In our series on the Montana LLC car registration process, we have gotten into the weeds on many topics. But sometimes, we need a reminder that not everything has to be complicated. If you took the time and effort to register your car in Montana through a Montana LLC, you have already done the most challenging part of the process. So how does renewing your Montana vehicle registration work? We’ll cover all of that and more!
Registering Your Car in Montana
Before we get into renewals, let's start with a refresher on the ‘why’ of registering your car in Montana in the first place.
Using a Montana LLC for car and truck registration is your best option for registering your vehicle without paying any sales tax. See, Montana is a state with no sales tax for vehicles, which exonerates you from plunking down up to eleven percent of the vehicle’s value for sales tax. I think there are not enough quality roads that warrant this taxation. Where is the evidence that these high tax rates are returning to the roadways?
Montana LLC Registration is Rad!
Montana LLC Registration is Rad!
However, there is a significant clause in the Montana registration process. Unlike other states that take no issue with out-of-state individuals titling and registering cars in their states (Vermont openly says on the DMV website that there is no restriction on out-of-state people registering through Vermont), Montana requires that you be a resident of the state to register your cars there. Or, at least, show proof of residency. There is a difference between ‘residence’ and domicile, a legal one.
Your domicile is where you live all of the time. It is your primary residence. It is where your mail gets delivered and you call home. On the other hand, you can have residency in any number of states. These are vacation homes, rental properties, acreage, or business ventures. Any of these would suffice for residency in Montana. Still, the most common way to prove residency (and least costly) is to establish a simple limited liability company (LLC) in Montana, which you can do from anywhere.
This LLC is not a business you will use to earn revenue in the traditional sense of a business. In this case, it will simply be an asset-holding company.
Asset holding companies are just that: they are a place to hold assets used for business purposes rather than making revenue. To register a vehicle in Montana, this type of LLC is adequate to prove residency.
It has a secondary effect of also providing evidence that the business is a resident of Montana. Why does that matter? Well, not every state is altogether friendly to the notion of in-state residents sending tax dollars out of state, or none for that matter. However, if you can show evidence of residency in Montana, you have a lot more going for you. Most importantly, you can now fulfill Montana's requirement that the vehicle's registered owner must be a Montana resident since your vehicle's registered owner is the LLC located in Montana.
Permanent Plates
Montana has more perks than just the lack of any sales tax. My personal favorite is the permanent plate option.
Any vehicle that is eleven years old or older is eligible to apply for permanent plates. A permanent registration does not need to be renewed as long as the ownership remains the same and is suitable for the vehicle's lifetime.
Fees are collected when the vehicle is permanently registered and include:
An $87.50 registration fee
Ten bucks for the Montana Highway Patrol Salary and Retention fee
County tax (there is no STATE tax; counties do levy taxes, though), an optional $9.00 state parks support donation, assorted special plate fees, and gross vehicle weight fees for light trucks.
Five bucks for insurance verification if existing plates are kept on the vehicle. This one probably won’t be applicable for out-of-staters.
Other Registration Duration Options in Montana
A permanent plate is appealing but isn’t in the cards if your vehicle is less than eleven years old.
If you drive anything newer than 2011, you have two registration durations to choose from: 12 months and 24 months.
12-Month Registration
For 12 months, you will pay one year of the registration rate, any county taxes (again, there is no STATE tax in Montana, but there are county taxes), all registration fees, and any fees due to special plates.
24-Month Registration
Per § 61-3-321(2)(c), MCA, the owner is responsible for the registration rate, any county tax options, and all of the other assorted registration fees. You don’t have to worry about the license fee every 12 months. So, it will be a little more upfront but cheaper in the long run.
When You Get Your Registration Renewal
So, you took the plunge with our Montana LLC program. Congrats! That was a wise move on your part.
Of course, just like all other states, you need to renew it (unless your vehicle is eleven years or older and you have a permanent registration).
In-Person Tag Renewals
Unless you want to take a pilgrimage to beautiful Montana, renewing them in person is not your best bet.
To renew your registration in person, you need to either print off a copy of the registration or bring in the copy that was mailed to you, along with valid proof of insurance.
The Montana DMV states you must bring a valid Montana driver’s license if renewing in person. However, since the Montana LLC process is well-known now, you should be fine taking in your LLC information as proof of residence.
Mail-in Tag Renewals
Always the timeless classic, you can mail your renewal to the Montana DMV with the classic stamp and envelope. So dig out that checkbook, kids, and get it to the post office before closing time!
For this to work, you need a copy of your registration renewal information, so hopefully, your addresses match up for this deal. If it doesn’t show up, give the Montana DMV a call to sort this out; they will happily send you another copy.
