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Office: Judith Basin County Disaster and Emergency Services – 91 3rd Street North, PO Box 427, Stanford, MT 59479; confirm current phone via jbcountymt.gov.
Sheriff: Judith Basin County Sheriff’s Office – PO Box 427, Stanford, MT 59479 | Non-emergency dispatcher (Sally Murphy) (406) 566-2212 ext. 215 | Acting Sheriff Richard Hayes (406) 566-2212/2277 ext. 210 | Fax: (406) 566-2211; office hours Mon-Fri 8 AM onward. The office welcomes inquiries about becoming a Reserve Deputy.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-87 serves Stanford, the county seat, in central Montana between Great Falls and Lewistown, along the Charlie Russell Trail.
Notes: Judith Basin County, formed December 10, 1920 from parts of Fergus and Cascade Counties, is named for the Judith River; roughly 2,000-2,200 residents across 1,871 square miles, ringed by the Little Belt, Highwood, Judith, and Snowy Mountains.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Judith Basin County Courthouse – Stanford, MT 59479 | confirm current phone via jbcountymt.gov.
Notes: Judith Basin County is genuinely home to the Yogo sapphire deposit at Yogo Gulch, discovered in 1895 near Utica – the only sapphire deposit in the world producing a naturally cornflower-blue color without heat treatment, considered among the finest sapphires on Earth. The county was also formative to the life of cowboy artist Charles M. Russell, who lived at Jake Hoover’s cabin near Utica in his early years (Hoover was also the original owner of the Yogo sapphire claim); the stretch of US-87 between Great Falls and Lewistown is officially the Charlie Russell Trail, and Utica hosts a museum devoted to his legacy. A gavel used in the county courthouse since 1932 was fashioned from logs of the Packard Homestead, believed to be the earliest house in “Old Town Stanford.”
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Judith Basin County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via jbcountymt.gov.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible west).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Judith Basin County Free Library – 93/19 Third Street North, PO Box 486, Stanford, MT 59479 | Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30 AM-5:30 PM, Wed until 9 PM, closed legal holidays; roughly 26,000-volume collection; also maintains a branch presence in Hobson; partners with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for children.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Ackley Lake State Park, the Little Belt Mountains (Dry Wolf and Crystal Lake trails), Lewis and Clark National Forest, and the Charlie Russell Trail/Auto Tour are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Yogo sapphire deposit and its unique naturally-blue color are among the most distinctive and valuable local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Judith Basin County – confirm current contact via jbcountymt.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current animal control arrangements via jbcountymt.gov or the Sheriff’s Office, (406) 566-2212.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Judith Basin County – confirm current contact via jbcountymt.gov.
NOTES: Judith Basin County is the third county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s fourth batch. The genuine Yogo sapphire deposit – the world’s only source of naturally cornflower-blue sapphires – is one of the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this 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 Judith Basin County County
Judith Basin County is central Montana’s Charlie Russell cowboy country and dryland wheat basin – the landscape that shaped America’s greatest western artist during his 1880s cowboy years and the fertile basin’s exceptional wheat production define a county where Stanford serves the surrounding agricultural families in one of Montana’s most historically evocative landscapes.
Stanford (the county seat, population ~400) is Judith Basin County’s governmental hub on US 87, a central Montana community whose Charlie Russell heritage, Judith Basin wheat farming, and Judith Mountains setting anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Judith Basin County Assessor at 11 3rd Street N, Stanford, MT 59479, phone 406-566-2277. MT assessed at market value.
Courts & Legal
Judith Basin County District Court at 11 3rd Street N, Stanford, MT 59479, phone 406-566-2277, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
11 3rd Ave. S., Stanford, MT 59479
(406) 566-2277
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
11 3rd Ave. S., Stanford, MT 59479
(406) 566-2277
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Judith Basin County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Judith Basin 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
Judith Basin County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division 91 Third Street North, Ground Floor (mail: P.O. Box 427), Stanford, MT 59479 (406) 566-2277 Judith Basin County is in central Montana, seated in Stanford.
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
11 3rd Ave. S., Stanford, MT 59479
(406) 566-2511
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
11 3rd Ave. S., Stanford, MT 59479
(406) 566-2277
ELECTIONS
11 3rd Ave. S., Stanford, MT 59479
(406) 566-2277
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MT DPHHS — Judith Basin
(406) 566-2277
Central Montana Medical Center
cmmccares.com (Lewistown — accessible)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Judith Basin County Health Department – confirm current phone via jbcountymt.gov.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Stanford
Population: 2,000
Area: 1,869 sq mi
Established: 1920
Public Records
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