Maine public records: who holds what

In Maine, deeds are recorded by the Register of Deeds, birth and death certificates come from the Municipal Clerk and requests for other government records fall under the Maine Freedom of Access Act (FOAA). Below: who holds every other record, what copies cost and the official link for each office.

Last checked against official sources on November 4, 2026.

On this page

1. Who holds what in Maine
2. Public records law in Maine
3. How Maine organizes its records
4. Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps
5. Counties in Maine
6. Warnings from official sources
7. Official copies vs look-alike sites
8. Official directories
9. Sources

Who holds what in Maine

The office that keeps each record, and the fee the law or the office sets for a copy. Open a record type for the full rules, ordering steps and older records.

Public records law in Maine

Maine Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) (1 M.R.S. §400 et seq.) Read the law¹⁰

This law covers records that agencies hold, such as a county office's correspondence or a property file. Recorded deeds, vital records and court files usually have their own rules, set out in each record section.

Who can ask

Any person; no Maine citizenship needed¹¹

Response time

Acknowledge within 5 working days; good-faith, nonbinding time and cost estimate within a reasonable time; written denial with statutory citation within 5 working days¹²

Copy fees

Copies up to 10¢ per page (no per-page fee for electronic records); first 2 staff hours free, then up to $25 per hour; actual conversion and mailing costs; inspection free unless conversion or compiling is needed¹²

If a request is refused

Appeal to Superior Court within 30 calendar days of written denial; ombudsman available for complaints but is not a required step¹³

What is exempt

"Public records" excludes records designated confidential by statute, among other listed categories in 1 M.R.S. §402(3); the state site keeps a statutory exceptions list¹⁴

Official guide

State FOAA site "Your Right to Know" at maine.gov/foaa (FAQ, How to Make a Request, Ombudsman, exceptions list)¹⁵

More on the Maine Freedom of Access Act (FOAA)

Estimate and advance payment

Requester told before work proceeds if estimate exceeds $50; advance payment may be required if it exceeds $100¹²

Request format

No required form; need not be in writing, though most agencies ask for writing¹⁶

Where to send

No central office; send to the body or agency holding the record¹⁶

Public access officer

Each agency, county and municipality designates a public access officer¹⁷

Ombudsman

Public Access Ombudsman reviews complaints and attempts mediation¹¹

How to write a public records request

How Maine organizes its records

• Vital records at town level, not county. DRVS and municipal offices hold vital records; counties do not hold them⁵
• Property tax is municipal; unorganized territory is state-run. Maine Revenue Services acts as local assessor in the unorganized territory¹⁸
• Aroostook has two registries of deeds. 17 recording offices; Aroostook is listed as North and South¹⁹
• Probate is county-run, the rest of the courts state-run. Probate Courts are administered by county government⁷
• Closed-record vital records. Vital records are not public until statutory periods pass²⁰
• Court records in transition to eFiling. Court-by-court rollout ends February 2027; legacy paper stays on paper⁷

Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps

Criminal history checks

Agency

Maine State Police, State Bureau of Identification (SBI), central repository²¹

Online portal

InforME Criminal History Record & Juvenile Crime Information Request: apps1.web.maine.gov/online/pcr²²

Fee

$31; $21 for in-state inforME subscribers; charged whatever the result²³

Notarized

Additional $10 for notarized report ($41 total)²¹

Who may order

General public; conviction and adjudication data only for the public²¹

More about criminal history checks

What it contains

Convictions and adjudications in Maine plus pending cases under one year old²²

Turnaround

Most results by e-mail within two hours; manual cases up to 2 weeks²²

Not federal

No federal or other-state data through InforME²³

Sealing

Title 15 §310-A governs sealing a conviction at court level²²

Contact

SBI (207) 624-7240²²

Sex offender registry

Official registry

apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/sor/index.pl, maintained by the State Bureau of Identification²⁴

Official

The State Police site is the official registry²⁵

Fee

Free²⁵

What it covers

Only people required to register, not all convicted of sex crimes²⁴

National

National registry nsopw.gov²⁵

More about sex offender registry

Contact

207-624-7270²⁴

Inmate and jail lookups

State prisons

Maine DOC Adult Resident/Adult Community Corrections Client Search, free, updated daily: apps1.web.maine.gov/…²⁶

County jails

County jails: contact the jail for the county where the offense occurred or where the court is located; no DOC lookup for jail-only inmates²⁷

County gap

Not everyone in custody is in the DOC system²⁵

Voter records

Public access

Central voter file is confidential except as §196-A allows; no general-purpose named list for the public (named files only for listed users and purposes)²⁸

Any person

Free report to any person with first or last name only (not both), year of birth, enrollment, districts, status, last statewide election voted, etc.²⁸

