| Clerk of District Court | Flathead County Clerk of Court |
|---|---|
| Clerk address | Flathead County Justice Center, 920 S Main St, Suite 300, Kalispell, MT 59901 (Clerk of Court) |
| Phone | (406) 758-5870 |
| Hours | Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. |
| Earliest records noted | Varies by court — older files may be on paper or microfilm |
| Plain copy fee | $1.00 per page for the first 10 pages, $0.50 per page thereafter (Clerk of District Court, Mont. Code Ann. 25-1-201) |
| Certified copy fee | Same per-page copy fee plus $2.00 for certification with the court seal (Mont. Code Ann. 25-1-201) |
Flathead County, seated in Kalispell, is the seat of the Eleventh Judicial District. The Clerk of
District Court keeps felony, civil, family, and probate case files, marriage licenses, and passport
applications at the Flathead County Justice Center in downtown Kalispell. The office is transitioning its
web presence from a legacy flathead.mt.gov address to flatheadcounty.gov, so links found through a
search engine may point to a retired domain — use the flatheadcounty.gov pages linked on this site.
Misdemeanors, small claims, evictions, protection orders, and county-level traffic tickets are handled by the Flathead County Justice Court, a separate office in the same complex that also runs an online jury questionnaire and posts its own forms. Tickets and ordinance violations inside Kalispell, Whitefish, or Columbia Falls go to that city's own municipal or city court instead.
As with the rest of Montana, whether a Flathead County District Court case is searchable online through the state's public-access portal depends on whether the Eleventh Judicial District has been converted to the statewide case management system; the clerk's office is the fallback for anything not yet online.
Search Flathead County court records online
Clerk of District Court
Flathead County Clerk of Court
- Cost
- Free to inquire; per-page fee for copies
- Coverage
- District Court felony, civil, family, and probate cases for the Eleventh Judicial District
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate
Offers electronic filing for District Court cases and a jury-trial status lookup, but no public case-search database is listed on the department page; call or visit for case status and copies. Check the statewide District Court Public Access Portal for online search if this county's court has converted to that system.
Other courts
Flathead County Justice Court
- Coverage
- Misdemeanor, small-claims, eviction, protection-order, and county traffic cases
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Traffic
Publishes its own forms and a records-request page; contact the office directly for case lookups.
Other courts
Kalispell Municipal Court
- Coverage
- Misdemeanors and Kalispell city ordinance violations within Kalispell city limits
- Records
- Criminal, Traffic
312 1st Ave E, Kalispell, MT 59901, (406) 758-7705; clerk's office open Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. The court's Public Record Portal page directs the public to the statewide Courts of Limited Jurisdiction Public Access Portal for party indexes, registers of actions, and dockets.
Other courts
Whitefish Municipal Court
- Cost
- Records search: first hour free, then $25 per hour; copies $0.25 per page
- Coverage
- Misdemeanor, ordinance, and traffic offenses within Whitefish city limits
- Records
- Criminal, Traffic
275 Flathead Ave, Whitefish, MT 59937 (Emergency Services Center), (406) 863-2440, WhitefishMunicipalCourt@mt.gov; office hours Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Records are requested on the city's court-records form (allow 10 business days); the page also points to the free statewide Courts of Limited Jurisdiction portal.
Other courts
Columbia Falls City Court
- Coverage
- Misdemeanors, citations, and ordinance violations within Columbia Falls city limits
- Records
- Criminal, Traffic
Inside City Hall at 130 6th St W, Columbia Falls, MT 59912, (406) 892-4340, cfcourt@cityofcolumbiafalls.com; open Monday–Thursday 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m., closed Fridays. No online case search is listed; contact the clerk.
What is available online
Flathead County's Clerk of Court page advertises e-filing and a jury-status tool but not a public case-search database, so most record checks start with a phone call or a courthouse visit. The county's website is also mid-migration from flathead.mt.gov to flatheadcounty.gov; some older bookmarks and search results may point to the retired domain. The Justice Court, at 920 S Main St, Suite 210, keeps a separate caseload of misdemeanors, small claims, and evictions and is not covered by the district clerk's files.
Which clerk has your record
In Montana, the clerk who keeps a file depends on which court heard the case. Check the court name on the case notice, citation, or order, then use the office and coverage details above to identify the record holder. Court names and responsibilities differ by state; a county clerk may not keep court case files. For federal cases, see the PACER guide. The full court structure is on the Montana page.
