How to order a Montana death certificate
Who holds it: DPHHS Office of Vital Records and any County Clerk & Recorder1
On this page
Fee
$16 certified or informational copy2
Who may order
Anyone: death certificates are issued on request of any person3
More details
- Statutory minimum
- Minimum $16 per certified death copy (including additional copies)4
Related records in Montana
- Birth certificates: who holds it
- Montana DPHHS Office of Vital Records, PO Box 4210, Helena MT 59604; also issued by any County Clerk & Recorder in person, regardless of county of birth1
- Birth certificates: fee
- $16 per certified or informational copy (state fee schedule effective September 21, 2024)1
- 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 letters5
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)1
Death certificates 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.
| County | Office | Search online | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallatin County | Clerk and Recorder6 | — | $7 per copy at the county7 |
| Yellowstone County | Yellowstone County Clerk & Recorder8 | — | — |
For any other county, see the county list on the Montana guide.
Official warnings
- 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 Protection1
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: death certificates in every state. Everything else in Montana: Montana public records guide.
Sources
Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 8 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.
- Birth and Death CertificatesMontana DPHHS Office of Vital Records
- Office of Vital Records Fee ScheduleMontana DPHHS Office of Vital Records
- Mont. Code Ann. § 50-15-121, Copies from system of vital statisticsMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 50-15-111, Certified copy fees -- transferMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-204, Probate records and certified copiesMontana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)
- Clerk and RecorderGallatin County, MT
- Clerk & Recorder Fee Schedule (PDF)Gallatin County, MT
- Birth RecordsYellowstone County Clerk & Recorder