Title 7, Title 7

If there is a conflict between 7-4-2508 through 7-4-2510 and any other law, 7-4-2508 through 7-4-2510 govern with respect to undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs, and detention officers employed by a county under a sheriff's office.

(1) The sheriff shall fix the compensation of the undersheriff at 98% of the salary of that sheriff. (2) (a) The sheriff shall fix the compensation of the deputy sheriff based on a percentage of the salary of that sheriff according to the following schedule: In counties with a po…

(1) (a) A sheriff's office may establish a work period other than the workweek provided in 39-3-405 or 7-32-2111 for determining when an employee may be paid overtime. (b) The aggregate of all work periods in a year, when expressed in hours, may not exceed 2,080 hours. (2) The bo…

Unless already provided for in a negotiated agreement, beginning on the date of the deputy sheriff's, undersheriff's, or detention officer's first anniversary of employment with the office and adjusted annually, a deputy sheriff, undersheriff, or detention officer is entitled to …

(1) Each salaried county officer shall charge and collect for the use of the county and pay into the county treasury by the 10th day in each month all fees allowed by law, paid or chargeable in all cases, except as provided in 25-10-403. This subsection does not apply to the comp…

(1) The fees and compensation collected and chargeable for the use of the county in each month must be paid to the county treasurer by the 10th day of the following month and must be accompanied by a statement and copy of the fee book for the preceding month, verified by the offi…

The treasurer shall file and preserve in the treasurer's office the statements and affidavits provided for in 7-4-2512 and shall issue to the officer one original and one duplicate receipt for the statements and affidavits. The officer receiving the receipts must preserve one in …

The board of county commissioners may not order the payment of the salary of any officer until the officer has filed the duplicate receipt with the county clerk, properly signed by the treasurer, showing that the officer has made the statement and settlement for that month as req…

(1) The officers mentioned in this chapter may not perform any official services unless the fees prescribed for the services are paid in advance. On payment, the officers shall perform the services required. For every failure or refusal to perform the official duty when the fees …

No fees must be charged the state, any county, or any subdivision thereof, any public officer acting therefor, or in habeas corpus proceedings for official services rendered, and all such services must be performed without the payment of fees, except the fees under 25-1-201(1)(d)…

Every officer, upon receiving any fees for official duty or service, may be required by the person paying the fee to make and deliver to the person a written account of the fees, specifying for what they accrued, respectively, and shall issue a receipt for the fee. If the officer…

(1) It is the duty of each officer entitled to collect fees to keep posted in the office a plain and legible statement of the fees allowed by law. (2) A failure to do so subjects the officer to a fine of $100 and costs, to be recovered by the county attorney in the name of the st…

The officers named above may receive no other fees for any services performed by them in any action or proceeding or for the performance of any service for which fees are allowed, and the party demanding or receiving any fees not herein allowed is liable to refund the same to the…

Upon receiving a certified copy of the record of conviction of any officer for receiving illegal fees or upon proof that the officer collected fees and failed to account for the fees, the board of county commissioners must declare the office vacant and appoint a successor.

Any person employed by a county may file with the appointing power a designation of a person who, notwithstanding any other provision of law, is entitled, on the death of the employee, to receive all warrants or paychecks that would have been payable to the decedent. The employee…

(1) The county governing body may annually, by resolution pursuant to 7-6-4013, fix the fees of the sheriff for services provided in 7-32-2141 and for other services. (2) Fees for services provided under 7-32-2141 must be based upon the prevailing rate charged by private process …

The number of deputies allowed the county clerk may not exceed: (1) six in counties having a taxable valuation of $30 million or more; (2) three in counties having a taxable valuation of $20 million or more and less than $30 million; (3) two in counties having a taxable valuation…

The county clerk may designate a deputy clerk as chief deputy clerk.

(1) The county clerk of a county is also clerk of the county commissioners and ex officio recorder. A duty imposed by law upon the officer, whether as county clerk, clerk of the county commissioners, or recorder, must be performed by the county clerk, and any official act perform…

The county clerk, as ex officio recorder, shall procure books or other recording materials for records that the business of the office requires, but orders for the books or materials must first be obtained from the board of county commissioners.

(1) The county clerk shall, upon the payment of the appropriate fees, record by printing, typewriting, photographic, micrographic, or electronic process or by the use of prepared blank forms: (a) (i) subject to subsection (1)(a)(ii), deeds, grants, transfers, certified copies of …

(1) It is the duty of the county clerk of any county of this state to record, without charge and in a book kept for that purpose, the document of discharge of an honorably discharged person who served with the United States forces upon that person's request. It is not the clerk's…

In each county where water users' associations organized in conformity with the federal reclamation laws of the United States exist, the county commissioners are required to furnish the county recorder with books for the proper recording of stock subscriptions, contracts, article…

The county clerk shall keep a well-bound book containing maps of towns, villages, or additions to the towns or villages within the county, together with the description, acknowledgment, or other writing on the maps.

