Jury Duty in Montana: Pay, Exemptions, Excuses and What to Expect (2026)

Montana's clerks of district court draw jurors at random from a statewide list that the Secretary of State builds from registered active voters and the court administrator combines with the driver's license list. If you're a U.S. citizen, 18 or older, and have lived in Montana and in the county for at least 30 days, you're competent to serve. The law calls jury service an obligation of every qualified citizen.

The pay is modest. You get $12 a day for reporting and $25 a day if you're seated on a jury, plus mileage at the IRS rate. Montana has no statute that makes your employer pay you, and we found no jury-specific job-protection law for private workers; the state's general wrongful discharge law is the main shield. A juror who willfully skips service can be fined up to $50, and purposely ignoring a jury notice or summons is criminal contempt, punishable by a fine of up to $500 or up to 6 months in jail. If you're 75 or older, the court must excuse you on request.

The rules are in Title 3, chapter 15 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA), with criminal contempt in § 45-7-309 and mileage in § 2-18-503. Everything below is current as of November 2026.

Montana jury duty at a glance

Who can serve

Section 3-15-301 opens with a statement of policy and then sets three tests:

It is the policy of this state that all qualified citizens have an obligation to serve on juries upon being summoned for jury duty, unless excused. … a person is competent to act as a juror if the person is: (1) 18 years of age or older; (2) a resident for at least 30 days of the state and of the city, town, or county in which the person is called for jury duty; and (3) a citizen of the United States.

Who is disqualified. Under MCA 3-15-303, you can't serve if you lack those qualifications or if you have "been convicted of malfeasance in office or any felony or other high crime." A separate statute restores "all civil rights and full citizenship" to a person whose sentence has expired or who has been pardoned (MCA 46-18-801). If you have an old conviction, ask the clerk of district court how the two fit before you assume you're barred.

Where names come from. Each year the Secretary of State pulls names from the list of registered active voters and sends it to the Office of Court Administrator, which merges it with the driver's license list and removes duplicates (MCA 3-15-402). The clerk of district court in each county serves as jury commissioner and draws names by jury box or computer (MCA 3-15-404). Yellowstone County, for example, says its pool comes from motor vehicle registrations, registered voters, and holders of a Montana driver's license or ID card.

Notice first, then a summons. The clerk mails a notice to each person drawn and may include a questionnaire and an excuse form (MCA 3-15-405). The Montana Judicial Branch explains the difference: a jury notice puts you in the pool for the term, and you don't appear unless you later get a summons, which tells you the date you must report.

Exemptions and excuses

Montana has no list of people exempt by job or office. Everyone qualified is in the pool, and the court excuses people case by case. Section 3-15-313 sets out the grounds.

Undue hardship. The court, or the jury commissioner with the court's approval, must excuse you on finding that service "would entail undue hardship for the person, a dependent of the person, or the public served by the person."

Breastfeeding mothers and caregivers. The same subsection names them:

An excuse may be granted if the prospective juror is a breastfeeding mother or otherwise has a personal obligation to provide actual and necessary care to another, including a sick, aged, or special needs dependent who requires the prospective juror's personal care and attention, and comparable substitute care is either unavailable or impractical without imposing an undue economic hardship on the prospective juror or dependent person.

Age 75 and older. Since 2025 the law gives older Montanans an excuse by right:

(5) On the request of a person who is 75 years of age or older, the court or the jury commissioner shall excuse the person from jury service.

Chronic illness or injury. A person who is chronically incapacitated can ask to be excused permanently. The request is an affidavit with a physician's certification, sent to the jury commissioner where you live. The statute describes chronic incapacity as a condition that keeps you from leaving home without devices such as a wheelchair or walker, or without special transportation or another person's help, and lists examples such as paralysis, blindness and severe heart disease (MCA 3-15-313(3)-(4)). Once you're permanently excused, the clerk leaves your name off future lists (MCA 3-15-404(7)).

Government workers. A state or local government employer may ask the court to excuse an employee who is needed to keep a unit of government running (MCA 2-18-619(3)).

How to ask. Send the affidavit to the jury commissioner, stating your occupation or the other facts you believe should excuse you; the commissioner passes it to the judge (MCA 3-15-313(2)). In practice, follow your summons. The Montana Judicial Branch says excusals "are not guaranteed and may be denied." Yellowstone County will not excuse you by phone or by email without the affidavit, wants a doctor's note for a medical excuse, and says you are not excused until the office replies.

