Montana public records: who holds what

In Montana, deeds are recorded by the County Clerk and Recorder; birth and death certificates come from the County Clerk & Recorder; and requests for other government records fall under the Montana Constitution Art. II § 9 (Right to know) and Public Records statutes, Title 2, Chapter 6, MCA. Below: who holds every other record, what copies cost and the official link for each office.

Last checked against official sources on November 4, 2026.

On this page

1. Who holds what in Montana
2. Public records law in Montana
3. Probate records and wills in Montana
4. How Montana organizes its records
5. Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps
6. Counties in Montana
7. Warnings from official sources
8. Official copies vs look-alike sites
9. Official directories
10. Sources

Who holds what in Montana

The office that keeps each record, and the fee the law or the office sets for a copy. Open a record type for the full rules, ordering steps and older records.

Public records law in Montana

Montana Constitution Art. II § 9 (Right to know) and Public Records statutes, Title 2, Chapter 6, MCA (Mont. Const. art. II, § 9; Mont. Code Ann. §§ 2-6-1001 et seq.) Read the law¹⁰

This law covers records that agencies hold, such as a county office's correspondence or a property file. Recorded deeds, vital records and court files usually have their own rules, set out in each record section.

Who can ask

Every person¹¹

What is exempt

Constitutional privacy balance (privacy must clearly exceed merits of disclosure); confidential information by statute/court; safety and security of facilities; litigation alone is not a reason to withhold¹²

Response time: local government

Counties/cities: respond "in a timely manner" by making records available or giving a time and fee estimate¹³

Response time: state agency

State agencies: acknowledge within 5 business days; single readily available record within 5 working days of acknowledgment; larger requests within 90 days (up to 6 months with written notice)¹³

Fees: hourly

Up to $25/hour for search, gathering, review and processing plus actual costs (copies, media, postage)¹³

Fees: filing fee

Non-simple requests: filing fee up to $5; first hour free after filing fee¹³

More on the Montana Constitution Art. II § 9 (Right to know) and Public Records statutes, Title 2, Chapter 6, MCA

Fees: advance

Agency may require prepayment of estimated fee¹³

Appealing a value: denial

Denials must be explained in writing¹⁴

Appealing a value: which court

File a complaint in district court; prevailing requester may recover costs and reasonable attorney fees¹⁴

Privacy

Constitutional right of privacy¹⁵

How to write a public records request

Probate records and wills in Montana

Who holds it

Clerk of the District Court (district court sits as probate court); clerk indexes each decedent's file and issues certified copies of probated wills and letters⁹

Filing fee

$70 to file a probate application/petition (includes filing the will)⁵

Copy fee

Same as other court copies: $1/page first 10 pages, $0.50 after; $2 per certificate with seal⁵

How this works in other states: probate records and wills by state.

How Montana organizes its records

• Property is assessed by the state Department of Revenue (full charge of assessing all taxable property), not by a county office; county treasurers bill and collect³
• Birth and death certificates can be bought at ANY county clerk and recorder, not only the county of the event (long-form only in birth county or Helena)⁷
• Marriage and divorce certified copies come only from the county Clerk of District Court; the state only keeps a 1943+ index⁶
• County clerk is also ex officio recorder and usually the election administrator¹
• Registry covers violent offenders as well as sex offenders¹⁶

Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps

Criminal history checks

State repository

Montana Department of Justice, Criminal Records and Identification Services Section¹⁷

Who may order

General public may get public criminal history (arrests and prosecutor/court information on felonies and misdemeanors), limited by privacy law; deferred-and-dismissed records not released¹⁷

Online

CHOPRS - Criminal History Online Public Record Search (doj.egovmt.com/choprs), $20 per search; limited to Montana public criminal history information¹⁸

Mail name

Mail name-based check: $15 per person¹⁷

Fingerprint checks

State-only fingerprint check by mail: $10 per person¹⁷

More about criminal history checks

Law

Public criminal justice information has no dissemination restrictions; other criminal history only to criminal justice agencies, with consent, etc.¹⁹

