The Maine DEEP program — the state’s Driver Education and Evaluation Programs — is a mandatory education and screening course that anyone convicted of OUI or hit with an administrative suspension for failing or refusing a chemical test must finish before the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will reinstate their license. The adult version runs 20 hours over three days and costs $300. The under-21 version runs 16 hours over three days and costs $225. Depending on how you score on a self-assessment at the end, you may also be referred for a clinical substance use evaluation and any treatment a clinician recommends, and both of those have to be completed too before your record is cleared.
Who Has to Complete DEEP
Maine’s criminal OUI statute requires a court to order any person sentenced for a second or subsequent OUI to participate in the alcohol and drug program run by the Department of Health and Human Services.1Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 2411 – Criminal OUI In practice, first-offense OUI convictions also trigger DEEP as a condition of reinstatement, and drivers who receive an administrative license suspension for failing or refusing a chemical test face the same requirement even without a criminal conviction.
Habitual offenders sit in a separate category. Under Title 29-A, section 2551-A, drivers whose records show a pattern of serious motor vehicle violations can be classified as habitual offenders and required to complete DEEP as part of getting their driving privileges back.2Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 2551-A – Habitual Offender
Which version of DEEP you take depends on your age when you register. Twenty-one and older, you’re in the adult Risk Reduction Program. Under 21, you’re in the shorter under-21 program.3Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The Risk Reduction Program
The One Narrow Waiver
A court can waive DEEP if you already completed an alcohol or drug treatment program after the date of the offense that triggered the mandate.1Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 2411 – Criminal OUI The waiver is discretionary, not automatic. If you did any treatment on your own before sentencing, that’s worth raising with your attorney.
How to Register
Registration is by phone only. Call the DEEP office at (207) 626-8600, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.4Maine Department of Health and Human Services. DEEP Risk Reduction Program Schedule There’s no online option. Have the following in front of you when you call:
- Your BMV case number, which appears on your suspension paperwork and links the program to your driving record
- The exact date and location of the arrest or incident
- A valid state-issued ID, driver’s license, or passport
- The violation codes listed on your court paperwork or BMV notice
Getting any of these wrong causes processing delays that push back your start date. Transposed digits in a BMV case number are the most common error and the hardest to catch after the fact, so read it back twice.
What the Program Covers
DEEP is a compressed three-day class, not a weekly meeting stretched over months. Both versions follow that format; the hours and some content differ.
Adult Risk Reduction Program
If you’re 21 or older at registration, you complete 20 hours over three days. The curriculum covers the physiological effects of alcohol and drugs, the legal consequences of impaired driving, and strategies for identifying and changing high-risk behaviors. It ends with an evidence-based self-assessment that screens for substance use risk factors.3Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The Risk Reduction Program
Under-21 Program
Participants under 21 complete 16 hours over three days. The material focuses on the risks and consequences of alcohol and drug use, tailored to younger drivers, and finishes with the same style of evidence-based self-assessment.3Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The Risk Reduction Program
The self-assessment isn’t pass-or-fail. It’s a screening tool. If results don’t flag concerns, the program provider submits your completion data to the BMV electronically and you’re done with the education phase. If the results suggest possible substance use problems, you get referred for a clinical evaluation.
If You’re Referred for Evaluation or Treatment
A referral means an appointment with a DEEP-certified community-based provider for a clinical substance use evaluation.3Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The Risk Reduction Program A licensed clinician decides whether treatment is warranted. The evaluation typically costs $75 to $200 out of pocket, depending on the provider.
If treatment is recommended, you have to complete whatever the clinician prescribes, from a handful of outpatient sessions up to a more intensive program depending on what the evaluation found. The provider has to be state-recognized for this purpose. When you finish, the treatment provider files a completion report with the DEEP office confirming you met the clinical recommendations.
This is where people get stuck. Finishing the three-day class feels like the finish line, and it isn’t. Until the treatment completion report is on file, the BMV has no record that you’ve satisfied the requirement, and your license stays suspended.
What DEEP Costs
The fees are set by the state and aren’t negotiable:
- Adult Risk Reduction Program (21 and older): $300, payable by money order. Credit or debit card payments by phone carry an additional $10 processing fee.5Maine Department of Health and Human Services. What You Need to Know About Maine’s Driver Education and Evaluation Programs for OUI Offenders
- Under-21 Program: $225, same money-order rule and $10 card fee.5Maine Department of Health and Human Services. What You Need to Know About Maine’s Driver Education and Evaluation Programs for OUI Offenders
- Out-of-state participants: $300, plus the $10 card processing fee if paying by phone.5Maine Department of Health and Human Services. What You Need to Know About Maine’s Driver Education and Evaluation Programs for OUI Offenders
Fees have to be paid before a certificate of completion is issued. The program fee covers only the education and screening portion. A clinical evaluation and any treatment are billed separately by the provider you’re referred to.
Getting Your License Back
Finishing DEEP doesn’t automatically restore your license. Reinstatement with the BMV also requires:
- Your DEEP completion data transmitted electronically by the program provider — worth confirming before you try to reinstate
- A treatment completion report on file with the DEEP office, if you were referred
- The $50 reinstatement fee paid to the Secretary of State6Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 2486 – Reinstatement Fee
- Your full suspension period served, unless you qualify for early reinstatement with an ignition interlock device
- Any outstanding fines or court-ordered conditions cleared
The $50 fee can be paid in $50 increments if you can’t cover it all at once. A first-offense OUI carries a 150-day license suspension, so the earliest an unrestricted license can come back is after those 150 days, assuming every other requirement is complete.7Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 2411 – Criminal OUI
If You Live Out of State
An out-of-state driver who was arrested for OUI in Maine still has to satisfy DEEP before Maine will clear the record. You can come back to Maine to take the program, or complete an equivalent program in your home state that includes both an education component and a preliminary assessment or substance use evaluation. If treatment is recommended, you have to document completing that too.5Maine Department of Health and Human Services. What You Need to Know About Maine’s Driver Education and Evaluation Programs for OUI Offenders
Even with a qualifying home-state program, you still owe Maine’s $300 fee. Until Maine marks your record compliant, the outstanding requirement shows up in the National Driver Register’s Problem Driver Pointer System, and your home state will likely flag or suspend your license there as well. Call the DEEP office at (207) 626-8600 to coordinate before assuming your home-state program will be accepted.