Where a Maine residential contractor license transfers

Maine issues no residential building, home builder, remodeler or home improvement contractor license, and the Attorney General states the position without qualification: "in Maine, general contractors - and trades such as roofing and framing - are not licensed or regulated." What the state does license, through the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, is the skilled work inside the house - master, journeyman and apprentice electricians; master, journeyman and trainee plumbers; oil burner and solid fuel technicians and propane and natural gas technicians under the Maine Fuel Board; boiler operators; elevator contractors and mechanics; and manufactured housing dealers, installers and mechanics. A remodeler or homebuilder arriving from another state therefore has no Maine credential to apply for and nothing to transfer, and should instead register the business, ask the local code enforcement officer what permits the job needs, and make sure anyone self-performing electrical, plumbing or fuel work holds the matching Maine trade license. One consumer-protection statute binds every residential contractor even without a license: under the Home Construction Contracts Act, 10 M.R.S. ch. 219-A, any contract to build, remodel or repair a dwelling of three or fewer units for more than $3,000 in materials or labor must be in writing, signed by both parties, and must contain fourteen specified terms, including the statutory warranty, a down payment capped at one third of the contract price, written change orders, a dispute-resolution election and a copy of the Attorney General's consumer protection information on home construction and repair. A violation is prima facie evidence of an Unfair Trade Practices Act violation and carries a civil forfeiture of $100 to $1,000. A narrow license does exist for one selling method: a contractor who solicits or sells home repair services door to door in a municipality where the business has no permanent place of business must first obtain a Door-to-Door Home Repair Seller license from the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, which costs $30 a year plus a $21 background check and runs to April 30.