Selling a junk car in Maine

Who issues Maine titles

Maine's Secretary of State oversees the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and its Augusta-based Division of Title Services issues titles.

Age is the first question. Counting from January 1, 2026, a car needs a title only if its model year is 2001 or later. Anything past the 25-year mark is exempt.

For a titled car, 29-A M.R.S. 662 sets your duty. When the car is delivered, you assign and warrant the title to your buyer, odometer reading included. Private buyers, meaning anyone except a licensed dealer, must title the car in their own name before reselling it.

The plates are state property

When you transfer the title, the registration expires (29-A M.R.S. 463). The plates belong to the state. You either move the number to another car or send the plates back.

• Within the same registration year, $8 moves your plates onto another vehicle.
• No new car within 6 months? Unbolt the plates and mail them back to the Secretary of State along with the registration.
• Form MVR-60, Plate Cancellation Request, is the BMV form for cancelling plates.

How your liability ends

Maine has no separate seller notice form. The title transfer does the work. After delivery and a completed transfer, the law ends your owner liability for harm caused by anyone driving the car.

So finish the transfer on the day the car leaves, and photograph it.

No title, or a salvage car

Three routes, depending on the car:

1. Over 25 years old. No title is required in Maine, so there is no title to replace.
2. Newer, title lost. Order a duplicate through the BMV's online service or mail form MVT-8. The fee is $33. It carries a printed warning that someone holding rights under the first title may still have a claim.
3. Salvage, going to a recycler. Selling to a licensed recycler? Maine lets you skip the certificate of salvage (29-A M.R.S. 667).

Under Maine law, a recycler buys cars for resale as salvage or scrap, sells their parts, or processes scrap metal. See selling a junk car with no title.

What makes a car salvage in Maine

Maine sets no repair-cost percentage. Under 29-A M.R.S. 602, a salvage vehicle is a car that an insurer or its owner calls a total loss, one transferred to a recycler or salvage dealer, or one with a certificate of salvage.

• Insurers turn in the title and request a salvage certificate no later than 30 days after paying the claim.
• An owner who declares a car salvage does the same before a transfer, unless the buyer is a licensed recycler.
• Towing companies can obtain ownership papers under section 1856. When one calls the car a total loss, the paper must carry the legend "salvage vehicle".

More in our salvage title guide.

Maine's automobile graveyard law

Title 30-A declares junkyards and automobile graveyards "a nuisance" open to regulation and control (30-A M.R.S. 3751). An automobile graveyard is any yard, field or other outdoor spot holding 3 or more vehicles, or their parts, that are unregistered or uninspected (3752).

So a few dead cars in one yard can bring that law into play. Towns add their own rules. A handful of our Maine town pages quote them, such as Portland.

Abandoned and towed cars

Maine's abandoned-vehicle subchapter (29-A M.R.S. 1851) covers cars that were:

• towed at the owner's request
• illegally parked or left without permission
• left after repairs or at a storage facility
• left on an individual residential property for more than 6 months

The car counts as abandoned if, 14 days after state notices go out (or 14 days after an advertisement runs), neither owner nor lienholder has collected it and paid the tow and storage bills. The law treats the last registered owner as the owner when the car was abandoned (1852). See towed or impounded cars.

Yearly inspection, plus emissions in one county

Maine requires a safety inspection on every motor vehicle, every year. Cars registered in Cumberland County must pass an emissions test on top of that.

When a car fails, the repair bill may top its value. Our failed inspection guide walks through the choices.

A Maine sale in four moves

1. Check the year. A 2001 or later model needs its title.
2. Get an offer and tell us where the car sits.
3. Sign the title over at pickup, with the odometer reading.
4. Keep the plates to transfer them or send them back.

Maine's biggest cities

Free pickup reaches every one. Populations are Census Bureau estimates.

Maine towns with their own page

Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, South Portland, Auburn, Scarborough, Brunswick, Sanford, Biddeford, Westbrook and Saco.

Have a question about your Maine car? Call (877) 421-6008.

Cities and towns in Maine

• Auburn
• Bangor
• Biddeford
• Brunswick
• Lewiston
• Portland
• Saco
• Sanford
• Scarborough
• South Portland
• Westbrook