(1) When any instrument, paper, or notice authorized by law to be recorded is deposited for record in the office of the county clerk, as ex officio recorder, and accompanied by the required fee, the clerk must endorse upon the document the time it was received, noting the year, m…

The county clerk shall not receive for recording any deed, mortgage, or assignment of mortgage unless the post-office address of the grantee, mortgagee, or assignee of the mortgagee, as the case may be, is contained therein. This requirement shall not affect the validity of the r…

Every county clerk, as ex officio recorder, must keep: (1) an index of deeds, grants, and transfers and contracts to sell or convey real estate and notices of buyer's interest in real property labeled "Grantors", with each page divided into four columns headed, respectively: "Nam…

(1) The county clerk may keep in the same volume any two or more of the indexes mentioned in 7-4-2619, but the several indexes must be kept distinct from each other, with the volumes distinctly marked on the outside in such way as to show all the indexes kept therein. (2) The nam…

Upon the application of any person and upon the payment of the applicable fees, the county clerk may: (1) make searches for conveyances, mortgages, and all other instruments recorded or filed in the county clerk's office; and (2) furnish a certificate stating the names of the par…

All books or records, maps, charts, surveys, and other papers on file in the county clerk's office must be open during office hours for the inspection of any person who may desire to inspect them and may be inspected without charge. The county clerk shall arrange the books of rec…

A county clerk is liable to the party aggrieved for three times the amount of the damages that may result and is punishable as provided in this code if the county clerk to whom an instrument is delivered for record: (1) neglects or refuses to record the instrument within reasonab…

(1) Except as provided in 7-2-2803(4), 7-4-2632, 7-4-2637, and this section, the county clerks shall charge, for the use of their respective counties: (a) for filing and indexing each writ of attachment, execution, certificate of sale, lien, or other instrument required by law to…

Except as provided in 7-2-2803(4), whenever recording is done using a photographic or similar process, the county clerk and recorder shall charge $20 for the first page or fraction of a page and $10 a page for each additional page or fraction of a page.

On each instrument delivered for recording, the county clerk shall endorse on it all charges made for each service, and the endorsement must be recorded as a part of the instrument in the county clerk's office to document the charges entered on the fee book or reception record in…

(1) The board of county commissioners shall establish a records preservation fund for the purpose of preserving the records maintained by the county clerk and recorder. The county clerk and recorder is responsible for expenditures from the fund and shall use the money for records…

(1) Unless accompanied by the appropriate fee required in 7-4-2637, a document submitted for recording must: (a) be legibly printed or typed in blue or black ink on white paper that is either 8 1/2 x 11 inches or 8 1/2 x 14 inches in size; (b) provide the names of the parties to …

(1) Except as provided in 7-2-2803(4) and 7-4-2631, the fee for recording a standard document that meets the requirements of 7-4-2636 is as follows: (a) $20 for the first page or fraction of a page and $10 a page for each additional page or fraction of a page; and (b) beginning J…

(1) A person is not eligible for the position of full-time county attorney in counties that have a population in excess of 30,000 unless the person is a citizen of the United States and has resided in the state 2 years immediately before taking office and has been admitted to the…

Whenever a vacancy in the office of county attorney arises in a county, the board of county commissioners is authorized to appoint an attorney who meets the qualifications established in 7-4-2701 to fill the vacancy.

In counties having a taxable valuation of $30 million or more, the county attorney may appoint one chief deputy and one deputy. In all other counties, the county attorney may appoint a chief deputy or a deputy only with the approval of the board of county commissioners.

(1) The county attorney, except for the county attorney's personally rendered services, may not present a claim, account, or other demand for allowance against the county or in any way advocate the relief asked on the claim or demand made by another. (2) Except as provided in sub…

The board of county commissioners may employ or authorize the county attorney to employ special counsel to assist in the prosecution of any criminal case pending in the county or to represent the county in any civil action in which the county is a party.

(1) (a) In a county with a population of less than 30,000, the county commissioners may, with the consent of the county attorney, by resolution effective July 1 of any year, establish the office of county attorney as a full-time or part-time position. (b) A copy of a resolution a…

The county commissioners of any county may, upon the consent of the county attorney, by agreement with the commissioners and county attorney of any other county, contract in writing to employ any other county attorney or attorney member of a county attorney's staff to perform civ…

In any county, the county commissioners may employ any attorney licensed in Montana to perform any legal service in connection with the civil business of the county.

(1) The county attorney is the legal adviser of the board of county commissioners. The county attorney shall attend their meetings when required and shall attend and oppose all claims and accounts against the county that are unjust or illegal. The county attorney shall defend all…