Maine Dog Bite Law

How dog bite liability works in Maine

Maine draws its line at the owner's property. Title 7, section 3961 has two parts. Subsection 2 says that when a dog injures a person who is not on the owner's or keeper's premises, the owner or keeper is liable for the damages¹. Subsection 1 covers every other animal injury, including a dog injury on the owner's own land, and requires proof that the owner or keeper was negligent¹. That split is why this site classes Maine as a partial-statute state rather than a strict-liability state.

The off-premises rule is broad in two ways. It says "injures", not "bites", so a knock-down or a chase that ends in a fall fits the words¹. And it binds the keeper as well as the owner. Maine defines an owner as anyone "owning, keeping or harboring" a dog and a keeper as anyone "in possession or control" of it⁶.

Maine also handles shared fault differently for these claims. Under the general comparative-negligence statute, a jury cuts your award by its view of your share of the blame, and you recover nothing if you were equally at fault⁵. Under the dog statute, your own fault may not reduce damages for a physical injury suffered off the owner's premises unless the court finds your fault exceeded the owner's or keeper's¹.

On the owner's property, two older routes remain. Common-law strict liability requires proof that the owner actually knew the dog had abnormally dangerous tendencies; ordinary negligence asks whether the owner should have foreseen the harm (Morgan v. Marquis, 2012 ME 106)². The six-year deadline is long by national standards. Next door in New Hampshire the rule and the deadline differ, so check where the bite happened.

The Maine dog bite statute

When a dog injures a person who is not on the owner's or keeper's premises at the time, the owner or keeper is liable in a civil action for the amount of the damages, with no requirement to prove negligence or a known dangerous tendency¹. The injured person's fault may not reduce the damages recovered for physical injury unless the court finds it exceeded the owner's or keeper's fault¹. Injuries on the owner's or keeper's premises fall under subsection 1, which requires proof of the owner's or keeper's negligence and bars recovery if the damage was caused through the injured person's fault¹.

• Law: 7 M.R.S. § 3961 (Reimbursement for damage done by animals), enacted 1987; last changed 2001: PL 2001, c. 220 rewrote the section and added the off-premises dog rule
• Injuries covered: Any injury the dog causes (bites, knock-downs, chases)
• Where: Only off the owner's property
• Who is liable: The owner, or a keeper or harborer
• Damages: All damages, under the ordinary rules

Other ways to prove liability

Outside the off-premises rule, Maine recognizes two common-law claims. Common-law strict liability follows Restatement (Second) of Torts § 509 and requires proof that the owner actually knew the dog had dangerous tendencies abnormal to dogs; what the owner should have known is not enough, and no breed is treated as dangerous per se². A separate negligence claim asks whether the owner failed to protect you from a foreseeable risk posed by the dog, and there the jury may consider what the owner should have known². The statutory claim under subsection 1 also turns on negligence¹. Maine makes it unlawful for any dog to be at large except when used for hunting²⁵.

Defenses owners raise

Other defense

You were on the owner's or keeper's premises. The no-fault rule then does not apply, and you must prove the owner or keeper was negligent under subsection 1¹. Maine's dog laws define the owner's premises as the owner's residence, including buildings, land and motor vehicles, for the dangerous-dog definitions; section 3961 itself does not define the word⁶¹.

Trespassing

Section 3961 has no separate trespass clause. A trespasser hurt on the owner's land is, by the statute's terms, on the premises, so the claim needs proof of negligence and fails if the damage was caused through the injured person's own fault¹.

Provocation

The statute does not name provocation either. Its only rule about the injured person's conduct is the fault rule: off the premises, fault cuts physical-injury damages only if it exceeded the owner's or keeper's fault¹. We found no Law Court decision on how teasing or provoking a dog fits that rule.

Other defense

The injured person was the dog's keeper. In Morgan v. Marquis, 2012 ME 106, 50 A.3d 1, the Law Court held that a keeper cannot recover under section 3961 and that whether a pet-sitter had become the keeper is a question of fact for the jury². A keeper can still sue the owner for negligence².

Shared fault

Modified comparative fault (barred at 50%) (14 M.R.S. § 156; 7 M.R.S. § 3961(2)).

