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ROW Record

State record · MD · 2026-09-01 · Statute

Maryland

Live on this state’s ALPR statute. The occupancy form on file is not a named ALPR highway instrument. A live card is not a permit in hand.

Statute
Open the workbenchThe method
Highway system
Primary
State highway system: the system of State-owned primary and secondary highways throughout this State. “State highway” means any public highway owned by this State (Md. Code, Transp. § 8-101). “Administration” means the State Highway Administration.
Owner
Primary
Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) as to State highways. SHA district offices issue permits for work in SHA right-of-way.

Maryland Transportation Authority toll facilities are not packed as SHA ROW.

Right-of-way
Primary
Md. Code, Transp. § 8-101. “Highway” includes: (1) rights-of-way, roadway surfaces, roadway subgrades, shoulders, median dividers, drainage facilities and structures, related stormwater management facilities and structures, roadway cuts, roadway fills, guardrails, bridges, highway grade separation structures, railroad grade separations, tunnels, overpasses, underpasses, interchanges, entrance plazas, approaches, and other structures forming an integral part of a street, road, or highway, including bicycle and walking paths; and (2) any other property acquired for the construction, operation, or use of the highway. Do not substitute Florida § 334.03(21).
Public records
Primary
Public Information Act (Md. Code, Gen. Prov. Title 4; inspection § 4-201). Who may request: A person or governmental unit. Except as otherwise provided by law, a custodian shall allow a person or governmental unit to inspect any public record at any reasonable time (§ 4-201(a)(1)). Captured ALPR plate data is not subject to this Act (§ 3-509(d) of the Public Safety Article).
Open meetings
Primary
Open Meetings Act (Md. Code, Gen. Prov. Title 3; open session § 3-301)
ALPR statute
Primary
Md. Code, Pub. Safety § 3-509 — Automatic license plate reader system. An automatic license plate reader system is one or more mobile or fixed high-speed cameras used with algorithms to convert plate images into computer-readable data. A law-enforcement agency may not use captured plate data unless it has a legitimate law-enforcement purpose (investigation, detection, or analysis of a crime or a Maryland vehicle-law violation, or terrorist / missing / endangered-person searches or alerts). Historical data is the agency’s property; may not be sold (including subscriptions or licenses to access data); vendor access only if the agency expressly requests and authorizes it; may not be uploaded to any other LE agency or entity in or out of State; may be uploaded to a Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center database. DSP and using agencies must adopt procedures on who may query, PII protection, audits, screening/training, and breach certification. Information gathered by an ALPR system is not subject to the Public Information Act. Annual report to the General Assembly by March 1. Employee or vendor violation of (b) is a misdemeanor (up to 1 year / $10,000). Retention: § 3-509 as retrieved does not name a numbered-day destruction deadline. Historical data is stored in an ALPR database operated by or for MCAC or a law-enforcement agency, or through cloud computing. Do not pack a local 30-day policy as if it were the statute..
ROW permit
Primary
MDOT SHA district permit for work within State right-of-way (Access Management / District-Level Access Permit; Utility Permit only if the applicant is a qualifying utility). Who may apply: SHA’s Access Management page: a permit is required for listed activities in State ROW, including utility work, sign placement, and “any other work within the State’s right-of-way.” Utility Permit (Individual Work Order under a Utility Master Agreement) is limited to companies under PSC, FCC, cable, or Env. Art. Title 9 criteria — an LEA camera is not packed as a utility.. No ALPR-named SHA permit was found. Do not treat the Utility Permit as the LEA-camera instrument. This is not Florida GUP, not Minnesota OLPA, not Utah Special Use.

No ALPR-named SHA permit was found. Do not treat the Utility Permit as the LEA-camera instrument. This is not Florida GUP, not Minnesota OLPA, not Utah Special Use.

https://roads.maryland.gov/mdotsha/pages/index.aspx?PageId=57

Install process in this state

  1. Name the land owner. This pack is MDOT SHA State highway ROW (Transp. § 8-101). County and municipal roads are not SHA.
  2. This is not Florida’s General Use Permit, not Minnesota’s OLPA, and not Utah’s ALPRS Special Use.
  3. § 3-509 is a Public Safety data-and-use rule (legitimate LE purpose, no sale, no out-of-agency upload except MCAC, not MPIA-disclosable, annual report). It is not the ROW permit.
  4. Work in SHA ROW needs an SHA district permit under Access Management (“any other work within the State’s right-of-way”). SHA’s Utility Permit is for qualifying utilities, not packed as the ALPR path.
  5. Do not invent a numbered retention period. § 3-509 as retrieved has none.
  6. Records: Public Information Act (Gen. Prov. Title 4) to the clerk (votes), purchasing (contract), and SHA district (permit file). Police hold ALPR data, which § 3-509(d) says is not subject to the PIA.

Primary

Where to ask

  • City or county clerk

    Minutes, resolutions, vote records

  • Purchasing / finance

    Vendor contract, amendments, invoices

  • Police records / Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center

    Captured plate data, query logs, audit materials; not PIA-disclosable under § 3-509(d)

  • MDOT SHA district permits / Utility Center

    District work-in-ROW permit or utility work-order file if any

SupportedEvidence
Maryland Public Safety § 3-509 forbids a law-enforcement agency from using captured plate data unless it has a legitimate law-enforcement purpose as defined in that section.

md-3-509

SupportedEvidence
Information gathered by an automatic license plate reader system is not subject to disclosure under the Maryland Public Information Act (§ 3-509(d)).

md-3-509

SupportedEvidence
§ 3-509 as retrieved on 1 Sept 2026 does not state a numbered-day destruction deadline for captured plate data.

Local agency 30-day policies are not the statute.

md-3-509

Sources in this pack

What was checked

  1. 2026-09-01

    https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gps&section=3-509&enactments=false

    Primary: full § 3-509 text packed. No numbered retention cap in the section.

  2. 2026-09-01

    https://mgaleg.maryland.gov ... gtr 8-101; ggp 4-201; ggp 3-301

    Primary: state highway / highway definition; PIA inspection; Open Meetings Act open session.

  3. 2026-09-01

    https://roads.maryland.gov/mdotsha/pages/index.aspx?PageId=57 and PageId=870 and PageId=690

    Primary: SHA district permit required for any other work in State ROW. Utility Permit is for qualifying utilities only. No ALPR-named SHA instrument.

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