What Maine law says about your contractor website and phones

Can a Maine business record its own phone calls?

Yes. Maine's wiretap chapter defines "intercept" in 15 M.R.S. section 709(4) as hearing or recording a communication's contents with an intercepting device, and it excludes the sender or receiver of the communication and anyone given prior authority by the sender or receiver. A contractor who answers a customer's call, or places the call, is the receiver or sender and is outside the definition. Section 710 makes it a Class C crime to intentionally or knowingly intercept a wire or oral communication, and the listed exceptions are for people such as carrier employees and law enforcement.

This is why recording sits in the "one-party consent" column of most state tables. It does not remove the practical issue: your customers may call from states with all-party rules, and the rules of the state a caller is in may be stricter than Maine's. Announcing the recording at the start of every call, including AI receptionist calls, protects you in both directions. Our guide on recording business calls has the wording, and the state-by-state table shows where the stricter states sit.

What are Maine's limits on automated sales calls and robocalls?

Federal rules apply in Maine like everywhere else, such as the TCPA and CAN-SPAM (see our texting rules guide). Maine adds its own statute, 10 M.R.S. section 1498, which regulates solicitation calls made with an automated telephone calling device:

• Calls may be made only on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Maine time.
• No more than one completed solicitation call to the same number in any eight-hour period.
• The device must disconnect within five seconds after the called party hangs up.
• Within the first minute, the caller must give the name, address and telephone number of the organization the call is for.
• Automated calls and calls with an artificial or prerecorded voice are barred to emergency numbers, paging or cellular phones, unlisted numbers, toll-free numbers and residential numbers.

The statute carves out calls to people who gave prior written, express consent, calls responding to a call the recipient started, and calls delivering order or delivery status. It also lets a caller use these devices to communicate with a business about reservations, purchases and other information for customers, such as hours, directions and merchandise availability, which is a business-to-business exception rather than permission to market to your own customers. Callers must keep transcripts of solicitation messages for 24 months and provide them to the Attorney General on request, and violations are unfair trade practices under Title 5, section 207.

The hours rule is the one that surprises people. An automated outbound campaign run at 6 p.m. or on a Saturday, a normal time for a homeowner to be reachable, is outside Maine's window unless you hold written consent. Section 1499-A separately covers caller ID: a seller or telemarketer may not cause misleading or inaccurate caller identification information with intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongfully obtain anything of value, and its definition of telemarketing includes text messaging. Showing the seller's name or a customer service number that is answered during regular business hours is allowed. We did not find a Maine telemarketer registration rule or a state do-not-call list in the statutes we read, so confirm with the Attorney General's consumer office if your campaign is large.

Can you add a fee for card payments in Maine?

No. Title 9-A, section 8-509 says a seller in a sales transaction may not add a surcharge for a customer who pays by credit or debit card instead of cash, check or a similar means. The section defines a surcharge as raising the regular price for card users in a way that does not apply to cash or check payers, and says a discount or price reduction is not a surcharge. Only governmental entities are given a limited exception, for taxes, fines, license fees and similar charges.

Take this into account if your invoicing tool adds a card fee by default. The clean setup in Maine is one price, with a lower price for customers who pay by check or cash if you want to offer it, shown before the customer chooses. Our guide to online payments for contractors covers how card processing costs are usually handled. The text of the section lists no penalties, so ask the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection how it enforces the rule if you are unsure.

What must a Maine home construction contract say?

Under 10 M.R.S. section 1487, a home construction contract for more than $3,000 in materials or labor must be in writing, signed by both the contractor and the homeowner or lessee, and delivered to both before work begins. It must hold the entire agreement. The statute requires these items:

• Names, addresses and phone numbers of both parties, and the property location.
• Estimated start and substantial completion dates.
• The total price, or the agreed price and cost estimate for cost-plus work.
• The payment method, with the initial down payment capped at one-third of the total price.
• A general description of the work and materials.
• A warranty statement in the language the section prescribes.
• A statement that the parties may choose binding arbitration, nonbinding arbitration or mediation, in addition to small claims court.
• A written change order for any price-changing alteration.
• An addendum with the Attorney General's consumer protection information, plus a notice pointing consumers to the Attorney General's website.

It also calls for insulation disclosures when insulation is installed in an existing home and a statement on the state energy efficiency standards. The section itself does not state penalties or a general cancellation right. Item 10 in the statute, a description of the consumer's rights to avoid the contract where consumer or home solicitation sales laws apply, points to a separate rule.

That rule is the Maine Consumer Credit Code. Section 3-502 gives a buyer in a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after signing to cancel by written notice. Section 3-501 defines a home solicitation sale as a consumer credit sale of goods or services with a personal solicitation at the buyer's residence, and excludes a sale that follows negotiations at a seller's fixed place of business. For an online quote, the practical point is that a customer who requests an estimate through your website is not the same as a door knock, but a sale that closes at the customer's home may be covered. Ask a Maine attorney how the definition applies to how you sell, and see our service contract guide for the terms that sit around these ones. If you sell repair work door to door, the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation registers door-to-door home repair sellers.

Does Maine tax your services, and how should invoices show it?

Maine Revenue Services administers the sales and use tax on goods and a separate service provider tax on a listed set of services. The agency's page lists rental of video media and equipment, rental-purchase furniture and equipment, telecommunications services, installation, maintenance or repair of telecommunications equipment, extended cable and satellite television, fabrication services and ancillary services. Mowing, cleaning and washing are not named on that page, so a service-only invoice for those jobs typically carries no service provider tax. If you also sell goods, such as plants, mulch or parts, register with Maine Revenue Services and ask how to treat materials you buy for jobs. Our sales tax guide explains how to split an invoice into taxable and nontaxable lines.

What about license numbers in ads and a state privacy law?

We did not find a Maine statute requiring a license number in advertising for electricians or plumbers, and the state boards we found cover electricians, plumbers and fuel technicians, so for carpentry or remodeling check each town's code enforcement office. If you hold a state license, showing it on your site is still sound practice, and the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation lists the boards. Maine also has no comprehensive consumer privacy act as of October 2026. The Legislature's bill page shows LD 1822, the proposed Maine Online Data Privacy Act, died between the houses on April 13, 2026, so federal rules and your own privacy policy set the baseline.

What does this mean for your setup?

Record your own calls if you want, with a spoken notice. Keep any automated or prerecorded outbound calling inside weekday hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., unless you hold written consent, and log the consent. Remove card fees from checkout and invoices. Build the contract template from the section 1487 list for jobs over $3,000. If you want help with the build, see our website, phone line and AI receptionist pages. For formation and workers' comp, read starting a business in Maine.

General information only, current to October 2026 and not legal advice. Statutes change, so confirm with the Attorney General, the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection or a Maine attorney.

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