Postponing jury duty

No Montana statute gives you a right to postpone. Because a juror's term runs a full year and you report only when summoned, courts can often work around a short conflict. Yellowstone County asks jurors to list known conflicts, such as a planned vacation, on the questionnaire, or to call or email the office later, and it will make accommodations for those dates (Yellowstone County Clerk of District Court). Ask the clerk in the county that summoned you.

Juror pay

Section 3-15-201 sets the fee in district court. A grand or trial jury panel member "must receive $12 per day for attendance before any court of record" plus mileage each way, and then:

Those jurors selected from the panel for a case must receive an additional $13 a day while serving.

What that means:

• $12 for reporting, $25 once seated. The Montana Judicial Branch puts it plainly: $12.00 plus mileage if you report but aren't selected, and $25.00 a day plus mileage if you're selected. The rates are set by statute and are the same statewide.
• Mileage at the IRS rate. Jurors are paid mileage "at a rate equal to the mileage allotment allowed by the United States internal revenue service for the current year" (MCA 2-18-503(3)). Yellowstone County currently quotes $.70 per mile from your home to the courthouse. The clerk measures the distance by the shortest traveled route and pays by county warrant (MCA 3-15-204).
• Asking off on day one costs you the fee. A juror excused on the juror's own motion on the first day forfeits the per diem and mileage (MCA 3-15-201(2)).
• Justice and city courts pay the same. Jurors in courts not of record get the same $12 and additional $13; in a civil case the party who asked for the jury pays the fees (MCA 3-15-203).
• No long-trial rate. The statute sets no higher fee for long trials.

Your job is protected

Montana is unusual here. Title 3, chapter 15 has no section protecting a juror's job, and we found no other Montana statute that names jury service and forbids a private employer to fire or punish a juror. What protects most workers is the state's Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act, which makes a discharge wrongful when, among other things:

(b) the discharge was not for good cause and the employee had completed the employer's probationary period of employment;

"Good cause" means reasonable job-related grounds such as poor performance or disruption of the employer's operation (MCA 39-2-903(5)). The act doesn't mention jury duty, so whether a firing over a summons lacks good cause is a question for a court. Keep in mind:

1. Probation matters. During a probationary period, either side may end the job for any reason or none (MCA 39-2-904(2)).
2. The deadline is short. A wrongful discharge suit must be filed within 1 year after the discharge, and you may first have to use your employer's written internal appeal procedure (MCA 39-2-911).
3. Your employer needn't pay you. No Montana statute requires a private employer to pay wages during jury service. Check your handbook; if a written policy promises jury leave, an employer who materially breaks it before a discharge can also be liable (MCA 39-2-904(1)(c)).
4. State employees. A state employee on jury duty turns over the juror fee, which is applied against the pay the employer owes, unless the employee chose to use annual leave; the employee keeps any mileage or expense allowance (MCA 2-18-619).

Tell your employer about the summons as soon as you get it, and bring proof of attendance back from the clerk. If you are fired or threatened over jury service, talk to a lawyer promptly because of the 1-year deadline.

What happens if you don't show up

Section 3-15-321 sets the jury statute's own penalty:

Any juror summoned who willfully and without reasonable excuse fails to attend may be attached and compelled to attend. The court may impose a fine not exceeding $50, upon which execution may issue. If the juror was not personally served, the fine must not be imposed until, upon an order to show cause, an opportunity has been offered the juror to be heard. The court may for good cause remit, modify, or cause any fine collected to be refunded.

"Attached" means the court can order you brought in. Neglecting to attend when summoned is also a contempt of court (MCA 3-1-501(1)(k)), and the criminal code makes it an offense to be "purposely failing to obey any mandate, process, or notice relative to juries issued pursuant to Title 3, chapter 15" (MCA 45-7-309(1)(f)). The penalty for criminal contempt:

(2) A person convicted of the offense of criminal contempt shall be fined not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 6 months, or both.

Ignoring the paperwork also brings follow-up. If you don't respond to a summons, the clerk must try to reach you by phone or other electronic means and then certify you to the sheriff, whose "reasonable efforts" can include publishing the names of people who failed to respond (MCA 3-15-501(6)-(8)). If you can't come, file the excuse affidavit or call the clerk before your date.

