Mont. Code Ann. § 7-2-2205
This is the official text of Mont. Code Ann. § 7-2-2205, part of Montana’s Code Ann — part of the compiled statutory law of Montana, published by the state as "Code Ann." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
7-2-2205 Petition for creation of new county -- number of signatures required
Official statutory text
7-2-2205 . Petition for creation of new county -- number of signatures required. (1) Whenever it is desired to divide any county or counties and form a new county out of a portion of the territory of the then-existing county or counties, a petition shall be presented to the board of county commissioners of the county from which the new county is to be formed, in case said proposed new county is to be formed from but one county, or to the board of county commissioners of the county from which the largest area of territory is proposed to be taken for the formation of such new county, in case said new county is to be formed from portions of two or more existing counties.
(2) (a) If the proposed new county is to be formed from a portion of only one existing county, the petition must be signed by at least 50% of the registered electors of the proposed new county.
(b) If the proposed new county is to be formed from portions of two or more counties, separate petitions shall be presented from the territory taken from each county, and each of the petitions shall be signed by at least 50% of the registered electors of the proposed portions.
(c) If the proposed new county is to be an existing county enlarged by territory taken from one or more other counties, a separate petition must be presented from each such territory, and each petition must be signed by at least 50% of the registered electors of the territory.
(3) For the purpose of determining the number of signatures needed on a petition to meet the percentage requirements of this section, the number of registered electors in a territory proposed to be included in a new county is the number of people registered to vote in that territory in the most recent general election.
(2) (a) If the proposed new county is to be formed from a portion of only one existing county, the petition must be signed by at least 50% of the registered electors of the proposed new county.
(b) If the proposed new county is to be formed from portions of two or more counties, separate petitions shall be presented from the territory taken from each county, and each of the petitions shall be signed by at least 50% of the registered electors of the proposed portions.
(c) If the proposed new county is to be an existing county enlarged by territory taken from one or more other counties, a separate petition must be presented from each such territory, and each petition must be signed by at least 50% of the registered electors of the territory.
(3) For the purpose of determining the number of signatures needed on a petition to meet the percentage requirements of this section, the number of registered electors in a territory proposed to be included in a new county is the number of people registered to vote in that territory in the most recent general election.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Montana?
Find a Montana lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.