Montana Genealogy Search

Montana family history begins with the 1860s gold camps at Bannack, Virginia City and Helena, the cattle and homestead era that followed and the mining city of Butte, and the records follow: county deed and mining books from the territory's founding in 1864, the vital records that began statewide in 1907, and the collections of the Montana Historical Society in Helena, which holds nearly every Montana newspaper ever published. Montana took no state censuses, but the federal censuses from 1870 and the county and territorial records cover the settlement years.

Homestead records matter more in Montana than almost anywhere: the state had more homestead entries than any other, and the federal land files name every claimant.

Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.

Montana statewide genealogy links

• Montana State LibraryGeneaology Program
• Montana Historical Society
• Montana Department of Health and Human ServicesFind Birth and Death Certificates
• Central Montana Genealogy Society, Inc.Genealogical Society
• Lewis and Clark County Genealogical Society
• Montana State Genealogical Society
• Search Montana State Death Indexes
• Montana Public Records Search
• Montana GenWeb ProjectSearch State GenWeb Project
• Western Heritage Center

Montana began statewide birth and death registration in 1907, with a few counties keeping records from the 1890s, and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Office of Vital Records in Helena holds the certificates. Birth records are restricted for 30 years and death records are public, and the state posts a free online Montana death index. Marriage licenses were issued by each county's clerk of court from the county's founding, and the Montana Historical Society holds a statewide marriage index, and divorce records sit with the district court clerk.

• Montana Office of Vital RecordsBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates from 1907, checked September 25, 2026
• Montana Historical Society Research CenterMarriage index, county records, newspapers and photographs, checked September 25, 2026
• Montana Vital Records guideHow to order certificates and what is public

The Montana Historical Society holds the territorial and state penitentiary registers from Deer Lodge, Montana's Spanish-American War and World War I service records, county records on microfilm, mining company and cattle brand records, the Montana Newspapers digital collection free online and the largest photograph collection in the state. Federal land patents and homestead entries for Montana are at the General Land Office site, with the full homestead case files at the National Archives, and the National Archives at Denver holds Montana's federal court, land office and Bureau of Indian Affairs records, including the Blackfeet, Crow, Flathead and Fort Peck agency files.

• Montana NewspapersFree digitized Montana newspapers from the Montana Historical Society, checked September 25, 2026
• Bureau of Land Management General Land Office recordsMontana homestead and land patents, checked September 25, 2026
• National Archives at DenverFederal court, land and Indian agency records for Montana, checked September 25, 2026
• FamilySearch Montana research guideFree indexed Montana records and images, checked September 25, 2026

Montana county clerks and recorders hold deeds, mortgages, mining claims and water rights from each county's founding, and clerks of the district court hold marriage licenses, probate, divorce, civil and naturalization files. Montana's 56 counties formed from the original nine territorial counties, most of them between 1893 and 1925, so early records for a family in Petroleum or Golden Valley county sit in the books of Fergus or Musselshell. The Montana Historical Society has microfilmed the older county books, and many clerks and recorders post indexes online.

• Montana County Public RecordsCounty clerks and recorders and district courts for all 56 counties
• Montana Court RecordsDistrict court case and probate searches

These federal and national sources complement Montana's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when Montana state records are incomplete or out-of-state activity matters.

NARA, National Archives The federal government's primary archive. Holds the U.S. census (1790, 1950), ship passenger lists, naturalization records, military service files, and land entry files.

FamilySearch Free online genealogy platform operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Digitized microfilm copies of many county and state records worldwide.

Library of Congress, Local History & Genealogy The LoC's research guides, city directories, newspapers, and Civil War records, most accessible free online through loc.gov.