States
Jury duty in Maine: pay, employer rules and excuses
Independent site, not a court. Answer your summons and ask for an excuse only through the court that summoned you.
Total Maine's $15 daily juror fee and mileage, see the five-year and three-times-in-a-lifetime limits, and check the age 80 excuse before you call the clerk.
What jury duty in Maine will pay you
You receive for 3 days
$45
| Court fee | $45 |
| Employer, by law | No duty to keep paying wages under this law |
| A normal 3 days of work | $600 |
| Income lost | $555 |
| Age rule | 80 and over, may ask to be excused |
Maine: $15 for each day you are required to attend, plus mileage. Before tax. No statute requires wages; employers may not fire, threaten or cut health insurance because of jury service (Class E crime; lost wages recoverable up to 6 weeks).
All jury rules in MaineMaine pays $15 for each day a juror is required to attend, plus mileage from home to court and back at the state rate set in 5 M.R.S. § 8 (14 M.R.S. § 1215). No statute makes an employer keep paying wages, but 14 M.R.S. § 1218 forbids firing, threatening or cutting health insurance because of jury service; that is a Class E crime, and lost wages can be recovered for up to 6 weeks. Anyone 80 or older who does not wish to serve is excused on request (§ 1213(2)(C)). The usual call is 15 court days, longer only to finish a case, although most jurors in practice serve one day of selection. Trial jury service is limited to once in any 5-year period and three times in a lifetime. To postpone, contact the court clerk before your date; the court must approve and may move you to a less burdensome season. Contempt after a show-cause hearing can bring a fine up to $100, up to 3 days in jail, or both (§ 1217).
Statutes and court pages read by Radif Partners on October 29, 2026 · Method and sources
Maine's lifetime limit on jury service
Few rules are as generous to repeat jurors as Maine's. Once you have served, you cannot be required to serve again for five years, and nobody can be made to sit as a trial juror more than three times in a lifetime. If a new summons arrives inside that window, tell the clerk and include proof of the earlier service. The standard call covers 15 court days, but most people summoned spend only a single day in selection, which at $15 plus mileage rarely replaces a day's pay. The employer protections in § 1218 go further than many states, since cutting your health insurance because of jury duty is also forbidden.
Asking a Maine court to excuse or postpone you
Grounds listed in 14 M.R.S. §§ 1211 and 1213 include undue hardship, extreme inconvenience, public necessity, a physical or mental disability (a physician certificate may be required), age 80 or older, active military service, work as an election official during elections, and service within the past 5 years. Breastfeeding leads to a postponement. Write to the clerk with documentation, such as a medical note for a health reason. Self-employment alone is not accepted as an excuse, but the court can move your service to a less burdensome season, which may suit someone whose work peaks at a particular time of year.
The rules in Maine, law by law
| Rule | What the law or court says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Juror pay | $15 a day | 14 M.R.S. § 1215 |
| Mileage | Mileage from home to court and back at the state rate set in 5 M.R.S. § 8 | 14 M.R.S. § 1215 |
| Employer must keep paying | No | 14 M.R.S. § 1218 |
| Job protected | Yes | 14 M.R.S. § 1218 |
| Age | 80 and over: may ask to be excused | 14 M.R.S. § 1213(2)(C) |
| Length of service | The usual call is 15 court days (longer only to finish a case); in practice most jurors serve one day of selection. | legislature.maine.gov |
| Before another summons | 60 months | legislature.maine.gov |
| Postponing | Contact the court clerk before your date to ask to postpone; the court must approve and may reschedule to a less burdensome season. | courts.maine.gov |
| Not showing up | Contempt: up to $100 fine and/or up to 3 days in jail after a show-cause hearing. | 14 M.R.S. § 1217 |
Excuses and postponement in Maine
Ask the clerk with written documentation (a medical note for health reasons); self-employment alone is not an excuse. Contact the court clerk before your date to ask to postpone; the court must approve and may reschedule to a less burdensome season.
Can I be excused or postpone?
Maine
No ground named: ask to postpone
| Age rule | 80+, on request |
Ask the clerk with written documentation (a medical note for health reasons); self-employment alone is not an excuse. Contact the court clerk before your date to ask to postpone; the court must approve and may reschedule to a less burdensome season.
A request is decided by the court, often with proof (a doctor's note, a school schedule). Ignoring a summons is not an excuse.
Official juror page: courts.maine.gov. Answer your summons and file any request there or as your summons says.