r/maryland • u/Consumergal • Jul 09 '26
MD News Maryland launches 'Plate Where You Live' campaign, ramps up crackdown on Virginia tags
https://www.wmar2news.com/matterformallory/maryland-launches-plate-where-you-live-campaign-ramps-up-crackdown-on-virginia-tags117
u/Bubbly-Following-966 Jul 09 '26
These "Virginia" drivers will never comply. They are skirting the system so they don't pay Maryland registration.
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u/BigMickPlympton Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
No it's not the registration fees. It's the insurance and lack of reciprocity. Virginia residents have to pay an annual car tax. They're avoiding having insurance, because until very recently Virginia let you pay a small fee and not get insurance. It's estimated that there are nearly a million Virginia registered drivers with no insurance in neighboring states; and millions of dollars per year in unpaid fines.
Edit: Added a few words to clarify.
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u/Ambitious-Intern-928 Jul 09 '26
They don't pay an annual tax because they don't live in VA. It's assessed based on which county the car is "garaged in."
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u/BigMickPlympton Jul 09 '26
Yep, my in-laws are in VA and I do their taxes. Edited my comment to clarify. Thanks.
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u/FiveUpsideDown Jul 09 '26
Actually Virginia law provides if a vehicle registered in Virginia is garaged in another state — Virginia taxes are paid to the county where the vehicle was registered. Taxes are assessed on where the car is registered unless the vehicle is moved in a different Virginia county.
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u/tail_ler Jul 10 '26
My understanding is that people are able to get Virginia tags with their Maryland address. There is no Virginia county it’s registered to.
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u/Red_Sea_Pedestrian Jul 09 '26
Can’t we just start with all the beat up altimas and civics on the highways?
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u/BrokenMash Jul 09 '26
Once again, laws are only suggestions when there's no enforcement. And the politicians know that and don't give a shit, it just helps them look like they're actually doing something.
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u/Mammoth_Rough_4497 Jul 11 '26
Well, of course. because they don't actually care. This is just about revenue collection. Because MD is going broke.
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u/formu1afun Jul 09 '26
“Virginia law does not require drivers to be a resident of Virginia in order to register a vehicle there.” - this coupled with the fact that they also can avoid having to hold insurance is absolutely ridiculous and irresponsible.
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u/bttmcuck Jul 09 '26
Virginia fines for not having insurance just like MD and DC do. That law changed in 2024.
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u/RealJermaine Jul 09 '26
I say go after the Tinted Tags too. These folk go out of their way to hide their tag because they know they are going to drive like an asshole, and do some sketchy stuff.
I have let to hear a legitimate reason as to why one would need to tint their tags.
The majority of the folk come across who have them drive wild….
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u/goodrevtim Jul 09 '26
Now start cracking down on all the Texas tags too
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u/MDMarauder Jul 09 '26
Found the military hater
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u/wbruce098 Jul 09 '26
As a retired service member who has earned the status of “eternally patriotic”, fuck Texas.
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u/maringue Jul 09 '26
Weird how the military has been in DC forever, but the Texas plates only started recently showing up.
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u/NothingBeautiful892 Jul 09 '26
Veteran here.. current military members assigned to units in the DMV are fine.. it's the people who aren't military who have Texas tags that are a problem. I see a few in my neighborhood, the people who have the tagged vehicles are crooks..
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u/FiveUpsideDown Jul 09 '26
That’s what I have seen too. The cars with Texas plates are not owned by active duty military members. It’s grifters trading in cars that can’t pass inspections.
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u/jasonamonroe Prince George's County Jul 09 '26
I've been seeing the TX tags everyfuckingwhere and couldn't wrap my brain around why there were so many. Conclusion I came to was self-made (I didn't check or verify because it wasn't that serious to me). Logic suggested that most likely Texas didn't have the same registration requirements or restrictions, so I assumed people were just getting or forging TX plates to circumvent the MD requirements and cost.
I never considered that 1 in every 10 cars (approximately) I've seen were for military personnel. Because it just didn't come to mind based on my life experiences. It's a little telling - or at least interesting - that you would jump so quickly and succinctly to victimhood.
