Portland, Maine, Now Ticketing Cars With Expired Registration

While you're parked in Portland, Maine, make sure your meter is fed and your registration is up to date.

According to the Portland Press Herald, Portland has been ticketing for unregistered cars since November 2023. Yes, this is new. The Portland City Council voted unanimously back in October to change the city’s parking regulations to include, among other things, a new $35 violation for unregistered cars.

Getting a ticket for an unregistered car was usually something you would only get while driving. I would also say that most of us forget to register our car at some point in our driving life. Portland understands that, and there is a two-month grace period. Also, before you get your pitchfork out and protest Portland's mean new policy, it's pretty forgiving.

READ MORE: 25 Pictures of Some Unbelievably Bad Parking in Maine

According to the Press Herald,

...the city insisted this isn’t a “crackdown” on unregistered cars – and that the city’s parking enforcement division is actually understaffed. Since the new regulations went into effect on Nov. 15, the city has issued 1,567 tickets for unregistered vehicles. Just under 300 of those tickets have been forgiven and almost 500 have been paid.

If you register your car within 30 days of receiving a ticket, you will not have to pay the fine.

Did you know there are 36 different parking violations in Portland, Maine?

If you are in Portland, Maine you know that parking can be a challenge. But an expired meter is not all you need to be concerned about within the city. I've seen it happen, but have never known there was a ticket for taking up two parking spaces ($20 fine). If you park your car against the flow of traffic, you could get a ticket for that too ($35 fine).

The real reason for the new parking violation of unregistered vehicles is about money. If your car isn't registered, the city doesn't get its excise tax and well, I think we all know that everyone has a budget to meet.