Adverse possession in Maine
Maine requires an action to recover land, or an entry on it, within 20 years after the right first accrued (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 801).
How long it takes in Maine
For uncultivated land in an incorporated place, Maine bars recovery against someone who claimed it under recorded deeds and paid all taxes on it for 20 years (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 816).
Sources: ME twenty-year limit; ME uncultivated land under recorded deeds with taxes
What the statute requires
Maine does not require the land to be fenced; open, notorious possession consistent with the ordinary management of a farm is enough (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 810).
Maine also bars an action to recover land from someone who, with predecessors, has had actual possession for more than 40 years, claiming adverse, open, peaceable, notorious and exclusive possession (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 815).
Land and people the clock does not run against
If the owner is a minor, mentally ill, imprisoned, or absent from the United States when the right accrues, the owner may act within 10 years after the disability is removed (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 807).
Source: ME disability extension
Fences and boundary lines
Taking possession by mistake about where the true boundary line is does not defeat an adverse possession claim in Maine (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 810-A).
Source: ME mistaken boundary line
Common questions
How many years for adverse possession in Maine?
Maine requires an action to recover land, or an entry on it, within 20 years after the right first accrued (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, 801).