Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A. Motor Vehicles § 1408. License or permit to be carried and exhibited on demand

1. Immediate possession required. A licensee, including a temporary licensee or holder of a learner's permit, must have the license in immediate possession when operating a motor vehicle. Possession may be in electronic form. For purposes of this section, “electronic form” means a digital representation of the information contained in a physical license or permit on a portable electronic device.

2. Display. On demand of a law enforcement officer, the licensee must produce the license or an electronic version of the license for inspection. The use of a portable electronic device to provide license information does not constitute consent for a law enforcement officer to access other contents of the portable electronic device.

3. Dismissal. A person served with a Violation Summons and Complaint charging a violation of this section may have the complaint dismissed if that person shows satisfactory evidence that the person held a valid license at the time of the alleged violation. The clerk of the District Court Violations Bureau must dismiss the complaint if, prior to the date required for filing an answer to the complaint, the person charged files a copy of the Violation Summons and Complaint with the bureau, together with evidence that the person held a valid license at the time of the alleged violation. If a person files a timely answer to a Violations Summons and Complaint alleging a violation of this section and that person presents satisfactory evidence to the court at the time of trial that the person held a valid license at the time of the alleged violation, the court must dismiss the complaint.