How to fill out Montana MV1

The buyer's form, and the reason a Montana seller should recognise it is that two of its sections are about you. Section 4 is an odometer statement of sale naming the seller; section 3 is where a new lender goes on the record. A buyer normally applies on the title itself, in the application section on the back, and files this instead when the title has no application space, when the transfer is running on the electronic record because the title is missing, or when the paperwork needs to say something the back of a certificate cannot. It is also the form the manual names for a personal representative selling a decedent's car without a replacement title, and for a beneficiary claiming one under an MV13.

Written against MV1 (6/26), issued under MCA 61-3-216, application for a certificate of title on a form prescribed by the department. Do not let a buyer talk you into signing section 5 to speed things up. It is an applicant's certification, and the person who signs it is telling the state they are the one taking ownership - which, on a form that also carries a seller's odometer statement, is a contradiction the counter will read straight off the page.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV1 from the mvdmt.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MV1 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank MV1 — Certificate of Title for a Motor Vehicle Application PDF at mvdmt.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in MV1 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is all 2 pages of the actual MV1, rendered from the PDF the Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division, Vehicle Services Bureau publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.

Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below

A completed Montana MV1 Certificate of Title for a Motor Vehicle Application. Section 1 names applicant Wendell A. Hochstetler of Miles City, Custer County, Montana, with mailing and residential addresses and a cell phone number, electronic notice opted in and the vehicle recorded as not leased. Section 2 describes a 2013 Toyota 4Runner SR5 in slate grey with its vehicle identification number, gasoline fuel type and sport utility style. Section 3 is answered No, there is no security interest. On the second page the applicant's printed name, signature and date are completed. The co-applicant block, the lessor block, the specially constructed and motor home ticks, the lien block and the whole dealer odometer statement of sale are shaded grey. — Page 1 of 2. The applicant, the vehicle and the security-interest question - completed by the buyer, in a private sale with no lender.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
The buyer fills this in
Section 1: who is taking ownership
Legal name and identification number for the applicant and any co-applicant, with mailing and residential addresses and their counties.
Watch out: The residential county is not decoration. It decides which county treasurer handles the transaction and which local option tax applies to the registration.
2
The buyer fills this in
Residential address, and the residency rule behind it
A Montana address, because only a Montana resident can receive a Montana title.
Watch out: The exceptions are narrow: an out-of-state owner with an interest in Montana real property, a non-resident co-owner where one owner is a Montana individual who can prove residency, or a non-resident business complying with MCA 61-3-201.
3
The buyer fills this in
Section 2: the vehicle
The VIN, year, make, model, colour, fuel type and style, plus the manufacturer's suggested retail price when new.
Watch out: The retail price when new is what the county option tax on a light vehicle is worked from. A guess here becomes a bill later.
4
The buyer fills this in
Section 3: the security interest question
No if the car is being bought outright; yes opens the lender block and adds $8.24 for each interest filed.
Watch out: There is space for exactly one lender. A second security interest needs its own MV81B alongside this form.
5
Dealers only
Section 4 belongs to a dealer
An odometer statement of sale signed by a dealer's agent, with a dealer licence number.
Watch out: In a private sale nobody fills this in. The seller's mileage goes in the title's own odometer certification, or on an MV90A when the document has no room for it.
6
The buyer fills this in
Section 5: the buyer signs
Printed name, legal signature and date, certifying awareness of the odometer certification and that the identification number was supplied.
Watch out: Only one applicant signature is required even when the title will carry two names - but the person signing must actually be one of the applicants in section 1.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Section 1, Applicant Information	The buyer and any co-applicant by legal name and identification number, with a jurisdiction, then mailing and residential addresses each carrying a county. Phone, phone type, email and an electronic-notice opt-in or opt-out.
Is Vehicle Leased, and the lessor block	A yes/no pair and, if yes, the lessor's legal name, identification number and address. On a lease the title issues to the lessor, and the manual bars a lessee from signing the application unless the lessor has given them power of attorney.
Section 2, Vehicle Information	Manufacturer's suggested retail price when new, year, make, model, VIN, colour, fuel type and style - and then a row of ticks for a specially constructed vehicle, street rod, custom vehicle, kit vehicle, or a motor home class A, B or C.
Trucks over one ton, trailers and campers	Manufacturer's rated capacity, declared weight and length. These drive which fee applies, which is why the fee table on page one splits at one ton.
Section 3, Is There a Security Interest or Lien Against This Vehicle	No sends you to section 4. Yes opens a block for the secured party's name, identification number or ELT number and address, and adds a filing fee of $8.24 for each security interest or lien.
Section 4, Odometer Statement of Sale	New or used, the date, the seller's printed name and address, a five- or six-digit tick, the reading in whole miles, the date it was read, and the two exception boxes - exceeds mechanical limits, and not the actual mileage.
The signature under section 4	Signature of Dealer's Agent, with a Dealer License Number beneath it. On a private sale there is no dealer's agent, which is why a private buyer's mileage travels on the title or on an MV90A instead.
Section 5, Applicant's Acknowledgement	Four certifications signed under MCA 45-7-203: that the signer is one of the applicants named in section 1, that they are aware of the odometer certification made in section 4, that they provided the appropriate identification number, and that the statements are true.
The fee line at the top of page one	$12:36 for light vehicles, trucks and buses weighing less than one ton - the division prints a colon where the decimal point belongs, and the figure it means is twelve dollars thirty-six - then $10.30 for all other vehicles, both including a 3% administration fee per MCA 61-3-111, with additional fees and taxes due upon registration.

