Reviewed and updated October 11, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 11, 2026.
Belgrade, Montana, in Gallatin County, has about 13,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Belgrade starts two cases, a criminal case in a Justice or Municipal Court and a license case before the Motor Vehicle Division, and leaves three records. This guide follows the arrest from the roadside to the court file and the driving record.
This guide covers the law, the arrest, booking, the court case, the license case, the records and common questions.
Related guides: Belgrade public records, Gallatin County DUI, Belgrade arrest records, Belgrade warrants, Belgrade inmate search, Belgrade criminal records, Montana arrest records and Montana inmate search.
The DUI Law in Montana
In Montana the offense is DUI, and the limit is 0.08.
Driving in Montana is consent to a breath or blood test when an officer has cause to suspect DUI; the license case that follows a refusal or a failed test is run by the Motor Vehicle Division, separately from the criminal case.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in Belgrade
The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Belgrade (filed by the FBI as Belgrade Police Department) make the DUI arrests in and around Belgrade.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Gallatin County: Montana State University (campus police).
Together, the five agencies in Gallatin County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,546 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Gallatin County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Belgrade
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office, held about 140 people on an average day in 2019 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at gallatinmt.gov/643/Sheriffs-Office. The Belgrade inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
The case is heard in a Justice or Municipal Court, brought by the County Attorney or, in a municipal court, by the city's own prosecutor.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at gallatinmt.gov/272/Clerk-of-District-Court, phone 406-582-2165.
Montana has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The License Case
The court case is only half the record. The Motor Vehicle Division runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the Montana Motor Vehicle Division keeps the driving record the conviction goes on.
The Records a DUI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the Montana Public Records Act.
- The court file: from a Justice or Municipal Court, kept by the Clerk of District Court.
- The driving record: from the Montana Motor Vehicle Division.
More on each: Belgrade arrest records and Belgrade court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Montana?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Belgrade heard?
In a Justice or Municipal Court. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at gallatinmt.gov/272/Clerk-of-District-Court.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Belgrade held?
At the county jail, run by the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in Montana?
The Motor Vehicle Division, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
Is this the official Belgrade website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.