Your own record

A voter gets their own record free from the registrar or Secretary of State²⁸

Party campaign

Parties, get-out-the-vote and campaign-related users, and current officeholders may purchase lists²⁸

Compliance file

Any person may buy a voter file to monitor voting-rights and election-law compliance²⁸

More about voter records

Fee

Electronic: $11 for 1-1,000 records up to $2,200 for 900,001+, with up to 11 free updates in 12 months; printed $1 first page, 25¢ each further page²⁸

Absentee

Absentee voter list free to any person; Secretary of State posts statewide file (record number instead of name and address)²⁸

Stats

Statewide registered and enrolled counts by county, municipality, district and party posted free²⁹

Withheld information

Address Confidentiality Program participants excluded; safety-based address confidentiality by signed statement³⁰

Local holder

Registrar/municipal clerk in each municipality³¹

Business names (DBA)

Assumed names (DBA)

Sole proprietor: certificate with the clerk of the city or town where business is carried on (not county or SOS)³²

DBA filing fee

$10 municipal clerk fee³³

Partnership fee

$10 for certificate of partnership at municipal clerk³³

Companies and LLCs

Secretary of State Interactive Corporate Services: entity summary, status and filings list (not marked as fee services); certificates of existence and filing copies marked (Fee)³⁴

Corporation assumed name

Corporations file assumed or fictitious names with the Secretary of State³⁵

More about business names (dba)

Copy fees

Plain copies $2.00 per page; certification $5.00 per document; certificate of existence $30.00 ($10.00 nonprofit)³⁶

Liens and UCC filings

UCC filings

Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC & Commissions³⁷

UCC search

Online UCC Interactive Search (apps1.web.maine.gov/…); free unofficial debtor-name search; paper UCC-11 form otherwise³⁸

UCC search fee

Official search $20.00 on paper, $12.00 online; certified adds $5.00³⁹

UCC filing fee

UCC-1 $15.00 (1-2 pages) or $30.00 (more) on paper; $10.00 electronic³⁹

Federal liens personal

Federal liens on personal property: Secretary of State⁴⁰

More about liens and ucc filings

Federal liens real

Federal liens on real property: county registry of deeds⁴⁰

Federal lien search fee

Secretary of State information request $20 in writing, $12 by other authorized means⁴¹

Municipal tax liens

Municipal tax collector records tax lien certificates at the registry of deeds⁴²

GIS and parcel maps

State GIS

Maine GeoLibrary data catalog: mainegeolibrary-maine.hub.arcgis.com⁴³

Parcel data

Voluntary organized-town parcels only; no complete statewide layer; many towns over 15 years old⁴⁴

Legal use

Not survey grade; not for conveyances⁴⁴

Historical and genealogy records

State archives

Maine State Archives, Augusta; appointment at least 1 week ahead⁴⁵

Genealogy records

Archives holds family-history record groups, many on microfilm⁴⁶

Cutoff

1892 is the dividing year for vital records; statewide system began then⁴⁶

No staff research

Staff do not do genealogical research for patrons⁴⁶

Archives fee

Plain copies $0.25 (8.5x11 or 8.5x14); attested adds $5.00; already-imaged digital copies no charge; unprocessed items $50 set-up + $1.00 per page⁴⁷

More about historical and genealogy records

Digital collections

Open Access digital collection includes pre-1892 vital statistics, Land Office deeds and maps⁴⁸

Researcher card

Genealogical researcher ID card $50.00 for one year gives inspection and noncertified copies; first 3 records free per week, then $10.00 each⁸

Illegible microfilm

$25.00 noncertified copy for an 1892-1955 record illegible on Archives microfilm⁸

Pre

Open to the public; copy on municipal letterhead or noncertified copy for anyone⁴⁹

Counties in Maine

5 counties with a full guide

Each guide lists the office for every record type, the official online searches, copy fees, phones and hours.

• Androscoggin County
• Cumberland County
• Kennebec County
• Penobscot County
• York County

All 16 counties

Names in bold open our guide. Names with an arrow go to the county's own website, where the US Census Bureau lists one and it opened when we checked.⁵⁰

• Androscoggin County
• Aroostook County
• Cumberland County
• Franklin County
• Hancock County
• Kennebec County
• Knox County
• Lincoln County
• Oxford County
• Penobscot County
• Piscataquis County
• Sagadahoc County
• Somerset County
• Waldo County
• Washington County
• York County

Warnings from official sources

• Look-alike annual report solicitations. Mailer offering to file annual reports for $210 is not from the Secretary of State⁵¹
• Vital record ordering sites. DRVS partners only with VitalChek online⁸
• Deed fraud. Registries offer free fraud alerts; York County warns of impersonators recording deeds⁵²
• Sex offender registrant fine calls. SBI warns of callers demanding fines from registrants²⁴

Official directories

Lists that name the office in every county.

