Maine Eviction Notice
Maine eviction notice: 7-day notice to quit for nonpayment of rent under 14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002. Free template, statute cites. Attorney review available.
Introduction
An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a forcible entry and detainer action in court. This page is the actual notice to quit landlords fill out, date, and serve, not a broader guide to how Maine's eviction process works. In Maine, a tenant who is 7 or more days behind on rent gets a 7-day notice to quit, and that notice is void if the tenant pays everything owed before it expires. A handful of other for-cause grounds, tenant-caused property damage, nuisance or unfit conditions, an unauthorized occupant, or a tenant who is the perpetrator of domestic violence or threats, also get a 7-day notice, but Maine's statute gives the tenant no chance to cure those; the landlord only has to prove the ground occurred. Ending a tenancy at will without cause, like most month-to-month tenancies, requires a 30-day notice instead. Since January 1, 2024, Maine landlords must attach a separate judicial branch information sheet, form CV-256, to the notice to quit itself, a requirement most states don't impose on the notice. Maine's forcible entry and detainer statute, 14 M.R.S.A. Chapter 709, Subchapter 1, sets the notice periods and the court process that follows. There's no fill-in-the-blank government form for the notice's own wording, but the content is legally required: a rent notice must state the exact arrears and specific reinstatement language, and every notice must advise the tenant of the right to contest in court. Skip a requirement, and the case can be dismissed or delayed.
Key Things to Know
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An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a forcible entry and detainer action in court.
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Since January 1, 2024, Maine landlords must attach a separate judicial branch form, the Residential Forcible Entry and Detainer (Eviction) Information Sheet and Mediation Request (form CV-256), to the notice to quit itself. There's no separate fill-in-the-blank government form for the notice's own wording, but specific content is still required: a rent-arrears notice must state the amount owed and exact reinstatement language, and every notice to terminate must advise the tenant of the right to contest in court. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6001(7), Section 6002(2))
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Nonpayment of rent 7 or more days past due gets a 7-day notice to quit, on calendar days (not excluding weekends). If the tenant pays the full amount owed before the notice expires, the notice is void. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1)(C), (2))
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Maine has no separate cure-or-quit notice for lease violations, unlike some other states. Property damage, nuisance or uninhabitable conditions caused by the tenant, an unauthorized occupant, or a tenant who is the perpetrator of domestic violence or threats each get a 7-day notice with no statutory chance to fix the problem; the landlord must prove the ground occurred. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1)(A), (B), (D), (E), (F))
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The governing law is Maine's forcible entry and detainer statute, 14 M.R.S.A. Chapter 709, Subchapter 1, Sections 6000 to 6016-A, which sets the notice rules and the court process, called "FED," that follows if the tenant doesn't comply.
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The landlord (or anyone acting for the landlord) may deliver the notice directly. If at least 3 good-faith attempts to serve the tenant in-hand fail, the landlord may serve by both mailing the notice first class AND leaving a copy at the tenant's last and usual place of abode; neither method alone is enough once that fallback is used. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1))
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Ending a tenancy at will without cause, such as most month-to-month tenancies, requires a minimum 30-day notice. A 30-day notice and a 7-day notice can be combined into one document. Maine has no statewide "just cause" requirement for this kind of termination. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002)
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Maine, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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Maine Requirements for Eviction Notice
Distinct from the 7-day for-cause notices above: ending a tenancy at will without cause, such as most month-to-month tenancies, requires a minimum 30 days' written notice. A 30-day notice and a 7-day notice may be combined into one document. Maine has no statewide just-cause requirement for this kind of termination, unlike some other states.
7-day notice, with no statutory right to cure, for substantial unrepaired tenant-caused property damage, nuisance or conditions making the unit unfit for habitation, a tenant who is the perpetrator of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking against a co-tenant, a tenant or guest who commits violence or threats against others, or an unauthorized occupant. The landlord must prove the ground by affirmative proof; the tenant gets no post-notice window to fix these.
7 calendar days' notice (not excluding weekends or holidays) when the tenant is 7 or more days in arrears in rent. The notice must state the exact amount in arrears and the specific statutory reinstatement language. If the tenant pays the full amount due before the notice expires, the notice is void as to the rent arrearage.
The landlord or the landlord's agent may deliver the notice directly to the tenant. If at least 3 good-faith efforts to serve the tenant in-hand have been made, service may instead be accomplished by both mailing the notice by first-class mail to the tenant's last known address AND leaving a copy at the tenant's last and usual place of abode; neither method alone is sufficient once that fallback is used.
