Title Transfers

If you own a motor vehicle or trailer less than 16 years old, you need to have a title. The title is your official claim to ownership of the vehicle, recognized by the Maine secretary of state.

You'll need the title to prove ownership. You do not need a driver's license to have a vehicle title in your name, but you do need to be at least 18 years old.

You will need to show the title when registering your vehicle, using the vehicle as collateral on a loan, or selling the vehicle.

Vehicles That Need a Title

You need a title certificate for your Maine-based motor vehicle if it meets any of the following criteria:

• Your motor vehicle is less than 16 years old.

• Your motorcycle is more than 300cc.

• Your trailer weighs more than 3,000 pounds unloaded.

Any motorized vehicles that do not meet any of the above conditions likely do not require certificates of title.

How to Apply

If you bought your vehicle new from a certified Maine auto dealership, the dealer is required to give you a title application (blue copy) to be presented to your municipal clerk or tax collector when you register the car, along with a $23 title fee. The municipality will send the application to the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) for you as part of the registration process.

If you bought your vehicle used or at a private sale, you need to pick up a title application from your nearest BMV office. You will need to present the completed form, along with the previous owner's title, with your registration application. A $23 title fee applies). The municipality will send the application to the BMV as part of the registration process.

If you own your vehicle and do not have any outstanding liens, the title certificate will be sent to you by the BMV. If you have a lien on your vehicle, the title will be sent to the lienholder until the lien is released. Once the lien is released, you will retain possession of your title.

If the BMV can't issue a title for some reason, it will notify you by mail and explain the problem. The Maine BMV may refuse to issue a title certificate if any of the following occur:

• You didn't pay the required fee.

• Requested information or documentation is missing.

• The secretary of state needs more information.

• The secretary of state isn't sure you're the owner.

• There's an inaccurate or false statement on the application.

Duplicate Titles

If your Maine title certificate or salvage certificate is lost, mutilated, or destroyed, you can apply to the Maine BMV for a duplicate title.

The duplicate title application must be completed, signed by the owner (if there are no liens), and mailed or brought in person, with a $23 title fee, to your nearest BMV office. For $10 more, you can ask for expedited processing.

The mailing address is:

• Title Examination & Information Unit

• 29 State House Station

• 101 Hospital St.

• Augusta, ME 04333-0029

• Phone: (207) 624-9000, ext. 52138

• Fax: (207) 624-9254

Lienholder Rules

If you've borrowed money from a bank or lending company to buy your car, you have probably given the bank or lender an ownership interest in the vehicle. If so, you need to disclose this on your initial title application.

Once you pay that loan off, the lienholder must release the ownership interest on the title within 10 days and release the title or salvage certificate to the second lienholder (if one is named) or to the owner. The lienholder must notify the BMV when a lien has been satisfied.

How to Change Your Name on a Title

When changing your name on a title because of marriage or divorce, you must get a title application from a local BMV office or town office.

Mail the completed form, your original title, and legal proof of your marriage or divorce (usually a copy of the marriage certificate or divorce decree) to the BMV. The fee is $23; checks must be made out to the Secretary of State. You can expect a new title to arrive in the mail after three weeks.

The mailing address is:

• Bureau of Motor Vehicles

• Title Section

• 29 State House Station

• Augusta, ME 04333-0029

If a vehicle is being awarded to you in divorce proceedings, make sure that the judge's order and signature are included in the documents.

If there is a lien on the title, contact the lender first. The bank or dealership that made the car loan will initiate the changes for you.

How to Add or Delete Names on a Title

If you want to add or remove a name on a title, you need to pick up a title application from a local BMV office or your municipal office.

Complete the application and mail the white copy, along with the original title, to the central BMV office in Augusta. The cost is $23. Make checks out to the Secretary of State.

If you have an outstanding car loan, you must provide a letter from the lender stating that it agrees to the title change.

Mail your title application, required documents, and fee to:

• Bureau of Motor Vehicles

• Title Section

• 29 State House Station

• Augusta, ME 04333-0029

Title Fees

Current Maine BMV fees for titling include the following:

• Title application (with or without lien): $23

• Late fee: $50

• Duplicate title or lien certificate: $23

• Repossession title: $23

• Rush request: $10

• Salvage title application: $23

• First title application with two liens: $25.50

• Warranty title: $40

• Assigned vehicle identification number (VIN): $23

Vehicles as Gifts

Transferring the title when the vehicle has been given as a gift is fairly easy. If you are the current owner giving the car away, just write the name and address of the new owner on the reverse side of the title. The new owner needs to sign the line next to "seller," although the vehicle is a gift. Then you'll mail the request to the BMV at the address listed above.

When Someone Dies

If there is an unpaid loan on the vehicle, contact the bank or other lender first. The lienholder will issue instructions and initiate changes.

If there is no outstanding loan, the surviving spouse or estate executor can work directly with the BMV to handle the title transfer.

When transferring a vehicle after the death of a husband or wife, you need to complete an affidavit of surviving spouse.

If you wish to sell the vehicle without getting a new title, give the completed affidavit and title to the buyer. Make sure you sign the back of the title. The buyer will need these documents to title and register the vehicle.

If you plan to keep the vehicle, complete a title application from a local
BMV office
or town office. Mail the title application, the original title, and the affidavit of surviving spouse to the central BMV office in Augusta. The service is free.

An estate executor also can handle a title transfer. To sell the vehicle, the executor must give to the buyer the title, a copy of the death certificate, and court papers naming the executor.

If the executor keeps the vehicle, he or she must mail a title application, a copy of the death certificate, and court papers naming the executor to the BMV office in Augusta. The fee is $23; checks must be payable to the Secretary of State.

The mailing address is:

• Bureau of Motor Vehicles

• Title Section

• 29 State House Station

• Augusta, ME 04333-0029