Reviewed and updated October 9, 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 on September 24, 2026.
Dawson County, Montana, has about 8,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Dawson County 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: Dawson County public records, Dawson County arrest records, Dawson County warrants, Dawson County inmate search, Dawson County 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 Dawson County
The Dawson County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Glendive make the DUI arrests in Dawson County.
Together, the two agencies in Dawson County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 131 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Dawson County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Dawson County
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Dawson County Sheriff's Office, held about 20 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at dawsonmt.gov/departments/sheriff/index.php, phone (406) 377-5291. The Dawson County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
A DUI charge from Dawson County is heard in a Justice or Municipal Court; the County Attorney or, in a municipal court, the city's own prosecutor brings it.
The County Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at dawsonmt.gov, phone (406) 377-2532.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.mt.gov.
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: Dawson County arrest records, Dawson County police reports and Dawson County court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Montana?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Dawson County heard?
In a Justice or Municipal Court. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.mt.gov.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Dawson County held?
At the county jail, run by the Dawson 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 Dawson County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.