VIN inspection · Maryland

Getting your VIN inspected in Maryland

Maryland lets a private inspector do this, so you can hire somebody instead of asking the police for a favor.

Who Maryland allows

  • Maryland licensed safety inspection station (about 1,600 statewide)
  • Maryland State Police Auto Theft Unit, for an assigned VIN

Start hereAny Maryland licensed inspection station

When you book

Tell them the form is Montana's and that they'll be completing Section 2 of it. A dealer or mechanic who does VIN verifications for Maryland will recognize the job. Maryland's own version is VR-198 only if the VIN is missing or illegible, useful to name on the phone, though the form they complete is Montana's MV20.

Credential we need back: The station's Maryland inspection license number.

Maryland is the clearest third-party case in the country after Florida: "Maryland law requires that vehicles pass a Maryland Safety Inspection and receive a certification before a motor vehicle can be sold, titled, or transferred in the State", and those inspections are done at privately owned stations licensed by the Maryland State Police. The authority is the licensed inspector rather than a dedicated VIN-verification office, so tell the station when you book that you need Montana's MV20 Section 2 completed.

What happens at the inspection

Whoever does it fills in Section 2 of Montana form MV20 by hand, in ink, standing at the vehicle, and signs it. You collect one document showing their name and department or license, take four photos, and mail the original back to us with the return label from your packet and one Forever stamp.

Read the step-by-step, including what not to let them write on.

Checked against Maryland's own form or titling page on 2026-09-19 (source). If the rules have moved since, tell us and we'll correct it the same week.

All 50 states

$20 opens your case and buys the prepared form. The $279 balance is charged only once your Montana title has been issued and is in our hands.