Quick answer: Every Maryland “bad license” charge sits in one of five penalty tiers, and the subsection printed on your citation decides which. § 16-303(c) suspended and § 16-303(d) revoked both carry up to 1 year in jail, a $1,000 fine and 12 points. The § 16-303(h) and (i) administrative tier carries no jail — a $500 maximum and 3 points — but you must appear in court and may not prepay. Never being licensed is § 16-101: 60 days, $500, 5 points. An expired license is lighter still — § 16-115(g), a payable $70 ticket, no jail, no points. The tables below put all five side by side.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland traffic cases. The first thing I do with one of these citations is find the subsection letter — that one character is worth about eleven months of exposure.
Every License-Status Offense, Side by Side
First-offense maximums under Md. Code, Transp. § 16-303, § 16-101 and § 16-115. Find your row and read across.
| Charge | What it covers | Max jail | Max fine | Points | Prepay the fine? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| § 16-303(c) | License suspended in Maryland | 1 year | $1,000 | 12 | No — must appear |
| § 16-303(d) | License revoked in Maryland | 1 year | $1,000 | 12 | No — must appear |
| § 16-303(h) | Suspended under § 16-203 (child support), § 16-206(a)(2) (missed driver improvement program), § 17-106 (insurance lapse), § 26-204, § 26-206 or § 27-103 | None | $500 | 3 | No — statute forbids prepayment |
| § 16-303(i) | Another state suspended you for failure to appear or failure to pay a fine | None | $500 | 3 | No — statute forbids prepayment |
| § 16-303(a), (b), (e), (f), (g) | License refused or canceled in Maryland; another state’s license canceled, suspended or revoked | 1 year | $1,000 | 12 | No — must appear |
| § 16-101 | Never licensed — no valid license has ever been issued to you | 60 days | $500 | 5 | No — must appear |
| § 16-115(g) | License expired — you were licensed, you simply did not renew | None | $70 preset; $500 statutory max on conviction at trial | 0 | Yes — $70 preset fine |
A § 16-303(c) conviction and a § 16-303(h) conviction are both “driving while suspended” in ordinary speech, but one is a jailable 12-point offense and the other cannot send you to jail for a day.
Before you pay anything, find your row. The payment question cuts both ways on this page. Under § 16-303(h) or (i) you cannot pay — § 16-303(k)(2) says you “must appear in court” and “may not prepay the fine.” Treat it like a ticket and you have not paid late; you have failed to appear on a criminal charge, which is how people end up with a warrant and a second suspension stacked on the first. Under § 16-115(g) you can pay the $70 — but paying a preset fine is a guilty plea, and the conviction goes on your driving record. Asking for a waiver hearing or a trial instead costs nothing extra and keeps probation before judgment under Crim. Proc. § 6-220 on the table: only a court can stay the entry of judgment, and a mailed check never reaches one. The judge can also raise the fine to the $500 statutory cap — so it is a real trade-off, but one you get to make.
The § 16-303(h) Administrative Tier, In the Statute’s Own Words
“(2)(i) A person charged with a violation of subsection (h) or (i) of this section: 1. Must appear in court; and 2. May not prepay the fine. (ii) A person convicted of a violation of subsection (h) or (i) of this section is subject to a fine not exceeding $500.”
Note what is not in subsection (h): a points suspension, a DUI suspension, or a suspension for driving while already suspended — all ordinary § 16-303(c) territory. Subsection (h) is a closed list of housekeeping failures — child support arrears, an insurance lapse, an unpaid fine, a missed court date, a skipped driver improvement program. They also sit outside the one-year suspension cap in § 16-208(a)(1), so they do not expire on their own — they last until you fix what caused them. For the full map, start with why the MVA suspended your license.
