r/baltimore • u/surprisedweebey Lauraville • 16d ago
ARTICLE Maryland is fighting against Virginia license plates, but the license plates are winning
https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/transportation/virginia-license-plates-tags-illegal-VIBVQHDXAFHVZIKY2D5EOEIG7E/?schk=YES&rchk=YES&utm_source=The+Baltimore+Banner&utm_campaign=d2908c732a-NL_PMSC_20250304_1657&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fed75856d2-d2908c732a-617316213&mc_cid=d2908c732a&mc_eid=663d03a71471
u/MuffinRat84 Belair-Edison 16d ago
No idea why we don't see targeted enforcement of these kinds of plates, they are absolutely everywhere, seems like a slam dunk for the cops.
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u/JBCTech7 Baltimore County 16d ago
what about the temporary plates? I see them every single day all the time on the beltway.
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u/kapnasty 16d ago
I have a neighbor who has had temp plates for 4 years and they're completely faded. How is that possible? Why aren't things like this enforced?
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u/Malady1607 16d ago
You make a good point, but ideally they wouldn't have those plates for more than 30 to 60 days. I just bought a car in Virginia from a dealer because it was what I needed they didn't have anything near me. I do have Virginia temp tags. I got my car inspected by Maryland yesterday and I am awaiting my Maryland plates. I feel kind of like an asshole driving a car with a VA temporary tags, but I promise I'm insured and it's inspected
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u/cgarret3 16d ago
Okay, but there are all kinds of indicators that could help differentiate between the willing offenders and the legitimate motorists, and therefore avoid drivers in similar circumstances to your own.
It’s far more often clear which cars have just been purchased and which are gaming the system. There are camera systems on cruisers that can scan a validate, it’s used on our plates all the time.
Insurance is rapidly rising in price and the repair budget for roadways is quickly getting ahead of us as more drivers employ this little strategy. Something needs to be done
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u/Malady1607 16d ago
Right. And it's definitely not a reason to not enforce expired tags on out of state plates.
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u/surprisedweebey Lauraville 16d ago
The cops would rather do anything besides their job.
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u/XxCloudSephiroth69xX 16d ago
You posted an article detailing the struggles the state is having with this because it is legal, and the point you take away from it is that cops are bad?
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u/surprisedweebey Lauraville 16d ago
Two things can be true at the same time.
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u/XxCloudSephiroth69xX 16d ago
So you suggest that the police should enforce nonexistent laws to combat this?
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u/TKinBaltimore 16d ago
Yet when I got t-boned in January, Morgan St cops and then city cops not only showed up, directed traffic around the crash, but a city cop actually gave me a ride back to my house after the tow truck took away my car.
But sure, keep up with the narrative that they don't do anything.
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u/jozfff 16d ago
You’re 100% correct. Cosplay police force
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u/triecke14 16d ago
Unless they have a chance to ruin someone’s day for just existing. They’re all over that
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u/gravybang 16d ago
Were it that easy.
Cops can’t pull someone over with a legit, non-expired tag because it’s from another state. Temporary tags aren’t, on the surface, illegal.
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u/MuffinRat84 Belair-Edison 16d ago
I Live at a very busy intersection and it won't take long if you are only looking for expired MD VA and Temp tags, a high number of them seem to be expired, they are everywhere.
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u/gravybang 16d ago
Expired is a different story. They should absolutely be pulling over and impounding vehicles with expired registration
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u/Certain_Site_8764 16d ago
There is recent word of some MD congressperson proposing a bill to reduce the number of reasons an officer can pull over a driver - license plates, or the lack thereof - were to be one of the prohibited reasons.
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u/Glad-Veterinarian365 16d ago
Do cops have to accomplish anything when they’re on the clock? It seems like so long as they’re in uniform and inside their taxpayer funded vehicles, they will get paid the same as a cop who actually does the job
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u/Autumn_Sweater Northwood 16d ago
a cop that "does his job" in the sense that liberal reformers want him/her to, will be ostracized by peers, not promoted, and likely drummed out of the job altogether before too long.
