Driving Tests

Maine Intermediate License Rules: Passengers, Midnight to 5 a.m. and Phones

informational·how to guide·Published June 12, 2026

What are the rules for a Maine intermediate license?

For 270 days after a Maine driver under 18 gets a license, the driver may carry only immediate family members, unless a licensed driver who is at least 20 and has held a license for 2 years sits beside them. The driver may not drive from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. or use a phone while driving, not even hands-free. A violation decided against you adds another 270 days.

Where these rules come from

This guide uses Maine law as of 2026: Title 29-A, section 1311 (intermediate license), section 1304 (learner's permit and supervising driver), section 2121 (handheld devices and mobile phones) and section 2472 (juvenile provisional license). The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), part of the Secretary of State's office, issues the license. Confirm the rules with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (maine.gov/sos/bmv) before you drive.

What a Maine intermediate license bans, and the exceptions

What a Maine intermediate license bans, and the exceptions
Restriction	Not allowed	Exception
Passengers	Anyone who is not an immediate family member	Anyone may ride when a qualified supervising driver sits beside you
Hours	Driving between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m.	None
Phones	Any handheld or hands-free use while you drive, also at a light or a stop sign	Use after you pull over and stop in a safe place

Who can ride with you on a Maine intermediate license?

Only immediate family members, unless a qualified supervising driver rides with you. Maine law (Title 29-A, section 1311) sets this rule for every license holder under 18. A friend, classmate or teammate may ride with you only when that supervising driver is in the seat beside you. The practice question on carrying an unrelated classmate soon after a first license tests this rule.

The supervising driver who lets you carry other passengers

Has held a valid license for at least 2 years.
Is at least 20 years old.
Sits in the seat beside you.
Is licensed to drive the class of vehicle you drive.
Follows every restriction on his or her own license while riding with you.
These are the same rules as for the driver who rides with a learner's permit holder.

Who counts as immediate family under Maine law

Your immediate family members.
A foreign exchange student who lives with your immediate family.
A person under court-appointed guardianship of an immediate family member, who lives with your immediate family.
A child whose parent is deployed for military service and who is under guardianship of an immediate family member, as shown on a Department of Defense Armed Forces Family Care Plan (DA Form 5305 or its successor), when the child lives with your immediate family.

Can you drive between midnight and 5 a.m.?

No. Maine law bans driving between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. on an intermediate license, every night of the 270 days and of any extension. Plan late trips so that you are home before midnight. The question on the hours that are off-limits for a new driver under 18 tests this rule.

Can you use a phone on an intermediate license?

No. The intermediate license rules ban using, handling or talking into a handheld device or mobile phone while you drive on a public way. The ban holds when you are stopped for traffic, at a traffic light or at a stop sign. The general phone law (Title 29-A, section 2121) allows hands-free use only for drivers 18 or older who are not on an intermediate license or a learner's permit, so hands-free use is banned too.
The intermediate license rules give one exception: pull over to the side of, or off, the road and stop where the car can safely stay. Then you may use the phone. The general phone law (section 2121) also allows a driver who is not on a learner's permit to call police or emergency services. The two sections differ, so the safer step is to pull over and stop before any call, also in an emergency. Confirm the rule with the BMV.

How long do the intermediate license rules last?

You finish 270 days from the day the license is issued, with no violation decided against you

The section 1311 restrictions end. The 270 days can run past your 18th birthday.

You are adjudicated for a violation (it is decided against you)

The restrictions are extended by another 270 days. This period can also run past your 18th birthday.

You break a restriction again during an extension

The restrictions are extended again.

What is the fine and the suspension?

Breaking an intermediate license restriction is a traffic infraction with a fine of $250 to $500. When you are adjudicated for the violation, the Secretary of State also suspends your license, with no right to a hearing, for the periods in the table.

Suspension for breaking a section 1311 restriction

Suspension for breaking a section 1311 restriction
Offense	Suspension
First offense	60 days
Second offense	180 days
Third or later offense	One year

What are the intermediate license decals?

Before your license is issued, the Secretary of State must make available a set of 2 decals that show that the driver may hold an intermediate license. You choose whether to use them: the law says the car "may display" them. If you use them, put one on the rear window and one in the upper left-hand corner of the front windshield. Each decal may be no larger than 3 inches by 3 inches, and neither may block your view of the road.

Key takeaways

For 270 days from license issuance, an intermediate license holder carries only immediate family members, unless a supervising driver who is at least 20 with a 2-year license sits beside them.
Do not drive between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m., even with a parent beside you.
Do not use a phone while driving, hands-free or not. Pull over and stop in a safe place first.
An adjudicated violation brings a fine of $250 to $500, a suspension of 60 days, 180 days or one year, and another 270 days of restrictions.
Practice on the free Maine Class C permit practice test.

Maine intermediate license: common questions

Can I drive after midnight if a parent is with me?

No. On an intermediate license, you may not drive between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m., even with a parent or another adult beside you. A qualified supervising driver lets you carry passengers from outside your family, but the law gives that exception for passengers only, not for the night hours.

Do the intermediate license rules end when I turn 18?

Not always. The rules last 270 days from the day your license is issued, and Maine law says the period can run past your 18th birthday. For example, if you get your license 3 months before you turn 18, the rules still apply after your birthday until the 270 days end.

Can I use GPS or music on my phone while driving?

Not on your phone. While you drive on a public way, the law bans any use of a handheld device or mobile phone by an intermediate license holder, also at a red light and also in hands-free mode. Set up or change the route or the music only after you pull over and stop in a safe place.

Can I fight the suspension at a hearing?

No. The Secretary of State suspends the license of a person adjudicated for violating section 1311 without a right to a hearing: 60 days for a first offense. Under the juvenile provisional license law, a driver under 18 also has no right to a hearing on a suspension for a moving violation.

Is the intermediate license the same as the provisional license?

No. The intermediate license restrictions apply to a license holder under 18 for 270 days. Separately, every license issued to a driver under 21 is a juvenile provisional license for 2 years or until age 21, whichever is later, with a 30-day suspension for a first moving violation in its first 2 years. The guide to Maine provisional license rules explains it.