What is a Maine License Plate?
The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a division of the Secretary of State’s office, issues all registration plates and manages vehicle titling across the state. Most registration transactions occur through local municipal offices or BMV branches, where residents pay excise tax and registration fees in person.
The current general design is the pine tree plate, which replaced the long-standing chickadee plate starting May 1, 2025. Chickadee plates had been in circulation since 1999, and legislation required their reissuance after many lost their reflectivity.
Types of License Plates in Maine
- General (pine tree design or non-pine tree): automatically assigned at registration. Replacement plates cost $5 each according to Title 29-A, § 503.
- Specialty plates have an initial fee of $20 and renew for $15 annually for most designs, including Conservation (Loon), Lobster, Black Bear, Breast Cancer, and Support Your Troops. The Sportsman plate renews for $20.
- Vanity plates add $25 at purchase and $25 annually in addition to the standard registration fee. Orders are processed through the BMV vanity plate online search.
- Disabled veteran, Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, POW, Pearl Harbor survivor, and Gold Star family plates are issued without a registration fee.
- Maine also issues antique auto plates for $30 annually and antique motorcycle plates for $15, both for vehicles at least 25 years old.
The full catalog of plates is available on the BMV specialty plates page.
What Vehicles Require License Plates in Maine?
Any vehicle operated on a public road must be registered. New residents have 30 days to register after establishing residency, according to Title 29-A, § 351.
- Passenger cars and pickups up to 6,000 pounds require front and rear plates. The annual registration fee is $35. Pickups from 6,001 to 10,000 pounds pay $37.
- One rear plate for motorcycles, at $21 annually. Mopeds register for $9.
- Trailers and campers up to 2,000 pounds have one rear plate for $10.50 annually. Campers over 2,000 pounds cost $20; semi-trailers over 2,000 pounds also cost $20 (Title 29-A, § 511).
- Trucks over 10,000 pounds follow a weight-based schedule starting at $48 for 10,001 to 12,000 pounds and rising through more than two dozen categories, reaching $1,234 for a gross weight around 100,000 pounds (Title 29-A, § 504).
- Maine currently does not impose a separate registration fee for electric vehicles. Standard registration fees apply to electric vehicles.
License Plate Rules in Maine
- Two plates are required on passenger cars, one front and one rear. Motorcycles, trailers, semi-trailers, and dealer vehicles have only one rear plate. Tractors mount their plate on the front. Title 29-A, § 452 sets these requirements and specifies that all plates must be mounted horizontally.
- Each plate must remain clearly visible and legible at all times, including all numbers, letters, and words. Section 452(4) sets this standard. Obscuring identification numbers, letters, the state name, or validation stickers is a Class E crime according to Title 29-A, § 2104(2), not just a traffic infraction.
Is Driving Around with No License Plate in Maine Illegal?
A vehicle without valid registration on a public road violates Title 29-A, § 351. Violations range from a traffic infraction to a Class E crime depending on how long the registration has been expired and whether the vehicle was ever registered by the current owner.
Attaching a plate intended for another vehicle is a separate Class E crime under § 2104(1). Maine treats fake plates and obscured plates as criminal matters distinct from simple expired registration.
What is the Penalty for Driving Without a License Plate in Maine?
The penalty structure under Title 29-A, Chapter 5 escalates quickly. Ordinary expired registration starts as a fine, but a vehicle never registered or with fake plates moves into the criminal realm.
- Expired registration (30 to 150 days overdue, first offense): traffic infraction, maximum fine of $50. Over 150 days, the upper limit rises to $100.
- Each subsequent offense for expired registration carries a fine up to $500 (Title 29-A, § 351(1)(D)).
- A vehicle never registered by the current owner: Class E crime, punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and 6 months imprisonment (Title 17-A, § 1704).
- Fake or fictitious plates (attaching a plate intended for another vehicle): Class E crime under § 2104(1). Allowing attachment has the same classification. Making plates without the Secretary of State’s consent elevates to a Class D crime, with a maximum fine of $2,000.
- Drivers stopped within 30 days of expiration receive a warning and 10 business days to renew, according to § 351(2), rather than a fine.