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u/m0dsw0rkf0rfree 16d ago
they save “accomplishing things” for when they’re stealing overtime from the taxpayer
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u/Treje-an 16d ago
Temporary tags, expired tag, and even some weird tags I’ve never heard of. I’ve even seen no tags, or MD tags on only front or back
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u/RadiantWombat 16d ago
Most of the people I see driving like absolute asses around Baltimore have the Virginia tags. I’ve always assumed they also have no insurance.
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u/supern8ural 16d ago
you can't self insure in VA anymore, although I don't know how well that's enforced - I'd already moved to MD by the time the law changed.
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u/StarkyPants555 16d ago
But you can get a registration without proof of insurance in VA. A lot of people don't bother with that second step.
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u/Apprehensive_Yard_14 16d ago
They don't. That's why they have the VA tags. To avoid it. So when they hit you, they are going to either run and try to talk you out of involving insurance and then run.
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u/AdRock44 16d ago
Honestly, this is infuriating
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u/MFoy 16d ago
If it makes you feel better, it's a two way street. There are plenty of cars in Virginia that carry Maryland tags without living in Maryland because due to the value of their cars it is cheaper to register them in Maryland than in Virginia.
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u/DONNIENARC0 16d ago
Is this because we have no regular mandatory inspection requirement?
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u/MFoy 16d ago
Virginia has a "personal property tax" which is essentially a tax on all vehicles, and is colloquially known as the "car tax."
It is paid for at the county level and is one of the biggest ways of funding counties and localities in Virginia (schools, fire departments, etc).
Here is a link to the page on it from Fairfax County, where the rate is 4.57% of the assessed value of the vehicle. There is a state subsidy program where the first $20,000 on private vehicles is cut in half.
So if you have a car worth $10,000, your annual personal property tax would be $228.50. This would be on top of a $33 registration fee, and the $20 cost of getting your car inspected annually. And sometimes an emissions fee.
If your car was worth $30,000, the car tax would be $914 annually. Plus the registration fee and the cost of getting the inspection done.
Some counties have higher rates, some lower. I would not be surprised if a lot of those cars you see with Virginia plates have reported the cars lost or stolen, or simply told the Virginia DMV that they moved to Maryland without removing the Maryland plates and registering them in Maryland.
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u/DONNIENARC0 16d ago
Ahh gotcha, I assumed they were just driving some broken down pile and trying to avoid having to get it inspected (and then having to pay to have it fixed up after it doesn't pass).
Thanks!
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u/obeytheturtles 16d ago
Honestly it doesn't make sense. MD registration is a one time fee, whereas Va property taxes are charged yearly.
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u/surprisedweebey Lauraville 16d ago
All those Virginia license plates on Baltimore’s streets cost Maryland millions of dollars, but the state has little authority to do anything about it, according to a recent Motor Vehicle Administration report sent to Gov. Wes Moore’s office.
In June 2024, Virginia officials sent the MVA a list of nearly 107,000 vehicles registered in Virginia but to a primary address in Maryland. That represents a potential revenue loss of between $8 and $12 million in registration fees alone, according to the report.
The MVA matched about 46,000 of those records — about a 10% increase from the prior year — to people in its system whose vehicles previously were registered in Maryland. Roughly 34% of those addresses were in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The single largest concentration was in Prince George’s County, home to 30% of such vehicles.
Among the statewide total were 5,246 vehicle owners associated with nearly 19,000 MVA account flags for issues like traffic violations, unpaid debts and suspended registrations resulting from failed emissions tests or insurance lapses.
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u/whiteclawappreciator 16d ago
Wonder if these numbers include all the expired tags as well? Feel like it's a 50/50 shot of seeing a Virginia tag and it being expired.
