Maryland recently enacted a requirement that many nonresidents who keep an out-of-state registered vehicle in Maryland for more than 60 days obtain a Nonresident Vehicle Permit. While I fully support efforts to stop fraudulent vehicle registrations by individuals intentionally evading Maryland law, active-duty service members or activated guard/reserve stationed here under military orders should not be treated the same.

The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration specifically identifies military personnel stationed in Maryland as one of the groups that may need a Nonresident Vehicle Permit.

Congress enacted the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to protect service members from financial and legal burdens created solely because they are ordered to move. Military members have the legal right to maintain their home-state residency and vehicle registration while stationed elsewhere. They do not choose where they live—the military does.

For many Americans, a $27 annual fee may seem insignificant. For many military families, it is not. More than 90% of service members report relying on debt, over 80% report financial challenges, and more than half say they struggle to make ends meet. Frequent relocations, spouse unemployment or underemployment, childcare costs, inflation, and higher housing costs near many military installations already place significant financial strain on military families.

The concern extends beyond the $27 permit fee. Failure to obtain the permit can result in a $7-per-day accumulating penalty, with additional enforcement actions that may include civil action, towing, booting, or impoundment. A service member arriving under military orders could reasonably believe they are fully compliant because the SCRA allows them to keep their home-state registration. If they are unaware of Maryland’s permit requirement, those penalties can accumulate before they even realize there is a problem.

Military families don’t simply pass through Maryland. They rent and buy homes, support local businesses, volunteer in our communities, and contribute to Maryland’s economy while serving our nation from installations across the state.

This petition is not asking Maryland to stop enforcing its registration laws against those intentionally avoiding them. Those individuals should absolutely be held accountable.

Instead, we respectfully ask the Maryland General Assembly and Governor to amend the Nonresident Vehicle Permit law to exempt active-duty service members stationed in Maryland under military orders who maintain a legal home of record and valid vehicle registration in another state, consistent with the intent of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

I am now retired from the military and have established Maryland residency, so this law no longer affects me personally. But I remember what it was like to be a junior service member trying to make ends meet, and today’s military families face even greater financial pressures.

Those who answer our nation’s call to serve should not face additional financial burdens simply because they were ordered to serve in Maryland.

Please sign this petition and urge Maryland to support our service members by creating a military exemption to the Nonresident Vehicle Permit requirement.