How to Find Montana Death Records
How to Find United States Death Records 
Montana Deaths
Prior to 1895 there were no legal requirements for keeping death records in Montana. At that time the registration of deaths was the responsibility of clergymen, coroners, physicians, sextons, and undertakers. In 1895 the Legislative Assembly passed a law requiring all physicians to keep a register of all deaths. All pre-1907 birth records are filed with the county clerk in the county where the child was born. Registration of deaths on the state level began in 1907. By 1910 the registration of deaths reached about 90 percent. It was not until about 1915 that the registration of Montana deaths became reasonably complete.
Next Step: When did the death occur? |
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Births before 1907
Before 1907, counties recorded a few births. Delayed birth records also exist. In most cases, you must search substitute records to locate your ancestor’s birth date and place.
| Records that give birth information: | ||
For births that exist during the time period, try the following online collection:
STEP ONE: Find Birth Information
| Montana Birth Databases - Includes Digital Images Only | ||||
| Montana County Births, 1840-2004 | FamilySearch - Free; browse image collection; incomplete; no index | |||
| Can't find your ancestor online in the index? | Tips for searching online indexes | |||
| No birth record for your ancestor? | Other records with birth information | |||
STEP TWO: Obtain the Record
With approximate birth years and places, you can locate birth records from the appropriate county court clerk. A list of counties is available online.
Delayed birth records are kept at the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services.
There are no restrictions on these records.
Births after 1907
Statewide registration of births began in 1907 in Montana. Currently, there are no online indexes to Montana births from 1907 to the present.
STEP ONE: Find Birth Information
| Montana Birth Databases - Includes Digital Images Only | ||||
| Montana County Births, 1840-2004 | FamilySearch - Free; browse image collection; incomplete; no index | |||
| Can't find your ancestor online in the index? | Tips for searching online indexes | |||
| No birth record for your ancestor? | Other records with birth information | |||
STEP TWO: Obtain the Certificate
With full names, dates and places of an event, you can order a copy of the birth certificate for a fee from the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services or VitalChek.
Restrictions for ordering Montana birth certificates:
To obtain a copy of the birth certificate, you must be:
- The person on the certificate 14 years or older
- The parent or grandparent of the person on the certificate
- The spouse of the person on the certificate
- The child of the person on the certificate
- The legal guardian of the person on the certificate
- Anyone who has legal interest in the certificate
- NOTE: A copy of the birth certificate cannot be obtained by anyone except those listed above.
If you do not want to order the birth record, there are other records with birth information you can search.