Montana law mandates that most motor vehicles display two license plates: one on the front and one on the rear. However, certain vehicles, such as motorcycles, trailers, and custom vehicles, are only required to display a single plate on the rear. The plates must be securely fastened to prevent swinging and must be clearly visible and legible. It's important to note that displaying plates from a county other than where the vehicle is domiciled is prohibited.

Montana requires vehicle owners to renew their registration annually. The renewal month is determined by the month shown on your license plate tags, which precedes your registration anniversary. For example, if you initially registered your vehicle in June, you must renew your registration in May of the following year. There is a grace period for expired tags between the 1st and 25th days of the anniversary registration month.

Yes, as of March 17, 2025, Montana implemented a new license plate numbering system to address issues with electronic license plate readers misinterpreting the previous design. The former plates featured a bison skull separator between the county number and the plate number, which caused confusion in other states, leading to incorrect fines for Montana drivers. The updated system replaces the separator with a combination of alpha characters to ensure uniqueness and prevent future mix-ups. This transition will occur over several years, as Montana law requires the issuance of new plates every five years