• Municipal clerks and registrars with CSV download (list last updated 10/30/26): https://www.maine.gov/sos/elections-voting/find-a-municipal-clerk-or-registrar³¹
• Maine Directory of Registries of Deeds: https://www.maineregistryofdeeds.com/contact⁵³
• Maine Courts pages by court level: https://www.courts.maine.gov/courts/index.html⁵⁴
• Adult facilities: https://www.maine.gov/corrections/adultinfo²⁶
• County probate courts list: https://www.maineprobate.net/welcome/county-info/⁵⁵

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 55 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

1. Maine Registers of Deeds Association, Statewide Single Web PortalMaine Registers of Deeds Association
2. 33 M.R.S. §751 Schedule (registers of deeds fees)Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
3. Property Tax Division Bulletin No. 10, Property Tax Abatement and AppealsMaine Revenue Services
4. Administrative Order JB-05-26 (A. 3-26), Revised Court Fees Schedule and Document Management ProceduresMaine Supreme Judicial Court
5. Vital RecordsMaine CDC, Maine DHHS
6. Application for a Search and Certified Copy of a Vital RecordMaine CDC, Maine DHHS
7. Court RecordsState of Maine Judicial Branch
8. Request DocumentsMaine CDC, Maine DHHS
9. 18-C M.R.S. §1-602 Filing and certification feesMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
10. 1 M.R.S. §400 Short title (Freedom of Access Act)Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
11. Freedom of Access Act FAQState of Maine FOAA site
12. 1 M.R.S. §408-A Public records available for inspection and copyingMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
13. 1 M.R.S. §409 AppealsMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
14. 1 M.R.S. §402 DefinitionsMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
15. Your Right to Know: The Maine Freedom of Access ActState of Maine FOAA site (linked with the Maine Attorney General's Office)
16. How to Make a Freedom of Access Act RequestState of Maine FOAA site
17. 1 M.R.S. §413 Public access officerMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
18. Property TaxMaine Revenue Services
19. Maine Registers of Deeds Association: Announcement of Fee Schedule UpdateFranklin County, Maine (hosted copy)
20. Access to Public or Restricted Vital Statistics Data, Reports and Records in MEMaine CDC, Maine DHHS
21. State Bureau of IdentificationMaine State Police
22. Maine Criminal History Record & Juvenile Crime Information RequestMaine State Police, State Bureau of Identification
23. Criminal History Record request FAQMaine State Police, State Bureau of Identification
24. Maine Sex Offender RegistryMaine State Police, State Bureau of Identification
25. Maine Sex Offender Registry FAQMaine State Police, State Bureau of Identification
26. Adult Resident/Adult Community Corrections Client SearchMaine Department of Corrections
27. Adult Facilities / adult informationMaine Department of Corrections
28. 21-A M.R.S. §196-A Use and distribution of central voter registration system informationMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
29. Voter DataMaine Secretary of State
30. 21-A M.R.S. §22 Records and documents are public; exception for ballots and voter addressMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
31. Find a Municipal Clerk or RegistrarMaine Secretary of State
32. 31 M.R.S. §2 Business under assumed name; filing of certificateMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
33. 30-A M.R.S. §2652 Fee schedule (municipal clerks)Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
34. Interactive Corporate ServicesMaine Secretary of State
35. 13-C M.R.S. §404 Assumed or fictitious name of corporationsMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
36. Miscellaneous Service, Lists, and Bulk DataMaine Secretary of State
37. Uniform Commercial CodeMaine Secretary of State
38. Search for a Uniform Commercial Code FilingMaine Secretary of State
39. Uniform Commercial Code Filing and Search FeesMaine Secretary of State
40. 33 M.R.S. §1903 Place of filing (federal liens)Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
41. 33 M.R.S. §1906 Fees (federal liens)Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
42. 36 M.R.S. §942 Tax lien certificateMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
43. Maine GeoLibraryState of Maine
44. Maine Parcels Organized Towns FGDB (ArcGIS item record behind the GeoLibrary data catalog)Maine GeoLibrary (Maine Office of GIS)
45. Research at the Maine State ArchivesMaine State Archives
46. Genealogy ResearchMaine State Archives
47. Maine State Archives Fees for Copies and ServicesMaine State Archives
48. Digital Archive ServicesMaine State Archives
49. 22 M.R.S. §2706 Disclosure of vital recordsMaine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes
50. Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
51. Secretary of State warns of scams targeting Maine notaries, marriage officiants, corporations, and nonprofitsMaine Secretary of State
52. Registry of DeedsYork County, Maine
53. Maine Directory of Registries of DeedsMaine Registers of Deeds Association
54. Maine CourtsState of Maine Judicial Branch
55. Maine Probate (county probate courts site)County Probate Courts of Mainearchived copy