Maine Debt Relief Programs: Counseling, Medical Debt Rules, and Free Legal Help

How Maine debt relief programs work

There is no single office to apply to. Instead, a Mainer in debt usually draws on several protections at once. The table matches common problems with the Maine law or service that helps most.

Getting basic costs under control can stop new debt from forming. See our Maine assistance programs overview for food and fuel help, and Maine hardship relief for emergency options.

Credit counseling and debt management in Maine

A credit counseling session gives you a clear picture before you choose a path. A certified counselor lists your debts, your take-home pay, and your living costs, then explains whether a repayment plan, a hardship request to a creditor, or a legal option makes the most sense. Agencies in the National Foundation for Credit Counseling network work by phone and video, which matters in rural Aroostook or Washington County where offices are far apart.

A debt management plan combines your card payments into one monthly payment to the agency. Creditors often lower interest rates for people in a plan. Maine regulates these services under Title 32, chapter 80-A, which requires a signed written agreement listing the services and every fee before any work begins. Debt management providers serving Mainers must be registered with the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, so ask any company for proof of its Maine registration before you enroll.

The CFPB offers tips on choosing a credit counselor, and our national debt relief programs guide compares counseling, settlement, and bankruptcy.

Maine's medical debt protections

Maine has passed a series of medical debt laws since 2023. Together they make medical bills one of the least risky debts to have in the state, though you still owe the balance.

No interest, no fees, and limits on suing

Public Law 2023, chapter 663 added rules to the Maine Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. A debt collector may not charge any interest or any fee on a debt it knows is medical debt, and may not falsely suggest that interest or fees will be added. A collector also may not sue over medical debt when it knows the household income is at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines unless the patient received a required written notice and had at least 30 days to show income eligibility.

Off your credit report

LD 558, signed in June 2025, bars medical creditors, collectors, and debt buyers from reporting medical debt to credit bureaus, and bars the bureaus from listing it. If you still see a medical collection on a report pulled after the law took effect, dispute it with the bureau and mention the Maine law.

No wage garnishment or home liens

LD 2129, signed by Governor Mills on April 6, 2026 as Public Law 2025, chapter 649, adds two more bans. Collectors may not start an action to garnish wages on medical debt, and they may not attach a judgment to your principal residence. The residence exemption in 14 M.R.S. 4422 now states that a principal residence is exempt from attachment and execution based on medical debt. The law is non-emergency, so it took effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourned. Ask a lawyer how it applies to a garnishment that started earlier.

Hospital free care and payment plans

Under 22 M.R.S. 1716-A, added by Public Law 2025, chapter 488, hospitals must give free medically necessary care to patients whose family income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Hospitals may not ask about assets. Patients with income up to 400 percent of poverty can get a payment plan with monthly payments capped at 4 percent of income that is not exempt from garnishment. Once a collector learns you may qualify for free care, it must pause collection until the hospital decides.

For a family of three, 200 percent of the 2026 poverty guideline is $54,640 a year. Apply for free care even if the bill is old or already with a collector.

The six-year rule for collectors

Maine's general limit for civil suits is six years under 14 M.R.S. 752. For consumer debts in the hands of a debt collector, a 2015 law made that deadline sharper. Under 32 M.R.S. 11013(8), a collector may not start a lawsuit or arbitration more than six years after the consumer's last activity on the debt. Once that period runs out, a later payment, a spoken or written promise, or other activity on the debt does not revive it.

That is unusual. In many states, a small "good faith" payment restarts the clock. In Maine, it does not, at least for collectors covered by the Maine Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. A collector that sues on a debt it knows, or should know, is past the deadline violates subsection 7 of the same section.

Old debts can still be reported or requested by mail, so keep records of when you last paid. If you are sued on an old account, raise the six-year limit in your court response. The CFPB explains time-barred debts in general terms.