Challenge

Individuals may contest accuracy; final challenge to DOJ²⁰

Sex offender registry

Official registry

Montana Sexual or Violent Offender Registry (DOJ): dojmt.gov/…; search: dojmt.gov/svow-search¹⁶

What it covers

Covers sexual AND violent offenders registered with local law enforcement¹⁶

Public info

Name and address of registered offenders are public; more detail released by risk level²¹

Inmate and jail lookups

State prisons

Montana DOC Correctional Offender Network (ConWeb) offender search: app.mt.gov/conweb²²

Voter records

Access

Voter lists/extracts available to any individual for noncommercial use from the SOS (statewide) or county election administrator (local), at no more than actual cost²³

State fee

$1,000 per statewide voter file or extract; $5,000 annual subscription²⁴

Purchase

Purchase online: app.mt.gov/voterfile²⁴

History

Records back to at least 2006 for all counties²⁴

Protected

Protected voters' residential addresses are withheld (name only)²³

More about voter records

Your own record

Check own registration: My Voter Information (voterportal.mt.gov)²⁵

Local office

County election administrator: the county clerk and recorder or the individual designated by the county governing body²⁶

Business names (DBA)

Assumed names (DBA)

Assumed business names (DBAs) register with the Secretary of State, not the county²⁷

Fee

$20 registration; $20 renewal; $20 amendment; $10 name reservation; cancellation free²⁸

Search

SOS Business Name Search: biz.sosmt.gov/search/business²⁹

Certified copy

$10 per certified copy request²⁸

Liens and UCC filings

UCC filings

UCC financing statements filed with the Secretary of State, except fixture filings, as-extracted collateral and timber, which go to the county office that records mortgages (clerk and recorder)³⁰

UCC online

SOS lien filings/search via biz.sosmt.gov (File A Lien: biz.sosmt.gov/forms/ucc)²⁹

Liens at the county

County clerk files and indexes liens and other instruments required to be filed: $5 each²

GIS and parcel maps

Statewide

Montana Cadastral parcel map (Montana State Library): gis.mt.gov; county cadastral data updated monthly³¹

Data

Cadastral parcel data provided monthly per county (geodatabase/shapefile) with DOR Orion CAMA data³¹

Service

ArcGIS REST: gisservice.mt.gov/…³¹

Historical and genealogy records

State archives

Montana Historical Society, Larry Len and LeAnne Peterson Library & Archives, 225 North Roberts, Helena; non-circulating, on-site Reference Room access and digitized collections³²

Holdings

Manuscripts, state government records, photographs, maps (incl. Sanborn), and nearly every Montana newspaper on microfilm³³

Certified historic

MHS may issue certified copies of historic state records, with same legal force as the original agency's³⁴

Old births

Birth records 30+ years old are public; informational copies available to anyone⁸

Counties in Montana

2 counties with a full guide

Each guide lists the office for every record type, the official online searches, copy fees, phones and hours.

• Gallatin County
• Yellowstone County

All 56 counties

Names in bold open our guide. Names with an arrow go to the county's own website, where the US Census Bureau lists one and it opened when we checked.³⁵

• Beaverhead County
• Big Horn County
• Blaine County
• Broadwater County
• Carbon County
• Carter County
• Cascade County
• Chouteau County
• Custer County
• Daniels County
• Dawson County
• Deer Lodge County
• Fallon County
• Fergus County
• Flathead County
• Gallatin County
• Garfield County
• Glacier County
• Golden Valley County
• Granite County
• Hill County
• Jefferson County
• Judith Basin County
• Lake County
• Lewis and Clark County
• Liberty County
• Lincoln County
• Madison County
• McCone County
• Meagher County
• Mineral County
• Missoula County
• Musselshell County
• Park County
• Petroleum County
• Phillips County
• Pondera County
• Powder River County
• Powell County
• Prairie County
• Ravalli County
• Richland County
• Roosevelt County
• Rosebud County
• Sanders County
• Sheridan County
• Silver Bow County
• Stillwater County
• Sweet Grass County
• Teton County
• Toole County
• Treasure County
• Valley County
• Wheatland County
• Wibaux County
• Yellowstone County

