Pre-trip check · MD → PA
Driving from Maryland to Pennsylvania?
The law changes the moment you cross the line — what's legal to carry, light, or do in Maryland can be a violation in Pennsylvania. Every status below is live from LawLert's database, dated, and linked to its official source.
Laws change at the state line.The free LawLert iPhone app alerts you when you cross into a state where a law you track differs: firearms, cannabis, alcohol, fireworks and 9 more. No account.Get the appWhat changes for you (10)
Home cultivation is illegal in Pennsylvania and is not permitted for anyone, including patients — growing even one plant is a criminal offense.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Pennsylvania (18 Pa.C.S. 3505) makes it a summary offense to use a drone to surveil a person in a private place or place them in reasonable fear of injury.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Pennsylvania has no proactive duty to inform, but when carrying a firearm concealed on the person or in a vehicle, a licensee must produce the license for inspection on the lawful demand of a law-enforcement officer (18…
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jul 18, 2026
In Pennsylvania, consumer fireworks may be used year-round, but municipalities may restrict use between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. — except on July 2, 3 and 4 and on December 31 (when use is allowed until 1 a.m.), and on…
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Pennsylvania has no fully "dry" counties, but it does have local option: many municipalities are "dry" or partially dry for some license types by referendum (Liquor Code 472). The official resource is Pennsylvania LCB…
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
57.6 cents/gallon state tax for 2026 (oil-company franchise tax + excise) — the highest state gas tax in the nation; excludes the 18.4c federal tax.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Pennsylvania requires riders under 21 to wear a helmet. Riders 21 and older are exempt if they have been licensed for at least two years or have completed a safety course. See 75 Pa.C.S. 3525.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Campfires are allowed in fire rings that confine the fire in designated campgrounds. On state forest lands, fires in rings/fireplaces are prohibited March 1–May 25 and whenever forest-fire danger is high, very high, or…
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
PA has no statewide blade-length limit or concealed-knife ban; only 'offensive weapons' under 18 Pa.C.S. 908 (which no longer includes ordinary or automatic knives) are prohibited.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Online casino play is legal in Pennsylvania, and you must be 21 or older. Full online casino (slots, table games, online poker) is regulated by the PA Gaming Control Board.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Same status
Matching status ≠ identical law — details, limits and penalties can still differ.
Carrying with a permit? Whether Maryland permits are honored in Pennsylvania is its own map — check Pennsylvania concealed-carry reciprocity. And federal land (national parks, forests) plays by federal rules in both states — see the federal-land guide.
Also from Maryland: MD → DC · MD → DE · MD → VA · MD → WV · reverse (PA → MD)
Maryland to Pennsylvania: common questions
- Do the laws change when you drive from Maryland to Pennsylvania?
- Yes — 10 of the 13 categories LawLert tracks have a different status in Pennsylvania than in Maryland: cannabis, drones, firearms, fireworks, alcohol, taxes, driving, burn bans, knives, gambling. Each is listed on this page with its current status, the official source it came from, and the date it was last verified.
- What are the cannabis laws in Pennsylvania if I'm coming from Maryland?
- Pennsylvania: Restricted — Home cultivation is illegal in Pennsylvania and is not permitted for anyone, including patients — growing even one plant is a criminal offense. In Maryland the same category is Permitted.
- What are the drones laws in Pennsylvania if I'm coming from Maryland?
- Pennsylvania: Restricted — Pennsylvania (18 Pa.C.S. 3505) makes it a summary offense to use a drone to surveil a person in a private place or place them in reasonable fear of injury. In Maryland the same category is Info.
- What are the firearms laws in Pennsylvania if I'm coming from Maryland?
- Pennsylvania: Conditional — Pennsylvania has no proactive duty to inform, but when carrying a firearm concealed on the person or in a vehicle, a licensee must produce the license for inspection on the lawful demand of a law-enforcement officer (18… In Maryland the same category is Info.
- Is my Maryland concealed carry permit honored in Pennsylvania?
- Permit reciprocity is decided separately from the firearms status shown on this page, so it is not answered here. LawLert publishes Pennsylvania's recognition list, with the statute or agency page behind it, at lawlertapp.com/firearms/PA/reciprocity. Permitless carry, where a state allows it, is a different question again — it does not make an out-of-state permit valid.
- How current is this Maryland to Pennsylvania comparison?
- Every rule on this page stores the date it was last checked against its source; the oldest on this comparison is 2026-05-31. Every rule LawLert publishes carries a source URL, and every correction it has made is public at lawlertapp.com/how-we-verify. Laws change — confirm anything consequential against the linked source.