Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 17
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17, § 3203 (2026)

Sales of motor vehicles prohibited

✓ current as of May 2026
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1.  Sales of motor vehicles on Sunday prohibited.  Except as provided in section 3203-A, on Sunday a person may not:  
A. Carry on or engage in the business of buying, selling, exchanging, dealing or trading in new or used motor vehicles;   [PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. I, §54 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
B. Open any place of business or lot in which that person attempts to or does engage in the business of buying, selling, exchanging, dealing or trading in new or used motor vehicles; or   [PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. I, §54 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
C. Buy, sell, exchange, deal or trade in new or used motor vehicles.   [PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. I, §54 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
[PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. I, §54 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
2.  Penalty.  A person who violates this section commits a Class E crime. Violation of this section is a strict liability crime as defined in Title 17‑A, section 34, subsection 4-A. If the person is the holder of dealer or transporter registration plates under Title 29-A, chapter 9, the person is subject to the suspension or revocation of those plates, as provided for in Title 29-A, section 903, for the violation of this section.  
[PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. I, §54 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1973, c. 27, §1 (AMD). PL 1973, c. 788, §70 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 127, §124 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 65, §A55 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 65, §§A153,C15 (AFF). PL 1995, c. 87, §1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 625, §B3 (RPR). PL 2003, c. 452, §I54 (RPR). PL 2003, c. 452, §X2 (AFF).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1978–2003 · leading case: Chenard v. Marcel Motors, 387 A.2d 596 (Me. 1978).
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Chenard v. Marcel Motors, 387 A.2d 596 (Me. 1978). · cites it 3× “On appeal, the defendant continues to urge illegality 11 and bases its claim on 17 M.R.S.A. § 3203 which provides in pertinent part: Any person who shall carry on or engage in the business of buying, selling, ex *602 changing, dealing or trading in new or used motor vehicles or…”
Kittery Motorcycle, Inc. v. Rowe, 201 F. Supp. 2d 189 (D. Me. 2002). · cites it 2× “17 M.R.S.A. § 3203 (Supp.2001). Whether or not that is good policy for automobile sales, says the motorcycle retailer, it is unfair to motorcycle retailers because motorcycles compete for the consumer’s dollar not so much with automobiles, as with boats, jet skis, motor homes,…”
Kittery Motorcycle v. Rowe (1st Cir. 2003). · cites it 5× “Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 17, § 3203 (West Supp.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.