An Act to Increase Fees Paid to Registers of Deeds
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0358
Sponsors: BENNETT
Amends: 33 MRSA §751, 33 MRSA §752

Legislative Document
No. 358
S.P. 144
In Senate, February 3, 2025
An Act to Increase Fees Paid to Registers of Deeds
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on January 30, 2025.  Referred to the Committee 
on State and Local Government pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BENNETT of Oxford.
Cosponsored by Senators: BAILEY of York, LIBBY of Cumberland, MARTIN of Oxford.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  33 MRSA §751, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 370, §1, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Instruments generally.  Receiving, recording and indexing any instrument that 
may be recorded and for which a specific fee is not set forth in this section or in any other 
section, the sum of $19 for the first record page and $2 for each additional record page or 
portion of an additional record page $45 per instrument recorded.  In addition, if more than 
names are to be indexed, a fee of $1 must be paid for each additional name, counting all 
grantors and grantees;
Sec. 2.  33 MRSA §751, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2013, c. 370, §2, is further 
amended to read:
9.  Plans.  Recording, indexing and preserving plans, the sum of $21 $45;
Sec. 3.  33 MRSA §751, sub-§13-A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 246, §3, is 
repealed.
Sec. 4.  33 MRSA §751, sub-§14-B, ¶A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 370, §3, is 
further amended to read:
A.  Five Ten dollars per page for paper copies of plans; and
Sec. 5.  33 MRSA §751, sub-§14-D, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 370, §4, is amended 
to read:
14-D.  Downloads of 1,000 or more consecutive electronic images or electronic 
abstracts from a county registry of deeds.  Acquiring downloads of 1,000 or more 
consecutive electronic images or electronic abstracts from a county registry of deeds 
equipped to provide downloads of images or electronic abstracts, 5¢ 50¢ per image or 
electronic abstract. A person acquiring downloads of 1,000 or more consecutive electronic 
images or abstracts from a county registry of deeds may not sell such images or abstracts 
to another person;
Sec. 6.  33 MRSA §751, sub-§14-E, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 370, §5, is amended 
to read:
14-E.  Electronic images, printed images or electronic abstracts from a county 
registry of deeds website.  Acquiring electronic images, printed images or electronic 
abstracts from a county registry of deeds website as follows:
A.  No charge for the first 500 100 images or electronic abstracts, or a combination of 
the first 500 100 images and electronic abstracts, acquired by a person in a calendar 
year; and
B.  Fifty cents per image or electronic abstract for each subsequent image or electronic 
abstract after 500 100 acquired in the same calendar year; and
Sec. 7.  33 MRSA §752, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2017, c. 116, §1, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Surcharge.  In addition to any other fees required by law, a register of deeds may 
collect a surcharge of $3 $5 per document for all records that are recorded in the registry 
of deeds, except those recorded by agencies of State Government, including quasi-
independent state entities as defined in Title 5, section 12021, subsection 5, and 
municipalities.
Sec. 8.  33 MRSA §752, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 294, §3, is amended to 
read:
5.  Annual report.  The register of deeds for each county shall report annually to the 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and local 
government matters on the amount of surcharge funds raised and expended and the use of 
those funds if requested to do so by the committee.  The registers of deeds may jointly 
prepare and submit the report required under this subsection, as long as the required 
information is separately described for each county.
Sec. 9.  Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.
SUMMARY
This bill increases fees paid to a county register of deeds for certain services. It 
implements a flat fee of $45 for receiving, recording and indexing instruments that do not 
already have a specific fee set forth in statute and changes the fee for recording, indexing 
and preserving plans to $45. The bill also increases fees applicable to electronic or printed 
images and electronic abstracts from a county registry of deeds website and increases the 
surcharge a register of deeds may collect per document. It also increases the fees associated 
with downloads of 1,000 or more consecutive electronic images or abstracts from a county 
registry of deeds and prohibits the buyer from selling such images or abstracts to another 
person. The bill also repeals a $13 fee for requests for more than one previously recorded 
instrument. In current law, an annual report is required from the register of deeds for each 
county to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and 
local government matters on the amount of surcharge funds raised and expended and the 
use of those funds; the bill makes the report required only if requested by the committee.