Online Renewal Option
The third option is to renew your Montana registration online. The Vehicle Registration Renewal Service is your one-stop shop for renewing your registration.
To renew online, you will need:
Title number
VIN
Payment $$$
Montana LLC Renewal
So, here’s the deal: you can only renew your Montana vehicle registration if you have an active Montana LLC that provides your residency. If your LLC isn’t active and current, you will not be able to register your vehicle(s).
Montana LLCs must be renewed annually, a service that we at Dirt Legal have streamlined for your ease.
How Much Will It Cost to Renew My Montana Registration?
Everyone usually needs answers to this question: How much will it cost?
Montana’s fee structure is straightforward, quoted directly from the Montana DMV website:
The owner of a light vehicle (passenger cars, pickup trucks one-ton and under, vans, and sport utility vehicles) may choose one of the following renewal period options, § 61-3-311, MCA:
12-month registration – The owner pays one year of the registration rate, county option tax, all other registration fees and any special plate fees.
24-month registration, § 61-3-321(2)(c), MCA – The owner pays the registration rate, county option tax, all other registration fees (except for the license fee for each 12-month period), and any special plate fees for the two years.
Permanent registration, § 61-3-562, MCA– The owner of a light vehicle 11 years old or older may choose to register the vehicle permanently. This registration does not need to be renewed as long as ownership is unchanged. Fees collected at the time of permanent registration are
$87.50 registration rate
$10 Montana Highway Patrol Salary and Retention Fee
county tax, $9 optional state parks support, specific special plate fees, and, for light trucks, the gross vehicle weight (GVW) fees
$5 insurance verification fee if existing plates are kept on the vehicle
Registration Rate, § 61-3-321(2)(d), MCA – based on the age of the vehicle, determined by subtracting the model year of the vehicle from the calendar year for which the registration fee is due. For example, a 2011 model year Chevrolet passenger car registered in 2018 would be seven years, resulting in a registration rate of $87 (plus a 3% administrative fee).
Fees below will include the 3% Administrative Fee when a transaction is conducted.
Age of Vehicle
Registration Rate
0 to 4 years
$217
5 to 10 years
$87
11 years or more
$28
The Montana LLC Process for Car Registration
Like I said previously, the only way to cash in on the tax-free Montana vehicle registration is by keeping your vehicle (or vehicles; you can have as many as you want under the same LLC).
We have set up all the digital tooling to take this task off your plate and handle it for you. Here’s what you need to do:
Proof of ownership: You must have a Title or MCO (Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin) to qualify. This is the documentation we need to show the vehicle is yours.
Checkout: Click Add to Cart and complete the checkout process. You’ll receive an email confirmation with your receipt and order number.
Vehicle information: Fill out the vehicle info form that appears after you checkout. As long as you have the proof of ownership and a Vehicle Identification Number3 (VIN), we can legalize any vehicle regardless of state.
Documents: Keep an eye on your mailbox. We’ll send you a checklist for the materials we need to handle the conversion on your behalf, including your proof of ownership, copy of ID/social, notarized power of attorney4, and sales tax5 (if not already paid)
Send it in: Mail everything to us using the pre-paid envelope we’ve provided to make it as easy as possible for you. Congrats, your part’s done! Now simply wait to receive your license plate in the mail! We will email you a tracking number once it's on the way.
As long as your paperwork is squared away, the process is a non-issue. It takes a few weeks, but at the end, you have a vehicle registered and tagged with no sales tax.
The renewal process outlined in the article is straightforward and simple, probably like most other states. Keep it insured, and have a valid proof of residence. Of course, the wildcard in Montana is that out-of-state registers must have proof of residency in Montana, which is done by opening an asset holding LLC. Your LLC can contain as many vehicles as you want, so you can cash in on tax-free registration for your toys: cars, trucks, trailers/RVs, motorcycles, and even ATVs & UTVs!
Stop sitting on the sidelines and complaining about getting gutted by sales tax in your state. Our Montana LLC program will save you thousands right off the bat. How much roughly? In my neck of the woods, sales tax between county and state comes in around ten percent. On a $75,000 truck, that’s $7,500. In Montana, that’s a cool zero. No matter how you slice it, Dirt Legal’s Montana LLC is the W you’re looking for. Get started on it now.
John McCoy is a lifelong car and truck enthusiast and has a strong mechanical background off the road. He spent over 13 years in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief, assigned to the B-1B Lancer, affectionately known as the Bone to those in the community, and the KC-135R Stratotanker. He resides on a small farm in Eastern Kansas where he (sometimes) enjoys fixing ancient farm equipment.