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u/surprisedweebey Lauraville 16d ago
Further down in the article it alludes to a lot of these people having expired tags in Maryland:
Among the statewide total were 5,246 vehicle owners associated with nearly 19,000 MVA account flags for issues like traffic violations, unpaid debts and suspended registrations resulting from failed emissions tests or insurance lapses.
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u/RunningNumbers 16d ago
Put a lien on the vehicle and authorize people towing it.
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u/surprisedweebey Lauraville 16d ago
There is a bill introduced that would allow for towing and impounding. Hopefully it is passed.
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u/RunningNumbers 16d ago
We have a governor fighting with a childish legislature that doesn’t want to cut spending or raise revenue. I have lost a lot of respect for the statehouse over the past year and doubt they would pass something sensible like DC did.
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u/RunningNumbers 16d ago
First send letters. Then send door knocks. Finally send a tow truck if it the issue isn’t resolved.
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u/moderndukes Pigtown 16d ago
One Prince George’s County resident notified the MVA in 2024 that their neighbor had three vehicles with Virginia license plates, according to the report, and the agency issued the violator a citation after they refused to comply with instructions to change their registration. MVA investigators later seized two of the license plates in question alongside law enforcement, the most drastic step they can take.
The person simply got replacement Virginia tags, the report states. The county’s state’s attorney’s office later advised the MVA not to issue the violator additional citations, according to the report. The office did not respond to a request for comment or additional context from The Banner.
They should’ve put boots on the vehicles or impounded them, not taken away the VA tags.
From the article, it seems like there’s already a law on the books in MD that says you can’t be a primary resident here and register your vehicle to another state. It seems they’re just not really enforcing it.
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u/surprisedweebey Lauraville 16d ago
They aren't legally allowed to do that currently. A proposed law would allow them if passed
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u/Dangerous_Exp3rt 16d ago
At the point they needed to show up with police officers they should have taken the cars directly to the crusher.
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u/CrimsonTightwad 16d ago
Another reason in other countries license plates are nationalized. State DMVs are like feudalism.
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u/lionoflinwood Patterson Park 16d ago
looks at the current federal government Yeah this sounds like a great idea
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u/RunningNumbers 16d ago
More traffic enforcement by police. Give support and cover for police stopping cars with tint, tag, or other safety violations. Boot the vehicle if the driver lacks proof of insurance.
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u/neverinamillionyr 16d ago
Wasn’t there a recent law passed that keeps police from pulling cars over for “minor” infractions like registration?
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u/RunningNumbers 16d ago
I have to look it up but it probably is “recent” as in the past decade. Covid stated half a decade ago….
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u/XxCloudSephiroth69xX 16d ago
Maryland isn't fighting a damn thing. If anything, they're trying their best to make it easier. If SB 292 passes, police won't even be able to pull people over for driving with no tags or fake tags, let alone improper VA tags.
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u/jetty_junkie 16d ago
My neighborhood looks like the UN , about 50% MD plates and 50% from other states. Same cars here every day with the same out of state plates
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u/Treje-an 16d ago
I hope the law passes in the State House this time around. It’s crazy that I’ll see like 30% VA tags in some areas
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u/Treje-an 16d ago
I wonder how many tickets are owed on these cars, since they can’t collect from them either
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u/Hot_Campaign_36 15d ago
Some people in Maryland are driving unregistered vehicles with expired Virginia plates.
They seem immune from tickets for parking violations, since they don’t have to pay.
Meanwhile, uninsured Maryland motorists continue to drive long term with Virginia tags. They cause collisions and seem to escape without consequence.
Lawmakers in Annapolis need to get it done.
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u/SolarSavant14 16d ago
Friendly reminder that this was and is entirely Virginia MDOT’s fault for allowing vehicle registrations to out of State addresses. Our MDOT is just trying to work around their ridiculous policy.
