Antique and historic plates in Virginia, Maryland and DC: who qualifies and what you give up

All three let an old car trade everyday use for a lighter registration, and each draws the line in a different place. Virginia’s antique plates cost a one-time $50 for a car more than 25 model years old and limit you to shows, club events, repairs and pleasure drives within 250 miles of home. Maryland’s historic registration takes model year 1999 or older until a new law moves it to a rolling 25 years on 1 July 2027. The District’s historic class takes a car at least 25 model years old and caps it at 1,000 miles a year, or allows only events.

Each rule below comes from the DMV’s or the MVA’s own pages and forms, and from the statute where the agency’s page leaves something out, all read on 12 November 2026.

At a glance

• Virginia, antique plates: more than 25 model years old before 1 January of this year. One-time $50 fee. Shows, club events, testing, repairs and pleasure driving up to 250 miles from home; no commuting. You must have another car for daily use.
• Maryland, historic (Class L): model year 1999 or older now; at least 25 years old from 1 July 2027. Exhibitions, club activities, parades, tours and occasional transportation; no daily use, work, school or commercial use. A one-time permanent registration at 60 years.
• District of Columbia, historic: model year at least 25 years old, or 15 years old and a make no longer built. F(I): up to 1,000 miles a year, mileage checked every two years. F(II): events only, non-expiring inspection sticker.

Virginia: antique and vintage plates

The DMV’s test is a model year “more than 25 model years old before January 1 of the current calendar year.” It offers two plates for show use. Antique plates are issued by the DMV. Vintage plates are original Virginia plates from before 1976 that you supply, embossed with the same year as the car’s model year and inspected and approved by the DMV. Passenger cars built in 1973 or later cannot use vintage plates, because that is when Virginia began issuing yearly decals.

The cost. A one-time $50 registration fee, under Code of Virginia section 46.2-730, and the plates stay valid for as long as you own the car. Apply with form VSA 14 (registration application) or VSA 10 (license plate application), plus the antique applicant certification, VSA 10B.

What you can do with it. The statute allows club activities, exhibits, tours and parades; driving to test the car, sell it or get it repaired; getting to and from those events; and “occasional pleasure driving not exceeding 250 miles from the residence of the owner.” It rules out “general transportation purposes,” including driving to work.

What you promise. On the VSA 10B you certify that you own or regularly use another car without antique plates for daily driving, and that the antique car can be driven safely on Virginia highways. The car must carry liability insurance at the state minimums. Breaking the use rules is a Class 4 misdemeanor, and the DMV revokes your right to antique or permanent vintage plates for five years.

If you want to drive it every day. Either buy standard plates, or register vintage plates for general use. The general-use route means renewing at the standard registration fee, displaying month and year decals, and passing the annual safety inspection, the same as a modern car.

Emissions. In the Northern Virginia localities that test (the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park), a gasoline car more than 25 model years old is exempt from the emissions inspection whether or not it has antique plates, per the DMV. The $2 emissions fee is still charged at renewal.

Maryland: historic registration, and the date it changes

The MVA’s current application, form VR-096, revised May 2026, offers historic registration to a passenger car, motorcycle or truck that “is model year 1999 or older” and has not been substantially altered from its original design.

It changes again. The Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2026, Chapter 6 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland, approved by the governor on 8 April 2026, rewrites the definition from “a model year of 1999 or earlier” to “at least 25 years old,” and the act sets that section to take effect on 1 July 2027. Until then, a 2000 or 2001 car does not qualify. The MVA’s form had not changed when this was checked, so confirm with the MVA before you apply after July 2027.

What you can do with it. On the VR-096 you certify under oath that the car is kept for “exhibitions, club activities, parades, tours and occasional transportation,” and that it will not be used for general daily transportation, for work, for getting to school or for commercial purposes.

The cost. The MVA’s fee table lists Class L historic registration at $55.50. A car 60 calendar years or older can instead get a permanent registration for a one-time fee, listed at $50; it is non-transferable and cannot carry special plates. A car built at least 50 years before the current model year gets a single plate, on the rear.

Emissions. The MVA’s list of cars exempt from the VEIP emissions test includes “Historic or Antique vehicles” and, separately, any car of model year 1995 or older under 8,500 pounds. The exemption is claimed on form EP-009.

A substantially altered car 25 calendar years or older can register as a street rod (Class N) on the same form instead.

District of Columbia: two kinds of historic

DC’s DMV defines a historic car as one whose model year is at least 25 years old, or one at least 15 years old from a make no longer manufactured. It then splits them in two.

• F(I) may be driven up to 1,000 miles a year. It gets a two-year inspection sticker, and it must return to the inspection station every two years to have the mileage verified. Going over the limit suspends the registration for two years, or until you register the car in another class.
• F(II) is for exhibitions, parades, tours, club activities and similar events only. It gets a non-expiring inspection sticker and does not need the two-year visit.

To register, bring the Certificate of Title/Tag application, the title if you are titling the car in DC for the first time, a DC credential, DC insurance, and the inspection report stamped Historic F(I) or F(II). A car with a current inspection sticker can be declared historic without a new inspection: ask the station for a copy of the report and have it stamped. The DMV also says a historic car need not meet any equipment or performance standard, emissions included, that did not apply when it was built.

Questions people ask

How old does a car have to be for antique plates in Virginia?

More than 25 model years old before 1 January of the current year. The DMV’s own worked example for the same wording counts a 1994 model year from 1 January 2019, which makes it model year 2001 or older in 2026.

How much are antique plates in Virginia?

A one-time $50, valid as long as you own the car.

Can I drive a car with antique plates to work in Virginia?

No. The statute excludes general transportation, including daily travel to work. Pleasure drives up to 250 miles from home are allowed.

What year qualifies for historic plates in Maryland?

Model year 1999 or older today. From 1 July 2027, under the 2026 budget act, any car at least 25 years old.

Do historic cars need an emissions test in Maryland?

No. The MVA’s exemption list includes “Historic or Antique vehicles”; you claim the exemption on form EP-009.

How many miles can I drive a historic car in DC?

Up to 1,000 a year in class F(I). Class F(II) is limited to events.

Plates for old cars draw searches from far beyond this region. Montana’s permanent plates are a different idea, explained in What is going on with all the Montana plates?. Bringing in a car from abroad first, including Virginia’s title paperwork for it, is in How to import a 25-year-old car and get it titled, and laying a registered car up for the winter is in Storing a car for winter.

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Mario Bailey

Founder, Driven Life

Mario Bailey founded Driven Life, which is published by Revlent LLC. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a tech founder, and has worked as a software engineer for more than ten years. He edits the site and is responsible for every page on it: the meet, club and rally guides, the metro and state hubs, the car and tool pages, and the magazine.