Maine Vehicle Bill of Sale — What It Needs & Check First
Everything you need to complete a bill of sale in Maine: what information goes on it, which transfer documents change hands, and how it all flows to the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Before you sign, run the 17-character VIN — it confirms the title is clean and the odometer reading checks out. It's free.
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Maine Vehicle Sale Data at a Glance
- Maine registered vehicles
- 1.1M
- Maine population
- 1.4M
- Maine titling authority
- ME
- VIN check before signing
- Free
Maine Bill of Sale Rules
The specifics for Maine, taken from the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Maine law. Every source is linked at the bottom of this page.
Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale
Maine publishes its own vehicle bill of sale, Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale. Using the state's form is the safest option — it already contains every field the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles looks for.
Required
Maine requires a bill of sale to transfer a vehicle. The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles expects it as part of the transfer paperwork.
Not required
Maine's own Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale contains no notary block - only seller and buyer signature lines - and the BMV's private-sale document list asks for a signed, not notarized, bill of sale.
Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale
This is the form Maine issues for a vehicle bill of sale. It already contains every field the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles looks for, which is why it is worth using instead of a generic template.
Get Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale from maine.govHow Maine Compares With the Other 49 States
Every figure below is counted from the same state-by-state research that produced the Maine answers above. It is here because "not required" reads very differently once you know how many other states say the same thing.
The official form
Publishing an official form puts Maine with 24 other states; 15 states issue nothing and accept any written record. We can link straight to the PDF for 22 of the 25, and where we cannot it is because the agency serves the file from somewhere that has no stable address, not because the form does not exist.
Whether the document is required
Only 8 of 42 of the 50 states where the rule is published require a bill of sale in every transfer, and Maine is one of them. Treat it as part of the transfer paperwork rather than as a receipt: without it the file is incomplete, whatever else you bring.
Notarization
Of the states that publish a notary rule, 23 do not require one and Maine is among them. You can still have the document notarized if the transaction is large or the parties are strangers; it simply is not something the state will ask you for.
The buyer's deadline to apply for title
No deadline figure appears on this page because no Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles source we could cite states one. That is a gap in our research rather than evidence that Maine has no deadline. For scale, the 34 states that do publish one give buyers between 10 and 60 days.
What Goes on a Maine Bill of Sale
Maine issues its own Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale, so start there — but whichever form you use, a complete bill of sale always captures these four things:
Buyer & seller details
Full legal names and addresses of both parties, so the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles can tie the sale to real people.
Odometer reading
The exact mileage at the moment of sale — a legal disclosure that protects against rollback fraud.
Vehicle description & VIN
Year, make, model, body style, and the full 17-character VIN that ties everything to the car.
Price, date & signatures
The agreed price, the date of sale, and both signatures — notarized if Maine requires it.
How a Private Sale Transfer Works in Maine
Titling in Maine is handled by the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Fees depend on the vehicle, but the paperwork flow in a private sale is always the same — here is how the bill of sale and the title move together.
- 1Complete the bill of saleFill in the buyer and seller details, sale price, date, odometer reading, and the full VIN. Use Maine's own form, Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale — it already has every field the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles checks. Both parties sign.
- 2Sign over the titleThe seller signs the existing Maine title over to the buyer in the assignment section, recording the same sale price, date, and odometer reading shown on the bill of sale.
- 3File with the DMVThe buyer brings the bill of sale, signed title, odometer disclosure, and proof of identity to the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles to transfer the title, pay any tax due, and register the vehicle.
Maine Vehicle Transfer Documents
The bill of sale is one of several papers that change hands when a car is sold in Maine. These are the documents a private transfer usually involves:
Bill of sale
Proof of purchase the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles uses to calculate sales tax: who, what, when, how much, and the VIN.
Signed-over title
The primary ownership document. The seller assigns the Maine title to the buyer in its assignment section.
Odometer disclosure
A required mileage statement, often built into the title or bill of sale, guarding against rollback fraud.
Lien release
If the car had a loan, the lender's release proving the lien is paid so a clean title can transfer.
Maine titling authority
Vehicle titles and transfers in Maine are handled by the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. About 1.1M vehicles are registered across the state, and every transfer is recorded against the VIN — so the documents you sign should always match the VIN on the car. See the Maine vehicle title guide for the title side of the transfer.
Why Check the VIN Before You Sign in Maine
The bill of sale records what the seller claims. A free VIN check shows what actually happened to the car — before you put it in writing.
Confirm the odometer reading. The mileage you write on the Maine bill of sale is a legal disclosure. An odometer rollback means the figure the seller gave you is wrong — and the car is worth less.
