How a Background Check Works in Maine

Maine's criminal history is open. The Maine State Police State Bureau of Identification maintains and disseminates both adult criminal history record information and juvenile crime information, and its online request service lets anyone run a name and date of birth search for a fee, no consent needed, with most results emailed within two hours.

The bureau is candid about what a name search is. The documents it receives often lack gender and Social Security numbers, names and birth dates can be falsified, and the only positive identification it makes is by fingerprint comparison, so a name based result is criminal history that meets a scoring threshold and may belong to another person with the same or a similar name and birth date.

  • Fee: $31.00 for non subscribers and out of state InforME subscribers, $21.00 for Maine InforME subscribers, non refundable whatever the result; a notarized report adds $10.00.
  • What comes back: all conviction and adjudication information for adult and juvenile crimes committed in Maine that the bureau holds, plus pending cases less than one year old, or the response NO MATCH WAS FOUND FOR YOUR REQUEST.
  • Speed: most results by email within two hours; a search needing manual review can take up to two weeks; results stay available for 30 days.
  • Fingerprint check: the same fee, submitted directly to the bureau and returned by U.S. mail, and the only way to confirm the record and the person are one and the same.

Written by SearchSystems.net from Maine's own systems: the Maine Criminal History Record and Juvenile Crime Information Request service, the service's frequently asked questions, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.

What the Maine record contains

Criminal history record information, defined in 16 MRSA section 703, is the summary of an adult's passage through the criminal justice system, supplied by law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts and correctional facilities. Juvenile crime information is the same for a juvenile, supplied by law enforcement, juvenile community corrections officers, prosecutors, courts and corrections, and generally covers only offenses that would be murder or a Class A, B or C crime had an adult committed them. The online search returns all the conviction and adjudication information for adult and juvenile crimes committed within Maine that the bureau has on record, together with pending cases less than one year old; the bureau notes that what is released differs for an adult and a juvenile and explains the difference in its FAQ.

Running the online search

The request needs the subject's full name, date of birth and a credit card or an InforME subscription. When no record matches, the response is NO MATCH WAS FOUND FOR YOUR REQUEST. When a record matches, the response contains conviction information and pending charges under a year old, with the warning that it may belong to another person with the same or an essentially similar name and date of birth. Most results arrive by email within two hours; one not returned within twelve hours may need manual intervention and can take up to two weeks. The email comes from info@informe.org and can land in a spam folder, and the bureau asks anyone still waiting after three weeks to contact it. Results stay available for 30 days from delivery, and a transaction can be tracked by its ID on the service page. Questions go to the State Bureau of Identification at (207) 624-7240, (207) 287-3659 by TDD, or info@informe.org.

The fees, and who pays nothing

A member of the public or a non governmental entity pays $31.00 per request, or $21.00 as an InforME subscriber in Maine, for the search itself regardless of the result, and the fee is the same for a name based or a fingerprint based check. The bureau now takes orders for notarized reports online for an additional non refundable $10.00. A State of Maine governmental entity pays the same $31.00 or $21.00 when the record is part of a licensing process, as defined in 5 MRSA section 8002(6), and 25 MRSA section 1541(6) lets it pass that cost to the applicant; a Maine state, county or municipal entity pays nothing for a record used for non licensing purposes. A governmental entity from outside Maine pays the full fee for each request.

The fingerprint based check

A fingerprint based check matches the fingerprints on the record to the fingerprints of the subject, which the bureau says is the only basis for a positive match; it requires direct submission of the fingerprints to the State Bureau of Identification, and the record comes back by U.S. mail. The bureau's mailing address is State House Station #42, Augusta, ME 04333-0042, its office is at 45 Commerce Drive, Suite 1, Augusta, open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and its voice line is (207) 624-7240.

What Maine will not give you

National and interstate checks are not available through InforME. Criminal history from the federal government or other states can be obtained through the bureau only in certain circumstances under particular statutory authority, and anyone who needs that contacts the bureau directly. The search is Maine crimes only, and a conviction sealed at the court under 15 MRSA section 310-A, which the service page cites for people seeking a sealed conviction, is not visible on the public criminal history.

Reading a Maine result

The bureau's own warning is the reading guide: identification by name, date of birth or other non unique identifiers does not constitute positive identification, and a name based return is what passes the bureau's scoring criteria for false positives and negatives. A match on a common name is confirmed by the fingerprint check or against the court record before it is treated as the person's. A no match answer means no Maine record under that name and date of birth, nothing about other states, and a result of either kind is Maine information only.

Questions about background checks in Maine

Can anyone get a Maine criminal history record on another person?
Yes. The State Bureau of Identification's online service runs a name and date of birth search for anyone who pays the fee, with no consent required.
How much does a Maine criminal history check cost?
$31.00, or $21.00 for Maine InforME subscribers, non refundable and charged whatever the result; a notarized report costs $10.00 more. Maine government entities pay nothing for non licensing uses.
How fast are the results?
Most are emailed within two hours. A request that needs manual review may take up to two weeks, and results remain available for 30 days.
Does the Maine check include juvenile records?
Yes, in part: juvenile adjudications for offenses that would be murder or Class A, B or C crimes for an adult are included, with the bureau's FAQ explaining what differs between adult and juvenile releases.
Does it cover other states or federal records?
No. National and interstate checks are not available through InforME; the bureau can obtain them only under specific statutory authority on direct request.
How do I know the record is really the person I searched?
Only by fingerprints. The bureau says a name based result may belong to another person with the same or a similar name and birth date, and offers the fingerprint based check at the same fee for a positive match.

Related Maine records

The bureau's record is one of the Maine records this site covers: the Maine court records guide explains the Judicial Branch's own case files, the arrest records guide covers what an arrest makes public, the sex offender registry guide covers the registry the bureau also keeps, and the Maine county pages list each sheriff and clerk of courts.