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Squatters and vacant property in Maryland: what the law says

In Maryland a squatter is not a tenant. The law's name for what they are doing is "wrongful detainer" — holding property without the right to hold it — and there is a fast court case built for exactly that: since October 2025 the District Court has to hear it within ten business days of filing. A judge still signs the order, and a sheriff still carries it out. Two things make Maryland unusual, and they pull in opposite directions. From October 2026 it will be a crime here to knowingly hold a counterfeit lease — the state has written the fake-lease problem into its criminal code. But nothing in that law tells the officer standing in the doorway how to find out who actually owns the building, which is the one thing he needs to know before he can tell whether the lease in his hand is fake. Every answer below is quoted from the statute it came from.

Every answer on this page is quoted from the statute it came from and linked to the source, so you can read the law yourself. Last checked against the statutes on 2026-07-14.

What to do now — this part is ours, not the law

There is no 30-day rule. Nobody becomes a tenant by standing in your house long enough — not in thirty days, not in ninety. They are not a tenant on day one and they are not a tenant on day ninety. What time does change is how hard they are to remove, and how much of your money it takes. That is a reason to move today, not a deadline you have already missed.

If someone is in the property right now

  1. Do not go in, and do not change the locks. It is the first thing everyone wants to do and it is how the owner becomes the defendant. Read that question above before you touch anything.
  2. Call the police non-emergency line. Ask them to look at it as a criminal trespass rather than a landlord–tenant dispute. Those are different outcomes and the words matter.
  3. Have your proof of ownership in your hand when they arrive — the deed, a recent tax bill, your ID. The officer's whole decision turns on whether he believes you own it.
  4. Photograph everything, and write down every date. When you last saw it empty. When you found them. What was said. Who you called, and when.
  5. Call a lawyer the same day. Not next week. The clock on every route above has already started.
The full checklist — what to record and what to ask →

If it has not happened yet

Everything on this page gets easier the earlier you do it. Photograph the property empty, keep the utility bills, and write down who is allowed inside — before you lock up and walk away. None of that is expensive. All of it is worth more than it looks at 2am.

The checklist for leaving a property vacant →

Is a squatter a tenant — and what rights do they have?

No. Maryland's word for what they are doing is "wrongful detainer" — holding the property without the right to hold it — and the state's anti-lockout protections say in as many words that they do not cover a trespasser or a squatter.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

If a trespasser counts as a tenant, the owner is routed into housing court and every fast option closes.

1 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 14-132(a), (c) — Wrongful detainer

“(a) In this section, "wrongful detainer" means to hold possession of real property without the right of possession. … (c) A person may not hold possession of property unless the person is entitled to possession of the property under the law.”

Read it at the source →

2 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 14-132(b) — Applicability

“(b) This section does not apply if: (1) The person in actual possession of the property has been granted possession under a court order; (2) A remedy is available under Title 8 of this article; or (3) Any other exclusive means to recover possession is provided by statute or rule.”

Title 8 of the Real Property Article is the landlord-and-tenant title. So the two routes are mutually exclusive by design: if there is a tenancy, you are in Title 8; if there is not, you are in § 14-132. Which one an owner is in is the fight, and it is the fight a produced lease is designed to start.

Read it at the source →

3 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-113(a)(3) — "Protected resident" defined

“(3) (i) "Protected resident" means an owner or former owner in actual possession of residential property. (ii) "Protected resident" includes a grantee, tenant, subtenant, or other person in actual possession by, through, or under an owner or former owner of residential property. (iii) "Protected resident" does not include a trespasser or squatter.”

This cuts in two directions and owners hear only one of them. It is the clearest statement in Maryland law that a squatter is not a tenant and holds none of a tenant's protections. It is also the clause that drives the self-help answer below — and that one is far more dangerous than it looks, because the person deciding whether the occupant is "a trespasser or squatter" would be the owner, guessing, at the door.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

Can I just change the locks?

Depends — and Maryland is the odd one out, which is exactly why this is the most dangerous question on the page. The state's top court has held that a property owner may use reasonable means to take back property from someone with no right to be there, and the statute that bans lockouts expressly does not cover a trespasser or squatter. We still say do not do it: if you are wrong about who is inside, the law hands them the house back, plus their damages and their lawyer's bill.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

Lawful in a handful of states, a crime in most. Getting this wrong turns the victim into the defendant.

1 · Nickens v. Mount Vernon Realty Group, LLC, 429 Md. 53 (2012) — Court of Appeals of Maryland

“We hold, first, that the long-recognized remedy of peaceable self-help allows a property owner to use reasonable means to repossess his, her, or its property from an unlawful possessor of that real property.”