Make sure the title is clean. A bill of sale can't undo a salvage brand. Check that the title has no hidden brand before you agree on a price.
Rule out an open lien. If a previous owner's loan was never paid off, the title can't pass to you cleanly. A Maine lien check surfaces it before money changes hands.
Check before you sign
Enter the 17-character VIN to confirm the title is clean, lien-free, and the mileage checks out — everything you want verified before the Maine bill of sale is signed.
What Sends a Maine Transfer Back to the Counter
Read this part before the meeting rather than after it. Each of the following is trivial to get right while both parties are standing there, and genuinely difficult once the car has changed hands.
- 1
The price is a placeholder
Writing "$1" or "gift" on a sale that was neither is a bad idea in every state. The price on the bill of sale is what a tax assessment is calculated from, so an understated figure is not a clever saving — it is a document that contradicts the money that actually moved, signed by both of you. If the car genuinely was a gift, record it as one; that is a different transaction with its own paperwork, and the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles handles it as such.
- 2
Only one copy exists
Both parties need one, and the seller needs theirs more. The buyer has the car; the seller has nothing but a document proving when they stopped being responsible for it — which is what answers a parking ticket, a toll bill, or a police enquiry six months later. Make two copies, sign both, and keep yours somewhere you will still be able to find it. Photographing it on the spot takes five seconds and has saved a great many arguments.
- 3
The two signatures were made at different times
A bill of sale is a record of a moment, and both parties are meant to be at it. Maine does not require a notary, but the same logic applies — a document one party signed and posted is far weaker evidence than one both parties signed together. Sign the same piece of paper, at the same time, and make the second copy before you part.
- 4
The date is missing, or moved
The date of sale is what every subsequent clock runs from. In most states it starts the buyer's deadline to apply for title, so backdating the document to cover a delay does not buy time — it spends it. It is also the line either party points at when a ticket, a toll or an insurance claim arrives for a day neither of them owned the car. Leave it blank and there is nothing to point at.
- 5
The seller's name is not the name on the title
If the person selling the car is not the registered owner, a bill of sale between the two of you transfers nothing. This is what an unrecorded middle owner looks like, and it leaves the buyer holding a car they cannot title. Ask to see the Maine title and check the name on it against the identification of the person in front of you. Where the owner has died or the car is being sold by a dealer on someone's behalf, the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles has a defined process — and it is not a private bill of sale.
- 6
The odometer box is empty
The mileage is a legal disclosure, not a courtesy, and "as is" or a dash in that box is the commonest reason a bill of sale gets handed back. Write the exact number showing on the dashboard, not a rounded one, and write the same number on the title assignment. If the two documents disagree the transfer stalls, and the version the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles believes is the one that makes the buyer's car worth less.
From Signed Receipt to Maine Registration
The document you have just signed is one entry in a chain that ends with the car registered in your name at the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Here is the rest of that chain, and what can go wrong in each link.
The title is the transfer; the bill of sale only records it. This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in a private sale — a signed receipt and a set of keys do not make you the owner in Maine, and a buyer who never completes the assignment finds out when they try to sell the car on. What the seller has to sign, where the odometer statement goes, and what to do when the title is lost are all covered in the Maine vehicle title guide.
Nothing moves while a lien is open. If the seller still owes money on the car, the lender holds the security interest and the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicleswill not print a clean title in your name until it is released. That release usually comes by post from the lender, which is why the buyer's deadline is rarely the real constraint. Establish whether a lender is on the record with a Maine lien check before you hand over cash, not after.
The mileage you write down is a legal statement. The odometer figure on the bill of sale and the one on the title have to agree, and both have to be true — a reading that is lower than a previously reported one is the signature of a rollback, and it is the buyer who carries the loss. Compare every reading ever filed against the VIN in the Maine odometer check.
A brand travels with the car, not with the seller. If the vehicle was written off at any point in its life, the brand is attached to the VIN and it follows the car into Maine whichever state applied it. No bill of sale can remove it, and no verbal assurance survives contact with the title. The Maine salvage title check shows what is recorded against it.
Then the plates. Titling and registering are two different transactions, and the second one is what puts the car legally on the road — with its own proofs, its own fees and, in some counties, its own inspection. The requirements are set out in the Maine vehicle registration guide.
Or do all of it at once. Title brands, reported mileage, theft records and open liens are all keyed to the same 17 characters, so there is no reason to check them one at a time. The Maine VIN check runs them together, before the bill of sale is signed rather than after.
