How to fill out Maine MVT-34

Maine's route to a certificate for a vehicle the title law otherwise ignores. Everything more than twenty-five model years old has fallen out of the ordinary system, which is fine until a buyer wants a document with the state's name on it. This affidavit, filed with a title application and a fee, produces a warranty title - a certificate that carries the Secretary of State's statement that there are no known liens or encumbrances against the vehicle. It is not automatic: a Maine Motor Vehicle Detective physically inspects the car first.

Written against MVT-34 (Rev 08-2024), issued under 29-A M.R.S. sections 101 and 651. This is the one Maine title fee that is not the usual one. The warranty title for an antique auto, antique motorcycle, classic vehicle or horseless carriage costs $40.00, and it is charged instead of the ordinary transfer fee rather than on top of it.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MVT-34 from the maine.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MVT-34 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank MVT-34 — Affidavit of Owner of an Antique Auto, Antique Motorcycle, Classic Vehicle, or Horseless Carriage PDF at maine.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in MVT-34 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual MVT-34, rendered from the PDF the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.

Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below

The Maine MVT-34 affidavit for an antique auto filled in as an annotated sample. Emile W. Pomerleau certifies residence in Norway in the County of Oxford and ownership of a 1966 Ford Mustang with its eleven-character vehicle identification number. The antique auto box is ticked and the antique motorcycle, classic vehicle and horseless carriage boxes are greyed out, and the notarisation block beneath carries the appearer's name, the day, the month, the year and Oxford County, with the owner's and the notary's signature rules left bare for ink. — One box of four, and the three greyed alternatives each carry a different age test printed underneath them. The identification number here is eleven characters rather than seventeen, because a 1966 car predates the standard, and the form takes it exactly as the vehicle wears it.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Certify where you live
City or town and county, in Maine.
Watch out: Residency is not a formality on this form. A warranty title is issued to a Maine resident owner and the affidavit is the proof of that.
2
You fill this in
Identify the vehicle
Year, make and vehicle identification number.
Watch out: Copy the number as the vehicle carries it. Anything built before the seventeen-character standard has a shorter one and the form is not expecting seventeen.
3
You fill this in
Read the four definitions before ticking
Antique auto, antique motorcycle, classic vehicle, or horseless carriage.
Watch out: They are printed in full underneath the boxes because they are the substance of the affidavit. The age tests differ and so do the use restrictions.
4
You fill this in
Check the use restriction
Three of the four definitions bar the vehicle from being the owner's primary mode of transportation.
Watch out: This is the clause most people sign past. A daily driver does not become an antique auto by being old.
5
You fill this in
Gather the ownership evidence
Any and all evidence of past and present ownership - bills of sale, registration certificates, title certificates.
Watch out: This is the part that takes weeks. Start with the oldest document you have and work forward; gaps are what the detective will ask about.
6
You fill this in
Take the two photographs
One showing the front and left side, one showing the rear and right side.
Watch out: The instruction is specific about which corners. Two three-quarter views from the same side are one photograph twice.
7
You fill this in
Sign in front of a notary
Printed name, signature, then the notary block under NOTARIZATION REQUIRED.
Watch out: Nothing on this affidavit works unsworn. It is one of only a handful of Maine vehicle forms that genuinely needs a notary.
8
Somebody else fills this in
Expect the inspection
A Maine Motor Vehicle Detective is assigned to inspect the vehicle physically.
Watch out: The detective is checking that the identification number has not been altered and that the vehicle is not stolen. Have it accessible and have the paperwork with it.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Residency	The city or town and the county in Maine where the applicant lives. The instructions list Maine residency as one of the six things the Secretary of State must be satisfied about.
The vehicle	Year, make and vehicle identification number.
The lien certification	One printed sentence: I further certify there are no liens or encumbrances against this vehicle. It is the sentence the warranty title is built on.
Which of the four	Four tick boxes, each with its statutory definition printed underneath in full. Antique auto: manufactured in or after model year 1916, more than thirty-five years old - or thirty-five or less and more than twenty-five, if it was registered in the State as an antique vehicle before January 2025 - with an original or original-specification engine, substantially maintained in original or restored condition, used primarily for exhibitions, club activities, parades or events of public interest or occasionally as a personal vehicle.
Antique motorcycle	The same age test applied to a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle, with the same engine rule, maintained primarily for exhibitions, club activities, parades or other functions of public interest.
Classic vehicle	At least sixteen years old but less than twenty-six, which the Secretary of State determines is of significance to vehicle collectors because of its make, model and condition, and is valued at more than $5,000.
Horseless carriage	Made before model year 1916, with an original or original-specification engine, maintained primarily for exhibitions, club activities, parades and other functions of public interest.
Signature and notarization	Printed name and signature of owner, then a notary block under the words NOTARIZATION REQUIRED.

What gets this one rejected

•An antique auto tick on a car used as the owner's primary mode of transportation, which the printed definition rules out by name.
•An antique auto tick on a reconstructed or altered vehicle, or one that has undergone a change in some of its component parts. The definition excludes all three.
•A classic vehicle claim on something worth less than the statutory threshold, which the definition sets in dollars on the face of the form.
•Two boxes ticked. The four definitions are alternatives with different age tests and the Secretary of State decides against one of them.
•An affidavit signed but not notarised, which the form forbids in capitals.
•A non-resident applicant. Maine residency is on both the affidavit and the list of things the Secretary of State must be satisfied about.
•An application with no photographs. The instructions require two - one showing the front and left side, the second the rear and right side.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•What the process actually is. File a title application, pay the $40.00 fee to Secretary of State, submit any and all evidence of past and present ownership such as bills of sale, registration certificates and title certificates, complete this notarised affidavit, and send two photographs. A Maine Motor Vehicle Detective is then assigned to inspect the vehicle physically.
•Six things the Secretary of State must be satisfied about. That the identification number has not been altered or tampered with, that the vehicle is not stolen, that there are no liens or encumbrances, that it meets one of the four definitions, that the applicant is a Maine resident, and that the applicant owns it.
•A warranty title is worth having before you sell. It states that there are no known liens or encumbrances, which is exactly the assurance a buyer of an old vehicle cannot otherwise get, and it is issued to a Maine resident owner on notarised evidence of ownership.
•The antique window moved recently. The definitions on this form carry a January 2025 cut-off inside them, for vehicles registered as antiques before that date under the older age test. Read the printed definition rather than remembering the rule.

Every line here was read off MVT-34 (Rev 08-2024) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Maine seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Maine involves.

How to fill out Maine MVT-34

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Certify where you live

Identify the vehicle

Read the four definitions before ticking

Check the use restriction

Gather the ownership evidence

Take the two photographs

Sign in front of a notary

Expect the inspection

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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