Read every word of that sentence. "Peaceable." "Reasonable means." "Unlawful possessor." Nickens was a foreclosure purchaser who changed the locks while the occupant was out, after months of notice; the court called that reasonable as a matter of law on those facts. It decided nothing about an owner who walks into an occupied house and finds a person standing in it. Note also that Nickens was decided in 2012 — the General Assembly responded in 2013 with Real Property § 7-113, the next link.

Read it at the source →

2 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-113(b) — Taking possession; and § 7-113(a)(3)(iii)

“(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a party claiming the right to possession may not take possession or threaten to take possession of residential property from a protected resident by: (i) Locking the resident out of the residential property; (ii) Engaging in willful diminution of services to the protected resident; or (iii) Taking any other action that deprives the protected resident of actual possession. (2) (i) … a party claiming the right to possession may take possession of residential property from a protected resident only in accordance with a writ of possession issued by a court and executed by a sheriff or constable.”

The protection is drafted around the word "protected resident," and § 7-113(a)(3)(iii) says that term "does not include a trespasser or squatter." So on its face the writ requirement does not reach a squatter. That is what the text says. It is not permission, and it is not our advice: the whole question of whether the person inside is a squatter or a resident is the thing nobody at the door can prove, and § 7-113 punishes the owner who guesses wrong.

Read it at the source →

3 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 7-113(d) — Remedies

“(d) (1) If in any proceeding the court finds that a party claiming the right to possession violated subsection (b) of this section, the protected resident may recover: (i) Possession of the property, if no other person then resides in the property; (ii) Actual damages; and (iii) Reasonable attorney's fees and costs. (2) The remedies set forth in this subsection are not exclusive.”

"The remedies set forth in this subsection are not exclusive" is doing a great deal of work. Note also what none of these sources address: what happens when the occupant is present and the encounter stops being peaceable. Nothing above licenses a confrontation, and DeedProof does not tell anyone to have one. This answer describes the law; it is not a plan. And it is the one answer on the page where Maryland differs from most states, in the direction that gets owners prosecuted or sued elsewhere: do not carry it into another state, and do not act on it here without a Maryland lawyer.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

If police do act, what is the charge — and can they arrest for it?

Depends on which charge the officer picks, and Maryland makes it harder than most. Plain trespass is a misdemeanor, and for a misdemeanor an officer can generally only arrest for something happening in front of him. Breaking into a home is the charge that carries real arrest power — but somebody has to show it was a break-in.

›Read the law — 6 provisions

A charge that only supports a citation does not remove anyone from a house. This is the link that killed the previous market.

1 · Md. Code, Crim. Law § 6-403(a), (b), (d) — Wanton trespass on private property

“(a) A person may not enter or cross over private property or board the boat or other marine vessel of another, after having been notified by the owner or the owner's agent not to do so, unless entering or crossing under a good faith claim of right or ownership. (b) A person may not remain on private property including the boat or other marine vessel of another, after having been notified by the owner or the owner's agent not to do so. … (d) This section prohibits only wanton entry on private property.”

Two things in this text decide most doorway encounters. First, the offense is built on notice from the owner or the owner's agent — so somebody has to establish who the owner is. Second, the phrase "under a good faith claim of right or ownership" is written into the offense itself, and a lease produced at the door is a direct play for it.

Read it at the source →

2 · Md. Code, Crim. Law § 6-403(c) — Penalty

“(c) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to: (1) for a first violation, imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a fine not exceeding $500 or both; (2) for a second violation occurring within 2 years after the first violation, imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both; and (3) for each subsequent violation occurring within 2 years after the preceding violation, imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or a fine not exceeding $2,500 or both.”

This is the grade that matters, and it is a misdemeanor. Read it against the arrest statute below before assuming anything follows from the word "criminal."

Read it at the source →

3 · Md. Code, Crim. Law § 6-205(a), (e) — Burglary in the fourth degree

“(a) A person may not break and enter the dwelling of another. … (e) A person who violates this section is guilty of the misdemeanor of burglary in the fourth degree and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years.”

Read it at the source →

4 · Md. Code, Crim. Law § 6-204 — Burglary in the third degree

“(a) A person may not break and enter the dwelling of another with the intent to commit a crime. (b) A person who violates this section is guilty of the felony of burglary in the third degree and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 10 years.”

This is the fork. The same person in the same house is a felony under § 6-204, a misdemeanor under § 6-205, and a 90-day misdemeanor under § 6-403 — and every one of those charges requires someone to establish, at the door, that the dwelling is "of another." The statute does not say how.

