Car Accident Laws in Montana: Fault, Insurance & Deadlines

Montana is an at-fault (tort liability) state, not a no-fault/PIP state — the driver who caused the crash is financially responsible for the damage. You generally have three years from the date of the crash to sue for injuries (Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-204) and two years to sue for vehicle/property damage alone (Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-207). If a government vehicle or employee was involved, special pre-suit procedures apply — you generally must present a written claim to the responsible government entity before you can sue, and other limits may apply (see section 6). Below is a direct rundown of Montana's core crash-law rules, followed by what to actually do next.

1. Montana's Fault System: At-Fault, Not No-Fault

Montana uses a traditional at-fault (tort) system for car accidents. There is no state-mandated personal injury protection (PIP) coverage and no requirement that you turn to your own insurer first for medical bills. In practice this means:

• The at-fault driver's liability insurance is the primary source of payment for the other driver's medical bills, lost wages, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering.
• An injured person can make a claim directly against the at-fault driver's liability insurer, or file a lawsuit if a fair settlement isn't reached — subject to the statute of limitations described below.
• Montana does not require insurers to sell PIP or require drivers to carry it. Some insurers offer optional "medical payments" (med-pay) coverage that pays your own medical bills regardless of fault, but it is not mandated by state law.

Because Montana has no no-fault threshold to clear, you don't need to show a "serious injury" before pursuing the at-fault driver — but you do need to prove the other driver was at fault, which is where the shared-fault rule below comes in.

2. Minimum Auto Insurance Required in Montana

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 61-6-103, Montana's mandatory minimum liability limits are commonly written as 25/50/20:

• $25,000 bodily injury liability per person, per accident
• $50,000 bodily injury liability per accident (for two or more people)
• $20,000 property damage liability per accident

Those are legal minimums, not what most injury claims are actually worth — a serious crash can easily exceed $50,000 in medical bills alone, which is why additional coverage matters:

• Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage: Under Montana law, insurers must offer uninsured motorist coverage, but a policyholder can reject it in writing. If you're not sure whether you carry it, check your declarations page — this is the coverage that pays you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little.
• PIP/med-pay: Not required in Montana. It may be available as an optional add-on from your insurer; ask your agent whether your policy includes it.

Insurance minimums are periodically revisited by the Montana Legislature — confirm current figures with the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance / Montana State Auditor's office (the state's insurance regulator) or the Motor Vehicle Division before relying on these numbers for a specific policy decision.

3. Statute of Limitations After a Montana Crash

• Personal injury: 3 years from the date of the crash (or, for wrongful death, generally 3 years from the date of death) — Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-204.
• Property damage (vehicle repair/replacement, other damaged property): 2 years from the date of the crash — Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-207.
• If you have both an injury claim and a property-damage claim from the same crash, treat the shorter, 2-year property-damage deadline as the one to watch if you intend to pursue both together.
• Claims involving a government vehicle or employee are subject to special pre-suit procedures and damage caps (see section 6), so treat them as time-sensitive.

Certain circumstances (the injured person is a minor, was mentally incapacitated, etc.) can pause or extend these clocks under Montana law. Don't assume an exception applies to your situation without confirming the current statute or talking with a Montana attorney — these deadlines are strictly enforced, and missing one typically ends the case regardless of how strong it otherwise is.

4. Shared Fault in Montana: Modified Comparative Negligence, 51% Bar

Montana follows modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar, codified at Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-702. Here's how it works:

• If your share of fault is 50% or less, you can still recover damages, but your award is reduced by your own percentage of fault. For example, if a jury awards $100,000 in damages and finds you 20% at fault, you recover $80,000.
• If your share of fault is greater than the combined fault of the person or people you're suing (in a typical one-other-driver crash, 51% or more), Montana law bars you from recovering anything.

Insurance adjusters routinely push an injured person's fault percentage up toward that line to reduce or eliminate a payout, so don't accept a fault assignment from an insurer at face value, and be careful about statements you make at the scene or to an adjuster before you've had a chance to review the evidence.

