How it works in Montana

The steps

1. Request your record

   Ask the Department of Justice's Criminal Records and Identification Services for a copy of your Montana criminal history — online, by mail or in person; the fee depends on the kind of check. Some misdemeanor convictions are not on it, so also search the courts' public access portals for your name in every county where you may have a case. List every conviction: you get one petition in your life, so it should cover all of them.

   Record request fee: $15.00 — A Montana name-based check by mail; $20.00 online (CHOPRS); a Montana fingerprint-based check $10.00 plus the $5.00 fingerprinting; the $30.00 federal fingerprint-based check is for employment and licensing. The court's packet estimates $10 to $30.

2. Review your record

   Confirm there is no disqualifying information in your history. If there is something incorrect, follow the process to challenge the issue. If everything is accurate, make a copy for your file and keep the original somewhere safe.

3. Get copies of your judgments

   Ask the clerk of each court where you were convicted for a copy of the judgment — the document that records the conviction. The Department of Justice asks for it with the order at the end, and the district court clerk charges by the page and for each certificate with seal. Gather proof that you finished your sentence — fines paid, jail, treatment and probation done: under Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1107 the prosecutor verifies that, and the court weighs your rehabilitation at any hearing.

   Certified copy fee: $2.00 — The district court clerk's certificate with seal, plus copies at $1 a page for the first 10 pages of a file and 50 cents a page after; a justice, municipal or city court charges its own copy fee (the court's packet: there may be a small fee for document requests).

4. Verify the final documents

   Review each document for accuracy. Confirm each one is certified and clearly shows you completed your obligations. Make copies of every original.

5. Prepare your petition

   Use the court's own packet — the Petition for Expungement of Misdemeanor Records (ER-100), the proposed order (ER-200) and, if you cannot afford the filing fee, the Statement of Inability to Pay Court Costs and Fees. List every misdemeanor conviction you want expunged, from any court or case. Under Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1107, expungement is presumed if you are not detained, charged or facing new charges, as the prosecutor verifies, and either five years have passed since you completed the sentencing terms — fines and court-ordered treatment included — with no conviction in this state, another state or federal court, or a conviction is holding you back from a military academy, from enlisting in the armed forces or national guard, or from a position while you serve. Under Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1108, it is not presumed if you have a conviction for assault, partner or family member assault, stalking, sexual assault, violating a protective order, or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, however named, or an offense whose penalty was enhanced for it; the court then considers your age at the offense, the time since, your rehabilitation, the likelihood you reoffend, and any other factor it finds relevant. You can still petition — the form has a place to make that case.

6. Finalize your petition

   Put the petition, the Certificate of Service, the proposed order and, if you need it, the fee-waiver statement and its order together with your judgments and your background check. Keep a copy of everything you file.

7. File your expungement petition

   File the petition with the clerk of the district court in a judicial district where you were convicted of at least one of the misdemeanors (Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1105) — not the justice, municipal or city court that heard the case. Pay the clerk's filing fee or file the Statement of Inability to Pay. Then, under Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1106, serve a copy of the petition on every prosecution office that prosecuted an offense you want expunged, and file the Certificate of Service.

   Filing fee: $90.00 — The district court clerk's fee from the petitioner when a proceeding begins; waived on the court's Statement of Inability to Pay Court Costs and Fees (the packet's form).

8. Work with the court

   Within 14 days of getting your petition, the prosecutor must try to notify any victim of the offense, tell them they may respond, and tell them of any hearing dates (Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1106). If no one contests the petition, the court may grant it without a hearing. If the prosecutor or a victim does, the court may set a hearing, where each may respond; under Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1109 the rules of evidence do not apply, the court decides on a preponderance of the evidence, and a presumption in your favor can be overcome if the court finds public safety demands it. Bring evidence of your rehabilitation — letters, work, housing, your own account.

9. Receive the court's order

   The court may order expungement of all, some or none of the misdemeanors you listed (Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1110). An order granting expungement directs, for each offense, the arresting law enforcement agency, the prosecutor's office and the clerk of the court where you were sentenced to permanently seal their records of the arrest, investigation, detention and court proceedings. Read which offenses it covers and keep copies — you deliver it yourself in the next steps.

10. Get fingerprinted

    Have a law enforcement agency or a private vendor take your fingerprints on a blue FD-258 applicant card; the cards are free from the Department of Justice's Criminal Records and Identification Services in Helena, which also prints for a fee of its own. Under Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1104, a person who petitions must be fingerprinted to validate their identity, and under Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1110 the fingerprints go to the Department of Justice with your copy of the order — the court's own petition form has you promise to be fingerprinted once the order is granted.

    Fingerprint fee: $5.00 — The Department of Justice's own fingerprinting at Criminal Records in Helena (no background check); its schedule says the fee may vary at other law enforcement agencies and private vendors — the Gallatin County Sheriff charges a $15 flat fee, the Stevensville Police $25 a card. Blue FD-258 applicant cards are free at the Department.

11. Verify the record update

    Under Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-1110, you send a copy of the order, for each offense, to the arresting law enforcement agency, the prosecutor's office that prosecuted it, the clerk of the court where you were sentenced, and the Department of Justice — the Department's copy with your blue FD-258 fingerprint card and its Expungement/Removal Request Form. On receipt, the Department expunges its records of the arrest, investigation, detention and court proceedings the order covers; it asks you to allow 30 days and sends a confirmation letter. Then search the courts' public access portals: the expunged cases should no longer appear. If a background-check company later reports an expunged conviction, your copy of the order is your proof.

If you have to mail anything, remember to keep a copy of whatever you send and to use a method with a tracking number like the USPS Flat Rate Envelope.