Vehicle Laws - Towed, Removed, or Abandoned Vehicles - Electronic Notice to Owner

Vehicle owners can get emailed tow notices

Beginning October 1, 2025, towing businesses may send private-property tow notices to owners electronically through Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration. Police may use the same process to notify an abandoned vehicle’s last known registered owner. Both options require the owner’s email address in the agency’s records. If the owner does not respond within 7 days after the agency sends notice, the sender must also use certified and first-class mail, requesting a return receipt for certified mail. Police may notify a secured party, such as a lender, electronically only with agreement from police, the tower, and that party. That agreement must be written or electronic; unacknowledged or undeliverable notices to secured parties require the statutory posting process. The agency must adopt rules for electronic owner notices.