Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1251 – License required
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1. Violation. Except as provided in section 510, subsection 1, a person commits an offense of operating a motor vehicle without a license if that person operates a motor vehicle on a public way or parking area:
A. Without being licensed. Violation of this paragraph is a Class E crime, which is a strict liability crime as defined in Title 17?A, section 34, subsection 4-A; [PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §17 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
B. In violation of a condition or restriction on the license. Violation of this paragraph is a Class E crime, which is a strict liability crime as defined in Title 17?A, section 34, subsection 4-A; [PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §17 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
C. Without a license issued by this State if a resident of this State for more than 30 days but fewer than 90 days. Violation of this paragraph is a traffic infraction; [PL 2005, c. 314, §5 (AMD).]
D. Without a license issued by this State if a resident of this State for more than 90 days. Violation of this paragraph is a Class E crime, which is a strict liability crime as defined in Title 17?A, section 34, subsection 4-A; or [PL 2005, c. 314, §5 (AMD).]
E. Unless a permit is issued pursuant to subsection 7, with a license issued by this State that expired within the previous 90 days. Violation of this paragraph is a traffic infraction. [PL 2013, c. 24, §1 (AMD).]
[PL 2013, c. 24, §1 (AMD).]
Attorney's Note
Under the Maine Revised Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class E crime | up to 6 months | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1251
- Bureau: means the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Law enforcement officer: means a person who by virtue of public employment is vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crimes, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- License: includes , but is not limited to, a nonresident operating privilege and the privilege of a person to apply for or obtain a license or permit to operate a motor vehicle. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- Motor vehicle: means a self-propelled vehicle not operated exclusively on railroad tracks, but does not include:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101Nonresident: means a person whose legal residence is not in the State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Operator: means an individual who drives or is in control of a vehicle or who is exercising control over or steering a towed vehicle. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Parking area: means an area designed for use as access or parking for patrons and customers of establishments to which the public is invited. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Person: means an individual, corporation, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, fiduciary, trust, estate or any other legal or commercial entity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Public way: means a way, owned and maintained by the State, a county or a municipality, over which the general public has a right to pass. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Resident: means a person who has declared or established residency in this State or has been domiciled in this State for a period of at least 30 days, except for persons in compliance with section 109, subsection 1. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, bicycles and other conveyances either singly or together using public way for travel. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Traffic infraction: means any violation of any provision of this Title, or of any rules established under this Title, not expressly defined as a crime or as a civil violation and otherwise not punishable by incarceration. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 United States: includes territories and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72 Vehicle: means a device for conveyance of persons or property on a way. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Way: means the entire width between boundary lines of a road, highway, parkway, street or bridge used for vehicular traffic, whether public or private. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
1-A. Residents required to obtain license. Within 30 days of becoming a resident of this State, a person shall apply to obtain a license in accordance with section 1301. Except as provided in section 510, subsection 1, a person who fails to comply with the requirement of this subsection and operates a motor vehicle on a public way or parking area commits:
A. A traffic infraction if the person has been a resident for less than 90 days; or [PL 1999, c. 771, Pt. C, §9 (NEW); PL 1999, c. 771, Pt. D, §§1, 2 (AFF).]
B. A Class E crime if the person has been a resident for at least 90 days. [PL 1999, c. 771, Pt. C, §9 (NEW); PL 1999, c. 771, Pt. D, §§1, 2 (AFF).]
[PL 2001, c. 687, §14 (AMD).]
2. Penalty.
[PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §18 (RP); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
3. Issue restrictions. A person may not receive a license unless:
A. That person surrenders all valid licenses in that person’s possession issued by any jurisdiction; and [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
B. The Secretary of State is satisfied that the applicant is a proper person to receive a license. [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
4. Number limited. A person may not have more than one valid license, unless authorized by the Secretary of State. A person may not have more than one commercial license.
[RR 1993, c. 2, §19 (COR).]
5. Age limit. A license, except a special restricted license under section 1256, may not be issued to a person who has not attained 16 years of age.
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
6. Exemptions. The following people are exempt from the license requirements of this chapter:
A. A nonresident who is 16 years of age or older and who has in that person’s possession a valid license or learner’s permit issued by that person’s state or province. A nonresident operator shall adhere to all restrictions applied to the license or learner’s permit issued by that person’s state or province. A nonresident who is not yet 16 years of age may not operate a motor vehicle; [PL 2013, c. 381, Pt. B, §10 (AMD).]
B. A person on active duty in the United States Armed Forces, if that person possesses:
(1) A valid license issued by that person’s state of domicile; or
(2) For a period of 45 days after return from duty outside the United States, a valid license issued by the United States Armed Forces in foreign countries; [PL 1995, c. 482, Pt. B, §17 (AMD).]
C. A spouse of a member of the United States Armed Forces while accompanying that member on active duty assignment to this State, and who is not a resident of this State and who has a valid license issued by another jurisdiction; and [PL 1995, c. 482, Pt. B, §17 (AMD).]
D. A person operating a motor vehicle in a parking area under the supervision of an instructor during career and technical education as defined by Title 20?A, section 8301?A, subsection 2-A. [RR 2003, c. 2, §92 (COR).]
[PL 2013, c. 381, Pt. B, §10 (AMD).]
7. Temporary permit to operate a motor vehicle with an expired license. Upon stopping an operator of a motor vehicle who is in violation of subsection 1, paragraph E, a law enforcement officer may issue a permit to the operator of the motor vehicle to operate the motor vehicle to the operator’s residence or to an office of the bureau for the sole purpose of renewing the operator’s license.
[PL 2013, c. 24, §2 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
RR 1993, c. 2, §19 (COR). PL 1993, c. 683, §A2 (NEW). PL 1993, c. 683, §B5 (AFF). PL 1995, c. 65, §A99 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 65, §§A153,C15 (AFF). PL 1995, c. 482, §§B17,18 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 584, §§B5,6 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 771, §C9 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 771, §§D1,2 (AFF). PL 2001, c. 687, §§13,14 (AMD). RR 2003, c. 2, §92 (COR). PL 2003, c. 452, §§Q17,18 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 452, §X2 (AFF). PL 2005, c. 314, §§5,6 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 24, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 381, Pt. B, §10 (AMD).