FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2012
Contact: Megan Sanborn
(207) 441-0501

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Motorcycle Registration and Inspection Sticker Changes

AUGUSTA —Secretary of State Charlie Summers reminds Maine’s motorcycle owners of the changes that were made to registration and inspections stickers. Last session, the legislature passed LD 221, “An Act to Make Changes to the Motorcycle Inspection Program.” LD 221 changed the law to require the motorcycle inspection sticker to be displayed on the vehicle’s registration plate.

The new requirement starts in March, and will be phased in over the next year. The inspection sticker will be placed in the plate’s upper left corner. In order to accommodate the inspection sticker, all motorcycle registrations (except those classes not required to be inspected) will be changed to a fixed March expiration. Starting in April 2012, when a motorcycle is registered or renewed, the expiration date will be changed to expire in the next March. The registrant will be issued a combined month/year sticker, which should be placed in the upper right corner.

In order to transition into a mandatory March expiration, registration fees and excise taxes will be prorated for the correct number of months. The standard annual motorcycle registration fee is $21.

In the future, when an owner registers a newly acquired motorcycle, the registration fee and excise tax will be prorated to reflect a March expiration. However, fees for delayed renewal will be calculated in accordance with existing state law, and generally full fees will be charged.

To facilitate fee calculation and to ease the municipal clerks’ workloads, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles encourages motorcycle registrants to use the online service Rapid Renewal to renew whenever possible. Approximately three-quarters of all Maine registrants live in towns participating in Rapid Renewal. https://www1.maine.gov/online/bmv/rapid-renewal/