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Montana County
Park County, Montana
Livingston - the Yellowstone River's writers' town and Yellowstone's north gate - from Livingston's literary community (Livingston has attracted an extraordinary concentration of writers, artists, and filmmakers for its size - Peter Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Tom McGuane, Richard Brautigan, and Jim Harrison have all lived here, drawn by the Yellowstone River's blue-ribbon trout fishing, the dramatic Absaroka Range backdrop, and the authentic Montana railroad town character that has made Livingston one of the most culturally vibrant small cities in the Mountain West) and Gardiner's Yellowstone north entrance (the Roosevelt Arch - dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt himself in 1903 - marks the original entrance to America's first national park at Gardiner, where elk and bison regularly wander the town streets).
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What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Park County Office of Emergency Management – City/County Complex, 414 E. Callender St., Livingston, MT 59047 | (406) 222-4190; coordinates mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Residents can sign up for real-time text/voicemail/email alerts.
Dispatch: Livingston/Park County 911 – 220 E. Park St., Livingston, MT 59047 | (406) 222-2005.
Sheriff: Park County Sheriff’s Office – 414 E Callender St #2, Livingston, MT 59047 | Non-emergency (406) 222-2050 (24/7) | Business/Civil (406) 222-4172 | Fax: (406) 222-4175 | Detention Center (406) 222-4178; Sheriff Brad Bichler, Undersheriff Clay Herbst. Provides law enforcement, search and rescue, and animal control across the county’s 2,802 square miles, spanning 140 miles from Wilsall in the north to Cooke City in the south.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-90 and US-89 serve Livingston, the county seat, in south-central Montana.
Notes: Park County is genuinely the northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park, with US-89 leading south through Paradise Valley to the park’s north entrance at Gardiner.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Park County Planning Department – confirm current phone via parkcounty.org.
Notes: Livingston is genuinely a nationally known arts community – more than 200 working artists call Park County home, and downtown Livingston holds 15+ galleries, historic 1880s-90s buildings, and the Livingston Depot Center, a restored rail station. In 1897, the Edison Manufacturing Company genuinely filmed a tourist train departing Livingston, an early moment in a long history of Montana serving as a film production location. The Yellowstone Gateway Museum, on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, offers a National Park Service passport cancellation stamp and documents Yellowstone’s long history of inspiring artists, beginning with Thomas Moran and photographer William H. Jackson before the park’s 1872 creation.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Park County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via parkcounty.org.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible north).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Livingston-Park County Public Library – near the historic downtown district, corner of Callender and Third Street, Livingston, MT 59047; serves a general population of over 15,000 in Park County and beyond.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Yellowstone Gateway Museum, the Livingston Depot Center, the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Paradise Valley, and the northern approach to Yellowstone National Park are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine artist-colony character of Livingston and its role as Yellowstone’s northern gateway are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Rural Addressing / GIS Department – City/County Complex, Livingston, MT 59047; confirm current contact via parkcounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Stafford Animal Shelter – 3 Business Park Rd, Livingston, MT 59047; the primary area shelter, alongside Sheriff’s Office animal control services, (406) 222-2050.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Park County Public Works / Refuse – confirm current phone via parkcounty.org.
NOTES: Park County is the seventh and final county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s fifth batch (McCone, Madison, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Musselshell, Park) – closing out this batch. The genuine artist-colony character of Livingston and its status as Yellowstone’s northern gateway are distinctive local facts. 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 Park County
Park County is Livingston’s writers’ town and Yellowstone’s north gate – the Yellowstone River’s blue-ribbon trout draws Peter Fonda, Tom McGuane, and Jim Harrison to one of the Mountain West’s most culturally vibrant small cities, and Gardiner’s Roosevelt Arch marks the entrance to America’s first national park where bison still wander the streets.
Livingston (the county seat, population ~8,000) is one of Montana’s most distinctive communities – the Victorian downtown, the Depot Center arts museum, and the Yellowstone gateway economy define a town of remarkable character.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Park County Assessor at 414 E. Callender Street, Livingston, MT 59047, phone 406-222-4121. MT residential assessed at market value, taxed at 1.35%.
Courts & Legal
Park County District Court at 414 E. Callender Street, Livingston, MT 59047, phone 406-222-4106, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
414 E. Callender St., Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-4120
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
414 E. Callender St., Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-4120
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Park County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Park County is part of the 6th Judicial District, along with Sweet Grass County.
Local societies
No dedicated Park 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
Park County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division 414 East Callender Street, Livingston, MT 59047 (406) 222-4125
Park County is in south-central Montana, seated in Livingston, near the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
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
414 E. Callender St., Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-4154
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
414 E. Callender St., Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-4120
ELECTIONS
414 E. Callender St., Livingston, MT 59047
(406) 222-4120
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MT DPHHS — Park
(406) 222-4151
Livingston HealthCare
livingstonhealthcare.org (Livingston — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Park County Health Department – City/County Complex, 414 E. Callender St., Livingston, MT 59047.
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