Use this Montana court-records page as a starting point for statewide court research, appellate information, local court directories, and related PRC record topics. The layout has been modernized, the old private-ownership banner has been removed, and the page family now includes stronger cross-links to court, criminal, bankruptcy, and expungement resources.

Quick Links

Start here for the fastest path into Montana court-record research.

Official Montana Court Resources

Use these statewide and official court resources for case information, court structure, forms, clerk access, or public search tools.

  • Montana State Court Structure:Official or statewide court resource.
  • Montana Courts of Limited JurisdictionCourts of Limited Jurisdiction in Montana include Justice Courts, City Courts and Municipal Courts. Jurisdiction of civil cases, small claims and landlord/tenant disputes
  • Montana District CourtsDistrict Courts are courts of general jurisdiction. General jurisdiction courts process all probate cases, most civil cases at law and in equity, certain special actions and proceedings, all civil actions that may result in a finding against the state for the payment of money
  • Workers Compensation CourtsJurisdiction includes matters such as disputes involving independent contractor exemptions and reemployment preferences
  • Montana Supreme CourtHighest Court in the State of Montana. Search court rules, boards, commissions and more
  • Montana Water CourtsSearch links to division water judges, contact information and the water court calendar

Montana Court Directory & Local Resources

Legacy directory content has been retained inside the updated layout so county-level links, clerk references, and older court research notes remain available in one place.

Montana State Court Records Search Suggestions

As there may be more one source to obtaining Montana criminal, civil and divorce records, it is important to search multiple state courts to find the correct records.

Montana State Court Structure:

The Montana city court has jurisdiction over tort, contract, real property rights ($0/$7,000), small claims up to $3,000, misdemeanor, DWI/DUI, and domestic violence cases. The Montana city court also hears moving traffic, parking, and miscellaneous traffic cases. The city court has exclusive jurisdiction over ordinance violations. The city court handles preliminary hearings. The Montana municipal court has jurisdiction over tort, contract, real property rights ($0/$7,000), small claims up to $3,000, misdemeanor, DWI/DUI, domestic violence, moving traffic, parking, and miscellaneous traffic cases. The Montana justice of the peace court maintains jurisdiction over tort, contract, real property rights ($0/$7,000), small claims up to $3,000, misdemeanor, DWI/DUI, and domestic violence. The justice of the peace court has jurisdiction over moving traffic, parking, and miscellaneous traffic cases. The justice of the peace court handles preliminary hearings. The Montana workers compensation court is limited to workers compensation disputes. The Montana water court has jurisdiction over real property rights, limited to adjudication of existing water rights. The Montana district court maintains jurisdiction over tort, contract, and real property rights ($50/no maximum). The district court has exclusive mental health, estate, civil appeals, and miscellaneous civil jurisdiction. The Montana district court has exclusive domestic relations jurisdiction. The district court has jurisdiction over misdemeanors. The district court has exclusive felony, juvenile and criminal appeals jurisdiction. The Montana supreme court has mandatory jurisdiction in civil, capital criminal, criminal, juvenile, and disciplinary cases. The supreme court has discretionary jurisdiction in administrative agency, certified questions from federal courts, and original proceeding cases.

Directory of Links and Resources to Access County, State or Federal Court Records Online

Montana Civil and Divorce Court Records
Judgments, lawsuits, dissolution of marriage, civil court cases.

 Montana Criminal Court Records
Felony, misdemeanors and traffic violations.		 Montana District Court Records
Filings in my District courthouses.
Civil, family law cases and divorces, personal injury cases, lawsuits, estate planning and probate matters.
  • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
    Courts of Limited Jurisdiction in Montana include Justice Courts, City Courts and Municipal Courts. Jurisdiction of civil cases, small claims and landlord/tenant disputes.

  • Montana District Courts
    District Courts are courts of general jurisdiction. General jurisdiction courts process all probate cases, most civil cases at law and in equity, certain special actions and proceedings, all civil actions that may result in a finding against the state for the payment of money.

  • Workers Compensation Courts
    Jurisdiction includes matters such as disputes involving independent contractor exemptions and reemployment preferences.

  • Montana Supreme Court
    Highest Court in the State of Montana. Search court rules, boards, commissions and more.

  • Montana Water Courts
    Search links to division water judges, contact information and the water court calendar.

  • Montana Bankruptcy Courts
    Court calendars, self help resources, local rules and public access to information online. General rules and clerk contact sources.

  • Montana Judgments and Liens
    Link to information for defaults, recovery, default, cases and files that can show civil judgments. Court look up sources, electronic forms and self help tools.
 Most criminal cases are started when a prosecutor, either a district attorney (who represents a county) or the attorney general (who represents the state), files a complaint with the court.
  • Montana District Courts
    The District Courts are courts of general jurisdiction. General jurisdiction courts process all felony cases. The District Courts also have limited appellate jurisdiction over cases arising in the courts of limited jurisdiction.

  • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
    The Courts of Limited Jurisdiction in Montana are Justice Courts, City Courts and Municipal Courts. Addresses cases involving misdemeanor offenses, local ordinances, forcible entry and detainer and certain issues involving juveniles.

  • Montana Supreme Court
    Mandatory jurisdiction in capital criminal and criminal cases. Find direct weblinks to boards, commissions, justices, court rules and self help information.

  • Montana Youth Courts
    Direct weblinks to youth court reports, forms, instructions and more. Courts listed by Judicial District.

  • Montana Treatment Courts
    Montana’s nine specialty courts that are designed to more holistically address adult, youth and family alcohol and drug offender issues.
 Montana district courts listed by county. Request records and transcripts of cases including tort, contract, real property rights, mental health, estate, civil appeals, miscellaneous civil, domestic relations, misdemeanor, felony, criminal appeals and juvenile.
Broadwater and Lewis & Clark County District Court

Silver Bow County District Court

Deer Lodge, Granite, Powell Counties District Court

District Court (Mineral and Missoula Counties)

Beaverhead, Jefferson, and Madison Counties District Court

District Courts (Park, and Sweet Grass Counties)

District Court (Dawson, McCone, Prairie, Richland and Wibaux Counties)

Cascade County District Court

District Court (Glacier, Pondera, Teton and Toole Counties)

District Courts (Fergus, Judith Basin, and Petroleum Counties)

Flathead County District Court

District Court (Chouteau, Hill and Liberty Counties)

District Court (Yellowstone County)

District Courts (Golden Valley, Meagher, Musselshell, and Wheatland Counties)

District Court (Daniels, Sheridan, and Roosevelt Counties)

District Court (Carter, Custer, Fallon, Garfield, Powder River, Rosebud, and Treasure Counties)

District Court (Blaine, Phillips, and Valley Counties)

District Court Gallatin

Lincoln County District Court

District Court (Lake and Sanders Counties)

Ravalli County District Court

District Courts (Big Horn, Carbon, and Stillwater Counties)

Back to Nationwide Court Directory

Public Records By State
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

php include "include/prc-footer.php"?

Research Notes

  • Search more than one court level.Trial courts, appellate courts, bankruptcy courts, and specialty courts may each hold different parts of a case trail.
  • Use the clerk for official copies.Certified documents and official record copies should come directly from the responsible court or clerk office.
  • Online access varies by county and court type.Some courts provide full searchable dockets, while others provide only calendars, indexes, or request instructions.
  • Cross-check related record categories.Criminal records, judgments and liens, bankruptcy filings, inmate searches, and public-record hubs often help complete a statewide research path.

Related Montana Court Topics

Continue into related Montana specialty pages and supporting court-research topics.