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Motor Vehicle

Motor Vehicle Registration

Caribou City Office
25 High Street
Caribou, Maine 04736

Need a Motor Vehicle Registration Renewal Reminder?

Sign up to receive a reminder next year a month before your vehicle registration expires. Follow this link:

http://www.maine.gov/online/bmv/rapid-renewal/

Renewal of many vehicle registrations can be completed online through the State of Maine’s Rapid Renewal website. Click the link below to begin the process.

Renew your Vehicle Online (Rapid Renewal)

You will need your current valid registration, current mileage and insurance information.

You can also renew in person at the City Clerk’s Office at Caribou City Office. We take cash and checks. We also accept credit and debit cards, though a 2.5% processing fee will be added to the total.

To expedite your re-registration, you will need:

  • Expiring registration
  • Current insurance card
  • Odometer reading

New Registrations and Transfer of Registrations to

New/New-to-you Vehicles

The City of Caribou will collect the Excise Tax and the registration portion will need to be completed at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

To expedite the collection of excise tax on a new registration, you will need:

  • Title application or previous owner’s title, signed over to new owner (1995 or newer)
  • Window sticker (brand new vehicles only)

To expedite the collection of excise tax on a transfer registration, you will need:

  • Registration of vehicle you are transferring from
  • Title application or previous owner’s title, signed over to new owner (1995 or newer)
  • Window sticker (brand new vehicles only)

Motor Vehicle Excise Tax and Registration Fees

In Maine, the excise tax is based on the MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) of the vehicle when it was sold new. That is why Maine law provides that each new automobile, SUV, van or light truck registered for the first time must be accompanied by the Monroney Label (window sticker).

The law provides that excise tax declines over the first six years of the vehicle’s life and is calculated as follows:

  • First year                                     $24.00 per $1000 of MSRP
  • Second year                                 $17.50 per $1000 of MSRP
  • Third year                                    $13.50 per $1000 of MSRP
  • Fourth year                                  $10.00 per $1000 of MSRP
  • Fifth year                                      $ 6.50 per $1000 of MSRP
  • Sixth and subsequent years      $ 4.00 per $1000 of MSRP

If you know the “sticker price” of a new car, you can calculate the excise tax by subtracting the destination charges, dividing the result by $1,000 and multiplying that by $24.00.

New Vehicle Example:

Sticker price                            $26,000
Destination charges                 – $550
Total                                          $25,450

$25,450 / $1,000 = $25.45
$25.45 x $24.00 = $610.80

Excise tax                                 $610.80

The same method will be used to calculate the fees to re-register the same vehicle the following year. Your old registration will show the MSRP as the base and the mil rate used. The new mil rate will drop down one year as shown above.

Re-registration Example:

MSRP                                       $25,450
Excise tax                                 $445.38 (25,450 / 1,000 x 17.50)
Registration fee                      $35.00
Agent fee                                  $5.00
Total cost to re-register         $483.38