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Welcome to the Department of the Secretary of State with three distinct bureaus - the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions, the Maine State Archives and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. While each bureau has unique duties in the services and information it provides to the citizens of Maine, they all share the Department's goal of providing quality services. [ Read more about the Department ]

A smiling Secretary Bellows

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows

Important Information

All Bureau of Motor Vehicle phone lines are open Monday - Friday from 8:30 - 4:30

Schedule an Appointment at a Branch

State delays and closures - You may sign up for various citizen alerts through this webpage link.

Official State Holiday Schedule

List of all holidays (PDF)

In observance Memorial Day, all Secretary of State offices will be closed Monday, May 26, 2025.

Secretary of State issues final wording on referendum question

AUGUSTA, MAINE – Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced the final wording of a referendum question on Friday. 

The wording of the citizens’ initiative question"An Act to Protect Maine Communities by Enacting the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act" will be:

“Do you want to allow courts to temporarily prohibit a person from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the person poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others?”

Maine legislators and the Secretary of State make formal request to TSA, DHS to phase in Real ID implementation

Maine leaders are requesting that TSA Issue warnings

AUGUSTA, Maine – The Secretary of State and members of the Maine legislature today announced that they have sent a letter to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) formally requesting a phased-in approach to the implementation of the Real ID Act.

Pine Tree license plates to begin replacing retiring Chickadee plates tomorrow

Mainers will gradually receive their plates as they register their vehicles 

AUGUSTA, Maine - Beginning tomorrow, Mainers will have the option to choose either a “Pine Tree” design as the standard license plate offering or “No Tree” – a classic plain plate with text and numbers in blue and green and no image. The new offerings will replace the retiring “Chickadee” license plates, a popular staple in Maine for the past 25 years. 

Maine Secretary of State’s statement on court order to pause portion of election administration executive order

March 25 executive risks disenfranchising many Maine voters

AUGUSTA, Maine — A federal judge in Washington, D.C. paused a key section of a March 25 executive order “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” which threatened to disenfranchise many eligible voters, including here in Maine. Today’s court order in League of Women Voters et. al. v. Trump et. al.

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