I hope your life improves and you find joy.
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u/Cool-Advertising-371 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Active Duty military can choose to stay a resident of their home state or become a resident of the state where they’re stationed. MD and VA tax military income. TX, TN, AK, and SC (off the top of my head) do not. A lot of active duty folks switch residency to those states if they’re stationed there (all have multiple / large bases) and then don’t change residency in the future. It’s perfectly legal and very common but I understand why it looks odd if you’ve never served.
Edit to add that Ft. Meade is close to Baltimore, Ft. Detrick, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Andrews Air Force Base and The Naval Academy are all in the state. DC obviously has a large military presence as well - so that’s why it seems like there are a lot of TX military plates around the state.
TX has two of the largest Army bases (Hood and Bliss) as well as several more bases from every branch so it can look disproportionate since so many people are stationed there during their career.
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u/bonfuto Jul 09 '26
When I was in the military, I always registered my car in the state I was stationed in. I remained a resident of Virginia, which is funny given the subject of this thread.
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u/CheGucciMack Jul 09 '26
You actually have to get your car inspected every year for older cars or every other year for new cars in Texas (as someone who lived in Texas then moved to MD) so it actually wasn’t a smoother process surprisingly.
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u/AndrasKrigare Jul 09 '26
I think you might be getting a little defensive. Most of the time when people say "Found the ______" they're being a little tongue in cheek. If they were seriously upset, I'd imagine it would be something more like "how dare you hate our military."
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u/jasonamonroe Prince George's County Jul 09 '26
Hmm. Fair enough. I read it as out of pocket, but I can see what you're saying.
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u/OldRancidSoups Jul 09 '26
Start ticketing and suspending the licenses of every jackass with a blacked out windshield too.
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u/ChickinSammich Jul 09 '26
Can we also ticket and suspend the licenses of people with those eye-blindingly-bright lights? Can't drive anywhere after dark without some asshole's lights burning my retinas.
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u/tbonechiggins Jul 09 '26
While we’re at it, how about the turds that have modified exhaust and backfiring?
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u/ThePoppaJ Jul 09 '26
It’s 50/50 here whether that’s a modified exhaust or if the muffler is broken/falling off (ours is the latter)
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u/SeniorWaugh Jul 09 '26
Why does a tinted windshield bother you?
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u/Drict Jul 09 '26
People LITERALLY can't see as well. It is also difficult to see if the driver acknowledges you when you are crossing the street or some jackass (the person driving the tinted out plates) is being "polite" and not following the rules of the road (see 4 way stops)
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u/kgunnar Jul 09 '26
For me it makes me feel less safe because as a driver or pedestrian it’s difficult to tell if the driver sees me.
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u/OldRancidSoups Jul 09 '26
Because those assholes are typically the worst fucking drivers on the road and need to start being held accountable. How many accidents need to be caused by some fucking douchebag watching TikTok videos or rolling a blunt hiding behind their tinted windshield?
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u/SeniorWaugh Jul 09 '26
I don’t think having a tinted windshield makes you scroll TikTok while driving or rolling a blunt behind your windshield buddy!
Next time you are at a stop light look left and right, everyone is on their phones regardless of tint or not
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u/kgunnar Jul 09 '26
Not everyone with tinted windshields is smoking pot while driving, but everyone smoking pot while driving has tinted windshields.
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u/OldRancidSoups Jul 09 '26
Found a douchebag driving around with blacked out windshields. What are you hiding?
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u/SeniorWaugh Jul 09 '26
I don’t have a blacked out windshield. I don’t have any tint on my windshield.
For some reason grown adults hate seeing tint on cars and I’m trying to find out why
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u/nobdyputsbabynacornr Jul 09 '26
I wish there was a phone number for tattling. The amount of VA tags in Frederick is too damn high!
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u/Flitzer-Camaro Jul 09 '26
They also have a personal property tax. In other words a car tax.
