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Office: Garfield County Disaster & Emergency Services – Garfield County Courthouse, 352 Leavitt Ave, Jordan, MT 59337; confirm current phone via garfieldcountymt.gov.
Sheriff: Garfield County Sheriff & Coroner’s Office – 352 Leavitt Ave, PO Box 103, Jordan, MT 59337 | (406) 557-2540; Sheriff Joe Tate.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MT-200 serves Jordan, the county seat and only incorporated town in the county, in remote eastern Montana.
Notes: Garfield County, established February 7, 1919, spans 4,847 square miles with only about 1,150-1,200 residents – one of the most sparsely populated counties in the United States. The county borders Fort Peck Lake and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (1.1 million acres, in a 200-mile-long strip surrounding the lake).
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Garfield County – Old Grade School Building, 208 Main Street, Jordan, MT 59337 | (406) 557-2733/2500.
Notes: Garfield County is genuinely one of the most significant Tyrannosaurus rex fossil sites in the world – the very first scientifically identified T. rex specimen was discovered near Jordan in the Hell Creek Formation in 1902 by paleontologist Barnum Brown; the county has since yielded four of the roughly dozen major T. rex specimens known as of 1994, including the “Wankel T. rex” (also called the “Nation’s T. rex”), found on a local ranch and now displayed at the Smithsonian. The Garfield County Museum, opened 1984, displays a full-size Triceratops cast excavated locally, a full T. rex skull cast, and a Stygimoloch domed skull, alongside homestead-era exhibits; it’s a stop on the Montana Dinosaur Trail.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Garfield County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via garfieldcountymt.gov.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible west).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Garfield County Free Library – Old Grade School Building, 208 Main Street, PO Box 81, Jordan, MT 59337 | (406) 557-2297 | Hours: Mon 8 AM-4 PM, Tue/Thu 9:30 AM-5:30 PM, Wed 8 AM-4 PM, Fri 9 AM-3 PM; roughly 12,700-volume collection.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Garfield County Museum, the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Peck Lake’s Hell Creek finger (paddleboarding, kayaking, fishing), and the vast Hell Creek Formation badlands are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine world-significance of Garfield County’s T. rex discoveries – including the very first identified specimen – is one of the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Garfield County Clerk & Recorder – (406) 557-2480 | PO Box 7, Jordan, MT 59337.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current animal control arrangements via garfieldcountymt.gov or the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, (406) 557-2540 – this is an extremely rural county with limited dedicated animal-services infrastructure.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Garfield County – confirm current contact via garfieldcountymt.gov.
NOTES: Garfield County is the fourth county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s third batch. The genuine world-significant T. rex discoveries near Jordan – including the very first scientifically identified specimen (1902) – are among the most distinctive local facts covered in this entire project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Garfield County County
Garfield County is Montana’s most remote county and Hell Creek dinosaur capital – Jordan’s status as the most isolated town in the lower 48 and the world-class dinosaur fossil beds that have yielded complete T. rex skeletons define a county of extraordinary isolation and geological significance in the eastern Montana badlands.
Jordan (the county seat, population ~340) is Garfield County’s governmental hub, widely cited as the most remote county seat in the contiguous United States – a tiny eastern Montana community whose Hell Creek fossils, cattle ranching, and Fort Peck Lake proximity anchor its identity.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Garfield County Assessor at 121 Main Street, Jordan, MT 59337, phone 406-557-2760. MT assessed at market value.
Courts & Legal
Garfield County District Court at 121 Main Street, Jordan, MT 59337, phone 406-557-2760, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
1 Main St., Jordan, MT 59337
(406) 557-2760
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
1 Main St., Jordan, MT 59337
(406) 557-2760
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Garfield County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Garfield County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Garfield County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division 352 Leavitt Avenue, Jordan, MT 59337 (406) 557-6254
Garfield County is in eastern Montana, one of the most sparsely populated counties in the state, seated in Jordan.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Montana adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), codified at Title 72 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA). Probate is handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent resided.
Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit (MCA § 72-3-1101) – available when the value of the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000. At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted anywhere. The affiant presents the sworn, notarized affidavit (with a certified death certificate) directly to whoever holds the property to collect it – skipping probate court entirely. Must be used within 3 years of death.
Summary Administration – a streamlined court process for estates valued at $100,000 or less; unlike the affidavit procedure, this still goes through the court, just with reduced formality.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates. An application can be made to the clerk of district court no sooner than 120 hours (5 days) after death, with minimal court involvement.
Formal Probate – required when there’s no will, when a will’s validity is contested, or when there’s disagreement over the personal representative or distribution. Handled by a district court judge.
Supervised Administration – formal probate with ongoing court oversight of the personal representative.
Step 2: filing for formal or informal probate
File an application (informal) or petition (formal) with the Clerk of District Court in the county where the decedent resided, no sooner than 120 hours after death.
The court or clerk appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
Montana does not set statutory percentage-based fees; personal representative and attorney fees are generally “reasonable compensation” based on time and complexity.
Montana has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1 Main St., Jordan, MT 59337
(406) 557-2285
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
1 Main St., Jordan, MT 59337
(406) 557-2760
ELECTIONS
1 Main St., Jordan, MT 59337
(406) 557-2760
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Garfield County Public Health – confirm current phone via garfieldcountymt.gov. Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center-Jordan also serves the area.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Jordan
Population: 1,100
Area: 4,668 sq mi
Established: 1919
Public Records
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