Read it at the source →

5 · Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 2-202 — Warrantless arrests — In general

“(a) A police officer may arrest without a warrant a person who commits or attempts to commit a felony or misdemeanor in the presence or within the view of the police officer. (b) A police officer who has probable cause to believe that a felony or misdemeanor is being committed in the presence or within the view of the police officer may arrest without a warrant any person whom the police officer reasonably believes to have committed the crime. (c) A police officer without a warrant may arrest a person if the police officer has probable cause to believe that a felony has been committed or attempted and the person has committed or attempted to commit the felony whether or not in the presence or within the view of the police officer.”

These are the provisions, in order, and we have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw. Note only what the text does: subsection (c) frees the officer from the presence requirement for a FELONY. Subsections (a) and (b) keep it for a misdemeanor. Trespass and fourth-degree burglary are misdemeanors. Third-degree burglary is a felony, and a break-in that happened weeks ago was not in anyone's view.

Read it at the source →

6 · Ch. 550, Laws of Maryland 2026 (Senate Bill 82), amending Md. Code, Crim. Law § 8-601

“(a) A person, with intent to defraud another, may not counterfeit, cause to be counterfeited, or willingly aid or assist in counterfeiting any: … (7) LEASE OF REAL PROPERTY; … (13) RENTAL AGREEMENT RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY; … (b) A person may not knowingly, willfully, and with fraudulent intent possess a counterfeit of any of the items listed in subsection (a) of this section. (c) (1) A person who violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a felony and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both. (2) A person who violates subsection (b) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.”

We confirmed on the General Assembly's own statute service that the CURRENT § 8-601 does not list a lease — the list runs bond, check, deed, draft … and stops. SB 82 adds it, and the Act takes effect 1 October 2026 ("SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect October 1, 2026."). Forging the lease is the felony; holding it is the misdemeanor. Whether either is available at the door turns on establishing that the lease is counterfeit — see the next question.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

What decides whether police arrest or walk away?

Whether the officer believes the person inside has a claim of right — which means he first has to know who actually owns the building, and no Maryland statute gives him a way to find out at the door. Maryland has just made the fake lease a crime and left the ownership question exactly where it was.

DeedProof solves this

We verify you own the property and file your notarized statement where police can check it. How it works →

›Read the law — 2 provisions

Every other question here is downstream of this one. The whole encounter, in one decision, made in a doorway in the dark.

1 · Md. Code, Crim. Law § 6-403(a) — the words the encounter turns on

“(a) A person may not enter or cross over private property or board the boat or other marine vessel of another, after having been notified by the owner or the owner's agent not to do so, unless entering or crossing under a good faith claim of right or ownership.”

Every element here routes back through ownership. Notice must come from "the owner or the owner's agent." The exception protects a "good faith claim of right or ownership." A person holding a lease is asserting exactly that claim, and the officer has to weigh it against the claim of the person on the doorstep saying the building is theirs.

Read it at the source →

2 · Ch. 550, Laws of Maryland 2026 (Senate Bill 82) — Counterfeiting and Possession of Counterfeit Lease of Real Property

“(b) A person may not knowingly, willfully, and with fraudulent intent possess a counterfeit of any of the items listed in subsection (a) of this section.”

WE READ CHAPTER 550 IN FULL — all three pages of the enrolled chapter, on 14 July 2026 — and we found no provision that gives a police officer any means of establishing who owns a building: no registry, no owner's affidavit, no ownership check, no procedure of any kind. The Act adds two items to a list of forgeable instruments, sets the penalties, says where a prosecution may be brought, and takes effect. The offense turns on the lease being counterfeit; whether it is counterfeit turns on who the real owner is; and that is the one question Chapter 550 does not touch. That is a statement about our search of the document, not a conclusion about Maryland law.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

What is the lawful way to get them out?

A wrongful detainer case in the District Court — Maryland's name for suing to get possession back from someone who has no right to be there. Since October 2025 the court must hear it within ten business days of filing, and it ends with a warrant to the sheriff.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

The route sets the real cost. A summary track is weeks; a full civil suit is months.

1 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 14-132(d)(1)-(2) — Complaint and hearing

“(d) (1) If a person violates subsection (c) of this section, a person claiming possession may make complaint in writing to the District Court of the county in which the property is located. (2) (i) On receipt of a complaint under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the court shall summons immediately the person in possession to appear before the court on the day specified in the summons to show cause, if any, why restitution of the possession of the property to the person filing the complaint should not be made. (ii) A hearing scheduled under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be held not more than 10 business days after the complaint is filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection.”

