Maine Enforces Shoreland Zoning Up to 250 Feet From Water

Fewer people sit for the Maine real estate exam than most other states. That means fewer practice resources, fewer prep courses built specifically for this market, and a higher chance of walking in without knowing the state specific material.

The MREC regulates real estate licensing in Maine. The Pearson VUE exam covers 40 state specific questions and 80 national questions. You need 75% to pass. Maine has fewer active licensees than any state in New England, and that scarcity of candidates hasn't motivated national prep providers to cover Maine-specific law in any depth. Shoreland zoning setbacks, the dual-track septic disclosure system, and Maine's "facilitator" role, which doesn't work the way most candidates expect, are the three areas that account for the most missed questions on the state portion.

Shoreland Zoning

Maine's Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act covers land within 250 feet of great ponds, rivers, and coastal wetlands, and within that zone a 100-foot no-construction buffer applies. Candidates who know only a vague concept of coastal restriction won't have the specific distances the Pearson VUE exam tests. You could say Maine really draws the line at the water's edge. (Two lines, actually: 250 feet and 100 feet. Know both.)

Maine's Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act regulates all land within 250 feet of great ponds, rivers, and coastal wetlands with a 100-foot buffer restriction, candidates from inland states are unprepared for how aggressively Maine protects its waterfront.

Know the 250-foot regulated zone and the 100-foot buffer as separate, stackable thresholds. Know which water bodies trigger the Act. Great ponds are defined as lakes larger than 10 acres. Understand that the regulated zone is measured from the normal high-water mark, not the property line. The Pearson VUE exam will describe a waterfront property scenario and ask whether a proposed use or structure is permitted under the Shoreland Zoning Act, and the answer depends on knowing exactly where the 250-foot and 100-foot lines fall relative to the proposed location.

Septic System Disclosures

Maine runs two separate septic disclosure regimes that apply to different property types. The 180-day malfunction window for shoreland zone systems and the buyer-obtained inspection requirement for lakefront properties are different rules that the exam tests independently. These two regimes aren't interchangeable, and the exam is specifically designed to test whether you know which one applies. Study them as separate topics, not variations on the same rule.

Sellers must disclose whether a septic system within a shoreland zone has malfunctioned within 180 days of closing, and lakefront properties require a buyer-obtained inspection, the exam tests these two different disclosure regimes.

New England states take septic disclosure seriously. The New Hampshire exam tests site assessment requirements for alternative septic systems, and Massachusetts requires Title 5 certification before most home sales. Each state tests different thresholds than Maine's septic disclosure rules.

Know the 180-day lookback period for shoreland zone malfunction disclosure and understand that lakefront property buyers bear the cost and obligation of obtaining an inspection. The seller doesn't initiate it. The MREC exam will present a shoreland zone or lakefront property transaction and ask what disclosure or inspection obligation exists. Treating all Maine septic disclosure as a single rule produces wrong answers on both property types.

Transaction Brokerage

Maine calls its non-agency relationship a "facilitator," not a transaction broker. The key feature of that role is that no duty of confidentiality exists unless the parties specifically agree to it in writing in advance. That absence of confidentiality is what most candidates get backwards.

Maine calls its nonagency relationship a "facilitator" role where the licensee assists both parties without representing either, and critically the facilitator has no duty of confidentiality unless specifically agreed upon in advance.

Know that a Maine facilitator can share information about either party's price, motivation, or negotiating position unless a written confidentiality agreement has been signed. This is the opposite of what most candidates expect. In most agency and transaction brokerage frameworks, some confidentiality duty applies by default. In Maine's facilitator role, it doesn't. The Pearson VUE exam will describe a facilitator sharing information and ask whether a duty was violated. The answer depends entirely on whether a written confidentiality agreement existed before the disclosure was made.