Private homes are not deemed or considered lodging places and subject to a license when not more than 5 rooms are let; such private homes must post in a visible location in each rented room a card with the following statement in text that is easily readable in no less than 18-point boldface type of uniform font “This lodging place is not regulated by the State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.” The homes must provide guests upon check-in with a notice containing the same information. A license is not required from vacation rentals, dormitories of charitable, educational or philanthropic institutions or fraternity and sorority houses affiliated with educational institutions, or private homes used in emergencies for the accommodation of persons attending conventions, fairs or similar public gatherings, nor from temporary eating establishments and temporary lodging places for the same, nor from railroad dining or buffet cars, nor from construction camps, nor from boarding houses and camps conducted in connection with wood cutting and logging operations, nor from any boarding care facilities or children’s homes that are licensed under section 7801. [PL 2015, c. 494, Pt. D, §4 (AMD).]

Rooms and cottages are not deemed or considered lodging places and subject to a license where not more than 3 rooms and cottages are let. [PL 2011, c. 193, Pt. B, §10 (AMD).]

Stores or other establishments, where bottled soft drinks or ice cream is sold for consumption from the original containers only, and where no tables, chairs, glasses or other utensils are provided in connection with such sale, are not considered eating establishments. At such establishments, straws or spoons may be provided to aid in the consumption of such bottled soft drinks or ice cream, as long as they are supplied in original individual single service sterile packages. [PL 2011, c. 193, Pt. B, §10 (AMD).]

Nonprofit organizations including, but not limited to, 4-H Clubs, scouts and agricultural societies are exempt from department rules and regulations relating to dispensing foods and nonalcoholic beverages at not more than 24 public events or meals within one calendar year. [PL 2023, c. 7, §1 (AMD).]