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All motor vehicles — including motor homes, motorcycles, quadricycles, travel trailers, utility trailers, all-terrain vehicles, sailboats over 12 feet in length, motorboats, jet skis, and snowmobiles — must be registered. Pickup campers must be titled but aren't required to be registered.
Registration fees are in addition to the county option tax levied on light vehicles and the fees levied in lieu of taxes on other vehicles. Registration fees don't include special plate fees or other miscellaneous fees.
Fees for heavy vehicles are based on the age and rated capacity of the vehicle. This fee is in addition to gross vehicle weight fees, registration fee ($23.44), and the Montana Highway Patrol Salary and Retention Fee ($10.30).
The owner of a light vehicle (passenger cars, pickup trucks under one-ton, vans, and sport utility vehicles) may select a 12-month registration, 24-month registration, or permanent registration. Vehicles must be at least 11 years old to obtain permanent registration.
All trailers must be permanently registered. The single decal for trailers is the same as the decal for permanently registered light vehicles. The flat fee for trailers under 6,000 pounds is $61.25, and the flat fee for trailers over 6,000 pounds is $148.25. All travel trailers are also required to be permanently registered. The flat fee for a trailer under 16 feet is $72, and the flat fee for a trailer over 16 feet is $152. An additional $10 Highway Patrol Salary and Retention Fee and $10 new issue plate fee is charged as well for all trailer registrations.
Agency: Department of Transportation, Motor Carrier Services; see Regulatory Agencies for address(es).
Motorcycles, quadricycles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, and travel trailers must have a single license plate displayed on the rear of the vehicle. All other motor vehicles must have one license plate displayed on the front and one license plate displayed on the rear of the motor vehicle.
Montana is a member of the International Registration Plan (IRP). The IRP is a base state system for vehicle registration fees allowing a carrier to apply for vehicle registration and pay fees to a single jurisdiction.
Motor vehicles that qualify for apportionment consist of the following:
When a power unit is deleted from a fleet, a letter will be generated to apply for a refund for the remaining credit for that unit from the jurisdiction(s) listed on your cab card. It is the carrier's responsibility to apply for a refund through each jurisdiction. Gross vehicle weight (GVW) fees aren't transferable but will be credited to the fleet from which the vehicles were transferred. When deletion of a power unit occurs, the Montana GVW credit will be reduced by 1/12 for each month in the system until fleet expiration. If a power unit is deleted and another is added at the same time, the remaining credit will transfer from the deletion to the new addition.
Temporary permit: Temporary authority is available to carriers with established accounts. The temporary authority will be issued for up to 60 days and will cost $5 per vehicle. Payments must be made at the time of receipt for the temporary authority. The credentials, plates, stickers, and cab cards won't be sent out until a receipted copy of the proper 2290 or both sides of the canceled check, along with the 2290 page listing the vehicle identification number (VIN), is received.
Hunter's or unladen weight permit: When an operator is changing from one company to another and needs to travel to the new company to get the credentials to operate, there is the option of obtaining an unladen weight permit. The unladen weight permit is issued for the registered gross weight not in excess of the empty weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles being registered at a cost of $5 per vehicle (plus applicable fees). The vehicle must travel unladen and the permit is valid for five days. Agency [bold]: Montana Department of Transportation, Motor Carrier Services Division.
Fees [bold]: Montana's IRP registration fee is composed of a registration fee, fee in lieu of tax, and GVW fee. Individual IRP registration fees will vary.