09/25/2026
How Maine trailer registration's works
#1: Confirm it fits your operation
Maine registrations are open to ALL out-of-state owners, and because trailers aren't part of IRP apportionment (that's for power units) you're free to base-plate a trailer in Maine regardless of your home state. The 80% figure people quote is a tax test, not a registration one: Maine exempts a trailer from its 5.5% sales and use tax when it goes into interstate service within 30 days of purchase and stays in interstate use for at least 80% of its days in use over the following two years. This is where you ACTIVE INTERSTATE number comes into play.
#2: Appoint MTR Registrations as your agent
Non residents register through a statutory Maine resident agency. (That's us!) The agent provides a Maine address for official correspondence and files with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles on your behalf, so you never need a physical presence in the state.
#3: Grant a limited power of attorney
You give us a limited power of attorney that only covers registering, titling, and transferring your trailers. It does not let us sell or lease your equipment.
#4: Our Agency files with the Maine BMV
We submit the registration, pays the state fees, and Maine issues the plate, the registration, and a title where applicable. (not all trailers need to be titled or can be titled)
#5: Get your plates
You receive the Maine plate and registration for each trailer, and renew on Maine's schedule; larger fleets can ask about Maine's longer-term registration options. 25 Years. All long term plates expire on Feb 28th of your respective year.
Sited sources:
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36 ยง 1760 โ the sales and use tax exemption for an instrumentality of interstate commerce โ the actual source of the saving, and a tax rule rather than a registration condition
Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles โ the registration itself โ the plates, the paperwork and the renewal cycle
Updated September 2, 2026
This guide is general information about US federal and state transportation regulation โ it is not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not make you our client. Rules change, and how one applies depends on your own operation: check anything you intend to rely on against the primary source above, or call us and we will check it with you.