Most states ration death certificates by relationship. Montana does not. The instructions on the state death certificate application say that complete copies of a certified death certificate are issued to anyone who submits a completed application, establishes identity and lists the reason the copy is needed. The only version held back is a record whose cause of death reads pending autopsy or pending investigation; in that case the office issues a certified copy with the cause of death information removed, and the full copy follows once the medical examiner finishes. For a landlord, a creditor, a title company or a distant relative, that rule removes the paperwork other states demand.
The Office of Vital Records, part of the Department of Public Health and Human Services, has closed its Helena counter to walk-in service, so the birth and death certificates page routes in person customers to any County Clerk and Recorder in Montana, regardless of which county the death occurred in. Mail orders go to PO Box 4210, Helena, MT 59604, and the department refuses applications by email for security reasons. Card payments run through VitalChek or VitalRecordsOnline, the only two vendors the state has contracted, and the department tells customers of any other site to file a complaint with the Montana Department of Justice Office of Consumer Protection.
- Anyone with identification: a complete certified death certificate goes to any applicant who proves identity and states a reason, with no relationship requirement.
- $16 flat: certified copies, informational copies and certified copies of documents on file all cost $16, nonrefundable, under the fee schedule in force since September 21, 2024.
- Any county counter: with the Helena office closed to walk-ins, every County Clerk and Recorder sells death certificates for deaths anywhere in Montana.
- Pending cause redacted: while a cause of death is pending autopsy or investigation, the certified copy leaves the cause of death off.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Montana's own systems: the Montana death certificate mail-in application, the Montana Office of Vital Records birth and death certificates page, the Office of Vital Records fee schedule, the Office of Vital Records corrections page, the Montana vital records home page, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Proving identity on a Montana application
The person signing the request sends an enlarged, legible photocopy of both sides of a valid driver license or other legal picture identification with a signature, or has the application notarized instead. The application lists the alternatives for someone without a signed photo card: two other forms of identification, one of which must carry a signature. The signed item can be a Social Security card, a credit, debit or ATM card, a work or school card, a fishing license, a traffic or pawn ticket, a court record or a military DD 214; the second item can be a vehicle registration or insurance card, a medical record, an insurance record, a pay stub, a utility bill with the current address or a voter registration card.
A third route is to have a family member who holds identification place the order. An application that fails the identification test is returned, and the department warns of significant delays when that happens.
The form itself asks for the decedent's name, the dates of death and birth, the places of death and birth, sex, the parents' names, occupation and the spouse's name, then the reason the record is needed, the applicant's relationship, the number of copies and whether a certified or a not certified copy is wanted. Fees must be in United States funds, and checks are payable to Montana Vital Records.
Fees under the September 2024 schedule
The fee schedule, effective September 21, 2024 under administrative rule 37.8.116, prices a certified death certificate at $16, an informational death certificate at $16 and a certified copy of a document on file, such as a correction affidavit or a court order, at $16, all nonrefundable. The frequently asked questions on the ordering page add that the $16 applies to every certificate the office issues, certified or informational, abstract or long form. There is no discount for extra copies, so five certificates cost $80 before any vendor charge.
When the applicant cannot pin down the year, a search fee applies instead: $10 covers any span of five years or less for a death, marriage, divorce or birth record, plus $1 for each additional year searched beyond five, and the office answers with a letter confirming or denying that a record was found. Electronic copies of the index files are sold to institutions at $50 per monthly or annual update.
Ordering online, by phone or through a county clerk
Online orders go through VitalChek or through VitalRecordsOnline, whose customer service number is 1-855-252-1255; both add service fees for the card transaction and may ask for a picture of the applicant's identification. Telephone orders by card go only to VitalChek at 1-888-877-1946, because the state office cannot take a card over the phone. Processing times vary with staffing and workload, and the office asks customers checking on an order to email HHSVitalRecords@mt.gov or call 406-444-2685, option 2, with how and when the request was made and the full name on the certificate.
In person service belongs to the counties. Any County Clerk and Recorder in Montana can issue a birth or death certificate for an event anywhere in the state to a customer who brings current photo identification and fills in the application at the counter. The long form restriction that applies to birth certificates, which must come from Helena or the county of birth, is not mentioned for deaths. The Montana county pages list each Clerk and Recorder.
One date matters this month: the office is moving to a new records platform, and its notice says no birth certificates will be issued at any state or county office from October 21 through October 25, 2026, while the notice says nothing about death certificates.
Correcting a Montana death certificate
The corrections page sets a one year line. A correction requested within one year of the filing of the record is processed free, though a new certified copy still costs $16. After a year the charge is $41, made up of $25 to process the amendment and $16 for the certified copy that follows, with extra copies at $16 each. The applicant completes an Affidavit of Correction, encloses supporting documents, a photocopy of photo identification and the fee, and the office keeps the original affidavit and any court order, so copies should be made first.
Processing takes about three to four weeks, and corrections, like name changes and adoptions, are handled by appointment only, booked at 406-444-2685.
Apostilles, marriages and what the office does not hold
A death certificate going abroad needs an apostille from the Montana Secretary of State, which the vital records office does not provide. The applicant notes the apostille need on the order, the office mails the certificate to the Secretary of State once issued, and that office charges $10, paid separately and arranged beforehand at 406-444-1877. The office also does not issue marriage or divorce records; it holds only an index that can be searched on the $10 search fee, and the certified documents come from the district court or the county.
Probate and the district courts are covered in the Montana court records guide, and the office's birth side, including the 30 year rule for informational birth copies, in the Montana birth certificates guide.
Vendors the state warns against
The vital records home page carries a standing consumer alert. VitalChek and VitalRecordsOnline are the only contracted and approved third party vendors, and other companies charge high fees to process or help apply for certificates they have no special access to. A customer who paid one of them and is unhappy is told to file a consumer complaint online with the Montana Department of Justice Office of Consumer Protection. Ordering direct by mail costs the $16 and a stamp.
Death records and Montana public records law
Because the state will sell a full certified copy to anyone who identifies themselves and states a purpose, a Montana death certificate is in practice close to a public record, and no public records request is needed to get one. Requests for other state documents, such as coroner reports or agency files, follow the procedure in the Montana public records law guide, and the Montana property records guide shows how to trace what the deceased owned.
Questions about Montana death records
Related Montana records
Elsewhere on this site for Montana: Montana birth certificates, the district courts under Montana court records, the Clerk and Recorder's land books under Montana property records, the Montana public records law guide, and the 56 county offices on the Montana county pages.