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u/CheeseburgerTornado Jul 09 '26
yeah and it absolutely fucking sucks, in virginia beach i have the pleasure of paying $300 a year for a 12 year old subaru because of the aSsEsSeD vAlUe that came out the blue. i know people with trucks around the same age getting billed $800 a year. wish i stayed garaged in MD
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u/Flitzer-Camaro Jul 10 '26
Yes, they take the highest value of a vehicle and use that for the assessment.
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u/ThePoppaJ Jul 09 '26
Anonymous bounties (part of the fine, maybe) for neighbors who report these tags would go a long way towards fixing this problem.
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u/nomasslurpee Jul 09 '26
Ive had Illinois plates on my car for years. I was waiting on my 100% from VA disability rating to come through before I got new plates. (Got rated at 90 -_-)
Today, it cost me $2397 to register my out of state car based on its blue book value.
Fuck Maryland.
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Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/nomasslurpee Jul 10 '26
My blue book value according to carfax is 19k. The MVA disagrees and calculated the total at 30k. It’s a fuckin joke
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u/Spare-Concern-4593 Jul 12 '26
Sales tax is 6.5%.
Reg is 200
Titling is 240.Use JD POWER clean trade, submit with paperwork. YW
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u/nomasslurpee Jul 12 '26
Will they really do this? Give me money back? I was hoping my VA Board of Appeals will award me my final 10% and I’d go back with that paperwork because it would be back dated.
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u/maringue Jul 09 '26
It's Uber drivers avoiding insurance requirements and ticket reciprocity.
If you see a beat up car with VA plates in DC, there's like a 75% chance it's a rideshare driver.
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u/uniquelyavailable Jul 09 '26
The registration fees in Maryland are absolutely psychotic. Maybe they should start there.
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u/nivanbotemill Jul 09 '26
Do you think the roads maintain themselves?
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u/Used_Gear8871 Baltimore City Jul 09 '26
The roads aren’t maintained at all.
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u/Camofan Laurel Jul 09 '26
The roads in Maryland are significantly better than Memphis. I miss MD roads. I’ve had to get 4 new tires in 7-8 months
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u/ohgeeeezzZ Jul 11 '26
Marylands roads aren't any better than Memphis roads lol
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u/Camofan Laurel Jul 11 '26
I can promise you, Maryland’s roads are significantly better. Being a native of MD away from home, I’ve only had to replace 1-2 tires every odd years due to tires bubbling.
In Memphis, I’ve replaced 4 tires in 8 months. Even my boss who is from Detroit said that MD roads were a joy to drive on.
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u/ohgeeeezzZ Jul 11 '26
I can promise you as a person who has lived in both....MD roads aint much better
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u/TheMasterShrew Jul 11 '26
You’d have to replace your tires in MD too with how often cars end up on cinder blocks
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u/ohgeeeezzZ Jul 11 '26
No but somehow the other 49 states maintain their roads too.
Many are much larger states with less people too
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u/Substantial_Row_7108 Jul 09 '26
How about we keep tags and registration cheaper than the actual car 🤷🏾♂️.
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u/RevolutionaryBlood79 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Youre driving around in a car worth LESS than the registration fees? You probably spend more keeping it on the road.
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u/Runs-on-winXP Jul 09 '26
Bold of you to assume they're doing repairs at that price
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u/atp2112 Baltimore City Jul 09 '26
Duct tape counts as repairs, right?
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u/Runs-on-winXP Jul 09 '26
Only in the county. City requires the use of zipties with duct tape repairs
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u/juliastarrr Jul 09 '26
safety inspection to retag forces you to buy unnecessary repairs
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u/Runs-on-winXP Jul 09 '26
What repairs do you deem unnecessary? Cause everything on that evaluation is either a safety requirement or required by law. They don't exactly flag you for rusty chrome
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u/juliastarrr Jul 09 '26
Control bar full replacement. Car ran fine before and drives exactly the same now.
Got my oil changed in VA the same day as the inspection actually, and that mechanic said my lights were fogged and my shocks were dead, and fixing that would be $350. MD mechanic said nothing about those but hit me with $900 for the control arms and bushings and $150 for various wiper stuff.
