Eastern Shore Undercover Editorial: Maryland's Sky-High Vehicle Registration Fees Are Out of Control

State of MD - This morning I was checking my email and saw a notice from MVA. My daughter's car tags expire in two months.

That got me thinking about how much we pay to renew our tags here in Maryland. Has anyone actually looked at these prices lately.

It is absolutely absurd. We are now paying, for one year, what used to cover two or even four years, depending on your vehicle.

So I decided to look into it. I wanted to see how Maryland compares to our neighbors in Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Here is what I found from each state's official DMV or MVA fee schedule. These are the base annual fees for a standard passenger vehicle, current as of this year.

Maryland is the most expensive of the five by a wide margin, it's not even close!

Drivers here in Maryland pay $120.50 a year for a passenger car up to 3,500 pounds. That jumps to $125.50 for cars between 3,500 and 3,700 pounds, and $191.50 for cars over 3,700 pounds.

Virginia is the cheapest of the bunch. A passenger car of 4,000 pounds or less runs $30.75 a year. Heavier cars, from 4,001 to 6,500 pounds, run $35.75.

Pennsylvania sits in the middle. The state charges $48 a year for a passenger car. That fee adjusts every two years for inflation, and it was only $39 back in 2023.

West Virginia charges $50 a year for a standard Class A passenger vehicle.

Delaware charges $40 a year, or $80 if you renew for two years at once, which most drivers there are allowed to do.

I am not sure where this ends, but I can tell you the prices we pay here in Maryland are ridiculous. It is hard to accept that someone could pay close to $380 to renew their tags for two years on certain vehicles, and even more on others.

Now, for those who are going to say, "well we don't have to pay for aviation when it is needed", you are right but that is noted on the MVA Website and that fee is only $40.00 per vehicle, so even taking that out of the equation, we are still the most expensive by far!