How to Register a New Car in Maine

Maine towns collect excise tax before a resident can register a new car.

Whether you've lived in Maine all your life or just moved to the state, a new-car registration requires a visit to the municipal offices in the city or town where you live to pay local excise tax. Depending on the town and type of registration, you may be able to complete the process and get your plates there. Maine won't issue or renew a registration until you pay the excise tax.

Instructions

1. Call the town or city offices or check your community's website to find out if you can complete the registration and get your plates when you pay your local excise tax. Check on what type of payments your community accepts, since you'll need to pay taxes and fees when you visit the office. If you're new to the town, ask what you need to show as proof of residency.

2. Gather the documents required to pay your excise tax and register a car. In all cases, whether the car is brand new or simply new to you, you need the car's mileage figure and proof of insurance. If you bought it from a dealer, you need the title application and, for a new car, the window sticker. If you bought it from a Maine dealer, you also need the green form from the dealer to show you've already paid state sales tax. You need the bill of sale from an out-of-state dealer. For a leased car, you need the lease documents. If you bought the car in a private sale, you need a signed bill of sale and the title. If you're transferring a Maine registration to a different car, bring the old registration along with the other documents.

3. Take the documents to the town or city offices in the community where you live to pay the local excise tax on the car. In Maine, excise tax is an annual municipal tax, based on the car's age and manufacturer's suggested retail price. As a vehicle ages, the excise tax rate drops.

4. Complete the registration at the town offices if your community participates in the state's registration program. You must pay the sales tax if applicable and registration fees. If your community does not register cars, or if you want to apply for vanity plates, take the yellow and white registration application and the tax receipt you get when you pay your excise tax to any Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch office to complete the registration.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you register a car for the first time, Maine offers renewals online.

• If you want to apply for a vanity plate, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles offers an application form online and also allows an online search to check on availability of a plate. You still need to begin the process with a visit to the town offices to pay excise tax on the car.

• New Maine residents have 30 days from the date they establish residency to switch their car to a Maine registration and get a Maine driver's license.

References

• Maine.gov: Maine Revenue Services: Excise Tax
• Maine.gov: Bureau of Motor Vehicles: Registering a Passenger Vehicle
• Wells, Maine: Excise Tax & Vehicle Registration
• Maine Revised Statutes: Title 29-A: MOTOR VEHICLES

Resources

• Maine.gov: Bureau of Motor Vehicles: Locations and Hours