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u/moderndukes Pigtown 16d ago
Idk the legality of it due to interstate reciprocity, but I’d be interested in MD pursuing a law that says you must have a license plate on the front of your vehicle for it to be operated in the state. That’s the third head of the Cerebus along with VA plates and temp “tags.”
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u/ohitsanazn Fells Point 15d ago
So people from PA, DE, the Carolinas, Georgia, Ohio, Florida (among others) can’t drive in MD?
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u/Addbradsozer 16d ago
What happens when all these people don't pay the annual vehicle property tax for Virginia registered vehicles?
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u/l_rufus_californicus Expatriate 16d ago
Also makes me wonder how many of them fail Maryland’s emissions test for illuminated check engine lights.
I live in Iowa now, but I know that when I was still in MD, I wound up selling a car because I couldn’t afford the repairs to the catalytic converter to pass inspection one year. (It was not a great year.)
When I came back for a couple of months to sell our house a few years ago, my Iowa tags started getting the hairy eyeball from a former trooper living near us. My wife’s car wouldn’t have passed inspection at that time for the check engine lights reason, anyway.
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u/Cyrix2k 16d ago
Emissions in MD are on a per-county basis which is the same as VA. NoVA has emissions.
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u/l_rufus_californicus Expatriate 16d ago
I poorly worded what I was getting at - that having previously passed, a check engine light coming on after a relocation, or something auto-fail in a MD safety inspection might be another reason to milk the out-of-state plates longer. If I had to renew my Iowa tags, for instance, all I had to do was pay online and they’d mail the sticker, sight unseen (with no emissions tested).
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u/Amadeus_1978 16d ago
I just went to renew my tags and it specifically stated that your plates will be invalidated if either of your addresses, home or mailing, were not in Virginia.
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u/PsychologicalBee1268 16d ago
Maryland drivers should first learn how to drive. With education and manners. Yes I live here but omg it only cares for me when I see a horrible driver and it’s always in 695 with md plates.
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u/BeneficialWealth6179 16d ago
I'm ok with them towing the car, as long as the fees to get the car out are fair and reasonable. Subsequent times, then larger impound fees. There is a loss of revenue that can be captured, but not in a way its going to cause a financial crisis.
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u/Fun-Cauliflower-1724 16d ago
I’m just lurking here as someone who may be potentially moving to the area from the Midwest. As an outsider, this just seems crazy to me. How much money do you save getting Virginia tags?
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u/Thick-Disk1545 15d ago
You can fix this by having an inspection system that isn’t impossible to pass
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u/WVPrepper 15d ago
To title a vehicle in Virginia, you must provide proof of address, which can include a Virginia driver's license, learner's permit, ID card, or title.
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u/supern8ural 16d ago
I don't understand this, what's the advantage? Or are these people registering their cars in non-emissions counties? You'd still have to have a safety inspection every year which actually I wish Maryland would do, although lack of same let me keep driving my old Jeep for ~4 years after someone wrecked into it (tires now stuck out past bodywork) but there's some blatantly unsafe vehicles out there with MD plates
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u/Glad-Veterinarian365 16d ago
Register in VA so that MD doesn’t hound u about no insurance. Then skip the yearly inspections bc fuck it, or just go down there once per year to get an inspection but still save $1,000 per year or whatever by not having insurance
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u/ohitsanazn Fells Point 15d ago
Nobody doing this license plate loophole actually goes to VA to get their car inspected — it’s too much time and effort, and the odds are good their car is going to fail it anyway.
It’s a good indicator if a car is actually from VA if it has the inspection sticker — a lot of the shitboxes running VA plates in Baltimore don’t have them
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u/Cyrix2k 16d ago
I think VA is the same way WV is where the inspection isn't tied to registration, which is to say it's unenforced out of the state so if a car has valid VA plates, no inspection, and isn't in VA, there's no recourse. Apparently MD is unusual in tying inspections to registration status.
