Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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.
Roads: MT-16 and MT-5 serve Plentywood, the county seat, in far northeastern Montana along the Canadian border (Saskatchewan).
Notes: Sheridan County, established March 11, 1913 from parts of Dawson and Valley Counties, is named for Civil War General Philip Sheridan. Roughly 3,400-3,500 residents.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Sheridan County – confirm current phone via sheridancountymt.gov.
Notes: According to local legend, Plentywood’s name comes from a frustrated cowboy cook trying to start a fire with damp buffalo chips, told by a local rancher, “If you’ll go 2 miles up this creek, you’ll find plenty wood.” Plentywood incorporated in 1912. Sheridan County has a genuinely well-documented and historically notable political history: from roughly 1918 to 1937, the county became a rare stronghold of Socialist and later Communist-aligned political organizing in the rural United States, centered on the Nonpartisan League and later the Montana Farmer-Labor Party, led locally by activist Charley Taylor and his newspaper, the Producers News. Communist-aligned candidates won a striking share of local and even state legislative seats during this period, and outsiders nicknamed Plentywood “Little Moscow.” The movement declined by the late 1930s. This history is documented in Verlaine Stoner McDonald’s book “The Red Corner: The Rise and Fall of Communism in Northeastern Montana” (2010) and preserved through oral history projects; it is presented here as a factual matter of local historical record.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Sheridan County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via sheridancountymt.gov.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible west).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Sheridan County Library – Plentywood, MT; open six days a week; confirm current address/phone via shercolibrarymt.org. Maintains an active local history archive including digitized copies of the Plentywood Herald and Producers News newspapers.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Sheridan County Museum and the county’s local history archive documenting its unique political past are among the county’s most distinctive cultural draws.
Notes: The genuine “Little Moscow” political history is one of the most historically unusual local facts covered anywhere in this project, presented factually per this project’s evenhanded standard.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Sheridan County – confirm current contact via sheridancountymt.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current animal control arrangements via sheridancountymt.gov or the Sheriff’s Office, (406) 765-1200.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Sheridan County – confirm current contact via sheridancountymt.gov.
NOTES: Sheridan County is the fifth county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s seventh batch. The genuine “Little Moscow” political history (1918-1937) is presented factually and neutrally per this project’s evenhanded historical standard. 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 Sheridan County County
Sheridan County is Montana’s northeast corner and Medicine Lake Wildlife Refuge county – one of the interior US’s largest white pelican and cormorant nesting colonies and the Hi-Line wheat fields near Canada and North Dakota define a county where Plentywood serves the county’s farming families at the top corner of Montana.
Plentywood (the county seat, population ~1,700) is Sheridan County’s governmental hub on MT-16, a northeast Montana Hi-Line community whose Medicine Lake Refuge, wheat farming, and tri-state proximity to Canada and North Dakota anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Sheridan County Assessor at 100 W. Laurel Avenue, Plentywood, MT 59254, phone 406-765-3403. MT assessed at market value.
Courts & Legal
Sheridan County District Court at 100 W. Laurel Avenue, Plentywood, MT 59254, phone 406-765-3403, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
100 W. Laurel Ave., Plentywood, MT 59254
(406) 765-2310
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
100 W. Laurel Ave., Plentywood, MT 59254
(406) 765-2310
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Sheridan County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Sheridan 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
Sheridan County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division 100 West Laurel Avenue, Plentywood, MT 59254 (406) 765-2310
Sheridan County was founded March 11, 1913, named for Union general Philip Sheridan, in Montana’s far northeastern corner on the Canadian border, seated in Plentywood.
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
100 W. Laurel Ave., Plentywood, MT 59254
(406) 765-1200
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
100 W. Laurel Ave., Plentywood, MT 59254
(406) 765-2310
ELECTIONS
100 W. Laurel Ave., Plentywood, MT 59254
(406) 765-2310
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Sheridan County Public Health – confirm current phone via sheridancountymt.gov.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Plentywood
Population: 3,500
Area: 1,675 sq mi
Established: 1913
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Sheridan County County residents.
