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Montana court costs guide

Filing for divorce in Montana costs $170 in court filing fees. This guide covers the verified filing fees for divorce, name change, general civil cases, and probate in Montana — every figure from the official schedule or statute named at the foot of the page.

Montana at a glance	Figure
Court	District Court
Divorce filing fee	$170 to file a petition for dissolution of marriage (MCA §25-1-201). A petition for legal separation is $150.
Name change filing fee	$90 — note this is our reading of the schedule, flagged as an inference: §25-1-201 has no separate name-change line item, and a name-change petition is a district court action, so the $90 commencement fee applies.
Name-change publication	Required — Required — MCA §27-31-201: publish notice of the hearing for 4 successive weeks in a county newspaper (or post in 3 public places for 4 weeks if there is no newspaper). Exceptions: a minor's change with written consent of both parents and all legal guardians, and sealed-record/safety petitions.
General civil filing fee	$90 at commencement of each action or proceeding (except dissolution). A defendant's appearance fee is $60; an intervention complaint is $80.
Probate filing fee	$70 — filing an application for informal, formal, or supervised probate, or for appointment of a personal representative (includes filing a will for probate).

Divorce filing fees

$170 to file a petition for dissolution of marriage (MCA §25-1-201). A petition for legal separation is $150.

See the national picture — including the states where the fee is set county by county — in our divorce filing cost guide.

Name change: fee and publication

$90 — note this is our reading of the schedule, flagged as an inference: §25-1-201 has no separate name-change line item, and a name-change petition is a district court action, so the $90 commencement fee applies.

Publication: Required — MCA §27-31-201: publish notice of the hearing for 4 successive weeks in a county newspaper (or post in 3 public places for 4 weeks if there is no newspaper). Exceptions: a minor's change with written consent of both parents and all legal guardians, and sealed-record/safety petitions.

Publication is the step readers most often get wrong, because the rule changed recently in several states. The full state-by-state picture is in our name change cost guide.

General civil filing fees

$90 at commencement of each action or proceeding (except dissolution). A defendant's appearance fee is $60; an intervention complaint is $80.

Probate court costs

$70 — filing an application for informal, formal, or supervised probate, or for appointment of a personal representative (includes filing a will for probate).

How filing works in Montana

Prepare the petition or complaint for the District Court — most Montana courts publish the forms on their self-help pages.
File with the clerk and pay the filing fee above. Keep the stamped copy; it is your proof of filing.
Arrange service of process on the other party where the case requires it (divorce and general civil cases do; a name change usually does not).
Complete any publication the rules require — for a Montana name change: required.
Attend the hearing or, in uncontested matters, submit the proposed decree for the judge's signature.

Worked total: what a divorce filing costs

Item	Cost
Filing fee	$170
Service of process (typical private process server)	$50–$100
Estimated total to file	$220–$270

Filing fee plus service for one respondent, before any mediation, parenting-class, or copy charges described in the guides. Run your own combination in the cost calculator.

Sources: MCA §25-1-201 — Fees of clerk of district court · MCA §27-31-201 — Montana Code Annotated. Researched October 2026 — confirm current figures with the court clerk.

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