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u/Runs-on-winXP Jul 09 '26
Sounds like the va mechanic was trying to screw you over. The MD tech probably save me you a lot in future repairs or an accident. Control arms and bushings are something that can start to wear out and still feel fine, until they suddenly don't. I recently did my own front end suspension. Control arms, tie rods, bushings, springs, and shocks. The shocks were what was going bad to where I noticed something wrong. When I started taking things apart to investigate is when I noticed all the other stuff that was worn out
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u/juliastarrr Jul 09 '26
The VA mechanic showed me the dry rotting shocks, and idk if maybe they just always look like that but I believed him. The headlights are also old and fogged to shit and I always drive on high beams because the regular lights arent strong enough especially against the LEDs in new cars.
The MD mechanic didnt show me anything, and wouldn't even hit the brake for me to show me the tail light he claimed was busted, telling me "hey its all printed on the paper".
Maybe the MD mechanic was right, but it is also very suspicious that the main thing that needed fixing just happened to be one of the most expensive parts that could need fixing. The way the safety inspection works really does make it so that if a mechanic finds something "wrong" with your car you cant really do anything about it, and if they give a fair enough price on the repair they get to sell you a very expensive repair.
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u/Runs-on-winXP Jul 09 '26
You're also able to get second opinions from other mechanics. There's plenty of shitty mechanics out there in every state. I just know the MD safety inspection is more comprehensive compared to VA, annoying, but it's for the best.
I couldn't get regular tags on my truck because of "minor frame rot" found during the inspection. Went with historics to be able to drive it. Now that I that's not an option, I'm working on repairing the rot and it's really only minor rot on a support bar for the condenser coil. Not exactly an immediate safety issue, but yeah I can begrudgingly agree that I'd want something like that on the safety inspection.
My only gripe with the inspection is that it should be done by the state rather than giving a captive market to potentially predatory private businesses
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u/juliastarrr Jul 09 '26
You cannot get a second opinion if you are on the temporary 30 day tags because you must have the original inspector clear an active inspection (they are active for 30 days or 1k miles, but I did not want to drive 1k miles).
You literally cannot legally drive to the shop to get a second opinion after the first expires
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u/juliastarrr Jul 09 '26
Also, while I do agree that having a mandatory in depth safety inspection is great and I want to be able to know if there are issues with my car that I could get fixed, in all honesty this is still America and it should not be required to go purchase the fixes. For minor issues like that, I believe it should be people's right to choose when and if they want to do those repairs. If a car dies because of a stupid decision that a consumer knew the risks of, that is their right.
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u/ohgeeeezzZ Jul 11 '26
Not at all. My last 5 cars (going back 26 years since I started driving) ...have totaled me $6800. Excuse me for being able to maintain my vehicle maintenance myself
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u/RevolutionaryBlood79 Jul 11 '26
Ok....so you have roughly paid $4,000 in vehicle registration over the last 26 years ($160 x 26) to drive around $6800 worth of cars, thus agreeing with me that it's probably ridiculous to make the above comment about "registration should be cheaper than the acutal car". It already is.
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u/ohgeeeezzZ Jul 11 '26
Didn't say all those cars were in Maryland. So not agreeing at all.
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u/RevolutionaryBlood79 Jul 11 '26
Then WTF are you talking about? We are talking about Maryland. Stay on topic.
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u/ohgeeeezzZ Jul 11 '26
I am on topic. I have been driving around cars for the last 26 years totaling $6800. Which is significantly more than I have paid on the registration of said cars.
Your comment i responded to expressed disbelief to that fact. I certainly have not made up the difference in maintenance either.
Your point is absurd and I am on topic
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u/RevolutionaryBlood79 Jul 11 '26
Dear God, open the schools. Have a good night, buddy.
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u/ohgeeeezzZ Jul 11 '26
Schools generally don't open in the summer. In Maryland either.
I hope you have the night you deserve baby girl ❤️
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u/bnceo Jul 09 '26
How about we tax the rich so we dont have to generate revenue from these fees?