Your first day

Each court runs its jury a little differently, and the Montana Judicial Branch says the local instructions always take priority. Its statewide guidance:

• Read the summons closely. Note where, when and what time to report, and finish any questionnaires before you arrive.
• Check the night before. Trials often settle at the last minute. Most courts post a status update online or on a recorded phone line; follow your summons to learn whether you still need to report. Yellowstone County posts a jury status page with parking information.
• Bring your summons and a photo ID. Arrive early, dress comfortably and respectfully, and check in with court staff.
• Jury selection. The judge and lawyers ask questions to find conflicts or bias. Some people are excused; others are picked as jurors or alternates. If you're picked, you stay for the whole trial, which may last a day or several weeks. In Yellowstone County most trials last less than a week.
• Don't discuss the case with anyone until the trial is completely over.
• Proof for your employer. Ask the clerk's office for a record of your attendance; the clerk keeps one for every juror (MCA 3-15-204).

Grand jury service

Montana convenes a grand jury only when a district judge decides one is necessary. The judge's order calls for 15 to 20 people to be drawn and summoned the same way as trial jurors (MCA 3-15-601). Eleven of those present, competent and not excused make up the grand jury (MCA 3-15-602). Grand jury panel members are paid under the same fee statute as trial jurors, $12 a day plus mileage (MCA 3-15-201).

Jury duty scams

Scammers call claiming you missed jury duty, that a warrant is out for your arrest, and that you must pay a fine at once. The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana has warned Montanans about exactly this, and says:

Neither the U.S. Marshals Service, nor the U.S. District Court, will ever call to request payment of fines over the phone for failure to appear for jury duty.

Montana's state courts work the same way: a real penalty comes from a judge after notice and a chance to be heard (MCA 3-15-321), never from a phone call asking for a card number. If you get such a call, hang up and call the clerk of district court at the number on your county's official website (District of Montana jury scam warning; see also the federal courts' juror scam warning).

Recent and pending changes

Both 2025 acts took effect on passage and approval; HB 194's changes apply to jury pools noticed on or after May 1,

1. We found no pending jury bills as of November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much does jury duty pay in Montana?

Montana pays $12 a day for reporting and $25 a day once you're seated on a jury, plus mileage each way at the IRS rate. The rates are set by statute and apply in district, justice and city courts across the state. If you ask to be excused on your first day, you give up that day's fee and mileage.

Can my employer fire me for jury duty in Montana?

Montana has no statute aimed specifically at employers of jurors. Most employees who have finished probation are covered by the Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act, which allows a firing only for good cause, and a suit under it must be filed within 1 year. Your employer doesn't have to pay you while you serve.

How do I get out of jury duty in Montana?

Send the affidavit that comes with your notice or summons to the jury commissioner, explaining the undue hardship to you, a dependent, or the public you serve. Breastfeeding mothers and caregivers without a practical substitute are named in the law, people who are chronically incapacitated can ask for a permanent excuse, and anyone 75 or older is excused on request. You aren't excused until the court says so.

What happens if I miss jury duty in Montana?

The court can have you brought in and fine you up to $50. Purposely ignoring a jury notice or summons is also criminal contempt, punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to 6 months in county jail, or both. Before any fine, a juror who wasn't personally served gets a chance to explain.

How often can you be called for jury duty in Montana?

Montana jurors serve a 1-year term, and your name may be on only one court's jury list during that year. You may be summoned more than once in the term. In districts that use one day or one trial, you're done for the rest of the year after a day without being picked or after finishing a trial.

Is there an age limit for jury duty in Montana?

You must be at least 18. There's no upper limit, but since 2025 the court or jury commissioner must excuse anyone 75 or older who asks.

Where these rules live

• MCA 3-15-201 — Juror fees
• MCA 3-15-301 — Who may serve
• MCA 3-15-303 — Who is disqualified
• MCA 3-15-313 — Excuses, permanent exclusion and the age-75 excuse
• MCA 3-15-321 — Fine for failure to attend
• MCA 3-15-411 — Term of service
• MCA 3-15-501 — Summons and one day or one trial
• MCA 45-7-309 — Criminal contempt
• MCA 39-2-904 — Wrongful discharge
• Montana Judicial Branch: Juror Information
• Mont. R. Civ. P. 47 — Jurors
• Montana Rules of Civil Procedure on this site
• Law schools in Montana