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Maine background check laws for employers
Maine bars nearly all employers from asking about criminal history on the first job application or saying in job ads that people with records will not be considered. Employers may ask during an interview or once the person is otherwise qualified, and must let the person explain. Maine's consumer reporting law now mostly adopts the federal FCRA, and there is no state 7-year limit or credit-check ban.
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Fair-chance hiring (criminal history)
- The law covers any person in Maine who employs individuals, including towns, but not state government jobs (26 M.R.S. § 600-A(1)(B)).
- An employer may not ask for criminal history record information on its initial job application form (26 M.R.S. § 600-A(2)(A)).
- An employer may not say on the application or in a job ad, or before finding the person otherwise qualified, that people with a criminal history may not apply or will not be considered (26 M.R.S. § 600-A(2)(B)).
- An employer may ask about criminal history during an interview or once the person is found otherwise qualified (26 M.R.S. § 600-A(3)).
- An employer that asks about criminal history must give the person a chance to explain the record and the circumstances, including rehabilitation (26 M.R.S. § 600-A(3)).
- An employer may ask on the application only about the types of convictions that a federal or state law makes disqualifying for the job, or that the employer is legally barred from hiring (26 M.R.S. § 600-A(4)).
- Each violation carries a fine of $100 to $500 (26 M.R.S. § 626-A).
State consumer report rules
- Maine's consumer reporting law requires users and agencies to follow the federal FCRA and its rules (10 M.R.S. § 1309(1)).
- A user of a consumer report or investigative consumer report may not share the report with anyone other than the person it is about, except for facts from the user's own direct dealings with that person (10 M.R.S. § 1310(7)).
- The older Maine FCRA sections (10 M.R.S. §§ 1311-1330, including § 1314 on investigative reports) were repealed in 2013 and replaced by chapter 209-B (PL 2013, c. 228).
How far back a report can go
- No Maine law found that limits how far back a background report may go beyond the federal FCRA; the former state rules on report contents were repealed in 2013 (10 M.R.S. § 1313-B, repealed; 10 M.R.S. ch. 209-B).
- A person whose conviction has been sealed by court order may decline to disclose it when asked by anyone other than criminal justice agencies and other authorized entities (15 M.R.S. § 2266).
- A conviction can generally be sealed only after 4 years have passed since the sentence was fully completed, with no new convictions or pending charges (15 M.R.S. § 2262).
Credit checks
- No Maine law found that limits employer use of credit reports beyond the federal FCRA (26 M.R.S. ch. 7, subch. 1; 10 M.R.S. ch. 209-B).
Also good to know
- Employers covered by the Maine Background Check Center Act must use the state Background Check Center, including a fingerprint-based criminal check, for all direct access workers (22 M.R.S. § 9054(2)).
Common questions
Can Maine employers run a background check?
Maine bars nearly all employers from asking about criminal history on the first job application or saying in job ads that people with records will not be considered. Employers may ask during an interview or once the person is otherwise qualified, and must let the person explain. Maine's consumer reporting law now mostly adopts the federal FCRA, and there is no state 7-year limit or credit-check ban.
Does Maine have a ban-the-box law for private employers?
The law covers any person in Maine who employs individuals, including towns, but not state government jobs (26 M.R.S. § 600-A(1)(B)).
How far back does a background check go in Maine?
No Maine law found that limits how far back a background report may go beyond the federal FCRA; the former state rules on report contents were repealed in 2013 (10 M.R.S. § 1313-B, repealed; 10 M.R.S. ch. 209-B).
Can Maine employers run credit checks on applicants?
No Maine law found that limits employer use of credit reports beyond the federal FCRA (26 M.R.S. ch. 7, subch. 1; 10 M.R.S. ch. 209-B).
Some rules for Maine weren't confirmed from an official source. Check with the state before relying on this page.
Sources
- 26 M.R.S. § 600-A (official)
- 26 M.R.S. § 626-A penalties (official)
- 26 M.R.S. ch. 7 contents (official)
- 10 M.R.S. ch. 209-B Fair Credit Reporting Act contents (official)
- 10 M.R.S. § 1309 incorporation of federal law (official)
- 10 M.R.S. § 1310 additional requirements (official)
- 10 M.R.S. § 1310-H state-specific provisions (official)
- 10 M.R.S. ch. 210 (repealed) contents (official)
- 10 M.R.S. § 1314 (repealed) (official)
- 15 M.R.S. ch. 310-A sealing contents (official)
- 15 M.R.S. § 2262 sealing prerequisites (official)
- 15 M.R.S. § 2266 limited disclosure of sealed conviction (official)
- 22 M.R.S. § 9054 Background Check Center (official)
This page summarizes state law in plain words, with links to the law itself. It is not legal advice, and laws change: check the linked source, and talk to a lawyer about your own policy. Federal DOT testing rules are separate and override state limits for DOT-covered jobs. Checked October 2026.