Warnings from official sources

• DPHHS consumer alert: private websites charge high fees to "help" order birth/death certificates; only VitalChek and VRO are contracted; complaints to DOJ Office of Consumer Protection⁷
• SOS alert: letters demanding money to file annual reports or buy certificates are not from the SOS; do not pay²⁹

Official directories

Lists that name the office in every county.

• Montana Judicial Branch Court Locator (all courts by county): https://courts.mt.gov/court-locator³⁶
• SOS Election Administrators Contact List (56 counties): https://sosmt.gov/elections/election-administrators-contact-list/³⁷
• DPHHS points to the Judicial Branch Court Locator for all 56 Clerks of District Court⁶

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 37 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

1. Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2611, Role and duties of county clerk and election administratorMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
2. Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2631, Fees of county clerkMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
3. Mont. Code Ann. § 15-8-101, Department of revenue responsibilitiesMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
4. Montana Constitution Art. VII, § 1 (Judicial power)Montana Legislature (MCA 2025)
5. Mont. Code Ann. § 25-1-201, Fees of clerk of district courtMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
6. Marriage and DivorceMontana DPHHS Office of Vital Records
7. Birth and Death CertificatesMontana DPHHS Office of Vital Records
8. Office of Vital Records Fee ScheduleMontana DPHHS Office of Vital Records
9. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-204, Probate records and certified copiesMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
10. Montana Constitution Art. II, § 9 (Right to know)Montana Legislature (MCA 2025)
11. Mont. Code Ann. § 2-6-1003, Access to public information -- safety and security exceptions -- additional exceptionsMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
12. Mont. Code Ann. § 2-6-1002, DefinitionsMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
13. Mont. Code Ann. § 2-6-1006, Public information requests -- feesMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
14. Mont. Code Ann. § 2-6-1009, Written notice of denial -- failure to meet response deadline -- civil actionMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
15. Montana Constitution Art. II, § 10 (Right of privacy)Montana Legislature (MCA 2025)
16. Sexual or Violent Offender RegistryMontana Department of Justice
17. Background Checks (Criminal Records & Identification Services)Montana Department of Justice
18. Criminal History Online Public Record Search (CHOPRS)Montana Department of Justice (service operated by Tyler Technologies; linked from dojmt.gov background-checks page)
19. Mont. Code Ann. § 44-5-302, Dissemination of criminal history record information that is not public criminal justice informationMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
20. Mont. Code Ann. § 44-5-215, Challenge and correctionMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
21. Mont. Code Ann. § 46-23-508, Sexual or violent offender registry -- dissemination of informationMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
22. Correctional Offender Network SearchMontana Department of Corrections
23. Mont. Code Ann. § 13-2-122, Charges for registers, elector lists, and mailing labels made available to publicMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
24. Statewide Voter File InformationMontana Secretary of State
25. Election & Voter ServicesMontana Secretary of State
26. Mont. Code Ann. § 13-1-101, DefinitionsMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
27. Mont. Code Ann. § 30-13-203, Application for registration of assumed business nameMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
28. Business Services Filing FeesMontana Secretary of State
29. Business & UCC ServicesMontana Secretary of State
30. Mont. Code Ann. § 30-9A-501, UCC filing officeMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
31. Montana Cadastral (MSDI Cadastral theme)Montana State Library
32. Research Center (Library & Archives)Montana Historical Society
33. Research CollectionsMontana Historical Society
34. Mont. Code Ann. § 2-6-1008, Certified copies of records -- historic records and constitutional officer records -- exceptionMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
35. Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
36. Court LocatorMontana Judicial Branch
37. Election Administrators Contact ListMontana Secretary of State