What a Second Offense Changes
| Charge | First offense | Second or subsequent | Lookback window |
|---|---|---|---|
| § 16-303 — all subsections except (h) and (i) | 1 year / $1,000 | 2 years / $1,000 | Within 3 years of the prior conviction |
| § 16-303(h) or (i) | $500, no jail | $500, no jail — no escalation provision | Not applicable |
| § 16-101 — never licensed | 60 days / $500 | 1 year / $500 | No time limit in the statute |
| § 16-115(g) — expired license | $70 preset, no jail | $70 preset, no jail — no escalation provision | Not applicable |
Two things catch people out. The § 16-303 escalation doubles the jail exposure but leaves the fine at $1,000 — the ceiling rose on custody, not money. And § 16-101 has no three-year window, so a conviction from a decade ago still makes the new charge a second offense.
The Points Outlast the Sentence
Most people fixate on the jail number. The one that reshapes your life is 12. Under § 16-404(a)(3), the MVA shall revoke the license of anyone who accumulates 12 points in a two-year period. A single conviction under § 16-303(c) or (d) hits 12 points on its own. So even if the judge gives you a fine and no jail, the conviction alone triggers revocation at the MVA — a separate track that does not care how lenient the court was.
Three points for an (h) or (i) conviction is a different world: it draws a warning letter, not a revocation. One footnote — § 16-303(j) still cross-references § 16-402(a)(35) and (a)(14), but those numbers were never conformed when § 16-402(a) was renumbered. The operative items are § 16-402(a)(37) (§ 16-303 excluding (h) and (i) — 12 points) and § 16-402(a)(15) ((h) or (i) — 3 points).
No License and Expired License Are Two Different Statutes
Neither is a license-status offense — nothing was taken away from you. § 16-101 is the never-licensed statute, at 60 days and $500. An expired license is a different and much lighter charge under § 16-115(g), which has no penalty clause of its own, so § 27-101(b) supplies one: a $500 fine and no imprisonment. The District Court’s preset fine schedule puts an expired-license citation at $70 with zero points and marks it payable — the only charge on this page you can settle by mail. Every other row is must-appear. But paying is itself a guilty plea — see the box above before you mail anything. Local practice still matters: see Baltimore City, Annapolis and Catonsville.
Where to Go From Here
Charged under (c) or (h)? Read driving while suspended in Maryland, or the Montgomery County page if your case is set in Rockville. If it is (d), start with driving on a revoked license, then when a revoked Maryland license can be reinstated — a suspension ends on its own, but under § 16-208(b) a revocation ends only when you apply for a new license and the MVA grants it. Commercial drivers have their own rules: see suspended or revoked CDL.
Common Questions
No. If you are charged under Transportation § 16-303(h) or (i), the statute says you must appear in court and may not prepay the fine, even though the maximum penalty is only a $500 fine with no jail. Every other subsection of § 16-303 carries possible imprisonment, so those are must-appear charges as well. An expired-license citation under § 16-115(g) is payable at a $70 preset fine, but paying a preset fine is a guilty plea and puts a conviction on your driving record.
Twelve points for a violation of § 16-303 other than subsections (h) and (i), and three points for a violation of (h) or (i). Twelve points matters because § 16-404 requires the MVA to revoke the license of anyone who accumulates 12 points in a two-year period, so a single conviction can trigger revocation no matter what sentence the court imposes.
In court the maximum is identical: up to one year in jail, a $1,000 fine and 12 points for a first offense under either § 16-303(c) or § 16-303(d). The difference comes afterward at the MVA. A suspension runs for a set period and then ends, while under § 16-208 a revoked driver has to apply for a new license and the MVA decides whether to grant it.
Law Offices of David R. Waranch — 301-563-9575 · toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: August 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Transp. §§ 16-101, 16-115, 16-203, 16-206, 16-208, 16-303, 16-402, 16-404, 17-106, 26-204, 26-206, 27-101, 27-103; Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 6-220. Preset fine and payable/must-appear status from the District Court of Maryland fine schedule DC-CR-090 (Rev. 10/2025); preset amounts are set by the court and can change. This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.