How Does a Used Car Title Transfer Work in Maine?
The short answer
When you buy a used car in Maine, the seller signs the existing title over to you, and you apply for a new title in your name through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles — usually at the same time you register the car at your town office. The Maine BMV's vehicle titles page is the authoritative source for the current forms, fees, and exemptions, and it's worth reading before the day of the sale.
What the seller has to do
The seller's job is to hand you a properly assigned title. That means the actual certificate — not a photocopy, not a bill of sale alone — with the transfer section on the back filled out: your name as buyer, the odometer reading, the sale date, and the seller's signature. If there was a loan on the car, the lienholder's release needs to be documented; a title that still shows an open lien can't be cleanly transferred until it's discharged. If the seller has lost the title, they need to obtain a duplicate from the BMV before the sale — don't close the deal on a promise that the title will turn up later.
What the buyer has to do
With the signed-over title in hand, you complete a title application. Buying from a dealer, the dealership typically prepares the title paperwork as part of the sale — one of the practical advantages of a dealer purchase, as the Maine BMV's used car buyer's guide explains. Buying privately, you handle it yourself, usually when you register: you bring the assigned title, a bill of sale, and proof of insurance to your town office, pay the excise tax (covered in our excise tax guide), and complete registration and the title application together.
Older vehicles
Maine exempts vehicles beyond a certain age from the title requirement — the cutoff is defined by model year and can change, so check the BMV titles page for the current rule. For an exempt older vehicle, the transfer runs on the bill of sale and prior registration instead of a title certificate. If you're buying an older car, confirm which side of the cutoff it falls on before the sale, because it changes what paperwork you need from the seller.
Red flags worth stopping for
- A seller whose name isn't on the title. Title-jumping — reselling a car without ever titling it in your own name — leaves you with a chain-of-ownership problem.
- A title branded salvage or rebuilt that the seller didn't mention. Brands follow the car; run the VIN through NMVTIS before you buy, as covered in our history-check guide.
- An odometer statement that doesn't match the dashboard. The mileage on the title assignment is a legal declaration.
None of these automatically kills a deal, but each one means slowing down and getting answers — from the seller, and if needed from the BMV — before money changes hands.