What gets this one rejected

•A seller's signature in section 5. That block certifies the signer is one of the applicants named in section 1, and the applicants are the buyers - your signature belongs on the title assignment and, where used, in section 4's seller block.
•A residential address in another state. Only a Montana resident can receive a Montana title and registration, with narrow exceptions for property owners, co-owners with a resident, and non-resident businesses complying with MCA 61-3-201.
•A section 3 answered yes with no fee. The $8.24 filing fee accompanies each security interest, and a second lien needs its own MV81B because there is room for one here.
•A dealer licence number invented to make section 4 look complete. That signature line belongs to a dealer's agent; a private sale leaves it alone and puts the mileage where it belongs.
•A missing county. Both the mailing and residential address rows ask for one, and the county decides which treasurer's office the registration and the local option tax belong to.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•Only one applicant signature is needed. The manual: if the title is to be issued in more than one owner name, only one applicant signature is required. That includes lessor and lessee situations and applications in the name of more than one business.
•Signing by power of attorney has a format. The attorney in fact signs the purchaser's name, then their own, then POA, and files the power with the application. On a vehicle newer than ten years the manual requires the secure POA form and its original page.
•The buyer has forty days. MCA 61-3-220(2)(c) sets it from the date the interest was transferred, and 61-3-220(3) adds a $10 late penalty against the transferee, payable before registration.
•Room for one lien, and one only. The manual: there is room for one security interest or lien to be entered on the application, and if there is a second, a separate MV81B must be submitted.
•It can replace a missing title in one narrow case. Where the vehicle was last titled in Montana, is currently registered, and is being sold to a Montana resident, the division lets the seller hand the buyer this form with an MV24 and an MV7, and the transfer runs on the electronic record.

What it costs

Light vehicle, truck or bus of one ton or less	$12.36
All other vehicles	$10.30
Each security interest or lien filed	$8.24

Every line here was read off MV1 (6/26) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division, Vehicle Services Bureau pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Montana seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Montana involves.

How to fill out Montana MV1

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Section 1: who is taking ownership

Residential address, and the residency rule behind it

Section 2: the vehicle

Section 3: the security interest question

Section 4 belongs to a dealer

Section 5: the buyer signs

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

What it costs

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