The ten-business-day deadline is new. It was added by Chapter 188 of the Laws of Maryland 2025 (Senate Bill 46, "Real Property - Wrongful Detainer - Time of Hearing and Service of Process"), approved by the Governor on 22 April 2025 and effective 1 October 2025 — confirmed on the General Assembly's bill page. Note what it is and what it is not: it is a COURT hearing on a fast clock. It is not a sheriff bypass, and a judge still decides.

Read it at the source →

2 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 14-132(d)(3)-(5) — Service of process

“(3) If, for any reason, the person in actual possession cannot be found after two good faith efforts on different days, the person authorized to serve process by the Maryland Rules shall: (i) File an affidavit with the court describing the good faith efforts to serve the person in actual possession; (ii) Mail a copy of the complaint by certified mail, return receipt requested, and first-class mail to the last known address of the person in actual possession and, if different, to the address of the residential property subject to the complaint; and (iii) Affix an attested copy of the summons conspicuously on the property. (4) If notice of the summons is sent to the person in possession in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection, the notice shall constitute sufficient service to support restitution of possession. (5) Service shall be made under paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection within 4 business days after the complaint is filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection.”

This matters twice. It keeps a case moving against an occupant who will not answer the door — and it caps what the owner can win, because posted service supports possession only. See the cost answer.

Read it at the source →

3 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 14-132(f)(1) — Judgment

“(f) (1) If the court determines that the complainant is legally entitled to possession, the court shall: (i) Give judgment for restitution of the possession of the property to the complainant; and (ii) Issue its warrant to the sheriff or constable commanding the sheriff or constable to deliver possession to the complainant.”

Note the order of operations, because it is the whole difference between Maryland and a bypass state: the judge determines entitlement, and only THEN does the sheriff act. The warrant is the court's, not the owner's.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

Weeks, if nobody fights it — the court has to hear the case within ten business days of filing. Fight it, and an appeal runs the clock into months while the occupant stays in the house; and on money, you get your costs and lawyer back only if you asked for them in the complaint and the person was served in person.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

The two numbers every owner wants, and the one nobody warns them about: you do not get it back.

1 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 14-132(d)(2)(ii) — Time of hearing

“(ii) A hearing scheduled under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be held not more than 10 business days after the complaint is filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection.”

That is the statutory deadline, not an observed average. We found no published Maryland Judiciary data on how long a wrongful detainer case actually takes from filing to a sheriff executing the warrant, and we are not going to invent one.

Read it at the source →

2 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 14-132(h) — Appeal

“(h) (1) Not later than 10 days from the entry of the judgment of the District Court, either party may appeal to the circuit court for the county in which the property is located. (2) The person in actual possession of the property may retain possession until the determination of the appeal if the person: (i) Files with the court an affidavit that the appeal is not taken for delay; and (ii) 1. Files sufficient bond with one or more securities conditioned on diligent prosecution of the appeal; or 2. Pays to the complainant or into the appellate court: A. The fair rental value of the property for the entire period of possession up to the date of judgment; B. All court costs in the case; C. All losses or damages other than the fair rental value of the property up to the day of judgment that the court determined to be due because of the detention of possession; and D. The fair rental value of the property during the pendency of the appeal. (3) On application of either party, the court shall set a hearing date for the appeal that is not less than 5 days or more than 15 days after the application for appeal.”

This is where "ten business days" turns into months. The appeal window, the bond, the circuit court's own calendar — and throughout it, the occupant is lawfully still inside.

Read it at the source →

3 · Md. Code, Real Prop. § 14-132(f)(2) — Damages, costs and attorney fees

“(2) The court may also give judgment in favor of the complainant for damages due to the wrongful detainer and for court costs and attorney fees if: (i) The complainant claimed damages in the complaint; and (ii) The court finds that: 1. The person in actual possession was personally served with the summons; or 2. There was service of process or submission to the jurisdiction of the court as would support a judgment in contract or tort.”

Read this against the service rules. Posting a summons on the door is enough to get possession back — but it is not personal service, so on its own it does not support a money judgment. The occupant who never answers the door is the occupant you cannot bill. We publish no dollar figures here: Maryland's District Court filing fees are set by the Judiciary's fee schedule, not by the statute, and we have not read that schedule.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

Can a sheriff remove them on the owner's affidavit alone, with no court?

No. Maryland has no such law. A bill would have created one — it got a committee hearing in February 2026 and never came to a vote.

›Read the law

Where a state has passed this, it hands the owner the whole mechanism for free. This field tracks the existential risk.

