Montana Quitclaim Deed

About the Yellowstone County Clerk & Recorder

Yellowstone County is home to Billings, Montana's biggest city, along with Laurel, Broadview, Lockwood, and a handful of smaller communities like Huntley, Shepherd, Worden, and Ballantine scattered along the Yellowstone River valley. Wherever you're filing from, the Clerk & Recorder's office downtown sees more deeds cross the counter than any other office in the state — so they've genuinely seen it all. That's good news if your paperwork's in order, since the process moves fast; it just means a deed with something missing is more likely to get handed right back to you rather than fixed on the spot. Coming in ready to go saves everybody a second trip.

Cities and Communities Served

Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Yellowstone County, this is the Clerk & Recorder’s office that will accept the deed. That includes:

Incorporated cities: Billings (county seat) and Laurel.

Incorporated towns: Broadview.

Unincorporated communities: Acton, Ballantine, Huntley, Lockwood, Pompeys Pillar, Shepherd, and Worden.

A small portion of the county's southern extent lies within the Crow Indian Reservation, though none of the county's own cities, towns, or communities are located on that trust land.

Office Details

Address: 316 North 26th St, Room 3501, Billings, MT 59101

Phone: (406) 256-2785  |  Fax: (406) 256-2736

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 Yellowstone-specific rate, and not a percentage of the property's value.

No additional county fees beyond the statewide rate were found for Yellowstone County.

Official Website Get Directions

How to File a Document

  1. Prepare Your Document: Make sure your deed meets Montana's formatting and content requirements before you file.
  2. Get It Notarized: Have the document signed in front of a Montana notary public or other authorized official. No notary nearby in Billings? Montana allows remote online notarization — you can notarize your Yellowstone County deed online instead.
  3. 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.
  4. Record It: You can file in person at the Yellowstone County Clerk & Recorder's office; call the office to confirm whether mail-in filing is accepted.
  5. Pay the Recording Fee: A flat statewide rate for the first page, with a lower rate for each additional page.
  6. Keep Your Receipt: Your recorded document (or a certified copy) is your proof of filing.

Still Have Questions About Filing With the Yellowstone County Clerk & Recorder?

Ask below and get an instant answer on Montana quitclaim deeds.

Filing? Get a Deed the Yellowstone 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:

Download the form yourself $14.95 Have it prepared for you $39.95

Both are built to meet Montana's recording requirements, tailored to what the Yellowstone County Clerk & Recorder asks for.

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