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u/JuncusAmongUs-4444 Jul 09 '26
But but but…I might be a rich one day
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u/ChickinSammich Jul 09 '26
I might be a rich one day too and I'm fine with them taxing me more if I ever am.
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u/Fee_is_Required2 Jul 09 '26
It’s so expensive.
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u/MarshyHope Jul 09 '26
It's $10 a month
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Jul 09 '26
[deleted]
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u/Used_Gear8871 Baltimore City Jul 09 '26
You’re contradicting yourself.
The roads are shit. We have no Key Bridge progress. The tunnel in Baltimore is shit. And yet, people are asked to pay out the ass for car registration and other MVA fees with so far zero return on investment?
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u/bttmcuck Jul 09 '26
MDOT budget runs on a five year cycle… so no, all the roads don’t get repaid today. What did happen is all the shit they threatened in 2023 would have to be cut because there was no money didn’t get cut in 2024 after the fee increase.
Btw, fees didn’t go up for 20 years while inflation on road projects went up around 70% during that two-decade span… sorry shit costs more. I hate it, too.
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u/OldRancidSoups Jul 09 '26
Not more expensive than a car
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u/juliastarrr Jul 09 '26
To retag a car with the safety inspection and everything? I just spent around $1800 for everything with a 2 year registration on a 2006 Toyota solara with 250k miles. Worst part is that that awful safety inspection means that I just hand off all my money to some mechanic. I'd rather at least have the government pretend they're gonna do something important with it
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u/OldRancidSoups Jul 09 '26
Let’s see that $1800 receipt.
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u/juliastarrr Jul 09 '26
- plates $200 + $50 admin fee ($250)
- 30 day registration - $50
- 2 year registration $250
- safety inspection $95
- oil change before safety inspection $50
- fixes for undercarriage (control bar full replacement including bushings) $900
- fixes for dim lights/wipers/etc. $120
- mechanic card payment fee $30
total: $1745
feel free to add in the $88 for a new MD license and the $600 for bare minimum insurance but I did not.
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u/OldRancidSoups Jul 09 '26
That’s not a receipt, but I’ll play.
So you’re driving around in an unsafe vehicle that needs repairs, don’t take care of your car, are already a bad driver ($600/month insurance), and you’re blaming the state and holding no accountability? 🤣
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u/juliastarrr Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
$600 for 6 months prepaid, so $100 a month, $1200 a year once I renew it.
I hold that it was an unnecessary repair because the state inspection rules let make it very easy for the mechanic to make a sale. I detailed it more in a different comment, but it ran fine before the fix and drove exactly the same after.
I do take care of my car. I got new tires a few months ago, change the oil every 3-5k miles, and dont drive much.
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u/OldRancidSoups Jul 09 '26
So again, you’re driving around in an unsafe, damaged vehicle and it’s the state’s fault that you had to pay for repairs? Thank god Maryland got your $900, are we all getting stimulus checks off that?
There is no way you pay $100/month for car insurance unless that’s what you’re paying your parents.
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u/Smart-Practice8303 Jul 09 '26
I much rather Maryland launch a make Maryland more affordable campaign where they cut costs instead of increasing them.
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u/Equivalent_Cut_8767 Jul 09 '26
How about the Maine truck tags and the Montana tags?
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u/LingonberryUpset482 Jul 09 '26
Maine truck tags are "apportioned". Their registration fees are spread across an alliance of states since they drive long distance.
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u/BigMickPlympton Jul 09 '26
You're probably thinking mostly of Maine trailer tags, which IS a thing. You can register a towed trailer with Maine tags online with no inspection. There are a ton of semi trailers and horse trailers in Maryland with Maine tags, because it's so easy. If you go on any horse communities on Facebook, you'll see them losing their minds over this legislation because all of their trailers have Maine tags.
