Maine FOIA procedures

Maine FOIA procedures
FOIA laws in Maine
Freedom of Information Act
Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
FOIA procedures by state
AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

Each state has laws governing public access to governmental records. These laws are sometimes known as open records laws, public records laws, or FOIA laws after the federal Freedom of Information Act. These FOIA laws define the procedures that people can use to obtain access to these records.

This article describes FOIA procedures in Maine as of May 2025. On this page you will find:

• How to request public records
• Who may request public records
• Fees associated with public records requests
• Required response times for requests
• Exemptions to public records requests

How to request public records in Maine

The Maine Freedom of Access Act (Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, chapter 13, subchapter 1) says, "A person may copy a public record in the office of the agency or official having custody of the public record during reasonable office hours or may request that the agency or official having custody of the record provide a copy." According to Maine.gov:

“

There is no central government records office that services Freedom of Access Act requests. Each public body or agency responds individually to requests for its own records. To submit a request, you should determine which public body or agency is likely to maintain the records you are seeking and submit a request to the individual designated as the Freedom of Access Act contact for that body or agency. Please refer to the State of Maine Freedom of Access Act Contacts list for individual contact information. Is there a form that must be used to make a Freedom of Access Act request? No. There are no required forms. Does my Freedom of Access Act request have to be in writing? No. The Freedom of Access Act does not require that requests for public records be in writing. However, most bodies and agencies ask individuals to submit requests in writing in order to maintain a record of when the request was received and what records were specifically requested. What should I say in my request? In order for the body, agency or official to promptly respond to your request, you should be as specific as possible when describing the records you are seeking. If a particular document is required, it should be identified precisely—preferably by author, date and title. However, a request does not have to be that specific. If you cannot identify a specific record, you should clearly explain the type of records you are seeking, from what timeframe and what subject the records should contain. For example, assume you want to obtain a list of active landfills near your home. A request to the state Department of Environmental Protection asking for “all records on landfills” is very broad and would likely produce volumes of records. The fees for such a request would be very high; the agency would likely find your request too vague and ask that you make it more specific. On the other hand, a request for “all records identifying landfills within 20 miles of 147 Main Street in Augusta” is very specific and the request might fail to produce the information you desire because the agency has no record containing data organized in that exact fashion. You might instead consider requesting any record that identifies “all active landfills in Augusta” or “all active landfills in Kennebec County.” It is more likely that a record exists which contains this information. You might also want to explain to the agency exactly what information you hope to learn from the record. In other words, if you are really trying to determine whether any active landfills near your home in Augusta accept only wood waste, this additional explanation may help the agency narrow its search and find a record that meets the exact request.

”

Purpose and use

Maine law does not require a statement of purpose when requesting public records and does not place restrictions on the use of records. According to Maine.gov, "[t]he FOAA does not specifically prohibit agencies or officials from asking why an individual is requesting a public record. However, if asked, the individual is not required to provide a reason for seeking a record, and the agency cannot deny an individual's request based solely on either the individual's refusal to provide a reason or the reason itself."

Who may request public records?

See also: List of who can make public record requests by state

Anyone may request public records in Maine. According to Maine Revised Statutes 408-A, "Except as otherwise provided by statute, a person has the right to inspect and copy any public record in accordance with this section within a reasonable time of making the request to inspect or copy the public record."

Maine is among 42 states that do not require individuals requesting public records to be state residents.

Fees

See also: How much do public records cost?

Maine law allows a fee to be charged to cover the cost of copying records, as well as staff time exceeding an hour. According to Maine Revised Statutes:

“

8. Payment of costs. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law or court order, an agency or official having custody of a public record may charge fees for public records as follows. A. The agency or official may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of copying. A reasonable fee to cover the cost of copying is no more than 10¢ per page for a standard 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches black and white copy of a record. A per-page copy fee may not be charged for records provided electronically. [PL 2021, c. 313, §1 (AMD).] B. The agency or official may charge a fee to cover the actual cost of searching for, retrieving and compiling the requested public record in accordance with this paragraph. Compiling the public record includes reviewing and redacting confidential information. (1) The agency or official may not charge a fee for the first 2 hours of staff time per request. (2) After the first 2 hours of staff time, the agency or official may charge a fee of not more than $25 per hour. [PL 2021, c. 375, §1 (AMD).] C. The agency or official may charge for the actual cost to convert a public record into a form susceptible of visual or aural comprehension or into a usable format and for the actual cost of a device used to store the public record if the storage device will be given to the requester by the agency or official. [PL 2023, c. 155, §2 (AMD).] D. An agency or official may not charge for inspection unless the public record cannot be inspected without being compiled or converted, in which case paragraph B or C applies. [PL 2011, c. 662, §5 (NEW).] E. The agency or official may charge for the actual mailing costs to mail a copy of a record. [PL 2011, c. 662, §5 (NEW).] F. An agency or official may require payment of all costs before the public record is provided to the requester. [PL 2017, c. 158, §1 (NEW).] ... 11. Waivers. The agency or official having custody or control of a public record subject to a request under this section may waive part or all of the total fee charged pursuant to subsection 8 if: A. The requester is indigent; or [PL 2011, c. 662, §5 (NEW).] B. The agency or official considers release of the public record requested to be in the public interest because doing so is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. [PL 2011, c. 662, §5 (NEW).]

”

Response time

See also: Request response times by state

Public entities must acknowledge the receipt of a records request within five business days. The entity must provide a good faith estimate for when the records will be made available to the requestor. According to Maine Revised Statutes 408-A:

“

Acknowledgment; clarification; time estimate; cost estimate. The agency or official having custody or control of a public record shall acknowledge receipt of a request made according to this section within 5 working days of receiving the request and may request clarification concerning which public record or public records are being requested. Within a reasonable time of receiving the request, the agency or official shall provide a good faith, nonbinding estimate of the time frame within which the agency or official will comply with the request and a cost estimate as provided in subsection 9. The agency or official shall make a good faith effort to fully respond to the request within the estimated time frame. For purposes of this subsection, the date a request is received is the date a sufficient description of the public record is received by the agency or official at the office responsible for maintaining the public record. An agency or official that receives a request for a public record that is maintained by that agency but is not maintained by the office that received the request shall forward the request to the office of the agency or official that maintains the record, without willful delay, and shall notify the requester that the request has been forwarded and that the office to which the request has been forwarded will acknowledge receipt within 5 working days of receiving the request. [PL 2023, c. 155, §1 (AMD).]

”

As of May 2025, 11 states had no mandated response time. Of the 39 states with response time limits, 12 allow agencies to extend response times in certain cases, while 27 allow no exceptions. Eight states required responses in three days or fewer, 11 in five days or fewer, 13 in 10 days or fewer, and seven in 20 days or fewer.

Exemptions

According to Maine.gov, "[T]here are over 300 statutory exceptions to the Freedom of Access Act’s definition of a public record. Many of these exceptions specifically designate a certain type of record, or a class of information within a record, as confidential or otherwise not subject to the Freedom of Access laws."

To search statutory exemptions to the Maine Freedom of Access Act, click here.

See also

• Freedom of Information Act

External links

• Maine Revised Statutes
• Maine State Legislature - Exceptions to Maine’s Freedom of Access laws (search)
• Maine State Archives
• Maine Freedom of Access Act - Frequently Asked Questions