Check a Maine Car Before You Sign
Confirm the title is clean, lien-free, and the mileage matches before money changes hands. Free, in seconds.
Bill of Sale in Other States
Titling and transfer rules are run state by state, with different agencies and forms. Compare Maine with these guides, or run any VIN nationwide.
Vérifiez toujours le VIN avant d’acheter
L’aperçu gratuit affiche les mentions au titre, le statut de vol et les rappels ouverts en quelques secondes, et signale s’il existe des dossiers d’accident et d’odomètre. L’historique complet est à 21,99 $ CAD — paiement unique, sans abonnement.
Maine Bill of Sale FAQ
The questions Maine buyers and sellers ask most about the bill of sale and the documents a private car sale needs.
What goes on a bill of sale in Maine?+
A Maine bill of sale records the full names and addresses of the buyer and seller, the sale date, the purchase price, the vehicle's year, make, model, and body style, the exact odometer reading, and the 17-character VIN. Both parties sign it. Maine publishes an official form, Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale; using it is the safest option because it already has every field the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles checks. Confirm the VIN on the bill of sale matches the title and the dashboard before signing — and run a free VIN check first to verify the title is clean and lien-free.
Do I need a bill of sale to transfer a car in Maine?+
Yes. Maine requires a bill of sale to transfer a vehicle. The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles expects it as part of the transfer paperwork. The signed-over title remains the primary ownership document; the bill of sale is the dated proof of purchase the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles uses to confirm the sale and calculate any tax due.
Does a Maine bill of sale need to be notarized?+
No. Maine's own Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale contains no notary block - only seller and buyer signature lines - and the BMV's private-sale document list asks for a signed, not notarized, bill of sale.
Is Maine unusual about bills of sale?+
Maine publishes its own form, which 25 states do and 15 do not. On whether the document is required at all, the country splits 8 always, 23 sometimes and 11 never, out of the 42 states publishing a rule. Notarization is the real outlier: 23 states say it is not needed, 10 require it in certain transfers, and 2 require it every time (Louisiana and West Virginia).
Does a car bill of sale have to be notarized?+
Not in most of the country. Of the 35 states where the rule is published, 23 do not require notarization, 10 require it for particular transfers, and 2 require it on every one — Louisiana and West Virginia. Maine is in the majority: signatures from buyer and seller are enough. The advice that "a bill of sale must always be notarized" is a rule from somewhere else, repeated without its state attached.
Can I use an out-of-state bill of sale in Maine?+
Usually yes for the document itself — a bill of sale is a record of a transaction, and Maine does not reject one because it was typed on another state's template. What does not travel is the procedure around it: 2 states require notarization and the rest largely do not, deadlines to apply for title range from 10 to 60 days, and 25 states publish a form with fields the other 25 never ask for. If you are buying across a state line, the rules that bind you are the ones where the car will be titled, not the ones where it was sold. Run the VIN before you cross the line either way — a brand applied in one state follows the car into the next.
What documents do I need to buy a used car in Maine?+
Besides the bill of sale, you'll typically need the Maine title signed over by the seller, an odometer disclosure (often part of the title or bill of sale), a lien release if the car had a loan, and your own proof of identity and insurance to register it with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. A free VIN history check isn't legally required, but it's the smartest document to add — it confirms the title is clean before money changes hands.
Why check the VIN before signing a bill of sale in Maine?+
The bill of sale records what the seller claims; a VIN check shows what actually happened to the car. Running the 17-character VIN before you sign confirms the title is clean, the odometer reading is consistent with the car's history, and there's no open lien that would block the transfer at the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. It's free and takes seconds.
Are there any specific titling rules in Maine?+
Maine titles vehicles older than 1995 with a registration only, making VIN history especially important for older trucks.
Sources for the Maine Rules on This Page
The Maine-specific rules above come from the following official government pages. Last checked 2026-08-22. Rules change — if you are relying on one for a sale, confirm it at the source before you sign.
- maine.gov — https://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/vehicles/register-a-passenger-vehicle
- maine.gov — https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/Motor-Vehicle-Bill-of-Sale_0.pdf
- maine.gov — https://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/vehicles/titles
- maine.gov — https://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/bmv-forms-and-applications
- legislature.maine.gov — https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-A/title29-Asec654.html
- legislature.maine.gov — https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-A/title29-Asec662.html
Buying or Selling a Car in Maine? Check the VIN First.
Enter a 17-character VIN to confirm a clean, lien-free title and an honest odometer reading before you complete the Maine bill of sale.
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