The statutory basis for every notice type on this page and the court process, called forcible entry and detainer or "FED," that follows if the tenant does not comply: 14 M.R.S.A. Title 14, Chapter 709, Subchapter 1, "Residential Landlords and Tenants," Sections 6000 through 6016-A.
There is no government fill-in-the-blank form for the notice to quit's own wording, but specific content is required by statute: a rent-arrears notice must state the amount in arrears and exact reinstatement language, and every notice to terminate must advise the tenant of the right to contest in court. Since January 1, 2024, the landlord must also attach the judicial branch's Residential Forcible Entry and Detainer (Eviction) Information Sheet and Mediation Request, form CV-256, to the notice to quit itself.
Even after a 7-day rent-arrearage notice expires, if the tenant pays all rental arrears, all rent due as of the date of payment, and any filing fees and service of process fees actually expended by the landlord, before a writ of possession issues, the tenancy must be reinstated and no writ of possession may issue. This right is distinct from the pre-expiration cure in the notice itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the cause. Nonpayment of rent 7 or more days past due gets a 7-day notice to quit, void if the tenant pays in full before it expires. Property damage, nuisance or unfit conditions, an unauthorized occupant, or a tenant who is the perpetrator of domestic violence or threats also get a 7-day notice, with no chance to cure. Ending a tenancy at will with no cause needs a 30-day notice.
Almost never for a tenancy at will. Maine law requires a written notice to quit before filing a forcible entry and detainer action for nonpayment or the other statutory grounds under 14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002. The one exception: a tenant holding over after a fixed lease term expires or is forfeited can be sued without notice, but only if the case is filed within 7 days of that expiration or forfeiture.
For a rent-arrears notice, the amount of rent 7 or more days in arrears as of the date of the notice, plus the statutory reinstatement language: paying the amount due before the notice expires voids it, and paying all arrears, current rent, and the landlord's actual filing and service fees before a writ of possession issues reinstates the tenancy even after expiration. Every notice to terminate, regardless of ground, must advise the tenant of the right to contest the termination in court. Since January 1, 2024, the notice must also have the judicial branch's Information Sheet and Mediation Request, form CV-256, attached to it. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6001(7), Section 6002(2))
No, not for the notice's own wording. There's no government fill-in-the-blank form for the notice to quit itself; a landlord can write it, as long as it includes the statutorily required content. The one government form involved is different: since January 1, 2024, landlords must physically attach the judicial branch's Information Sheet and Mediation Request, form CV-256, available at courts.maine.gov/forms, to whatever notice they write. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6001(7))
Only for nonpayment of rent. A tenant 7 or more days behind can pay the full amount due before the 7-day notice expires and void the notice entirely; even after it expires, paying all arrears, current rent, and the landlord's actual filing and service fees before a writ of possession issues reinstates the tenancy. For the other 7-day grounds, property damage, nuisance or unfit conditions, an unauthorized occupant, or a domestic-violence or threat ground, Maine's statute gives no chance to cure; the landlord only has to prove by affirmative proof that the ground occurred. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002(1))
For the 7-day notice, whether for nonpayment or one of the other statutory grounds, count 7 calendar days from the date the notice is served; Maine doesn't exclude weekends or holidays from that count. For the 30-day no-cause termination of a tenancy at will, count a minimum of 30 days from the date of service. If one notice combines a 7-day ground and the 30-day no-cause ground, calculate and list each deadline separately using its own starting rule; the statute allows combining the two into a single document. Write the actual calculated date on the notice as the comply-or-vacate-by date, not just the number of days.
If the tenant hasn't paid (for a nonpayment notice) or vacated by the deadline, the landlord's next step is to file a forcible entry and detainer action, together with the required judicial branch information sheet (form CV-256), in the District Court for the county where the property is located; the summons must set a hearing date at least 14 days after the tenant is served, and the $100 filing fee is due when the case is filed. If the tenant still doesn't comply after judgment, the court issues a writ of possession 7 calendar days after judgment, served by a sheriff or constable, and the tenant has 48 hours after service to remove themselves and their belongings. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6004; Section 6005)
The date matters most: the rent-arrears amount must be stated as of the date of the notice, and both the 7-day and 30-day countdowns run from the date of service, not the date the notice was written. Have the person who actually serves the tenant record the date served and their method of service (direct delivery, or mailing plus leaving a copy at the tenant's residence), and have the landlord or agent sign the notice, since that record is what establishes when the deadline started if the case moves to court. (14 M.R.S.A. Section 6002)