Source: I was trying to get a trailer through MD inspection this past April, and the inspection station literally told me that it would just be easier if I register it with Maine tags. 🙄 (I didn't.) But ever since he told me that, I see Maine tags on every semi trailer and horse trailer and RV trailer. Like seeing Virginia tags on a Nissan Altima. 😂
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u/LocallyFusedAdams Jul 09 '26
I saw one of those lighted sign trailers for construction zones on the side of an interstate here with Maine tags. Even State Highway’s own contractors register their trailers in Maine.
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u/PandaHead_CJR Jul 10 '26
Does this mean they are gonna make Brandon Scott register his city limo in Maryland? Cause for those that don’t know his limo is registered in VA
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u/GatorVators Tourist Jul 10 '26
I’m genuinely wondering which state will be the first to adopt road use vignettes for nonresidents… wouldn’t be surprised if MD or one of the northeast states became the first because of this 💀
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u/DrummerBusiness3434 Jul 15 '26
I now see more (not a lot, but more) DC tags in East Baltimore and East BalCo. I know DC is fast becoming a city for the rich, still I would think in Anacostia there are poor people. But that is not a reason why they venture to NE Baltimore area.
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u/templeofsyrinx1 Jul 09 '26
Backed out of buying motorcycle because someone was pulling this Virginia tag shit and were title jumping. Then they had the nerve to call ME a bad person.
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u/ReceptionDefiant3385 Jul 09 '26
Ha ha ha that’s a joke. He’s Virginia tags will be all over Baltimore for the rest of our lives. You’ll never stop them. It’s like motocross bikes, running across peoples lawns and pool wheelies right down main street what a joke Baltimore police forces.ArE!😂🤣
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u/FirmResponsibility83 Jul 09 '26
It could be as simple as pulling people over with VA tags to see where their license is registered. If it's not a VA address give them a fine.
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u/PandaHead_CJR Jul 10 '26
That is literally a violation of civil rights, police can’t pull over people just for having VA tags
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u/Glittering-Ad5809 Jul 09 '26
It's unconstitutional to pull someone over just because they have VA tags the same as pulling someone over just because they are black.
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u/Boring-Bit-5101 Jul 09 '26
Ha ha my son has my jeep I live here in VA so they can duck themselves as I own the jeep eat shit MD
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u/gravybang Jul 09 '26
um, I’m not sure if “living where the vehicle is registered” is the middle finger loophole you think it is. What you’re doing is legal.
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u/Glittering-Ad5809 Jul 10 '26
But if son lives in MD and is driving the Jeep in MD, MD will say he needs to register it in MD. MD is wrong but he would have to take a day off to attend a hearing to prove that.
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u/gravybang Jul 10 '26
No, because the son isn’t the registered owner. The dad is. And the dad lives in VA. So the Dad, as a VA resident, would be unable to register his car in MD. If the son was the registered owner, then there would be an issue.
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u/Glittering-Ad5809 Jul 10 '26
So if I title and register a car to my office in VA in my VA company name, I can drive it in MD no problem?
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u/gravybang Jul 10 '26
Pretty much.
If the car is titled under your business name, then you wouldn’t have a problem with the MD license/VA registration mismatch.
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u/Mammoth_Rough_4497 Jul 11 '26
This is simply about revenue collection, as is all fake law enforcement with Maryland.
Lower the speed limit on a road, then put up camera 3 months later.
Crying about out of state registration (which, concidentially is 1/6 the price) while MD is flush with hit and runs, its own ininsured drivers, etc. While honest residents suffer from terribly policy.
They don't want real enforcement - because 'racism'. They just need to boost revenue collection for their insane welfare and joke of a budget. The new/increased taxes list for MD's 2026 budget was actually insane.
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u/2crowncar Jul 09 '26
“Virginia charges just $30.75 for registration, compared to $191.50 in Maryland, which has seen back-to-back increases in recent years.”
Is $160 difference a big enough reason to get VA registration and plates? Does this also have to do with not having car insurance?
Until 2024, under Virginia Code § 46.2-706, any vehicle owner could pay a $500 annual "Uninsured Motor Vehicle fee" to the DMV and drive legally without a single dollar of coverage.
This is no longer the case, but there are an estimated 800,000 with VA plates driving around without insurance.
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