Montana earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Higher bar to forfeit: Montana has only criminal forfeiture.
Innocent Owner Burden
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: Up to 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (annual proceeds to state agencies above $125,000 are split 50–50 between the general fund and a state forfeiture fund).
The letter grade reflects Montana’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Montana?
Under Montana law, the government can pursue only criminal forfeiture, not civil forfeiture. Forfeiture occurs as part of the criminal proceedings against a defendant, and property can be forfeited only if the defendant is convicted. Both defendants and innocent owner claimants can request a preliminary hearing to try to get their property back before the criminal trial.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $13 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Montana Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $251,243 | $274,000 | $525,243 |
| 2001 | Unknown | $576,378 | $37,000 | $613,378 |
| 2002 | $43,477 | $205,696 | $27,000 | $276,173 |
| 2003 | $47,013 | $182,607 | $88,000 | $317,620 |
| 2004 | $74,481 | $201,458 | $0 | $275,939 |
| 2005 | $60,931 | $422,760 | $80,000 | $563,691 |
| 2006 | $128,380 | $487,171 | $0 | $615,551 |
| 2007 | $134,634 | $1,134,024 | $10,000 | $1,278,658 |
| 2008 | $105,789 | $387,501 | $73,000 | $566,290 |
| 2009 | $75,778 | $54,656 | $67,000 | $197,434 |
| 2010 | $117,997 | $131,734 | $53,000 | $302,731 |
| 2011 | $125,202 | $324,653 | $28,000 | $477,855 |
| 2012 | $95,575 | $666,494 | $129,000 | $891,069 |
| 2013 | $105,932 | $456,794 | $41,000 | $603,726 |
| 2014 | $75,495 | $304,941 | $73,000 | $453,436 |
| 2015 | $202,205 | $358,093 | $42,000 | $602,298 |
| 2016 | $118,735 | $241,944 | $174,000 | $534,679 |
| 2017 | $236,617 | $472,258 | $43,000 | $751,875 |
| 2018 | $51,976 | $369,823 | $212,000 | $633,799 |
| 2019 | $83,376 | $425,280 | $18,000 | $526,656 |
| 2020 | $27,627 | $1,281,622 | $0 | $1,309,249 |
| 2021 | $25,557 | $153,879 | $0 | $179,436 |
| 2022 | $71,186 | $547,203 | $0 | $618,389 |
| 2023 | $23,779 | $475,559 | $135,000 | $634,338 |
| Totals | $2,031,742 | $10,113,771 | $1,604,000 | $13,749,513 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Montana does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Montana agencies have generated nearly $12 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 23 Montana agencies, or an estimated 20% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Montana Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
Montana does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
Montana does not report the types of property forfeited.
Proceeding Types
N/A
Montana processes all forfeitures under criminal law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Agencies do not provide detailed data on seized or forfeited property, resulting in limited transparency into forfeiture activity in the state.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
FStatewide Forfeiture Reports
FPenalties for Failure to File a Report
Incomplete †Accounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
FAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
FFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
F†No reporting requirements to enforce.
For full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Forfeiture fund records were obtained via public records requests to the Montana Department of Justice. Revenues represent fiscal-year deposits to the state’s special revenue fund for forfeiture proceeds. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Criminal forfeiture.
Mont. Code Ann. §§ 44-12-207(1), -208(2), -210(1).
Innocent owner burden: Government. The government must disprove an innocent owner claim by clear and convincing evidence.
Mont. Code Ann. § 44-12-211; see also id. § 45-9-206(8).
Financial incentive: Up to 100%. However, when forfeiture money goes to the state, annual proceeds above $125,000 must be divided equally between the general fund and a state forfeiture fund.
Mont. Code Ann. § 44-12-213.
Process: Mont. Code Ann. §§ 44-12-207 et seq. (forfeiture procedure).