Lake County Clerk & Recorder
About the Lake County Clerk & Recorder
Lake County covers Polson, the county seat on the southern shore of Flathead Lake, along with Ronan and St. Ignatius. Much of the county lies within the Flathead Indian Reservation, so it's worth confirming with the office ahead of time whether your particular parcel involves any special jurisdictional considerations before you file.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Lake County, this is the Clerk & Recorder’s office that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Polson (county seat) and Ronan.
Incorporated towns: St. Ignatius.
Unincorporated communities: Arlee, Big Arm, Charlo, Dayton, Elmo, Pablo, Ravalli, Rollins, and Swan Lake.
Lake County sits mostly within the exterior boundary of the Flathead Indian Reservation (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) — but that boundary isn’t the same as tribal trust land. Reservation land here is checkerboarded with ordinary fee land, so most in-town parcels (including in Polson, Ronan, St. Ignatius, and Pablo, the tribal seat) are recorded through the county Clerk & Recorder as usual; only actual trust or allotted parcels require separate BIA procedures.
Office Details
Address: 106 4th Ave E, Room 214, Polson, MT 59860
Phone: (406) 883-7208 | Fax: (406) 883-7283
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Recording Fee: A flat statewide fee set by Montana law (MCA § 7-4-2637) — not a Lake-specific rate, and not a percentage of the property's value.
No additional county fees beyond the statewide rate were found for Lake County.
Good to know before you go: Documents are recorded the moment they're presented — no waiting period — but the signature must be an original notarized one, not a copy.
How to File a Document
- Prepare Your Document: Make sure your deed meets Montana's formatting and content requirements before you file.
- Get It Notarized: Have the document signed in front of a Montana notary public or other authorized official. No notary nearby in Polson? Montana allows remote online notarization — you can notarize your Lake County deed online instead.
- Complete a Realty Transfer Certificate: Montana law requires a completed Realty Transfer Certificate (Form RTC) to accompany every deed submitted for recording — even transfers that don't require disclosing the sale price still need the form filed.
- Record It: You can file in person at the Lake County Clerk & Recorder's office; call the office to confirm whether mail-in filing is accepted.
- Pay the Recording Fee: A flat statewide rate for the first page, with a lower rate for each additional page.
- Keep Your Receipt: Your recorded document (or a certified copy) is your proof of filing.
Still Have Questions About Filing With the Lake County Clerk & Recorder?
Ask below and get an instant answer on Montana quitclaim deeds.
Filing? Get a Deed the Lake County Clerk & Recorder Will Accept
FREE generic forms are the most common reason Montana deeds get rejected — usually over formatting, the legal description, or notary acknowledgment.
Two ways to avoid that:
Both are built to meet Montana's recording requirements, tailored to what the Lake County Clerk & Recorder asks for.
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