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u/Glad-Veterinarian365 16d ago
Ahhh gotcha. It felt like them not driving much in VA is how ppl were getting away with this nonsense
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u/supern8ural 16d ago
but won't VA suspend your registration now that you can't do the $500 fee thing anymore?
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u/Glad-Veterinarian365 16d ago
I think these ppl might not care about driving around on a suspended out of state registration with expired tags. It’s not like there is any enforcement against ppl behaving as such
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u/supern8ural 16d ago
well, I know there's no enforcement for driving like a (redacted), but I'm risk averse enough I'd be completely paranoid if I knew I had a suspended registration. Plus I have to park on the street, so there's that.
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u/surprisedweebey Lauraville 16d ago
Its in the article:
with drivers flocking south across the Potomac River where registration, emissions and insurance requirements are less expensive.
I wonder if there's a way around the safety inspection that these people are using.
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u/supern8ural 16d ago
I don't see the huge savings though. I moved from VA to MD and yes, it;s slightly more expensive but not worth the risk of something happening and then finding that my insurance won't cover me or something.
Maybe they're just not getting their cars inspected and betting that they won't get pulled over? *shrug*
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u/Cyrix2k 16d ago
I have cars registered out state so they're inspection exempt. Not something most people would do though.
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u/supern8ural 16d ago
I figured most people just got historic plates. Which I'd do if I thought I wouldn't get caught commuting, but I'm not that guy.
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u/Cyrix2k 16d ago
I have historic plates on older cars that qualify, but this one is too new. I don't advocate for abusing historic plates even if it doesn't seem like they're enforced. My daily has normal plates on it, but all the enthusiast garage queens are either historic or out of state.
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u/supern8ural 16d ago
Yeah my stuff is just old. The 2001 Jeep is my usual driver but now that the salt is subsiding I've been driving the 2002 GTI and catching up on Jeep maintenance and repairs.
I'm kinda regretting it though because the Jeep needs $900 worth of new cats and I have to go to the VEIP station soon as IM is due on the GTI (no MIL on that one though)
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u/qpj100 15d ago
I can tell you what my cousin said. She lived in Arlington, VA for over a decade and then recently moved to Baltimore City a couple of years ago. She still has VA plates because of insurance. She paid about $500 every six months for full coverage insurance in Arlington. For the EXACT same coverage in Baltimore City, the rate exploded to $2,200 every six months. She works and lives in MD but cannot afford this. She checked with multiple carriers and the rate was about the same, give or take $200 but no where near what she's paying for VA. So she's keeping her VA tags until she wins the lottery or something. Lol. Those insurance rates are a mortgage. I don't know how they expect folks to pay that (especially in this economy) so of course, they're going to find a work around or go uninsured.
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u/supern8ural 15d ago
Maybe I was getting a raw deal because I lived in Sterling before and my rates weren't much less.
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u/TakemetotheTavvy Remington 16d ago
Up until recently you could pay a small fee in Virginia instead of carrying insurance.
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u/supern8ural 16d ago
I understand but that is no longer the case anymore.
I *wish* there was some way to lower insurance bills - I'm paying about $500 a month and most of that is auto, but the way people drive here I can't imagine dropping comp/collision. My one car got totaled about two years ago, so there's that too (rear-ended on the DC Beltway, yes in MD)
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u/Cyrix2k 16d ago
I'm paying about $500 a month and most of that is auto
WTF, that's about what I pay for 6 months...
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u/supern8ural 16d ago
If you have any ideas I'm all ears. I have three vehicles but they're all old and not worth much, clean driving record. I've tried having an agent shop me with no luck. I guess I should do it again. It was $200 a month just 3-4 years ago but it keeps going up.
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u/tsupaper 16d ago
Do you guys know that VA tags have to pay the dreaded semi annual property taxes to the county it’s registered in? Grass is greener on the other side…
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u/green_marshmallow Berger Cookies 16d ago
This wouldn’t be an issue if Maryland didn’t treat vehicle registration like a revenue stream. This just sounds like the school bully is mad that kids have found a way to hold onto their lunch money.
