Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

LAW WITHOUT
                                                                  GOVERNOR'S               CHAPTER
                                                                  SIGNATURE
                                                                                                328
                                                                  JUNE 17, 2025           PUBLIC LAW
                                  STATE OF MAINE
                                          _____
                           IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
                        TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
                                          _____
                                   S.P. 144 - L.D. 358
                An Act to Increase Fees Paid to Registers of Deeds
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
    Sec. 1. 33 MRSA §604, 3rd ¶, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 710, §1, is amended to
read:
     Registers shall photocopy each warranty or quitclaim deed send an electronic or paper
copy of transfers received and send the copy to the assessors of the appropriate municipality
in the format requested by the assessors within 30 days of recordation. They Registers may
charge a reasonable fee for such service a paper copy provided pursuant to this paragraph.
    Sec. 2. 33 MRSA §751, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 370, §1, is further
amended to read:
    1. Instruments generally. Receiving, recording and indexing any instrument that
may be recorded and for which a specific fee is not set forth in this section or in any other
section, the sum of $19 for the first record page and $2 for each additional record page or
portion of an additional record page. In addition, if more than 4 names are to be indexed,
a fee of $1 must be paid for each additional name, counting all grantors and grantees; a flat
fee charged as follows:
    A. Twenty-five dollars per instrument recorded at the request of the State or a
    municipality; and
    B. Thirty-five dollars per instrument recorded at the request of all other persons.
    Sec. 3. 33 MRSA §751, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2013, c. 370, §2, is further
amended to read:
    9. Plans. Recording, indexing and preserving plans, the sum of $21 $45;
    Sec. 4. 33 MRSA §751, sub-§13-A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 246, §3, is
repealed.
    Sec. 5. 33 MRSA §751, sub-§14-B, ¶A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 370, §3, is
further amended to read:
    A. Five Ten dollars per page for paper copies of plans; and
                                   Page 1 - 132LR0068(03)
    Sec. 6. 33 MRSA §751, sub-§14-D, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 370, §4, is amended
to read:
    14-D. Downloads of 1,000 or more consecutive electronic images or electronic
abstracts from a county registry of deeds. Acquiring downloads of 1,000 or more
consecutive electronic images or electronic abstracts from a county registry of deeds that
is equipped to and voluntarily agrees to provide downloads of 1,000 or more consecutive
electronic images or electronic abstracts pursuant to a written agreement with the person
requesting the downloads, 5¢ 25¢ per image or electronic abstract;
    Sec. 7. 33 MRSA §751, sub-§14-E, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 370, §5, is amended
to read:
    14-E. Electronic images, or printed images or electronic abstracts from a county
registry of deeds website. Acquiring electronic images, or printed images or electronic
abstracts from a county registry of deeds website as follows:
    A. No charge for the first 500 400 electronic images or electronic abstracts, or a
    combination of the first 500 images and electronic abstracts, acquired by a person in a
    calendar year; and
    B. Fifty cents per electronic image or electronic abstract for each subsequent image or
    electronic abstract after 500 400 electronic images acquired under paragraph A in the
    same calendar year, except that a municipality may not be charged a fee under this
    paragraph for acquisition of any number of electronic images from a county registry of
    deeds website; and
    C. One dollar per printed image acquired, not including any applicable postage rates
    set by the county; and
    Sec. 8. 33 MRSA §752, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2017, c. 116, §1, is further
amended to read:
    1. Surcharge. In addition to any other fees required by law, a register of deeds may
collect a surcharge of $3 $5 per document for all records that are recorded in the registry
of deeds, except those recorded by agencies of State Government, including quasi-
independent state entities as defined in Title 5, section 12021, subsection 5, and
municipalities.
    Sec. 9. 33 MRSA §753, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 370, §6, is repealed.
    Sec. 10. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.
                                   Page 2 - 132LR0068(03)
Statutes affected: 
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 328: 33.604, 33.751, 33.752, 33.753