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Had your car towed in Maryland? You could learn that faster now

WYPR - 88.1 FM Baltimore | By Matt Bush
Published September 26, 2025 at 12:00 PM EDT
A tow-truck and its cargo cross a bridge over Gold Brook along Vermont Route 100 south of Stowe, Vt., Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014. State officials said the cracks on the $1.3 million bridge, installed this summer, don’t pose an immediate safety risk but could hurt its long-term durability. (AP Photo/Dave Gram)
Dave Gram
/
AP
A tow-truck and its cargo cross a bridge over Gold Brook along Vermont Route 100 south of Stowe, Vt., Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014.

Owners who have had their vehicles towed in Maryland could learn about it much faster under a change in law taking effect October 1.

HB191/SB40 was approved unanimously by the General Assembly earlier this year and then signed into law by Governor Wes Moore. It requires any company that tows a vehicle to notify the state Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) after doing so. The MVA will then notify the vehicle’s owner via email.

Currently, the tower is only required to notify police within an hour of taking a vehicle. The tower must also send a notice via certified U.S. Mail within seven business days to the vehicle’s owner.

Testifying during a hearing in the House Environment and Transportation Committee in Annapolis in January, the Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office said the current process can lead to owners not knowing what happened to their vehicle for up to a week. The changes should speed up the process, and help owners deal with their insurer in a more timely and accurate manner, the office argued.
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WYPR News carsMarylandMaryland General Assembly 2025Transportation
Matt Bush
Matt Bush spent 14 years in public radio prior to coming to WYPR as news director in October 2022. From 2008 to 2016, he worked at Washington D.C.’s NPR affiliate, WAMU, where he was the station’s Maryland reporter. He covered the Maryland General Assembly for six years (alongside several WYPR reporters in the statehouse radio bullpen) as well as both Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. @MattBushMD
See stories by Matt Bush
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