come to the MVA to get the title in your name.
A Word of Caution: Buying on Social Media
These days, people buy vehicles on social media. You see a car on Facebook that is only a few years old, looks great, and has an unbelievably low price. You might think you got the best deal ever. But once the deal is done, you may not even know where the seller is located. It is very risky to buy a vehicle without knowing the whereabouts of the owner. Even if you do everything right, you will not know whether the title is good for transfer until an MVA agent checks the vehicle’s details in sophisticated nationwide database.
Step 4: Know Your Excise Tax Obligation
If you are titling the vehicle in Maryland, the model year matters. Under Maryland State Law, if the vehicle is less than 7 years old, the excise tax you pay is not simply based on your purchase price. For example, say you buy a 2023 Toyota for $8,000. You will indicate your purchase price as $8,000 on the paperwork. However, your tax responsibility is not exactly $8,000 — it is based on the market value calculated using the NADA book valuation. This is where a notarized bill of sale comes into play. Even though the MVA may not accept a declared purchase price on its own, they will honor the price on a notarized bill of sale. So if you want to pay excise tax on exactly what you paid, bring a notarized bill of sale along with your title to the MVA. If the vehicle is more than 7 years old, the MVA does not require a notarized bill of sale.
Step 5: Check the Owner Names — AND vs. OR
Now let’s look a little further down the title. You should see the name or names of the vehicle’s owner. There may be one owner or multiple owners. Some states use “AND” or “OR” between owner names, and the difference is significant. If multiple owners are listed on the title with “AND” between them, you need to make sure all owners sign and print their names on the title as sellers. However, if “OR” appears between the names, any one of the owners can sell the car without the signature — or permission — of the other. Interesting, right? Just to keep you informed: Maryland does not use the “OR” option, so if there are multiple owners, it will always be “AND.”
Step 6: Inspect the Lien Information
Further down on the title, you will see the lienholder information — meaning the car loan. This is also one of the main reasons a title transfer gets rejected at the MVA. You take time off work, drive to the MVA, wait a long time to be called, and then get rejected because of missing lien release documents. You can imagine how frustrating that experience is. So you need to pay close attention to any lien, or in other words, any financed vehicle. You would not believe it, but roughly 80% of new vehicles and 43% of used cars in the USA are financed. So there is a good chance the vehicle you are about to buy has been under a lien.
It is required by law in every state that the lienholder name — which could be a bank, credit union, financial agency, or in rare cases an individual — be indicated on the title. When you carefully inspect the title and see a lienholder’s name, it means the vehicle was financed at the time the current title was issued. Simply put: the lienholder is a co-owner of the vehicle. As we explained in the owners section above, the owner cannot sell the car when there is a lien on the title.
The Four Lien Scenarios You May Encounter
Don’t be afraid — there are a few scenarios that may apply by the time you go to buy your used car.
Scenario one: The owner has already paid off the lien. In that case, most states — but not Maryland — leave a space on the title for the lienholder to sign, indicating the lien has been released. If you see that section completed, signed, and stamped, you can consider the vehicle free of any security interest and the title clean.
Scenario two: Lien information is on the title, but the lien release comes in a separate document. Under the law, this is totally acceptable as a lien release. However, you need to make sure the vehicle’s Make, Model, Year, and most importantly, the VIN exactly match the information on the title. This letter should be an original issued by the same financial institution or bank, with a signature on it. Make sure not to leave this behind when you visit the MVA.
Scenario three: The seller confirms they paid off the loan but could not obtain a lien release. I am not saying the seller is not telling the truth, but the problem is that the MVA will not accept a lien release without proper documents. You need to explain to the owner that you require the lien release document regardless of whether they paid it off.
Scenario four: The seller acknowledges that the lien is still active and is willing to transfer it to you. I am not going to explain this procedure in detail here due to the complexity of the situation.
What the MVA expects in this case is:
- Proper original documents proving the same loan has been transferred to you.
OR
- The previous loan has been released and you have a new lien.
How Maryland Handles Liens Differently
One more thing worth mentioning since we are in Maryland: the MVA handles lienholder additions and releases in a slightly different way. The MVA always issues a new document, similar to a title, called a Security Interest Filing (SIF), which is mailed directly to the lienholder. The original title with the lienholder information is issued to the owner. As a result, Maryland does not practice the lien release on the same title as described in Scenario one above. Instead, the MVA expects either a SIF signed by the lienholder or a separate lien release letter.
You Are Ready — Here’s What to Do Next
If you go through this important checklist, I am confident you are all set to schedule an appointment at your nearest MVA to transfer your car into your name — and get your plates and tags. One more tip if you are selling your old car: you will need to return the plates/tags after selling the vehicle. If your registration is valid for less than a year, you get no refund. However, if you prefer, you can transfer the plates to your newly purchased vehicle for a small fee. In that case, you will not need to pay the registration fee until your current tags expire.
CleverDrivers.com have also created a short video summarizing everything covered in this guide. If you prefer to watch rather than read, check it out here: 👉 Watch the Video on YouTube
As I promised, we still need to go through the required documents and fee estimate. Rather than explaining all that in hundreds of words, I created a simple tool that asks you a few questions and gives you your required document list and a real-life estimate in seconds. Try our Maryland Title Transfer Tool here!
Maryland Title Transfer Tool & Fee Calculator
I am not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. Information is for general purposes only — always verify current requirements with the MVA.
