How Di I Register My Small Cargo Trailer In The State Of Maine

Even for a Massachusetts native, at that place are plenty of reasons to visit New England'due south northernmost state. Get for the legendary lobstah. Bank check out the vast beaches or historic hiking trails. Shop the famed outlets, and score your favorite fashions for less.

Simply if yous're looking to score a bargain on your trailer's registration, you're wiser to stay close to home.

In recent years, many Massachusetts residents and business owners take succeeded in registering their semi- or utility trailers in Maine. Learning that registration fees and taxes are lower at that place, these drivers have made the trek up I95, the advisable documentation in manus. They've headed back down with Maine-issued registration for a trailer that their Massachusetts-registered vehicle will pull.

The connected prevalence of this practice is understandable. Information technology's an up-forepart cost saver, and there's a widespread notion that the Bay Land allows information technology. Unfortunately, this notion is inaccurate in about cases, and a registrant's lack of awareness may be irrelevant to a land trooper who catches the infraction.

Maine-ly illegal

State law requires that if a commercial or consumer vehicle registered in Massachusetts pulls a trailer, that trailer also must be registered in Massachusetts.

Exceptions apply for "apportioned" vehicles (more on that beneath).

The state potentially loses hundreds of dollars in taxes for every trailer that "lives"here but is unlawfully registered elsewhere. Given the increasing number of Maine-plated trailers traveling Massachusetts highways and byways, that puts missing revenue in the millions for a single year. The state's active and escalating crackdown on this problem is not only unsurprising; it's been a long time coming.

To be off-white, "offender" probably would be a harsh label for many of these trailers' registrants, who are honestly unaware they've even broken a police until they larn the hard way: a fine of up to $500 for every year of illegal registration. Even professionals in the ship and related industries may lack the facts.

So why such pervasive confusion around this statute? A couple of primary reasons are likely:

The "apportioned" exception. Simply wait, a trailer possessor might think, I see legit Mass.-based businesses hauling Maine-plated semi-trailers all the fourth dimension. Are they all breaking laws? Non necessarily. Side by side time, detect the plate on the vehicle itself. If a Massachusetts license plate displays APP, PRP and/or the word APPORTIONED, that vehicle may legally pull a trailer registered in Maine (or another state). Apportioned registration is based on regular interstate travel and other specific criteria, and generally simply applies to large commercial trucks.

It doesn't matter to Maine. The police force in question is a state constabulary, and the state is Massachusetts. Therefore, if a trailer owner comes to the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) with the required documentation (such as neb of auction) and payment, the BMV is generally within its legal rights to issue the registration. Indeed, at that place are even independent companies that provide online services for obtaining Maine trailer registrations. Only equally one of these businesses, Maine Trailer Registrations, explicitly states on its web site: "Information technology is your sole responsibility… to become educated of any applicable laws specific to your country regarding trailer registration."

Insurance companies have a responsibility, too: their client's financial protection. To this terminate, some may reject to insure a Maine-registered trailer that a non-apportioned Massachusetts vehicle plans to pull. Inconvenient, maybe, only a registration transfer today beats a hefty citation tomorrow.

Your best bet? Work with your Dowd agent from the commencement to make sure your choices are legally sound. Stops around town or destinations abroad, y'all tin can get at that place from here—and nosotros can assist.