A Maine trailer bill of sale is the written record of a private trailer sale and the document you hand to the town office or BMV branch to prove ownership when you register. At a minimum it should identify the buyer and seller, describe the trailer, state the price and date, disclose the odometer reading if the trailer has one, and confirm the lien status. Maine’s Secretary of State publishes a free Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale template you can use, but a document you draft yourself is fine as long as the same information is on it.1Maine.gov. Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale
What to Include
Whether you use the state form or your own, put the following on the page:
- Full legal names and residential addresses of the buyer and seller.
- Trailer description: year, make, model, body type, color, and VIN or serial number.
- Purchase price in dollars. This figure is what the clerk will use to calculate tax at registration.
- Date of sale.
- Odometer reading, if the trailer has one, with a note on whether it reflects actual mileage, has rolled over, or is inaccurate. The state form includes this disclosure.
- Lien status. The seller should state in writing that no lien is active on the trailer, or disclose any lien that exists.
Keep the fields consistent with what the title application asks for (vehicle description, VIN, owner name and address, and the name and address of the person the trailer was acquired from) so registration goes through without a second trip.2Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 654 – Application for Certificate of Title and Certificate of Salvage
Whether You Also Need a Title
Not every Maine trailer has a title. Trailers with an unladen weight of 3,000 pounds or less are exempt from the title requirement.3Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 652 – Exempted Vehicles For those, the bill of sale is your ownership document, so fill it out carefully and keep the original.
Trailers over 3,000 pounds unladen and model year 1998 or newer do need a certificate of title. The seller signs the existing title over to you at the sale, and you turn it in with the bill of sale at registration. If the seller cannot find the title, they need to apply for a duplicate before you complete the sale. Ask about the title before any money changes hands; this is where private trailer sales most often fall apart.
Signing and Notarization
Both parties sign. On the state form the seller signs first (confirming the description and the odometer disclosure) and the buyer signs second.1Maine.gov. Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale Notarization is not required in Maine for a trailer bill of sale. You can have it notarized if you want the extra layer, but signatures alone make the document legally valid. Each party should keep a copy.
Registering the Trailer
Bring the signed bill of sale (and the title, if applicable) to your local municipal office or a BMV branch to register.4Maine Secretary of State. Register a Trailer Not every town participates in the BMV’s registration program, so call ahead; if yours doesn’t, you’ll go to a BMV branch instead. The clerk collects the tax and fees, then issues a registration certificate and plates. Keep the certificate with the trailer or the tow vehicle whenever it’s on the road.
Tax at Registration
Maine charges a 5.5% tax on the purchase price of a trailer bought through a private sale.5Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 1811 – Sales Tax From a private seller it’s technically use tax rather than sales tax, but the rate is the same and you pay it at the municipal office or BMV branch when you register. A $5,000 trailer means $275 in tax. The clerk calculates it from the price on your bill of sale, so understating the price to shrink the bill is illegal and can bring penalties from Maine Revenue Services.
Gifts and Exemptions
A true gift, where the recipient pays nothing and takes on no debt, is not taxable. A parent giving a trailer outright to a child owes no use tax. If the recipient takes over a loan balance or gives anything of value in return, the transaction is taxable on that consideration. Transfers between joint owners, including spouses, are also treated as taxable sales unless they come out of a court-ordered divorce decree.6Maine Revenue Services. Registration of Vehicles – Taxable/Exempt
To claim any exemption, you have to file a Use Tax Certificate (Form STMV6U) with the Secretary of State at registration. Without that form, the clerk will assess the tax no matter the circumstances.
Getting the Trailer Home Before You Register
If you need to move a newly purchased trailer before you’ve registered it, Maine allows a temporary towing permit for trailers with a gross weight of 3,000 pounds or less. A law enforcement officer or a designated municipal or BMV employee issues the permit in writing for a single trip between a stated origin and destination, valid for no more than three days including the day it’s issued.7Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 351 – Registration Required Heavier trailers don’t qualify, so anything over 3,000 pounds gross needs to be registered before it moves on public roads.
If You Don’t Register
Towing an unregistered trailer on public roads carries escalating penalties:
- Expired 30 to 150 days: traffic infraction, fine up to $50 for a first offense.
- Expired 150 days or more: traffic infraction, fine up to $100 for a first offense.
- Subsequent offenses: fine up to $500.
- Never registered by the current owner: Class E crime, maximum fine of $1,000.
7Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A Section 351 – Registration Required8Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A Section 1704 – Maximum Fine Amounts Authorized for Convicted Individuals Watch that last one. Buying a trailer and never registering it isn’t a lapsed registration in Maine’s eyes; it’s a criminal offense.