Maine People Search

A Maine search usually starts with business filings, the state prison and sex offender searches and re:SearchMaine for court cases, then the registry of deeds of the county. Vital records sit with the state office and the town clerk.

• Maine Secretary of State corporate name searchCorporations, LLCs, registered agents and officers
• Maine Department of Corrections adult resident searchPeople in state prisons and on probation
• Maine Sex Offender RegistryKept by the Maine State Police
• re:SearchMaineFree court record search for courts on eCourts; an account is needed
• Maine Registry of Deeds statewide portalLinks to the land records search of each county registry
• Maine CDC Vital RecordsBirth, marriage, divorce and death records from 1892 on

Maine's public records law is the Freedom of Access Act (FOAA), 1 M.R.S. § 401 and following, and most state and local government records are open. Records are spread over state offices, 16 counties and many towns and cities, so it helps to know which office keeps what.

Deeds are recorded by the county registries of deeds, while property assessments are made by each town or city. Maine courts are moving to the eCourts system region by region; York County courts joined in March 2026 and Cumberland County courts in September 2026. Records of courts on eCourts can be searched on re:SearchMaine.

Summary: check the county registry of deeds for deeds, the town or city assessor for tax records, and re:SearchMaine or the court clerk for court cases.

Many Maine state online services run through InforME, the state's online services partner, and are listed on Maine.gov.

• Maine.gov online servicesDirectory of online services of Maine state agencies

Maine has two trial courts: the Superior Court, with a courthouse in each county (two in Aroostook), hears serious civil and criminal cases, and the District Court, which sits in eight regions, hears smaller civil claims, family matters and minor criminal cases. Each county also has a Probate Court, and the Business and Consumer Docket hears business cases statewide.

Common Mistake: assuming every Maine court case can be searched online. re:SearchMaine covers courts on eCourts and shows only the dockets and documents the court allows online; for other records, contact the clerk of the court.

• Maine Judicial BranchCourt locations, eCourts news and help with court records

In Maine, deeds, mortgages and liens are recorded by the county registries of deeds, while the assessor is a town or city official, so tax cards and values come from the town or city. The statewide portal of the registries, linked in Where to Look, leads to the land records search of each county.

The Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions (under the SOS) manages corporate entities. For professional licensing, the Maine Office of Professional & Occupational Regulation (OPOR) serves as an umbrella agency.

• Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation licensee searchTrade, real estate and professional licenses

The Maine Department of Corrections has an online search of adults in state prisons or on probation, and the Maine State Police keeps the Sex Offender Registry. Both are linked in Where to Look.

Maine vital records (births, marriages, divorces and deaths) are kept by the Maine CDC Data, Research and Vital Statistics office and by the clerk of the town where the event happened. Births become public after 75 years, marriages after 50 years and deaths after 25 years.

Privacy Note: Maine restricts recent vital records to immediate family members and authorized legal representatives to prevent identity theft.

In Maine, the Central Voter Registration (CVR) system is managed by the Secretary of State. Access to the full voter file is restricted to political parties, candidates, and specific non-commercial entities. It is not available as a free public search for general people-finding.

For historical research, the Maine State Archives holds state and court records and genealogy collections. The Maine Historical Society and its Maine Memory Network, and many local historical societies, hold the papers of rural towns.

• Maine State Archives, genealogy researchState records, census and military records for family history

Newspapers: The Portland Press Herald and Bangor Daily News are the primary sources for obituaries and historical civic records.

Most Maine searches land in these counties:

• Cumberland County Registry of DeedsDeeds for Portland and the most populous county
• City of Portland AssessorProperty values and tax cards for Portland
• York County Registry of DeedsDeeds for Biddeford, Saco, Kittery and southern Maine
• Penobscot County Registry of DeedsDeeds for Bangor and central Maine
• Aroostook County Registries of DeedsNorthern and southern registries for the largest county east of the Mississippi

Start with property records and business filings to place a person in a town or county, then search re:SearchMaine or contact the District or Superior Court there for civil and criminal records.

Researcher Tip: When researching in Washington or Aroostook counties, be prepared to call municipal clerks directly. Many small Maine towns have limited online databases and still rely on paper ledgers.

The Secretary of State runs an Address Confidentiality Program (5 M.R.S. § 90-B) for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking. Maine has no general consumer privacy law; the Maine Online Data Privacy Act (LD 1822) died in the Legislature in April 2026.