Missed Court in Montana: What Happens Next

What Montana law says can follow a missed court date: whether it is a separate crime, the driver’s license rule for traffic cases, what happens to bail, and the court’s own next steps. It runs in your browser and nothing is stored.

What kind of case was the court date for?
How was the person released before the date?

Pick the state, the kind of case and how the person was released to see what that state’s law says.

Montana failure to appear law

In Montana, missing a required court date after release can be charged as its own crime. The statute grades it by the kind of case:

  • Released on a felony charge: up to 10 years in state prison. Bail-jumping in connection with a felony is punished by up to 10 years in state prison. (MCA 45-7-308(4))
    (4) A person convicted of bail-jumping in connection with a felony shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 10 years.
  • Released on a misdemeanor charge: up to 6 months in county jail, $500 fine, or both. In all other cases bail-jumping is punished by up to 6 months in jail, a $500 fine, or both; on a misdemeanor charge it applies only when the defendant was released on own recognizance. (MCA 45-7-308)
    (3) This section does not apply to a person set at liberty by court order upon condition that the person will appear in connection with a charge of having committed a misdemeanor, except that it applies when the judge has released the defendant on the defendant's own recognizance. (4) A person convicted of bail-jumping in connection with a felony shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 10 years. In all other cases, the person shall be fined not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 6 months, or both.

The statute’s mental-state words are “purposely, without lawful excuse”, so the reason the date was missed can matter.

When a date is missed, the court’s order is called a arrest warrant (MCA 46-9-503(1)).

Driver’s license after a missed traffic date in Montana

After a written notice and a mailed warning from the court, the Department of Justice must suspend the license of a person the court reports as failing to appear on a misdemeanor charge under Title 45 or traffic chapters of Title 61. (MCA 61-5-214)

The department shall suspend the driver's license or driving privilege of a person upon receipt of a report from the court, certified under penalty of law and in a form prescribed by the department, that the person: (a) failed to appear upon an issued complaint, summons, or court order after being charged with a misdemeanor violation under Title 45 or Title 61, chapters 3 through 10

Bail and bonds after a missed date in Montana

If within 90 days after the forfeiture the defendant appears and satisfactorily excuses the failure to appear, the judge must discharge the forfeiture on just terms. (MCA 46-9-503(3))

Window to ask the court to set the forfeiture aside: 90 days after the forfeiture.

To compare what posting bail costs in Montana, see the Montana bail bond calculator.

How to deal with a missed date in Montana

Only the court that set the date can recall a warrant or give a new date. Contact that court’s clerk, or the lawyer or public defender on the case, who can ask the court to recall or quash the warrant.

What this page does not do

  • It does not check whether a warrant was issued in any case or whether anyone will be arrested.
  • Whether a separate failure-to-appear charge is filed is the prosecutor’s decision; what happens to bail is the court’s.
  • It collects nothing; your choices stay in your browser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is failure to appear a crime in Montana?

Yes. Released on a felony charge: up to 10 years in state prison under MCA 45-7-308(4); Released on a misdemeanor charge: up to 6 months in county jail, $500 fine, or both under MCA 45-7-308.

Is missing court a felony in Montana?

In some cases. released on a felony charge: up to 10 years in state prison under MCA 45-7-308(4). Otherwise: released on a misdemeanor charge (own recognizance only): up to 6 months in county jail, $500 fine, or both under MCA 45-7-308.

Will Montana suspend my license for missing a traffic court date?

After a written notice and a mailed warning from the court, the Department of Justice must suspend the license of a person the court reports as failing to appear on a misdemeanor charge under Title 45 or traffic chapters of Title 61. The rule is in MCA 61-5-214.

Sources

Checked against the sources above on October 20, 2026.

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