State record · ME · 2026-09-01 · Statute

Maine

Live on this state’s ALPR statute. The occupancy form on file is not a named ALPR highway instrument. A live card is not a permit in hand.

Highway system

Primary

23 M.R.S. § 53 classifies Maine highways as: (1) state highways — a system of connected main highways throughout the State which primarily serve arterial or through traffic; (2) state aid highways — highways not in the state-highway system that primarily serve as collector and feeder routes connecting local service roads to the arterial state highway system; (3) town ways — all other highways, maintained by the towns, primarily local service roads providing access to adjacent land. This is not Florida’s State Highway System.

Owner

Primary

“The department” (MaineDOT) classifies the highways under 23 M.R.S. § 53. Town ways are maintained by the towns. Maintenance, repair, and upkeep of state and state-aid highways that are reclassified as town ways become the towns’ responsibility, and the State’s rights in those highways transfer to the towns. Day-to-day maintenance of remaining state and state-aid highways is not packed beyond that reclassification sentence.

Right-of-way

Not retrieved

not packed. Maine’s statutory definition of the land strip that is highway right-of-way is not packed in this build. Do not substitute Florida § 334.03(21). MaineDOT’s Location Permit is described as a license to locate facilities within the public right-of-way limits; that is an instrument description, not a width definition.

Public records

Primary

Freedom of Access Act (1 M.R.S. § 408-A (Title 1, ch. 13)). Who may request: A person (1 M.R.S. § 408-A: “a person has the right to inspect and copy any public record” except as otherwise provided by statute) ALPR data collected under 29-A M.R.S. § 2117-A(3) are confidential under Title 1, chapter 13 (§ 2117-A(4)). Do not assume plate reads are public FOAA records.

ALPR data collected under 29-A M.R.S. § 2117-A(3) are confidential under Title 1, chapter 13 (§ 2117-A(4)). Do not assume plate reads are public FOAA records.

Open meetings

Primary

Freedom of Access Act — public proceedings (1 M.R.S. § 403 (Title 1, ch. 13))

ALPR statute

Primary

29-A M.R.S. § 2117-A — Use of automated license plate recognition systems. General prohibition: a person may not use an ALPR system except as in subsection 3 (2009). Exceptions: (A) MaineDOT for protecting public safety and transportation infrastructure; (B) Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, for commercial motor vehicle screening and inspection; (C) any state, county, or municipal law-enforcement agency when providing public safety, conducting criminal investigations, and ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal laws — and for (C) the system may use only information entered by a law-enforcement officer based on specific and articulable facts of a concern for safety, wrongdoing, or a criminal investigation, or pursuant to a civil order, or records from NCIC or an official published law-enforcement bulletin. Authorized users may use a system only for the official and legitimate purposes of the user’s employer. Data are confidential under Title 1, ch. 13. Toll photo-monitoring by the Maine Turnpike Authority or LE for toll enforcement is carved out of the definition. Violation is a Class E crime. This is not a permit to occupy highway ROW. Retention: Data that are not intelligence and investigative record information (16 M.R.S. § 803(7)) and are not collected for commercial motor vehicle screening may not be stored for more than 21 days (§ 2117-A(5), 2013 amendment)..

ROW permit

Primary

Highway Opening Permit; Location Permit for utility-style facilities in the public right-of-way. Who may apply: Location Permit: anyone installing new facilities along a public highway corridor (MaineDOT page; 35-A M.R.S. § 2502 / Utility Accommodation Rules § 5). Highway Opening Permit: authorization to excavate or install fixtures within the state right-of-way (Utility Accommodation Rules § 6). Applications go to the MaineDOT Regional Office where the work would occur. ALPR-specific permit type not listed.. Instrument names are from MaineDOT’s own Location and Opening Permits page, 1 Sept 2026. No ALPR-named MaineDOT permit was on that page or the Utility Services page. Do not import Florida’s General Use Permit, Minnesota OLPA, or Utah Special Use.

Instrument names are from MaineDOT’s own Location and Opening Permits page, 1 Sept 2026. No ALPR-named MaineDOT permit was on that page or the Utility Services page. Do not import Florida’s General Use Permit, Minnesota OLPA, or Utah Special Use.

https://www.maine.gov/dot/doing-business/utility-services/location-and-opening-permits

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