MTADA’s Legislative Committee had a successful 2025 session. This year our committee worked to revise Montana’s Agister Lien law: Section 71-3-1203, MCA. Our bill, SB 373, passed the Senate on a vote of 43 to 7, and it passed the House on a vote of 97 to 2. On May 5, 2025, Gov. Gianforte signed the bill into law.

What is an Agister’s Lien?

From time to time, a customer will abandon a vehicle at a dealership because the owner is unable or not interested in paying for the repairs on the vehicle or coming to retrieve the vehicle. An agister’s lien is a statutory right that allows the dealership that provided a service and did not receive payment to retain the vehicle until payment is received or sell the vehicle to recover the debt and to have the vehicle removed from the dealership. 

Key Revisions to Section 71-3-1203, MCA

SB 373 introduced significant changes to the agister’s lien enforcement procedures in Montana. The key revisions include the following: 

• Expanded Court Jurisdiction Options: Lien enforcement actions can now be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction in the county where the contract was made, where the property is located, or where the property owner resides. Prior to this amendment, a lien enforcement action was required to be filed only in district court. Whether the action is filed in small claims court (maximum amount of $7,000), justice court (maximum amount of $12,000) or district court (all claims over $12,000) will depend on the amount in controversy.
• Modified Service Requirements: The traditional requirement that a summons be issued and served on the defendant before a hearing is not required for an agister’s lien claim under Section 71-3-1203, MCA. Instead, an “Order to Show Cause” is issued and served by certified mail with a return receipt. 
• Extended Timeline for Hearing: The Notice of the Show Cause hearing must be served by first-class mail at least 21 days before the hearing date.  

These changes aim to make lien enforcement more efficient and accessible for dealer lienholders. 

Guidelines to Filing an Agister’s Lien

1. Retain Possession: The dealer must maintain possession of the abandoned vehicle until the owed amount is paid, or it is sold at a sheriff’s sale.
2. Notify the Owner: The dealer must send a certified letter to the owner (and any known lienholders) stating your intent to assert an agister’s lien, detailing the services provided and the amount due.
3. File a Complaint in Court: The dealer must prepare and file a complaint outlining the services provided and the amount owed in the proper court along with a proposed order setting the Show Cause hearing.
4. Notification of Show Cause Hearing: The dealer must provide the owner a Notice of the Show Cause Hearing by certified mail, return receipt requested at the owner’s last known address.
5. Show Cause Hearing: The dealer must attend the Show Cause hearing and present your evidence to the court and obtain a judgment for the amount owed along with a request to sell the vehicle at a sheriff’s sale. 
6. Sheriff’s Sale: If payment of the judgment amount is not received, you will contact the sheriff’s office to advertise and conduct a public auction to sell the vehicle to satisfy the lien.
7. Distribution of Proceeds: Funds from the sale are used to cover the lien amount and associated costs. Any remaining funds are distributed to other lienholders in order of precedence, with any surplus returned to the vehicle owner.
8. Bill of Sale Issued: At the conclusion of the sheriff’s sale, the sheriff issues a bill of sale to the buyer. This serves as legal proof of ownership for title transfer purposes.

Important Items to Remember

• If you voluntarily return the vehicle to the owner before full payment, you forfeit your lien rights.
• If there is an existing lien (e.g., from a bank or financing company), it may take priority over your lien depending on filing and possession status. Under Montana law, written notice needs to be provided to any secured lienholder or party within 30 days of receiving the vehicle. This notice needs to outline the nature and amount of the services provided, and the notice needs to be personally served or sent via certified mail to the lienholder. Failing to notify the lienholder may result in your lien being subordinate to the lienholder’s interest. 
• The process is heavily dependent on maintaining possession and following the statutory notice requirements.

In the near future, the Smith Law Firm will be conducting a webinar to teach you the steps and procedures for filing an agister’s lien on vehicles abandoned at your dealership. The date, cost and details of the webinar will be forthcoming.