Maine driving lesson · Owning and Maintaining Your Vehicle
Inspecting your vehicle
A 3-minute lesson from the Maine course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Maine requires a yearly safety inspection. The same checklist matters for your road test: the examiner won't test you in a vehicle that fails it. Learn the numbers for horn, brakes and tires.
Know the rule
Every Maine-registered motor vehicle must have a current Maine inspection before being operated on any public way. Inspections are done once a year at an official inspection station.
No current inspection sticker can mean a fine and loss of points on your license. Motorcycles must have a valid sticker too, and a police officer may inspect a vehicle at any time, including at legal roadblocks.
A vehicle safety check is part of the driver exam. No exam is given if the vehicle fails inspection criteria, any door doesn't work, seats aren't secured to the floor, or the glove compartment door won't stay closed.
You show up for your road test and the glove box keeps falling open. The examiner will refuse to give the test until it's fixed, even if the rest of the car is in perfect shape.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
How often must a Maine-registered vehicle be inspected?
Once a year
Every 2 years
Only when sold
Every 6 months
Answer: Once a year
Vehicles must have a current inspection completed once a year.