New historic vehicle tag law goes into effect next year

Salisbury, Md. – After severe push back from Marylanders, a new law restores historic tag eligibility for vehicles 25 years and older come July 2027.

Maryland drivers had recently lost their historic vehicle registration after a law changed historic tag eligibility from a rolling 20-year basis to vehicles dating from 1999 and older. Motor Vehicle Administrator Chrissy Nizer says it’s understandable the changes have led to some confusion. She says unless action is taken by the state legislature, current customers who have historic tags will not be grandfathered in to the new law.

“So that means that customers do need to come into compliance with what the requirements are today,” she said. “Obviously, those requirements will change again, assuming there’s not an additional action taken by the legislature in July of 2027. And so that may mean that they need to get a standard plate. They may need to get a safety inspection if they’ve owned the vehicle consistently and they’ve already gotten a safety inspection in the past, that is not, an issue for them.”

The new law is expected to take place July 1, 2027.