How to Transfer a Car Title in Maine

Maine handles most title transfers at your town office, which acts as an authorized municipal agent for the BMV and can process excise tax, registration and the title application in one visit.

Just moved to Maine? You’ll surrender your out-of-state title and still pay the $33 title fee, 5.5% sales tax unless you can document tax paid elsewhere, and excise tax to your town. Start with transferring your license to Maine.

The short version

• Older vehicles may not have a title at all. Maine only titles vehicles within roughly the last 25 model years.
• Two taxes, two authorities. The state takes 5.5% sales tax; your town takes excise tax before you can register.
• The title application is a carbon-copy form you can’t download. You’ll see it for the first time at the counter.

Does Your Vehicle Even Need a Title in Maine?

This is the first question to settle, and it’s unusual.

Maine requires a certificate of title only for vehicles within roughly the last 25 model years — in 2026, that means model year 2002 and newer. Buy something older and a traditional title may not exist.

Ownership is then established with a bill of sale plus the seller’s most recent registration, and the BMV registers the vehicle on that basis. Some official pages still reference a fixed 1995 threshold, so confirm with your town office if you’re buying something from the late 1990s.

Two Taxes, Two Authorities

Maine charges twice, and the two are collected by different bodies.

State sales and use tax — 5.5% of the purchase price, under Title 36 M.R.S. It applies to private sales as well as dealer purchases, and is collected at registration. If you already paid sales tax in the state where you bought the vehicle and can document it, this is waived.

Municipal excise tax, paid to your town office and calculated from the vehicle’s MSRP against a mill rate that falls with age. It’s a prerequisite to registration, and on a newer vehicle it’s usually the larger of the two. Our guide to Maine registration renewal explains the calculation.

How to Transfer a Maine Car Title Step by Step

Step 1: What the Seller Does

1. Sign over the title to the buyer — assuming the vehicle is new enough to have one.
2. Complete the odometer disclosure.
3. Remove your license plates. Maine plates stay with the seller, not the vehicle.
4. Provide a bill of sale.
5. Clear any lien first. If there’s an electronic lien, the BMV holds your title digitally until the loan is paid. The lienholder notifies the state and a paper title is mailed to you — you cannot legally transfer ownership until the lien is cleared and the title is in your hands.

A warning worth heeding: if a lien is still listed on the title a seller is handing you, treat it as a red flag rather than a formality.

Step 2: What the Buyer Brings

• The assigned title, or a bill of sale plus the seller’s most recent registration for older vehicles
• Form MVT-2, the title application — see the note below
• A bill of sale
• An odometer disclosure statement
• Proof of Maine insurance
• The municipal excise tax receipt
• A Use Tax Certificate, required for a casual sale registration
• A lien release, if applicable
• Your driver’s license and payment

The MVT-2 catches everyone out. It’s a carbon-copy form that can’t be downloaded, so you won’t see it until you arrive at the counter — and an incomplete MVT-2 is the single most common cause of processing delays. Ask the clerk before writing anything, because an alteration on the application or the original title can invalidate the paperwork.

Step 3: File at Your Town Office or a BMV Branch

Your town office handles excise tax, registration and the title application in one visit — provided your municipality participates in the BMV’s registration program. If it doesn’t, you’ll need a BMV branch office. Check with your town before making the trip.

You can also mail the package to the Title Examination and Information Unit, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 29 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333.

The clerk may issue temporary registration or plates on the spot, with the official title certificate arriving by post afterwards. If you need to move the vehicle before that, a temporary plate is the legal route. Our guide to Maine BMV offices covers which handles what.

Step 4: Processing Times

Standard processing runs about 14 business days from when the Title Division receives a complete application. Pay the $10 rush fee and it drops to three to five business days.

The rush has to be requested when you first apply — you can’t add it later. Without it, a title can take up to two months to arrive.

Do You Need a Bill of Sale in Maine?

Yes, and more so than in most states — because for older vehicles it is the proof of ownership.

For a titled vehicle it documents the purchase price that drives your 5.5% sales tax. For an older one it replaces the title entirely, alongside the seller’s registration.

Notarization is not required in Maine — not for the transfer and not for the bill of sale. Include both parties’ names and addresses, the VIN and vehicle description, the odometer reading, the sale price, the date and both signatures.

For a gift, complete the Use Tax Certificate to document the exemption. A true gift isn’t taxable — but if the recipient assumes a loan balance or gives anything else of value, that counts as consideration and tax applies.

Maine Title Transfer Fees

Item	Amount
Title application fee	$33.00
Sales and use tax	5.5% of purchase price
Municipal excise tax	Set by your town, from MSRP and age
Passenger registration	$35.00
Replacement title	$33.00
Rush processing	$10.00
Vanity plate	$25.00 per year

The $33 title fee applies only to vehicles new enough to require a title. On an older vehicle there’s no title fee at all — just registration and excise tax.

Maine Car Title Transfer FAQs

Two things account for most Maine title problems: buyers who don’t check whether the vehicle is old enough to be exempt from titling altogether, and an incomplete MVT-2 — a form nobody can see until they’re standing at the counter.