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Montana court records

Who holds it: State judiciary: Supreme Court, district courts (general jurisdiction, by judicial district) and courts of limited jurisdiction (at least one justice court per county; a city court in each city or town)1

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. Fees
  2. What is public and what is sealed
  3. More details
  4. Related records in Montana
  5. How Montana handles it
  6. Court records in Montana counties with a full guide
  7. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  8. Sources

Fees: certification

$2 per certificate with seal2

Statewide case search

Montana District Court Public Access Portal (dcportal.pubcourts.mt.gov) and Courts of Limited Jurisdiction Public Access Portal (coljportal.pubcourts.mt.gov); records appear as courts transition to the new centralized case management system3

Fees

Fees: copies
$1/page for the first 10 pages of each file per request, then $0.50/page; electronic copies $0.25/page2
Fees: search
$2 per name per year searched (up to 7 years), $1 per name for each additional year2
Fees: civil filing
$90 to commence an action (dissolution $170); defendant appearance $602

What is public and what is sealed

What is public
Public criminal justice information (e.g., court records of charges and dispositions) may be disseminated without restriction4
Sealed and confidential records
One-time misdemeanor expungement by district court petition (all records of arrest, investigation, detention and court proceedings for the misdemeanor offenses)5

More details

District clerk
Clerk of the District Court in each county keeps district court files, registers of actions and plaintiff/defendant indexes6
Justice courts
At least one justice court per county, at the county seat7
Youth court
Formal youth court records are public until sealed; social/medical/psychological records are restricted8
Adoption
Original birth certificates of adoptees released only per adoption-date rules (request or court order)9
City courts
A city court is established in each city or town (civil and criminal business on judicial days)10
Criminal history checks: state repository
Montana Department of Justice, Criminal Records and Identification Services Section11
Criminal history checks: 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 released11
Divorce records: who holds it
Clerk of District Court in the county where the dissolution was filed12
Probate: 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 letters13

How Montana handles it

  • 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)14
  • Marriage and divorce certified copies come only from the county Clerk of District Court; the state only keeps a 1943+ index12
  • County clerk is also ex officio recorder and usually the election administrator15

Court records in Montana counties with a full guide

The local office, its official online search and its own fee, for each county with a full guide. Local fees can differ from the statewide figures above.

CountyOfficeSearch onlineFee
Gallatin County—District Court16Fees: copies: $1 per page for the first 10, then $0.50; email $.25 per page17
Yellowstone County—Montana Thirteenth Judicial District Court18
Yellowstone County Justice Court18		Copies $1 per page first ten pages, $0.50 thereafter; electronic image $0.25 per page; certification $2; authentication $6; decree of dissolution copy $10; marriage license copy $519

For any other county, see the county list on the Montana guide.

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Montana office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Rules in other states: court records in every state. Everything else in Montana: Montana public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 19 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Montana Constitution Art. VII, § 1 (Judicial power)Montana Legislature (MCA 2025)
  2. Mont. Code Ann. § 25-1-201, Fees of clerk of district courtMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  3. Montana Public Access Portal(s)Montana Judicial Branch
  4. Mont. Code Ann. § 44-5-301, Dissemination of public criminal justice informationMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  5. Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-1104, Eligibility for misdemeanor expungementMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  6. Mont. Code Ann. § 3-5-501, Clerk of district court -- general dutiesMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  7. Mont. Code Ann. § 3-10-101, Number and location of justices' courtsMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  8. Mont. Code Ann. § 41-5-215, Youth court and department recordsMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  9. Mont. Code Ann. § 42-6-109, Release of original birth certificate -- certificate of adoptionMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  10. Mont. Code Ann. § 3-11-101, City court established -- city court of recordMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  11. Background Checks (Criminal Records & Identification Services)Montana Department of Justice
  12. Marriage and DivorceMontana DPHHS Office of Vital Records
  13. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-204, Probate records and certified copiesMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  14. Birth and Death CertificatesMontana DPHHS Office of Vital Records
  15. Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2611, Role and duties of county clerk and election administratorMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
  16. Clerk of District CourtGallatin County, MT
  17. Records RequestsGallatin County, MT
  18. Montana Public Access Portal(s)Montana Judicial Branch
  19. District Court Fees ChargedYellowstone County Clerk of District Court