| Court | Typical cases | Records kept by |
|---|---|---|
| District Courts (22 judicial districts, one Clerk of District Court per county) | Felony criminal cases; Divorce, custody, and other family-law cases; Civil suits over $15,000 | Clerk of District Court of the county |
| Justice Courts | Misdemeanor criminal cases; Civil cases up to $15,000 and small claims up to $7,000; Landlord-tenant and eviction (forcible entry and detainer) | Justice of the Peace / Justice Court clerk for the county precinct |
| City Courts and Municipal Courts | City ordinance violations; Misdemeanors and traffic tickets within city limits; Small claims within some cities | City Court clerk or Municipal Court clerk for that city |
Request records in person or by mail
Flathead County clerk offices
Flathead County Justice Center, 920 S Main St, Suite 300, Kalispell, MT 59901 (Clerk of Court)
Phone: (406) 758-5870
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
District Court records. Call (406) 758-5870 or visit the Clerk of Court's office at the Flathead County Justice Center, 920 S Main St, Suite 300, Kalispell, with the case number or party names and an approximate filing year. Copies follow the statewide fee schedule: $1.00 per page for the first 10 pages, $0.50 per page after that, plus $2.00 for certification.
Justice Court records. Contact the Flathead County Justice Court at Suite 210 in the same building; the office's website lists current forms for civil, small-claims, and landlord-tenant filings and a records-request process.
City court records. Kalispell, Whitefish, and Columbia Falls each run a separate municipal or city court for in-city tickets and ordinance violations; contact that city directly.
Fees
| Item | Typical cost in Montana |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $1.00 per page for the first 10 pages, $0.50 per page thereafter (Clerk of District Court, Mont. Code Ann. 25-1-201) |
| Certified copy | Same per-page copy fee plus $2.00 for certification with the court seal (Mont. Code Ann. 25-1-201) |
This is the statutory Clerk of District Court fee schedule; individual District Courts publish the same figures on their fee schedules. Justice Courts, City Courts, and Municipal Courts set their own copy fees locally and are not bound by this schedule, so confirm the amount with that specific court before mailing payment.
Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.
Sealed and restricted records
Montana court records are generally open to the public, but several categories are restricted or removed from public search entirely:
The Montana guide lists every category of sealed and restricted record, and our guide to expunging or sealing a criminal record explains how to remove one from public view.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an online case search for Flathead County District Court?
The Clerk of Court's page does not list a self-service case-search tool; call (406) 758-5870 or visit the office. If the Eleventh Judicial District has converted to Montana's statewide system, the case may also be searchable on the District Court Public Access Portal.
Why do some Flathead County links say flathead.mt.gov instead of flatheadcounty.gov?
The county is migrating its website to the flatheadcounty.gov domain. Older search results and bookmarks may point to the retired flathead.mt.gov address; use flatheadcounty.gov going forward.
Where are misdemeanor and small-claims cases handled in Flathead County?
The Flathead County Justice Court, a separate office from the Clerk of Court, in the same Justice Center in Kalispell.
Are Whitefish tickets handled by Flathead County?
No. Tickets and ordinance violations within Whitefish city limits go to Whitefish's own municipal or city court, not the county's District Court or Justice Court.
Sources
- Flathead County Clerk of Court — https://flatheadcounty.gov/department-directory/clerk_of_court
- Flathead County Justice Court — https://flatheadcounty.gov/department-directory/justice_court
- City of Kalispell — Municipal Court — https://www.kalispell.com/217/Municipal-Court
- City of Kalispell — Court Public Record Portal — https://www.kalispell.com/713/Court-Public-Record-Portal
- City of Whitefish — Municipal Court — https://www.cityofwhitefish.gov/702/Court
- City of Whitefish — Request Court Records — https://www.cityofwhitefish.gov/460/Request-Court-Records
- City of Columbia Falls — City Court — https://www.cityofcolumbiafalls.org/1203/City-Court
- Montana Judicial Branch — General Public — https://courts.mt.gov/GeneralPublic
- Montana Judicial Branch — Court Links (portals and docket search) — https://courts.mt.gov/courtlinks
- Montana Judicial Branch — Public Access Portals — https://courts.mt.gov/Courts/portals
- Montana Judicial Branch — Courts of Limited Jurisdiction — https://courts.mt.gov/Courts/lcourt/
- Montana Supreme Court Public View Docket — https://supremecourtdocket.mt.gov/
- Montana DOJ Criminal History Online Public Record Search — https://doj.egovmt.com/choprs/
- Montana DOJ — Conviction Expungement Process — https://dojmt.gov/dci-home/conviction-expungement-process/
- Montana DOJ — Non-Conviction Removal and Sealing — https://dojmt.gov/dci-home/non-conviction-removal-and-sealing/
- Mont. Code Ann. 25-1-201 — Fees of Clerk of District Court — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0250/chapter_0010/part_0020/section_0010/0250-0010-0020-0010.html
- Mont. Code Ann. Title 46, Chapter 18, Part 11 — Expungement of Records — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0460/chapter_0180/part_0110/sections_index.html
- Mont. Code Ann. 44-5-103 — Confidential Criminal Justice Information, Definitions — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0440/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0030/0440-0050-0010-0030.html
- United States District Court for the District of Montana — https://www.mtd.uscourts.gov/
See also: all Montana counties.