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Gifting a car to family in Maryland
Giving a car to a relative can skip Maryland's titling tax and, for close family, the safety inspection. Here's who qualifies, how to fill out the title, and the one form you need.
Who counts as family for a tax-free gift
- Qualifies: spouse, son or daughter, grandchild, parent, brother or sister, grandparent, and father-, mother-, son- or daughter-in-law. The MVA's form also lists step, adopted and half relatives.
- Niece or nephew: only when the person giving the car is 65 or older.
- Everyone else (friends, cousins, a partner you're not married to): it's treated like any other transfer, and titling tax applies.
- In every case, no money or anything else of value can change hands.
Does the car need an inspection?
According to the VR-103 form, transfers between spouses, or between a parent and child, are generally exempt from the Maryland safety inspection. Every other gift, including to a grandchild, sibling or in-law, needs one. The tax exemption and the inspection exemption are separate rules.
How to do it
- Clear the title. It must be in the giver's name, match the VIN, and have no lien, or come with a lien release.
- Fill in the title. Write the recipient's name as buyer, GIFT in the sale price field, and the odometer reading. Sign exactly as your name appears.
- Fill out VR-103, the Application for Maryland Gift Certification. The giver and the recipient both sign it.
- Get the inspection if your relationship isn't spouse or parent and child.
- Title it. The recipient takes the papers to an MVA branch or a tag and title agency, which adds its own service fee. Title and registration fees still apply.
Summarized from the Maryland MVA and Maryland law, checked November 2026: Giving a vehicle as a gift · VR-103, Application for Maryland Gift Certification (04-26) · Tax-General §13-810. Requirements depend on your situation; the MVA's pages are the final word.
Before you call an agency, ask
- Do you handle gift transfers, and can the recipient come in alone?
- What's your service fee, and what state fees will we pay?
- Does our relationship need a safety inspection first?
Agencies that list gift transfers
These agencies mention gift transfers in their public information. We haven't confirmed it by phone yet. Most agencies handle title transfers, so call any agency near you and ask.
Questions people ask
Do I pay titling tax when I gift a car to family in Maryland?
Not if the relative qualifies and no money changes hands. Maryland law exempts gifts to a spouse, child, grandchild, parent, sibling, grandparent or in-law. Step and adopted relatives and half-siblings are also listed on the MVA's gift form, VR-103.
Can I gift a car to my niece or nephew tax free?
Only in one case: Maryland law exempts a gift to a niece or nephew when the person giving the car is at least 65 years old and no money is involved. Otherwise titling tax applies.
Does a gifted car need a Maryland safety inspection?
The MVA's gift form says transfers between spouses, or between a parent and child, are generally exempt from inspection. All other transfers need a Maryland safety inspection.
What do I write as the price on the title?
The MVA says to write GIFT in the sale price field, fill in the recipient's name as buyer and the odometer reading, and sign exactly as your name appears on the title.
Can I gift a car that still has a loan on it?
The title needs to be free of liens, or come with a lien release. Pay off the loan and get the lien released first.
Other things you might need
Tag & Title Finder is not the MVA. This page summarizes public MVA information to help you prepare; it isn't legal or tax advice. Agencies set their own service fees.