MID MAINE SPORTS CAR CLUB

Several MMSCC members have been unable to register JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) vehicles such as the Nissan Figaro in Maine; and others have concerns about registering personally imported cars that were manufactured to foreign (not U.S.) safety or emissions standards. These include cars made by companies such as TVR, which did not or do not have US dealerships, and ‘gray market’ cars from companies that do have US dealers but that were sold overseas when they were new. 

 

Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles has changed some of its registration criteria and is rewriting its regulations to try to ensure that all vehicles carrying Maine plates, wherever and whenever they were made, meet whatever US safety and emissions standards were in effect in that vehicle’s year of manufacture (not the model year).

 

To try to clarify the changes and help steer members through the process of registering ‘specialty’ vehicles in Maine, MMSCC offers these registration guidelines as downloadable pdfs:
 

• Imported Cars

• Vintage & Classic Cars

• Antique Cars 

• Documents Required to Import a Car into Maine

• Federal Regulations for Cars Imported to Maine

• Steps to Take if an Imported Car’s Registration is Cancelled

• Registering an Imported Vehicle if a Town Office Does Not Issue Registrations

• Can I Still Drive an Imported Car While I Re-register it?

• Can I Drive an Imported car in Maine with its Foreign License Plates?

• Are Temporary Permits Available for Driving an Unregistered Imported Car?

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A word of caution: Currently, some states register cars that Maine no longer will; owners may simply need a Post Office box in that state. This is legal (although questionable, since no tax is paid here), but insuring a car—or filing an insurance claim on a car—registered elsewhere but domiciled and driven in Maine may be difficult.

 

Another word of caution: Reportedly, some town clerks in Maine are not aware of the BMV’s new registration regulations; however, this is changing, and the state can cancel non-conforming registrations even after they’ve been issued. 

 

In some states, car clubs and SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, have been able to overturn or modify rules against, for example, Kei-class vehicles. MMSCC is not aware of any movement in Augusta to change the vehicle registration regulations spelled out here, but will keep the membership informed of any changes.