How to fill out Montana MV65

One page that lets somebody else sign a Montana title in your place - an owner deployed, hospitalised, working out of state, or simply nowhere near the county on the day the buyer turns up. The form carries an odometer block of its own, because federal law limits what a power of attorney can do with mileage, and it carries a notary block, because the manual still requires the principal's signature on a power of attorney to be acknowledged even though the title itself no longer is. The authority it grants is deliberately narrow: it is only valid on the title or on the document for which the authority is granted.

Written against MV65 (1/18), issued under prescribed by the Motor Vehicle Division under MCA 61-3-220; notarised as the Title Manual requires. Fill in the odometer block on this form even when you think it is irrelevant, and fill it in with the reading on the day you sign - not the day the car sells. Where the vehicle is newer than ten years and the power is not on the secure form, the manual requires a conforming odometer statement alongside it, and the dealer or county will enter the reading exactly as it appears here.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV65 from the mvdmt.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MV65 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank MV65 — Power of Attorney PDF at mvdmt.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in MV65 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual MV65, 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 MV65 Power of Attorney. Delphine R. Kowalchuk of Lewistown, Montana appoints Rusty L. Kowalchuk of Lewistown, with his address, email and phone, as her attorney in fact, with the limited purpose written in as signing the assignment of title as seller. The vehicle block shows the Montana title number, a 2013 Toyota 4Runner SR5, its vehicle identification number, colour and licence plate number. A six-digit odometer is ticked with a reading of 148306 miles read on 08/10/2026, and the owner's signature is dated the same day. The purchaser's printed name and purchase date are completed by the buyer. The two odometer notation boxes are shaded grey, and the notary block is left for the notary. — Rendered from the division's own PDF and completed for a Montana owner who cannot be at the handover. The notary block is left empty here because it is the notary's to complete - and it is one of the few blocks on a Montana title transaction that survived the October 2025 change.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
The principal - you
Your legal name and address, as they appear on the face of the title.
Watch out: This is the name your attorney in fact will write before their own on the title. A version of your name that does not match the certificate breaks the format the manual prescribes.
2
You fill this in
The attorney in fact
The individual or business you are appointing, with address, email and phone.
Watch out: They cannot pass the power on. Appoint the person who will actually be standing at the counter, not the one who will arrange it.
3
You fill this in
The grant, and the blank that narrows it
Registration, transfer of title, application for title - or something specific written into the trailing blank.
Watch out: Write the narrow purpose in if that is what you mean. A general grant lets the appointee do anything you could do with this vehicle, including things you have not thought of.
4
You fill this in
The odometer block
Five or six digits, the reading in whole miles, the date read, and a notation box only if one applies.
Watch out: Federal law limits powers of attorney around mileage. On a vehicle newer than ten years, either this must be the secure form or a conforming odometer statement travels with it.
5
The buyer fills this in
The purchaser's acknowledgement
The buyer certifies the odometer reading made by the owner is correct, prints their name and dates it - only one signature required.
Watch out: The same person cannot act as attorney in fact for the seller and as agent for the purchaser where federal mileage rules apply. If your appointee is also the buyer, this form is the wrong instrument.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
The two worked examples at the top	How the attorney in fact signs. An individual: Sharon Smith by Jane Doe POA. A business: Sharon Smith by Morrison's Garage George Morrison POA - the owner, the business, the person, then POA.
I, print your legal name, of address	The principal - the owner giving the power - with a full address.
Appoint, print the name of the business or individual	The attorney in fact, with address, email and phone.
The grant, with a blank to narrow it	As my attorney in fact with full authority to execute any and all instruments, documents, affidavits, etc. to effect registration, transfer of title, application for title, or ... - the trailing blank is where a limited purpose is written.
The vehicle	Title number, year, make, model, VIN, colour and licence plate number.
The odometer statement	A five- or six-digit tick, the reading in whole miles with no tenths, the date read, and the two notation boxes - in excess of mechanical limits, and not the actual mileage.
Owner/Applicant signature and date	Under MCA 45-7-203, over the certification that the statements are true and that a business or trust signer has full authority.
Notary Use Only	State, county, the date signed before the notary, the printed name of the person signing, the notary's signature and the stamp or seal.
Purchaser, if applicable	A separate line where the buyer certifies that the odometer reading made above by the vehicle owner is correct, with a printed name and date - only one signature is required.

What gets this one rejected

•A signature that omits the owner's name. The manual and the form agree on the format: the attorney in fact must write the seller's name as well as signing their own, followed by POA.
•One signature covering several owners. The manual: if the attorney in fact is signing for multiple principals, he or she must sign for each person individually.
•A generic power on a vehicle newer than ten years, with no conforming odometer statement. The manual allows either a secure POA form or a generic one accompanied by a conforming odometer statement - not a generic one alone.
•An attorney in fact who signs as both seller and buyer. Federal law bars it: no person exercising a power of attorney shall sign the odometer disclosure statement as both the transferor and the transferee in the same transaction.
•A power exercised after the principal has died. It expires on revocation, on death, or - unless the principal said otherwise - on incapacity. The manual will accept a signature made before the death if a copy of the death certificate verifying the date is submitted.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•The principal's signature is notarised. The manual: the signature of the principal giving the POA must be notarized unless notarization is not required by certain jurisdictions. The 2025 change removed the acknowledgement from the title, not from this.
•Special or general, and read which. A special power covers a specific transaction or purpose; a general one lets the attorney in fact do anything the principal could. The manual warns that a power may authorise applying for a certificate of ownership without authorising transferring or releasing an interest.
•The power cannot be passed on. The manual: an attorney in fact cannot reassign their power to another person.
•Multiple appointees, joined by a word. Names joined by and mean all must sign; a power stating the parties may act as one or as individuals, or jointly or severally, needs only one signature.
•A copy is acceptable. The manual takes a copy of a power of attorney - and for a secure form used to obtain a replacement title, it will take the carbon page afterwards.

Every line here was read off MV65 (1/18) 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 MV65

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

The principal - you

The attorney in fact

The grant, and the blank that narrows it

The odometer block

The purchaser's acknowledgement

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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