You can get your Montana driving record in two ways: buy it online through the Motor Vehicle Division's online services and print it right away, or mail the division's Driver Record Request form with the fee. The record shows every reported conviction, every suspension or revocation, your points, and any restrictions on your license. This page explains how to request it and how a DUI looks on it. It is part of our Montana DUI Guide.
Why You Would Want It
After a DUI arrest, the driving record answers questions that paperwork from the court does not. Is the license suspended right now, and since when? Is there an open requirement keeping it suspended? How many points are on it? Does an old out-of-state conviction appear? A lawyer will usually want it at the first meeting, and a court may require a certified copy.
Two Ways to Request It
Online. The Motor Vehicle Division directs individuals to its online services page and the driving records link there. According to the division, you need a valid credit card to pay the fee and a printer. The record is delivered in electronic form as soon as the transaction is complete, it is not mailed to you, and you need to print it immediately.
By mail.Complete the Driver Record Request (form 34-0100) with the driver's full name and date of birth, and the license number if you have it. Mail it with the fee to the Motor Vehicle Division, P.O. Box 201430, Helena, MT 59620-1430. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope, or pay the mailing fee. The division processes mailed requests in the order received.
The law requires the department to furnish a driving record on request, subject to privacy limits (MCA § 61-11-105(1)). Requesting someone else's record is different from requesting your own. The form asks for the permitted use and, in many cases, the driver's signed consent on the second page.
What It Costs
The statute sets a fee of $4 for each driving record and $10 for a certified record, and allows a convenience fee when a record is transmitted digitally (MCA § 61-11-105(5), (6)). The division's current request form, dated December 2025, lists $4.12 per record and $10.30 per certified record. It adds $3.09 for mailing unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is enclosed, and $3.09 for the first five pages sent by fax or digital file transfer. Fees change, so check the form before you send a check.
A certified record carries language certifying that the information is true and correct as recorded. The division gives submitting a record to a court as an example of when one is needed.
What Is on a Montana Driving Record
By statute the record must include the person's license number, type, status, endorsements, and restrictions, any suspensions, revocations, disqualifications, or cancellations, all convictions reported to the department, and traffic accidents where the driver was convicted of an act causally related to the accident (MCA § 61-11-102(2)). The division's Guide to Understanding the Montana Driver Record describes how that is laid out:
| Section | What you will see |
|---|---|
| Driver and credential information | Your privilege and its status, such as Licensed, Suspended, Revoked, Revoked HTO, or Not Eligible. The credential type may read Probationary. Restrictions may include Essential Only, Ignition Interlock Required (with the date it ends), or Felony Probation. |
| Active sanctions | Any suspension or revocation now in force: start and end dates, the action, a description, the violation and conviction dates, the court, the statute, and any unmet requirements. |
| Sanctions history with related events | Past sanctions and the event behind each one, with a description such as "First DUI" and the date all requirements were met. |
| History events | Convictions and other events, each with a description such as "Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs," the points assigned, and running totals of conviction points and habitual traffic offender points. |
| Accident history | Accidents recorded on the record, with date, jurisdiction, and severity. |
What a DUI Looks Like on It
A DUI conviction usually shows up in two places. In the history section it is an event with the violation date, the conviction date, the court, the statute, a description, and 10 points. In the sanctions section it is the suspension that followed, with a start date and an end date. Our suspension lengths table lists the periods you should expect to see.
Read the end date carefully. The division's guide warns that an end date does not necessarily mean the sanction is closed, because a sanction stays active while there are unmet requirements. An unpaid reinstatement fee or unfinished treatment is the usual reason a license is still suspended after the date has passed. See reinstatement steps.
A refusal appears even if there was never a conviction. The guide defines a history event as a record of a verdict, an administrative action, or an implied consent violation. For a felony DUI, the guide's example description is a felony while operating a motor vehicle, and the action is a revocation instead of a suspension. A person declared a habitual traffic offender shows the status Revoked HTO. Our guide to habitual traffic offender points explains the totals at the bottom of the history section.
How Long a DUI Stays There
The Motor Vehicle Division puts it bluntly on its driving records page: traffic convictions stay on your driving record for life. It adds that conviction points remain for three years from the conviction date, after which the points drop off and the conviction remains. The statute supports that. The record must include all convictions reported to the department, and the department may destroy a record only when it has no suspensions or revocations and there has been no renewed credential in the preceding 16 years (MCA § 61-11-102(2)(c), (8)).
Two more things the division notes. If a Montana driver is convicted of a driving offense in another state, that conviction appears on the Montana record. And if a driver licensed elsewhere is convicted in Montana, the conviction record is sent to the state that issued the license. Our guide to out-of-state licenses and the Driver License Compact covers that exchange.
Driving Record or Criminal Record?
They are different files. The driving record is kept by the Motor Vehicle Division and tracks your license. A criminal history record is kept through the courts and law enforcement and tracks the charge and the sentence. A DUI conviction appears on both, and removing it from one does not remove it from the other. Our guide on how long a DUI stays on your record deals with the criminal side and the sentencing lookback.
If an entry on your driving record looks wrong, compare it with the court's judgment first. The record is built from what courts and officers report, so a correction usually starts with the document that was sent to the division.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated and the Motor Vehicle Division's published forms and procedures on October 9, 2026. It is not legal advice about your specific case.