Maine's general rule: the jury reduces your damages in dollars by what it thinks just for your share of the blame, and a claimant found equally at fault recovers nothing⁵. Dog injuries off the owner's premises get a special rule: your fault may not reduce the physical-injury award unless the court finds it exceeded the owner's or keeper's¹. The statute does not say what happens when it does. Read with section 156, a claimant more at fault than the defendant would recover nothing; we found no Law Court decision on the combination⁵.

How the five fault systems compare: provocation, trespass and shared fault.

Maine dog bite statute of limitations

6 years (14 M.R.S. § 752)

Civil actions must be filed within six years after the cause of action accrues, which for a bite is the day of the injury³. A claim against a Maine town or other governmental entity, where the Tort Claims Act permits one at all, needs a written notice of claim within 365 days and a lawsuit within two years⁹¹⁰.

Children. If the injured person is a minor, the six years run from the day they turn 18⁴. Against a governmental entity, a minor has 365 days after turning 18 for the notice and two years after turning 18 to sue⁹¹⁰.

Work out your own date with the dog bite claim checker, or compare deadlines in every state.

Damages

Section 3961 makes the owner or keeper liable for "the amount of the damages" and sets no cap¹. If the court has already issued a dangerous- or nuisance-dog order and the owner ignores it, the owner must pay treble damages to anyone the dog then wounds by a sudden assault¹². In a dangerous-dog case the court may also order restitution for injuries the dog caused¹². Claims against a governmental entity are capped at $400,000 per occurrence, costs included¹¹.

Landlords and property owners

Maine courts hold that a landlord who has handed exclusive possession to a tenant owes no duty to control the tenant's dog. In Fields v. Perry (Me. Super. Ct., York Cnty., No. CV-10-361), the Superior Court granted summary judgment to the landlords on that ground, relying on Law Court decisions from 1984, 2002 and 2003⁸. A landlord can still be liable under section 3961 if the landlord is the dog's owner or keeper, and Maine's definition of owner includes anyone "harboring" a dog⁶¹.

Insurance

No Maine law limits insurers' use of dog breed in homeowners or renters underwriting. LD 350, a 2023 bill to bar breed-based cancellations and surcharges, died in committee¹³. A court that declares a dog dangerous may order the owner to carry at least $100,000 in liability insurance for the life of the dog¹².

More on coverage, breed exclusions and renters policies: dog bite insurance.

Why Maine's statute stops at the property line

The off-premises rule dates from 2001. LD 661, as introduced in the 120th Legislature, would have made a dog's owner or keeper liable whenever "a dog damages a person", with no limit on where the injury happened⁷. The version enacted as Public Law 2001, chapter 220 kept the no-fault rule only for people injured off the owner's or keeper's premises, and added the rule that the injured person's fault reduces a physical-injury award only if it exceeded the owner's¹. Everything else stayed under subsection 1, which requires negligence¹.

The practical result: a jogger bitten on the road and a guest bitten in the owner's kitchen are judged under different rules. The jogger needs to show only that the defendant owned or kept the dog. The guest has to prove the owner knew of the dog's dangerous tendencies or failed to take reasonable care, as the Law Court explained in Morgan v. Marquis (2012), where a friend bitten in the face while caring for the dog had her negligence claims sent back for trial².

Bite reports and quarantine

Maine CDC tells people bitten by a dog or cat to wash the wound, call the local animal control officer and see a health care provider¹⁷. The state rabies rules must provide for notifying the animal control officer where a bite occurred¹⁵. The owner or keeper of a dog that injures someone badly enough to need medical attention must secure aid, report the assault to local law enforcement and give their name and address before leaving the scene¹⁸.

A healthy owned dog that bites a person must be confined and observed daily for 10 days from the bite, whatever its vaccination status¹⁴. Maine CDC may excuse vaccinated assistance, therapy and police dogs¹⁴. The owner confines the dog at home, or at a licensed boarding kennel or veterinary clinic if that is not possible, pays all costs, and may not sell, give away or euthanize the dog during the period¹⁴¹⁵. A stray dog is held 10 days at a licensed shelter or euthanized and tested¹⁴. Breaking home quarantine is a civil violation of $100 to $500, and the animal control officer can ask a court to move the dog to a kennel at the owner's expense¹⁶.