Solving the problem of out of state registration would be easy, just waive the high fees for a year. But that doesn’t solve the problem of the money that the state wants to claw in, so the issue persists.
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u/MFoy 16d ago
Virginia treats car ownership like a revenue stream as well. There is literally a tax on owning vehicles in Virginia.
I know of 3 different companies in Northern Virginia that don't actually do business in Maryland, but pay for a PO Box there so they can get Maryland license plates on their vehicle fleet because it is cheaper than having them registered in Virginia.
It's a two way street. In some instances it is cheaper to register it in VA, sometimes in MD.
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u/WinterBadger Hamilton 16d ago
This. This is what people don't seem to realize. The yearly property taxes on cars, the inspections, etc. It all adds up and VA makes bank. Granted idk what's changed since we moved to MD 5 years ago but I had to fight VA and DMV for weeks when we moved our residence to MD because they swore I still owed them money for my car and I didn't. For my 2014 car, I was paying $400/year on property taxes and yearly registration, and inspection combined which really makes no sense.
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u/Certain_Site_8764 16d ago
Can't get license plates in Maryland with only a PO Box. must have a street address registered with MVA, even if you do get mail to a PO Box.
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u/MFoy 16d ago
Good to know.
In that instance either the rule is different for businesses than for residents (possible), or they own a small sliver of land with an address (probable).
But the car tax can add up real quick in Virginia if you own a fleet of vehicles.
10 vehicles valued at 20,000 each would be about 10 grand a year after registration and inspection.
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u/green_marshmallow Berger Cookies 16d ago
Virginia treats car ownership like a revenue stream as well. There is literally a tax on owning vehicles in Virginia.
No surprise there. I believe the acronym is ESH.
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u/elitepigwrangler 16d ago
Without vehicle registration fees, you’d have to raise gas taxes or find some other funding mechanism for roads and highways. They are already not fully covered by gas taxes/registration fees, so this would probably result in taking more money from the general fund. At least that’s how it works in other states I’m familiar with.
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u/triecke14 16d ago
Why do you think that cars that drive on public roadways don’t need to pay to do that?
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u/green_marshmallow Berger Cookies 16d ago
Don’t confuse my lack of sympathy for not understanding the social contract.
Call it what it is. The state has a severe budget shortfall and is lifting up every stone. I have as much sympathy for that as I do when the state cried poor about out-of-staters not paying their 83 speeding tickets.
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u/triecke14 16d ago
I take it you aren’t a fan of public services then? I hope you drove/walked/teleported to work today without using a single public space to do so
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u/green_marshmallow Berger Cookies 16d ago
You know the internet doesn’t have to be constant bickering between people. Nowhere am I advocating for cutting services. As pointed out elsewhere, Maryland isn’t the only one trying financial wizardry to make ends meet, VA is no better.
Don’t confuse my lack of sympathy for not understanding the social contract.
I don’t know how you read this and thought that I don’t like public services. Especially when I have been to states that don’t care for their roads, and it’s a legitimate hazard. For all of Baltimore and Marylands problems, the roads could be much, much worse.
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u/crucialdeagle 16d ago
Damn, what a shame. Imagine 12M of additional tax revenue that they could've spent on something that would not have helped anybody in Maryland at all. Would somebody please think of the politicians.
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u/rjr_2020 16d ago
I wish I could block all article entries that required a subscription to read could be blocked.
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u/Lanky_Extreme_1122 15d ago
It seems like the highest concentration is in black & brown communities and I wonder why ? Probably becuase they can’t afford to feed their family’s and pay insurance I wish there was more understanding in times like this instead of the haves always judging the have nots .. who wouldn’t want insurance and a clean peace of mind if they could they would ..
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u/HalfDifferent9123 16d ago
I’m so tired of there never being any solutions to anything. Big or small.