How to Transfer a Car Title in Maryland

The Maryland transfer in one table

The fee conflict, stated plainly

Two figures circulate for the Maryland title fee — $100 and $200 — and two rates circulate for the excise tax — 6% and 6.5% — with the higher figures tied to changes effective July 1, 2025. The secondary sources opened for this guide disagree with each other, and no MVA fee-schedule page was opened in this run to settle the disagreement. This guide therefore states neither figure. The MVA fee schedule is the authority: confirm the current title fee and excise rate there before filing, and budget from the schedule, not from a walkthrough. A guide that picks one figure silently would mislead half its readers; this one carries the conflict instead.

The transfer, step by step

1. Get the safety inspection. The Maryland Safety Inspection Certificate (Form VR-141) is valid 90 days. Schedule the inspection so the certificate is current on the filing date, not expiring the week of the appointment.
2. Complete the bill of sale. Form VR-181 records the transaction. Whether notarization is required has changed over time: guidance current to October 2026 states a notarized bill of sale was required for some transactions before October 1, 2026 and is no longer required after that date. Confirm the current notarization position with the MVA or the tag and title service at filing, and do not rely on an older walkthrough's notarization instruction.
3. Complete Form VR-005. The buyer and seller complete the Application for Certificate of Title with the assigned title, the bill of sale, and the inspection certificate.
4. File at a full-service branch or licensed tag and title service. Not every MVA location handles titles; the full-service designation matters. A licensed tag and title service is a second channel, not a workaround for a missing document.
5. Take temporary registration if issued. Temporary registration runs 30 days and covers operation while the title and plates are processed. Plates stay with the seller — the buyer does not keep the seller's plates.

What Maryland does differently

The inspection-before-filing order is the distinctive feature: the safety inspection certificate must exist before the transfer is filed, and its 90-day validity sets the pace of the whole transaction. An expired certificate at filing restarts the inspection, not just the appointment. The plates-stay-with-seller rule is the second difference buyers miss: unlike states where plates follow the vehicle, Maryland plates follow the person, and the buyer plates the vehicle fresh.

For title transfers in other states, see the Car Title Transfer by State directory. For what to verify before paying, see Title Transfer Checks Before Buying a Used Car.

Source

Sources: Maryland MVA title-transfer procedure (Form VR-005, full-service branch and licensed tag and title service, Form VR-141 90-day inspection, Form VR-181 bill of sale, 30-day temporary registration, plates stay with seller) as stated in secondary summaries of MVA guidance, read 2026-11-01; the fee and excise conflict ($100 vs $200; 6% vs 6.5%) is recorded from the same secondary sources, which disagree. Facts verified 2026-11-01 as secondary-sourced. Open flags: no MVA primary page was opened in this run — the office, form, and inspection figures are secondary-sourced and are flagged for primary re-verification against the MVA site; no fee or excise dollar figure is carried until the MVA fee schedule is read; the bill-of-sale notarization position is date-sensitive and is flagged for confirmation at filing.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to your state motor vehicle agency or court.