What we looked for: any Maryland statute of the Florida § 82.035 type — an owner's sworn affidavit handed to a sheriff, followed by removal of the occupant with no court hearing and no judicial officer involved

Md. HB 847 (2026 Regular Session), "Criminal Law - Fraud - Possession of Residential Real Property" — first reader, checked 2026-07-14

“(2) THE OWNER OF RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY IN THE POSSESSION OF ANOTHER ALLEGEDLY IN VIOLATION OF SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION MAY SUBMIT A SWORN AFFIDAVIT TO THE SHERIFF FOR A COUNTY IN WHICH THE PROPERTY IS LOCATED STATING THAT THE PERSON IS FRAUDULENTLY IN POSSESSION OF THE PROPERTY. (3) (I) SUBJECT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF THIS PARAGRAPH, A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER SHALL REMOVE A PERSON IN POSSESSION OF RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY AFTER RECEIVING AN AFFIDAVIT SUBMITTED UNDER PARAGRAPH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION AND RETURN POSSESSION OF THE PROPERTY TO THE OWNER. (II) A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER MAY NOT REMOVE A PERSON IN POSSESSION OF RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY FOLLOWING THE FILING OF AN AFFIDAVIT UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH IF THE PERSON IN POSSESSION PRODUCES EVIDENCE OF LAWFUL POSSESSION OF THE PROPERTY TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.”

HB 847 would have ADDED a new § 8-906 to the Criminal Law Article — and we confirmed the negative directly: the General Assembly's own statute service returns "File Not Found" for Criminal Law § 8-906. There is no such section. STATUS AS OF 2026-07-14, from the legislature's own bill page: introduced and read first time 4 February 2026, assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, hearing held 17 February 2026. That is the last action of record. No committee vote, no floor vote, not enacted. And note the shape of even this bill: paragraph (3)(II) stops the officer the moment the occupant "PRODUCES EVIDENCE OF LAWFUL POSSESSION" — the fake lease would have defeated the bypass too. Do not confuse HB 847 with SB 46 of 2025 (which sped up the COURT hearing) or with SB 82 of 2026 (which criminalized the counterfeit lease). Neither of those lets a sheriff act without a judge.

Read it at the source →

How long before they can claim they own it?

20 years — and the clock only runs while someone is actually possessing the building the whole time, openly enough that an owner would have noticed.

›Read the law

The thing an owner of an empty building actually fears. Pure state statute.

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-103 — Adverse possession

“(a) Within 20 years from the date the cause of action accrues, a person shall: (1) File an action for recovery of possession of a corporeal freehold or leasehold estate in land; or (2) Enter on the land. (b) (1) This section does not affect the common-law doctrine of prescription as it applies to the creation of incorporeal interests in land by adverse use. (2) This section does not affect the periods of limitations set forth in § 6-103 or § 8-107 of the Real Property Article.”

Note what this statute does and does not do. It sets the clock — twenty years — and nothing else. We read § 5-103 in full on 14 July 2026 and found no shortened period for small residential lots of the kind Pennsylvania added in 2018, and no exception of any kind. The CONDITIONS a possessor must meet — possession that is actual, open and notorious, exclusive, hostile and continuous for the whole twenty years — are not in this statute. They come from Maryland case law, and we did not obtain a quotable reported Maryland opinion stating them, so we do not quote them here.

Read it at the source →

This page is the law. What it costs you in Maryland — the filing fee, the sheriff’s bill, the months, and whether you ever see the money again.

Your deed proves you own it. It does not prove you never rented it.

That is the officer’s real question, and the lease in their hand does not contradict your deed. You can swear it is a forgery — but a statement you write the morning after, against a lease dated last year, is worth very little. The version that counts has to already exist.

How DeedProof verifies owners and files the affidavit in advance →

› Every source on this page (10)

Md. Code, Real Prop. § 14-132(f)(2) — Damages, costs and attorney feesMd. Code, Real Prop. § 7-113(d) — RemediesNickens v. Mount Vernon Realty Group, LLC, 429 Md. 53 (2012) — Court of Appeals of MarylandMd. Code, Crim. Law § 6-403(a) — the words the encounter turns onMd. Code, Crim. Law § 6-205(a), (e) — Burglary in the fourth degreeMd. Code, Crim. Law § 6-204 — Burglary in the third degreeMd. Code, Crim. Proc. § 2-202 — Warrantless arrests — In generalCh. 550, Laws of Maryland 2026 (Senate Bill 82) — Counterfeiting and Possession of Counterfeit Lease of Real PropertyMd. HB 847 (2026 Regular Session), "Criminal Law - Fraud - Possession of Residential Real Property" — first reader, checked 2026-07-14Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-103 — Adverse possession

DeedProof is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. We cite primary sources; we do not interpret them for your situation. Laws change — confirm current requirements with the relevant government office or a licensed attorney.