Dangerous-dog hearings, euthanasia orders and criminal penalties are covered on Maine dangerous dog law.

Questions about Maine dog bite law

Is Maine a one-bite state?

Only in part. If you were hurt off the owner's or keeper's premises, section 3961(2) makes the owner or keeper liable without any prior bite¹. On the owner's property, you need proof that the owner knew of the dog's dangerous tendencies or was negligent¹².

The dog bit me on the sidewalk in front of the owner's house. Which rule applies?

The no-fault rule applies to a person "not on the owner's or keeper's premises at the time of the injury"¹. Section 3961 does not define premises, so where the owner's land ends can matter. The dangerous-dog chapter uses the owner's residence, buildings, land and vehicles⁶.

I was pet-sitting when the dog bit me. Can I use the statute?

Not if you were the dog's keeper at the time. The Law Court held in Morgan v. Marquis that a keeper cannot recover under section 3961, but left it to a jury to decide when a pet-sitter became the keeper, and it allowed her negligence claim to go forward².

My dog bit someone. Will it be put down?

Not automatically. Maine first requires a 10-day rabies confinement, usually at home¹⁴. Euthanasia needs a court finding that the dog is dangerous, that it killed, maimed or seriously injured a person or attacked before, and that it is a clear threat to public safety¹².

Can my homeowners insurer drop me because of my dog's breed?

Maine has no law against it. A 2023 bill to stop breed-based cancellations and surcharges died¹³. Once a court declares a dog dangerous, it may order at least $100,000 in liability coverage¹².

Official contacts

Sources

1. 7 M.R.S. § 3961, Reimbursement for damage done by animals, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Morgan v. Marquis, 2012 ME 106, 50 A.3d 1 (opinion text), Animal Legal & Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law. Checked 17 October 2026.
3. 14 M.R.S. § 752, Six years, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
4. 14 M.R.S. § 853, Persons under disability may bring action when disability removed, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
5. 14 M.R.S. § 156, Comparative negligence, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
6. 7 M.R.S. § 3907, Definitions (owner, keeper, dangerous dog, nuisance dog), Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. LD 661 (120th Legislature, 2001), An Act to Make An Owner Responsible for a Person's Injuries Caused by a Dog, as introduced, Maine Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
8. Fields v. Perry, No. CV-10-361 (Me. Super. Ct., York Cnty.), order granting summary judgment to landlord defendants, University of Maine School of Law, Garbrecht Law Library. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. 14 M.R.S. § 8107, Notice to governmental entity, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. 14 M.R.S. § 8110, Limitation of actions (Maine Tort Claims Act), Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
11. 14 M.R.S. § 8105, Limitation on damages (Maine Tort Claims Act), Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. 7 M.R.S. § 3952-A, Keeping a dangerous dog or a nuisance dog, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
13. LD 350 (131st Legislature, 2023), An Act to Prevent Dog Breed Discrimination by Insurance Companies: bill status, Maine Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
14. 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 251, Rules Governing Rabies Management (effective Sept. 22, 2012), Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine CDC. Checked 17 October 2026.
15. 22 M.R.S. § 1313, Procedures for the transportation, quarantine, euthanasia and testing of animals suspected of having rabies, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
16. 22 M.R.S. § 1313-B, Civil violation, court authorization for removal and other remedies, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
17. Rabies, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Checked 17 October 2026.
18. 7 M.R.S. § 3955, Leaving the scene of an assault by a dog that causes an injury that requires medical attention, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
19. 7 M.R.S. § 3954, Prohibitions on dangerous dogs and nuisance dogs, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
20. 7 M.R.S. § 3950, Local regulations, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
21. 17-A M.R.S. § 203, Manslaughter, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
22. 7 M.R.S. § 3951, Killing for assault permitted, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
23. 17-A M.R.S. § 1604, Imprisonment for crimes, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
24. 17-A M.R.S. § 1704, Fines, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
25. 7 M.R.S. § 3911, Dogs at large, Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.