Driving Tests

Moving to Maine: Get Your Maine Driver's License Within 30 Days

informational·how to guide·Published May 23, 2026

How long do I have to get a Maine driver's license after I move?

Maine law (Title 29-A, section 1251) gives you 30 days after you become a Maine resident to apply for a license. After 30 days, driving without a Maine license is a traffic infraction. At 90 days or more, the fine is $150 to $500 (U.S. dollars), and after 90 days the law also lists a Class E crime. You give up your old license to get the Maine one.

Where these rules come from

This guide uses the new-resident law, Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A, section 1251, as changed in 2025, and the December 2025 letter of the Maine Secretary of State and Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to the Legislature, with its attached e-mails. It also uses Title 29-A, sections 109, 1260, 1301, 1304, 1306, 1307, 1311, 1351, 1406-A, 1408, 2471 and 2472, and Public Law 2025, chapter 165, as of 2026. Confirm the rules with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (maine.gov/sos/bmv) before you drive.

Who must get a Maine license, and when the 30 days start

The 30 days start on the day you become a Maine resident, which includes anyone who moves to Maine for good.
Visitors are different. A nonresident who is 16 or older and has a valid license or learner's permit from his or her home state or province is exempt from the Maine license rules, but must follow the restrictions of that home license. A nonresident student at a Maine university, college or school is also exempt while the home license and registration are valid.

Penalties for driving without a Maine license after you move

Penalties for driving without a Maine license after you move
Time as a Maine resident	What the law says
Up to 30 days	You must apply for a Maine license within this time.
More than 30 days, fewer than 90 days	Driving without a Maine license is a traffic infraction.
90 days or more	A late applicant who drives commits a traffic infraction with a fine of $150 to $500. After 90 days, the law also lists a Class E crime.

The 2025 change: a fine, but the Class E crime is still in the law

Before 2025, a late applicant who drove after 90 days or more as a resident committed a Class E crime under this rule. Public Law 2025, chapter 165 replaced that with a traffic infraction and the $150 to $500 fine. But paragraph 1(D) of the same section, which was not changed, still makes driving without a Maine license after more than 90 days a Class E crime. So a late start can bring a fine or a criminal charge.

How to switch to a Maine license

1
Check which tests apply to you
Your old license decides this. See the next block.
2
Collect your proof
To get a Maine license, you need proof of Maine residency, proof of U.S. citizenship or legal presence, two different forms of proof of identity, and a vision screening. Ask the BMV for its list of accepted documents before you go.
3
Choose the type of license
If you are under 65, the 6-year noncommercial license costs $30 and a REAL ID compliant license costs $55. The Secretary of State must offer a license that is not REAL ID compliant; you get the REAL ID compliant one only if you ask for it.
4
Apply within 30 days and give up your old license
Apply within 30 days of the day you become a Maine resident. To receive the Maine license, you must surrender all valid licenses that you hold from any jurisdiction. You may hold only one valid license unless the Secretary of State allows more.
5
Carry the new license
Keep it with you when you drive. You may show it in electronic form.

Which tests do you take with your old license?

You hold a license from another U.S. state

Maine law says that a license applicant must pass a written examination and a driving test. Ask the BMV before your visit which tests you must take with a license from another U.S. state.

You hold a Canadian license

Ask the BMV before your visit which tests you must take with a Canadian license.

You hold a license from another country

You must pass both the written and road exams, even if you were licensed in your prior country. Read how a foreign license works in Maine.

You have not held a license in Maine or anywhere else in the past 5 years

You must pass a complete examination: a vision, written and road test. The Class C examination fee is $35 and includes the first road test. A reexamination costs $35.

If you are under 21: a provisional license and zero alcohol

Under 21, a license from another jurisdiction counts as a provisional license in Maine. A Maine license issued before age 21 is provisional for 2 years or until age 21, whichever is later.
The alcohol limit is zero: a license holder under 21 may not drive with an alcohol level of more than 0.00. The question on the alcohol level for a driver under 21 tests this rule.
If you are convicted of, or found to have committed, a moving violation within 2 years of the issue date of that Maine license, it is suspended for 30 days for the 1st offense, 180 days for the 2nd and one year for the 3rd or later. You must also finish a driver improvement program before the suspension ends. See the provisional license rules.
Maine does not issue a license to anyone under 16, except a special restricted license.

If you are under 18: driver education and the intermediate license

Maine law says a license may not be issued to a person under 18 without a certificate from an approved driver education course. The course may be waived for a person who holds a valid license from another jurisdiction, so ask the BMV before you book one.
A driver under 18 with a Maine license follows the intermediate license rules for 270 days from license issue: no passengers other than immediate family unless a qualified supervising driver is in the car, no driving from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m., and no handheld phone use, even at a red light or stop sign. The question on the hours a new driver under 18 cannot drive tests the night rule.

If you never held a license before you moved

With no license to switch, you pass the vision, written and road tests. Under 18, finish a driver education course before you apply for a learner's permit. Under 21, wait 6 months from the permit date and complete at least 70 hours of driving, including 10 at night, with a parent, guardian or licensed driver at least 20 years old. At 21 or older, you submit no driving log, and your first license is provisional for one year.

Key takeaways

Apply for a Maine license within 30 days of becoming a Maine resident, and surrender your other valid licenses.
After 30 days, driving without a Maine license is a traffic infraction. At 90 days or more, the fine is $150 to $500, and after 90 days the law also lists a Class E crime.
Ask the BMV which tests apply to a license from another U.S. state or from Canada. Drivers from other countries, and anyone not licensed in the past 5 years, take the tests.
Under 21, your license is provisional and the alcohol limit is 0.00. Under 18, intermediate license limits apply for 270 days.
Next step: practice on the free Maine Class C permit practice test.

Moving to Maine: common questions

Can I drive on my out-of-state license after I move to Maine?

Yes, but only in your first 30 days as a Maine resident. After that, driving without a Maine license is a traffic infraction, and at 90 days or more a late applicant who drives faces a fine of $150 to $500. Apply early in the 30 days.

I am in the military. Do I need a Maine license?

Not if you are on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and have a valid license from your state of domicile. A military spouse who comes with the member on an active-duty assignment to Maine, is not a Maine resident and has a valid license from another jurisdiction is also exempt.

I am a college student from another state. Do I need a Maine license?

Not while you are a nonresident student at a Maine university, college or school and you have a valid license and registration from your home state. If you become a Maine resident, the 30-day rule applies to you.

Can I use a P.O. box as my Maine address?

No. Maine law says your proof of residence must show your name and the address where you live in Maine, and a post office box or other mail drop address is not enough. Use your street address.

Do I need a Maine license if I live in Maine only part of the year?

Not while you are a nonresident. If you are 16 or older and carry a valid license or learner's permit from the state or province where you live, Maine law exempts you from its license rules, and you follow the limits of that home license. When you move to Maine for good, the 30-day rule starts.