Bureau of Motor Vehicles Archives - Lewiston Sun Journal

Bureau of Motor Vehicles

Published
December 5, 2022

In Maine and nationwide, Real ID requirement for air travel is delayed – again

The Department of Homeland Security has pushed back the date for requiring federally approved IDs to May 2025.
Published
November 29, 2022

BMV branches will reopen to walk-in services Wednesday following threat

The bureau said only that the threat was 'potentially from an aggrieved customer.'
Published
November 2, 2022

With federal deadline just 6 months away, more Mainers are looking for a Real ID

Starting in May, a standard Maine driver's license won't be accepted at airport security gates. The state is bracing for a flood of applications for the new federally compliant identification.
Published
March 31, 2022

Question: Should Maine put the brakes on its vehicle safety inspections?

Maine lawmakers want to increase inspection fees to finance the creation of an electronic inspection system. Should we even be doing safety inspections?
Published
March 30, 2022

Bill would double vehicle inspection fee across most of Maine

The extra revenue would help pay to convert the inspection system to a more efficient electronic one, but Gov. Janet Mills said Wednesday she would veto the bill if it reaches her desk.
Published
March 18, 2022

BMV revokes license for Penobscot County driver whose manslaughter conviction went unnoticed

The license suspension appears to relate to a 2019 fatal crash in Bangor, and is the first corrective action by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to close a gap in how it processes suspensions for the most serious driving-related crimes.
Published
March 7, 2022

Bureaucratic error: Driver in bad crash in Oxford County shouldn’t have had a license

Convicted last summer of vehicular manslaughter, Ethan Rioux-Poulios should have been barred from driving for a decade. But an error by the courts and the BMV allowed him to keep his license. On Friday, he critically injured a woman in a police chase that ended in a wreck.
Published
October 17, 2021

Vulgar license plates are out as hundreds of new laws take effect in Maine

One of the statutes going on the books Monday limits what you can say on a vanity license plate and allows Maine's secretary of state to recall already-issued plates with offensive or violent messages.
Published
May 4, 2021

Maine secretary of state backs bills to keep trash talk off license plates

Lawmakers who don't like the proliferation of plates with objectionable content are proposing new limits and have the support of Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.
Published
March 22, 2021

Maine inspection sticker requirement comes under legislative scrutiny again

The Legislature's Transportation Committee is considering a slate of bills that could alter or do away with the state law requiring annual motor vehicle safety inspections.