5. Crash Reporting Requirements in Montana

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 61-7-108, a driver must immediately, by the quickest means of communication, notify local police (if inside a municipality) or the county sheriff or nearest Montana Highway Patrol office (elsewhere) if the crash involves:

• Injury to or death of any person, or
• Property damage of $1,000 or more.

Separately, Mont. Code Ann. § 61-7-109 requires the driver to file a written report within 10 days of the accident when it caused injury or death or property damage over $1,000 — unless a law enforcement officer already investigated and reported the crash. If you're unsure whether your crash meets the reporting threshold, report it anyway — a police/crash report is also one of the most useful pieces of evidence for an insurance claim.

6. Damage Caps and Government-Vehicle Crashes: Special Rules Apply

If your crash involved a city, county, state, or other government vehicle or employee (a snowplow, a police cruiser, a transit bus, a state agency vehicle, etc.), the Montana Tort Claims Act adds rules on top of the ordinary deadlines:

• Present-claim requirement: Before you can sue, you generally must first present a written claim to the responsible government entity — for claims against the state, to the Department of Administration (Mont. Code Ann. § 2-9-301). Montana does not impose the very short notice deadlines some other states use; the general statutes of limitations above still apply, but presenting the claim can pause (toll) the deadline for up to 120 days while the entity decides whether to grant or deny it. The exact steps and timing differ for the state versus counties, cities, and other local entities, so confirm what applies to your situation.
• Damage caps: Claims against the state or a political subdivision are generally capped at $750,000 per claim and $1.5 million per occurrence under Mont. Code Ann. § 2-9-108, and punitive damages generally cannot be recovered against a government entity.

These figures and procedures can be amended by the Legislature, so verify the current version of Title 2, Chapter 9, MCA (or ask the Montana Department of Administration's Risk Management & Tort Defense Division) before assuming they still apply. If a government vehicle might be involved in your crash, act promptly — the pre-suit claim step is easy to miss, and getting it wrong can jeopardize an otherwise valid claim.

What to Do After a Crash in Montana

1. Check for injuries and call 911 if anyone is hurt, and stay at the scene until it is appropriate to leave (unless you need to seek emergency care or report the accident).
2. Report the crash to local police, the county sheriff, or the Montana Highway Patrol if anyone was injured or killed, or property damage looks like it may reach $1,000 — and file the written report within 10 days if required.
3. Exchange information — names, contact info, driver's license numbers, license plates, and insurance details — with every other driver involved.
4. Document the scene with photos of vehicle damage, road conditions, skid marks, traffic signs/signals, and any visible injuries, and get contact information for witnesses.
5. Get medical care promptly, even if you feel okay at the scene — some injuries (concussions, soft-tissue injuries) show up later, and a prompt medical record ties your injuries to the crash.
6. Note whether a government vehicle or employee was involved. If so, special pre-suit claim procedures and damage caps apply — act promptly and confirm the steps rather than assuming the ordinary process applies.
7. Notify your own insurer of the crash, and be cautious about giving a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer before you understand the extent of your injuries and how Montana's 51%-bar comparative fault rule could affect your claim.
8. Track your deadlines — generally 3 years to sue for injury and 2 years for property damage alone, plus the special pre-suit claim procedures for any government-vehicle claim — and confirm the current statutes with the Montana courts or a Montana-licensed attorney well before any of them approach.

Where Montana Crash Claims Are Handled

Insurance claims are typically resolved directly with the insurers involved; lawsuits over car accidents in Montana are generally filed in the Montana district court for the county where the crash happened or where the defendant resides, with smaller claims potentially eligible for a Small Claims Court. The Montana Judicial Branch publishes self-help resources for people navigating these courts without an attorney, and the Motor Vehicle Division and the Montana State Auditor's office (which regulates insurance) are the authoritative sources for current insurance-requirement and reporting-threshold figures.

This article is general information about Montana law, not legal advice for your specific situation — confirm current statutes, limits, and deadlines with the Montana courts, the Montana State Auditor's insurance office, or a Montana-licensed attorney.