Towing Laws in Maine: Your Rights, Costs & Impound Rules

If your car was just towed in Maine - from a private lot, a crash scene, or somewhere it was left without permission - this page explains what state law says about the fees you can be charged, how to get your vehicle back, and where to take a complaint. Every fact below comes directly from Maine statutes and the Attorney General's office, each cited so you can check it yourself.

Who regulates towing in Maine

Maine has no dedicated state agency that licenses tow operators. Instead, consumer complaints about towing are filed with the Maine Attorney General using its online consumer complaint form. The office also offers a free, voluntary, non-binding mediation service to help resolve disputes, and it keeps complaints on file to spot patterns that might justify enforcement action.

What a tow can cost

Maine doesn't set statewide dollar caps on tow fees. What state law does require is transparency: for a commercial motor vehicle nonconsensual tow, 29-A section 1863 requires the towing facility to itemize the invoice in detail for all recovery, towing, cleanup, or storage costs before demanding payment. If a charge isn't itemized on that invoice, you're not responsible for paying it.

Because Maine doesn't publish a rate ceiling, the itemized invoice is your main tool for checking a bill. Our towing cost calculator can help you compare what you were charged against typical regional pricing while you review that invoice line by line.

Getting your car back from impound

Under 29-A section 1861, a facility may hold a towed or abandoned vehicle - along with its accessories, contents, and equipment - until reasonable towing and storage charges are paid. Certain personal effects have to be released regardless: medications, medical equipment, clothing, mail, and child restraint systems. If you don't retrieve the vehicle and pay all reasonable charges within 14 days after the Secretary of State sends its required notices, or within 14 days after newspaper publication, the vehicle is considered abandoned and ownership passes.

If you're towed from private property

Maine applies its abandoned-vehicle chapter, 29-A section 1851, to vehicles towed after being left on private property without permission. That means the same Secretary of State notice process and 14-day retrieval window described above apply here too - before ownership of the vehicle passes to the facility, you have those 14 days from notice (or newspaper publication) to reclaim it and pay what's owed.

After an accident

Under 29-A section 2251, a reportable accident in Maine is one involving bodily injury or death, or apparent property damage of $2,000 or more, based on the market value of necessary repairs. A crash meeting that threshold must be reported immediately, by the quickest means of communication available, to state police, a sheriff's office, or local police.

The Move Over law

Maine's Move Over law, 29-A section 2054(9), requires drivers approaching a stationary emergency or public service vehicle with its lights displayed to pass in a lane not adjacent to it, if that's possible. If it isn't possible, drivers must pass at a careful and prudent speed reasonable for the situation. A violation is a traffic infraction carrying a minimum fine of $275.

Chains & winter traction

Maine 29-A section 1919 prohibits operating a vehicle with tires that have metal studs, wires, spikes, or other protruding metal from May 1 through October 1. That means studded tires are permitted from October 1 through April 30, though the Commissioner of Transportation has authority to extend that period or issue special permits.

FAQ

Does Maine set a statewide maximum for tow fees? No, but for a commercial motor vehicle nonconsensual tow, the facility must give you a detailed itemized invoice before demanding payment, and you're not responsible for any charge that isn't itemized on it.

How long do I have before my towed car in Maine is considered abandoned? 14 days after the Secretary of State sends its required notices, or 14 days after newspaper publication, whichever applies. If you retrieve the vehicle and pay all reasonable charges within that window, ownership doesn't pass to the facility.

When are studded tires legal in Maine? From October 1 through April 30. Outside that window, tires with metal studs, wires, spikes, or other protruding metal generally aren't allowed, though special permits or extensions are possible.

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