Montana Code 61-3-103. Filing of security interests — perfection — rights — procedure — fees
61-3-103. Filing of security interests — perfection — rights — procedure — fees. (1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (2), the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer shall, upon payment of the fee required by subsection (8), enter a voluntary security interest or lien against the electronic record of title for a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile upon receipt of a written acknowledgment of a voluntary security interest or lien by the owner of a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile on a form prescribed by the department.
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-3-103
- Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
- Authorized agent: means a person who has executed a written agreement with the department and is specifically authorized by the department to electronically access and update the department's motor vehicle titling, registration, or driver records, using an approved automated interface, for specific functions or purposes on behalf of a third party. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Camper: means a structure designed to be mounted in the cargo area of a truck or attached to an incomplete vehicle for the purpose of providing shelter for persons. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Certificate of title: means the paper record issued by the department or by the appropriate agency of another jurisdiction that establishes a verifiable record of ownership between an identified person or persons and the motor vehicle specifically described in the record and that provides notice of a perfected security interest in the motor vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Dealer: means a person that, for commission or profit, engages in whole or in part in the business of buying, selling, exchanging, or accepting on consignment new or used motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, travel trailers, motorboats, sailboats, snowmobiles, off-highway vehicles, or special mobile equipment that is not registered in the name of the person. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Department: means the department of justice acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
- Motor vehicle: means :
(i)a vehicle propelled by its own power and designed or used to transport persons or property on the highways of the state;
(ii)a quadricycle if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9; or
(iii)a golf cart only if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9 and is operated pursuant to 61-8-391 or by a person with a low-speed restricted driver's license. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Motorboat: means a vessel, including a personal watercraft or pontoon, propelled by any machinery, motor, or engine of any description, whether or not the machinery, motor, or engine is the principal source of propulsion. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Owner: means each person who holds the legal title to a vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, state agency, local government unit, another state government, the United States, a political subdivision of this or another state, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Personal watercraft: means a vessel that uses an outboard motor or an inboard engine powering a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion and that is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel rather than by the conventional method of sitting or standing in the vessel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Pole trailer: means a vehicle without power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach or pole or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles, pipes, or structural members capable generally of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Sailboat: means a vessel that uses a sail and wind as its primary source of propulsion. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Semitrailer: means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that some part of its weight and that of its load rests on or is carried by another vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Snowmobile: means a self-propelled vehicle of an overall width of 48 inches or less, excluding accessories, that is designed primarily for travel on snow or ice, that may be steered by skis or runners, and that is not otherwise registered or licensed under the laws of the state of Montana. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Trailer: means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests on the towing vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Transaction summary receipt: means an electronic record produced and issued by the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer for which a paper receipt is issued. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Vehicle: means a device in, on, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn on a public highway, except devices moved by animal power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Montana Code 61-1-101
(b)After the voluntary security interest or lien has been entered on the electronic record of title for the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile, the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer shall issue a transaction summary receipt to the owner and, if requested, to the secured party or lienholder, showing the date that the security interest or lien was perfected.
(c)A voluntary security interest or lien is perfected on the date that the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer receives the written acknowledgment of the voluntary security interest or lien from the owner of the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile.
(d)Except as provided in subsection (3), when a person applying for a certificate of title requests issuance of a certificate of title under 61-3-201, the department shall record the voluntary security interest or lien on the face of a certificate of title.
(2)A security interest in a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile held as inventory by a dealer licensed under Title 23, chapter 2, part 5, 6, or 8, or chapter 4 of this title must be perfected in accordance with Title 30, chapter 9A.
(3)Whenever a security interest or lien is filed against the electronic record of title for a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile that is subject to two security interests previously perfected under this section and the applicant has requested issuance of a certificate of title under 61-3-201, the department shall endorse on the face of the certificate of title, “NOTICE. This vehicle is subject to additional security interests on file with the Department of Justice.” Other information regarding the additional security interests is not required to be endorsed on the certificate.
(4)Upon default under a chattel mortgage or conditional sales contract covering a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile, the mortgagee or vendor has the same remedies as in the case of other personal property. In case of attachment of motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, campers, motorboats, personal watercraft, sailboats, or snowmobiles, all the provisions of 27-18-413, 27-18-414, and 27-18-804 are applicable except that deposits must be made with the department.
(5)A secured party or lienholder who has a perfected security interest in a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile and who fails to file a satisfaction of the security interest or lien within 21 days after receiving final payment is required to pay the department $25 for each day that the secured party or lienholder fails to file the satisfaction.
(6)Within 24 hours after receiving notice of any involuntary liens or attachments against the record of any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile registered in this state, the department shall mail to the owner or any secured party or lienholder of record a notice showing the name and address of the lien claimant, the amount of the lien, the date of execution of the lien, and, in the case of attachment, the full title of the court and the action and the names of the attorneys for the plaintiff and attaching creditor.
(7)(a) This section does not prevent a secured party or lienholder from assigning the secured party’s or lienholder’s interest in a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile, for which a certificate of title is issued under this chapter, to any other person without the consent of and without affecting the interest of the holder of the certificate of title.
(b)If a secured party assigns all or part of the party’s interest in a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile for which a certificate of title is issued under this chapter, the secured party assigning the interest shall file a copy of the assignment with the department and the department shall record the assignment in the department’s records.
(8)(a) A fee must be paid to the department to file any security interest or other lien against a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile. The fee covers the cost of entering and, upon the subsequent satisfaction or release, of removing the security interest or lien from the electronic record of title.
(b)The fee to file a lien is $8. Of the $8 fee, $4 must be deposited in the state general fund in accordance with 15-1-504. The remaining $4 must be forwarded to the state for deposit in the motor vehicle information technology system account provided for in 61-3-550.
(9)(a) Until June 30, 2034, a fee of $10 must be paid to the department by a vehicle owner if, following satisfaction or release of a security interest and its removal from the department’s records, the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile owner requests issuance of a new certificate of title without the security interest or lien shown on the face of the title. Beginning July 1, 2034, the fee for a new certificate of title under this subsection is $5.
(b)Until June 30, 2034, the fee must be deposited in the motor vehicle information technology system account provided for in 61-3-550.
(c)Beginning July 1, 2034, the $5 fee must be deposited in the state general fund.