Search Montana Public Records - Free Government Databases
Free links to official Montana state and county government records — courts, criminal histories, vital records, property, voter, business, and licenses across all 56 counties.
How to Search Montana Public Records
Montana's court, criminal, vital, property, voter, and licensing records are maintained across state agencies and the 56 counties listed below. Use the tabs to filter by record type, or jump directly to any source.
Courts: The Montana Supreme Court sits at the top of the system; trial-court business is handled by the District Court, Justice Court, City Court. Most courts publish dockets and case lookups online.
Criminal history: Official background checks run through the Montana Department of Justice - DCI; the Montana criminal records page covers the current fee and request process.
Vital records: Birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates are issued by the Montana Office of Vital Records and may also be available locally.
Property & recorded documents: Maintained at the county level by the Assessor, Recorder, or Clerk's office.
Business filings: the Montana Secretary of State operates the official business-entity search.
Population
1,132,812
Households
461,800
Median Income
$70,804
Median Home Value
$305,700
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2024 Population Estimates Program; 2022 ACS 5-year)
Montana Public Records at a Glance
Montana keeps its records close to home. District court cases are searched county by county — the state's public portal is still filling in, so the Montana court records page maps out clerk contacts alongside the online options. The Department of Justice runs a public name-based criminal history search anyone can use for a fee. Birth and death certificates come from the Office of Vital Records, restricted to family and eligible requesters for recent years. Clerks and recorders in all 56 counties handle deeds, and the state's cadastral mapping site publishes ownership and parcel data statewide for free — one of Montana's best public resources. All 70 databases below are official.
Official Databases
70
County Pages
56
Record Categories
8
Directory Since
1997
Figures reflect sources indexed in this directory and the latest official reports. Content reviewed July 30, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Montana Guides
Step-by-step pages for the searches people actually run:
U.S. District Court of Montana civil and criminal court records. Requires a PACER account and a small fee for each search. Note: PACER charges $0.10/page; the first $30 per quarter is free.
Use this Montana Department of Justice fee-based service to search for Montana criminal histories by name and date of birth, and optionally by social security number and/or alias.
56 Montana counties are indexed on SearchSystems.net — top 14 counties shown below. Browse the full directory or click any county for local court, sheriff, recorder and assessor links.
Montana keeps public records at three levels: federal (FBI, federal courts via PACER), state (court of last resort, state police, department of health, secretary of state), and county-level (sheriffs, clerks, recorders, assessors). Each county maintains its own court, criminal-justice, property, and vital-records offices linked from the county pages below.
Where do I start a Montana court-case search?▼
For statewide trial-court information, start at the Montana Judicial Branch: courts.mt.gov. Montana federal cases are searched through PACER. For local case dockets, see the Court Records tab and the county page for your area.
How do I get an official Montana background check?▼
Montana's official statewide criminal-history check is run by the Montana Department of Justice - DCI at dojmt.gov. Most state-level checks require fingerprints and a fee. A nationwide FBI Identity History Summary is available separately.
Where do I obtain Montana birth, death, or marriage certificates?▼
Certified Montana vital records are issued by the Official Montana Vital Records at dphhs.mt.gov. Recent local events (births, deaths, marriages) can often also be requested from the county clerk or local registrar where the event was filed.
What does it cost to access Montana public records?▼
Most online record indexes in Montana are free to search; fees apply for certified copies, fingerprint background checks, full document images at the recorder, and statewide bulk data. Each agency publishes its current fee schedule — for example the Montana Judicial Branch (courts), the Official Montana Vital Records (vital records), the Official Montana Voter Records (elections), and the Official Montana Professional & Occupational Licenses (licenses).