Disclosure hearings and payment orders

Maine handles collection after a judgment differently from most states. A creditor usually cannot go straight to your paycheck. The process in Title 14 usually works like this:

1. Judgment. The creditor wins in District Court, often by default if you do not respond to the complaint.
2. Disclosure hearing. The court orders you to come in and answer questions about your income, property, and expenses under oath.
3. Installment order. The judge may set a payment you can afford, based on that information.
4. Order to employer. Only if you miss two or more installment payments, or fail to appear at a hearing you were ordered to attend, can the court approve an order for your employer to withhold wages, under 14 M.R.S. 3127-B.

Your employer may not fire you because your earnings are subject to such an order. Going to the disclosure hearing with pay stubs and a list of expenses is the single best way to keep a payment order realistic. Never ignore a disclosure subpoena; missing it can lead to a civil order of arrest in Maine.

Wage garnishment limits

When an employer order is approved, 14 M.R.S. 3126-A caps how much can be taken each week. It is the least of three amounts:

• 25 percent of weekly disposable earnings plus exempt income;
• the amount by which that weekly total exceeds 40 times the higher of the federal or Maine minimum wage; or
• your total disposable earnings.

Maine's minimum wage is $15.10 an hour for 2026, so the protected weekly floor is $604. That is far more than the federal floor of $217.50 that applies in many states. The rate changes each January, so the floor will move in 2027.

These limits do not apply to child support, Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders, or state and federal taxes. And for medical debt judgments, wage garnishment is now barred entirely.

Exempt property and the residence exemption

Maine's main exemption statute, 14 M.R.S. 4422, lists property a judgment creditor cannot take. The statute's base amounts are below. It also says the amounts are adjusted for inflation every three years starting April 1, 2024, so the figure a court applies may be higher.

If a bank freezes your account, you or the bank can ask the court that issued the judgment to decide how the $3,000 cash exemption applies. Money from selling an exempt home stays exempt for 12 months if you plan to buy another residence.

Bankruptcy for Maine residents

Maine bankruptcy cases go to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine, which holds court in Portland and Bangor. Before filing, you must complete a course from a credit counseling agency approved by the U.S. Trustee Program. The U.S. Courts site describes how Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 differ.

Maine has opted out of the federal exemption list under 14 M.R.S. 4426. Filers use the Maine exemptions above plus certain federal non-bankruptcy exemptions. Because Maine's residence exemption is generous compared with many states, homeowners often keep their homes in Chapter 7 when their equity is under the limit. A lawyer can check the inflation-adjusted figure that applies on your filing date.

Free legal help and state offices

• Pine Tree Legal Assistance: Maine's statewide legal aid program. Its "Money, Taxes, & Debt" help covers debt collection, credit reports, and liens, and it has offices around the state. Use its contact page to ask for help.
• Maine Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division: runs a free Consumer Information and Mediation Service. Call 1-800-436-2131 (in Maine) or 207-626-8849; phone hours are limited, so the online complaint form is often faster.
• Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection: licenses debt collectors, oversees debt management companies, and takes complaints under the Maine Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Call 1-800-332-8529. It has ordered unlicensed collectors to stop contacting Mainers.
• CFPB: file complaints about collectors, card issuers, and credit reports through its complaint portal.

Renters facing both debt and housing trouble can also read our guide to Maine rent relief.

Red flags in debt relief offers

Maine's licensing rules catch many bad actors, but not all of them. Be wary of any company that:

• Cannot show its Maine license or registration with the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection.
• Charges large fees before reducing a single debt.
• Claims to run a "Maine government" or "state relief" program for credit cards.
• Pushes you to settle medical debt fast, without mentioning hospital free care.
• Promises to erase accurate information from your credit report.

The CFPB explains the risks of debt settlement. Legal aid, the Attorney General's mediation service, and hospital free care applications are all free, and applying for official programs never costs money.

Related guides

• New Hampshire debt relief programs
• Vermont debt relief programs
• Massachusetts debt relief programs
• Connecticut debt relief programs

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Maine laws, minimum wage figures, and exemption amounts change, so check the current law or ask a lawyer before acting. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with the Maine Attorney General, the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, or any government agency.