Maine Safety Inspections

Last updated on April 25th, 2018

Maine requires newly registered vehicles to pass not only an emissions test, but also a safety check. Let’s take a look at what the safety check will be looking at in your vehicle:

• Brakes
• Exhaust system
• Reflectors
• Lights and turn signals
• Rearview mirrors
• Glazing
• Running gear
• Seat belts
• Horn
• Tires
• Windshield wipers
• Catalytic converter (vehicles model year 1983 and newer)
• Filler neck restrictions (vehicles model year 1983 and newer)
• Steering mechanism
• Body components

You will have to have a safety inspection done if you are moving to Maine and need to register your car for the first time. This must be done in thirty days of moving into the state. If you have a current inspection sticker on your vehicle from the previous state you lived in, you must have another safety inspection done before that one expires.

You could also have to have the vehicle submitted for inspection if law enforcement deems it necessary for your vehicle to be checked.

Certain vehicles will be exempt from these rules:

• Vehicles that have been registered with a valid inspection certificate from another state, that is less than a year old
• Motorcycles or mopeds
• Vehicles that have been registered with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles as an antique