To claim an abandoned vehicle sitting on your property in Maine, file the Abandoned Vehicle Notice, Form MVT-28, with the Secretary of State’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles within 14 days of taking possession. The MVT-28 is only the cover notice. A complete filing also includes a VIN inspection form signed by a law enforcement officer, either a title application or a written request for a letter of ownership, and a fee of $33 or $5 depending on the vehicle’s age. Once the BMV has your packet, it searches for the owner and lienholder, sends notice, and — assuming no one responds — issues you a title or letter of ownership after a built-in waiting period.
What to Gather Before You Fill It Out
The MVT-28 is a one-page form, but you’ll want everything in front of you before you start writing. Collect:
- The 17-character VIN, copied exactly. Check the driver’s side dashboard at the windshield, the driver’s door jamb, or the engine block. For motorcycles, look at the steering neck. A single wrong character keeps the BMV search from matching.
- Year, make, model, and body type. If the vehicle is rough, a VIN decoder can confirm these.
- License plate number and issuing state, if plates are still on it.1Secretary of State Bureau of Motor Vehicles. MVT-28 Maine Abandoned Vehicle Notice
- The date the vehicle came into your possession. This date starts the 14-day filing clock.
- A specific location — a street address or clear property description.
- A completed VIN inspection on Form MVT-10, signed by a full-time law enforcement officer who physically examined the vehicle. Call your local police department or sheriff’s office to arrange it.
- If you’re a repair shop claiming a vehicle left after finished work, the signed work order or repair authorization from the customer.2Maine Secretary of State. MVT-28A Abandoned Vehicle Instructions
Maine’s abandoned-vehicle subchapter covers several situations — vehicles towed and never reclaimed, vehicles left on your property without permission, vehicles left after authorized repair, vehicles at storage facilities with unpaid fees, and vehicles left on residential property for more than six months. If your situation fits one of those, you’re in the right process.
Filling Out the MVT-28
The form states at the top that you are notifying the Secretary of State a vehicle came into your possession under Title 29-A, Chapter 15, Subchapter III.1Secretary of State Bureau of Motor Vehicles. MVT-28 Maine Abandoned Vehicle Notice Enter the vehicle description fields — year, make, model, body type, VIN, and plate information — using exactly what you recorded off the vehicle. Fill in the date you took possession and describe where the vehicle is located. Sign and date the form.
The MVT-28 does not appear on the BMV’s main online forms page, but it is available as a PDF through the Secretary of State’s website.
The Rest of the Packet and the Fee
The MVT-28 by itself only notifies the state. To actually transfer ownership, include an application with your notice. Which one, and how much you pay, depends on the vehicle’s age:
- For vehicles 25 model years old or newer, which require a Maine title, include an Application for Certificate of Title (MVT-2) or an Application for Certificate of Salvage (MVT-102) with a $33 fee.3Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 603 – Fees
- For title-exempt vehicles older than 25 model years, include a written request for a letter of ownership with a $5 fee.2Maine Secretary of State. MVT-28A Abandoned Vehicle Instructions
Every packet also needs the completed MVT-10 VIN inspection. Without it, the BMV won’t process the filing.
Where to Send It
Mail the full packet — MVT-28, title or ownership application, MVT-10, fee, and any supporting documents like a signed work order — to:
Secretary of State
Bureau of Motor Vehicles
101 Hospital Street, #29 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-00292Maine Secretary of State. MVT-28A Abandoned Vehicle Instructions
The 14-Day Deadline and Why It Matters
You have 14 days from the date the vehicle came into your possession to get the application in the mail. The postmark is what counts. Miss it, and you lose the right to charge more than 14 days of storage fees, with those fees capped at $700.2Maine Secretary of State. MVT-28A Abandoned Vehicle Instructions For repair and storage facilities, the 14-day clock starts on the earliest date the vehicle owner owed unpaid charges for authorized repair or storage and any related towing.4Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 1854 – Notification of Vehicle Owner
What the BMV Does After You File
Once the packet arrives, the BMV searches state records for the last registered owner and any lienholders. Two paths follow.
Owner or Lienholder Found
The Secretary of State mails notice to the owner and any lienholder that the vehicle is being claimed under the abandoned-vehicle law.4Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 1854 – Notification of Vehicle Owner They then have 14 days from the date the notice is sent to retrieve the vehicle and pay all reasonable towing, storage, and repair charges. If they don’t act within that window, the vehicle is legally abandoned.5Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 1852 – Abandonment Defined
No Record Found
If the search returns nothing, you must publish a notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the vehicle is located. The notice must state that if the owner or lienholder doesn’t retrieve the vehicle and pay all reasonable charges within 14 days of publication, ownership passes to you.4Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 1854 – Notification of Vehicle Owner One publication is what the statute requires.
When You Get the Title or Letter of Ownership
The Secretary of State cannot issue a certificate of title or a letter of ownership until at least 21 days after you filed your notice under Section 1854. That built-in waiting period gives the owner and any lienholder time to respond, allowing for mail delays.
Once the office is satisfied that proper notice was given, your application moves forward under Section 1856. Titled vehicles get a certificate of title on payment of the $33 fee and completed application. Title-exempt vehicles get a letter of ownership.6Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 1856 – Change of Ownership
What You Can and Can’t Do While You Wait
Do not sell the vehicle, part it out, or repair it until the title or letter of ownership is in your hands.2Maine Secretary of State. MVT-28A Abandoned Vehicle Instructions You don’t own it yet, and acting as though you do can undermine your claim.
The other side of that rule: if the rightful owner or lienholder shows up during the process and pays all reasonable charges, you must release the vehicle. Refusing after reasonable charges have been paid is a Class E crime.
If the Owner Is on Active Military Duty
Federal law adds a layer here. If the registered owner is on active military duty, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act may require a court order before you can claim or dispose of the vehicle, because military service can limit the owner’s ability to respond to civil matters. You can verify active-duty status and obtain a formal certificate through the Department of Defense at scra.dmdc.osd.mil.7SCRA. SCRA Ignoring this step when you know or suspect the owner is a servicemember can create federal liability.