What changed in Maine
Insurance law does not sit still, but most guides are written once and left alone. Repealed programs and retired forms keep circulating for years. This is what actually changed inMaine, when, and where to verify it.
Every state we cover, in one feed: what changed across the country · RSS
September 24, 2025
Moving hereThe new-resident reporting offense stopped being a crime
New residents still have 30 days to apply for a Maine license. Until 2025, failing that duty under 29-A M.R.S. § 1251(1-A) was a Class E crime once 90 days had passed. P.L. 2025, ch. 165 (L.D. 1411) struck the criminal paragraphs from § 1251(1-A), leaving a traffic infraction with a fine of $150 to $500 once the person has been a resident for at least 90 days. It does not clear the deck entirely: § 1251(1)(D) still makes it a Class E crime to drive without a Maine license after more than 90 days of residency, and that paragraph was not touched. Signed May 30, 2025, effective September 24, 2025.
P.L. 2025, ch. 165 (L.D. 1411), §1 — chaptered lawJuly 1, 2024
Minimum coverageEvery Maine policy must now carry $500 of towing and storage coverage
P.L. 2023, ch. 395 (L.D. 1661) added a fifth compulsory item to Maine's minimum coverage list: up to $500 per accident for the reasonable towing and storage charges of the insured vehicle when it is towed at a law enforcement officer's request. It applies to policies executed, delivered, issued for delivery, continued or renewed on or after July 1, 2024, so an in-force policy picked the coverage up at its next renewal rather than on the effective date. The liability limits themselves did not move — 50/100/25 and the $2,000 medical payments floor were both set by P.L. 2007, ch. 213. The Bureau of Insurance's own "Insurance Required by Law" page still lists only liability, medical payments and uninsured motorist coverage and omits the towing item.
P.L. 2023, ch. 395 (L.D. 1661), §§ A-1 to A-4 — chaptered lawOctober 25, 2023
Crash reportingCrash reporting threshold raised from $1,000 to $2,000
P.L. 2023, ch. 27 (L.D. 552) rewrote the definition of "reportable accident" in 29-A M.R.S. §2251(1), raising the apparent property damage trigger from $1,000 to $2,000. Signed on April 10, 2023, it took effect on October 25, 2023 — the date every non-emergency act of that special session took effect, ninety days after the session adjourned on July 26. The Maine State Police Vehicle Crashes FAQ still tells drivers a report is taken when combined damage is "in excess of $1000.00", and most third-party guides repeat the old figure.
P.L. 2023, ch. 27 (L.D. 552), §1 — chaptered law
What this list does and does not cover
Recorded here: changes to the rules this site tracks for Maine — liability minimums, SR-22 and proof-of-insurance requirements, penalties for driving uninsured, the fault system, what a lapse costs, new-resident deadlines and crash reporting. Each entry names the session law or statute that made the change and the date it took effect, not the date it was signed.
Not recorded: rate filings, individual insurer decisions, court rulings that do not change the text of the law, and changes to rules outside those seven subjects. A short list does not mean a quiet legislature — it means little moved in the parts of Maine law a driver has to comply with.
A change that has passed but has not yet taken effect is not shown as current anywhere on this site. It sits on the Maine pages as a dated pending value and replaces the current figure on the morning it comes into force. You can see every pending change across the country at the top of the national change feed, and the sources behind the Maine figures on its statute index.