Carter County Sheriff's Office Inmate Bail & Bonds

The county has zero jail beds, so every adult taken into custody here is housed somewhere else. The Sheriff's Office handles all local police work and knows which facility accepted each person. Ring 406-775-8743 on a weekday with the full name and birthday in hand.

The closest county jails are listed below. Phone the Sheriff's Office before you drive, since a wrong guess could cost you a whole day on the road.

• Fallon County Detention Center, 10 W Fallon Ave, Baker, MT 59313, 406-778-2879. Fallon's dispatch center also takes 911 calls from Carter County.
• Custer County Detention Center, 1010 Main St, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-874-3301
• Powder River County jail, 119 North Park Avenue, Broadus, MT 59317, 406-436-2333

Take a breath, then work down this list. Each step saves you a call later.

1. Jot down the person's legal name, including middle name, and their birth date.
2. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 406-775-8743. Find out which jail took them, the charges and whether an amount has been set.
3. Ask the date of the first hearing and which court will hold it.
4. Call the jail that has them, and ask how and where money for bail is accepted.
5. Keep the details of the case off jail phone lines until a lawyer is involved.

The Sheriff's Office shuts at 5:00 p.m. and stays closed Saturday and Sunday. For after-hours help, its page tells people to dial 911.

A judge makes the call. State law requires that anyone arrested be brought before the closest available judge "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). Release is settled at that very first appearance (MCA 46-9-109).

Charges filed in this county belong to the Justice Court, 214 E. Park St., Ekalaka, MT 59324, 406-775-8754. That judge doubles as the town's city judge. Because the person sits in a jail in another county, the hearing may run over a two-way video link, as long as both sides can see and talk with each other (MCA 46-9-206). If a felony is later sent up to District Court, the same bail stays in place unless the district judge changes it (MCA 46-9-201).

State law tells judges to pick the least restrictive terms that will still bring the person back for court (MCA 46-9-108). Here is the menu:

• Own recognizance. A signed promise, with no money at all (MCA 46-9-111).
• Release on conditions. Home with rules, such as a curfew, sobriety, giving up guns or keeping clear of the alleged victim and any witness.
• Cash. The whole sum is deposited with the court and held until the case wraps up (MCA 46-9-401).
• Real estate. Montana land with enough free and clear value can be pledged.
• Personal sureties. The defendant and two qualified people who agree to back them sign a written pledge.
• Commercial bond. A licensed bail agent signs on, for a fee.
• Driver's license. On certain traffic charges, the license can be held instead of cash.

Every rule of release has to appear in a written order (MCA 46-9-110). For a repeat partner assault, felony stalking and a few other violent charges, the law leans toward an ankle monitor wherever the county can supply one.

Small cases usually start from the Montana Supreme Court's Recommended Bond Schedule, January 2026 edition. The list is advice, not law, and a judge is free to go up or down. State surcharges are already built into each figure:

• Purposely hurting someone in a misdemeanor assault: $585, and the person has to appear in court
• Supplying beer or liquor to anyone younger than 21: $535, appearance required
• Operating a boat under the influence: $335
• Truancy: $135, court appearance required
• Boat noise over the legal limit: $85
• Felonies: left blank, so the judge fills in a number

No schedule amount exists for partner or family member assault, strangling a partner, stalking, or violating a protective order or no-contact order. Those cases wait for a judge (MCA 46-9-302). A traffic ticket shows its bond right on the paper. For the figure in your case, ring the Justice Court at 406-775-8754.

Montana lets a deputy or jail officer collect bail for a judge. That only works when the dollar figure is set by a posted bail list or appears on the warrant itself, and the officer owes you a signed receipt (MCA 46-9-302). Go in this order:

1. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 406-775-8743 to confirm the jail and the dollar amount.
2. Call that jail. Ask what hours it accepts bail, what forms of payment it takes and the exact payee name for a check.
3. Find out whether a judge must meet with the person before they can leave.
4. Show up with photo ID and the precise amount, and tuck the receipt somewhere safe.

For someone held in Baker, the Fallon County Sheriff's Office says out-of-county bonds can be posted at its front office around the clock. Find it at 10 W Fallon Ave, Baker, MT 59313, 406-778-2879.

Yes. A state court rule allows schedule bail to be paid at the court window during business hours on any regular court day. A copy of the schedule must be posted in the court's office.

• Justice Court, which also hears town cases: 214 E. Park St., Ekalaka, MT 59324, 406-775-8754. Hours run Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Email carterjusticecourt@mt.gov.
• Clerk of District Court, for felony bail: 214 East Park Street, Ekalaka, MT 59324, 406-775-8714. Open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to noon, then 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Phone before you head over. Confirm the amount and the payment type, and ask how quickly the court will notify the out-of-county jail to release the person.

The Justice Court's web page names four choices: personal checks, money orders, cashier's checks and certified checks. Write them out to "Carter County Justice Court." Then call 406-775-8754 to confirm that the same choices apply to bail.

The court also links CitePayUSA, an online way to clear what is owed on a ticket. Pick Montana, then this county's Justice Court. The court warns that CitePayUSA can't be used for an appearance bond, or for a ticket that orders the person to come to court. It is for fines, not for freeing someone.

When the person is in Miles City, the Custer County Sheriff's web page links an online bail payment service. Phone the Custer jail at 406-874-3301 and ask how to use it first. Cash should never go in an envelope.

The state's formal name for a bondsman is a "surety bail bond insurance producer," and each one is licensed through the state insurance regulator, the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (MCA 33-17-1601). An agent based in another town may still write a bond for someone jailed out here.

• You pay a fee, and the agent backs the full bail with the court. Get it in writing whether any of that fee is ever returned. Usually none is.
• Agents often ask for collateral, such as the title to a pickup. The insurance commissioner makes rules about holding and returning it (MCA 33-26-108).
• When someone skips a court date, the agent may pick them up. Except in an emergency, police must be told first (MCA 46-6-508).
• A bond covers showing up in court and nothing else. The court can't keep it to cover fines or restitution (MCA 46-9-503).
• Lawyers can't serve as a surety, and neither can officials who have the power to grant bail (MCA 46-9-402).

Check any agent on the national licensee lookup before you sign a contract.

Yes. A bail amount only frees a person from the one case it belongs to. Look for these first:

• An outside warrant. A 2025 change means a local judge can't grant bail on a warrant issued somewhere else (MCA 46-9-201).
• Extradition. Someone brought back from out of state must appear before the judge who issued the warrant (MCA 46-9-105).
• A compact between states. Its terms, plus federal law, control the release.
• Supervision. Being on probation, parole or pretrial release is one of the facts a judge must weigh (MCA 46-9-109).
• Cases in more than one county. Each court needs its own bail.
• Federal or immigration detainers. Both are covered lower on this page.

Before paying, ask the Sheriff's Office at 406-775-8743, or the jail itself, to list every hold attached to the person.

Rarely. The Montana Constitution guarantees bail, except in a capital case where "the proof is evident or the presumption great" (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 21). Excessive bail is banned too (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 22).

A judge can still order someone kept until trial if there is probable cause that no safeguards would make sure they show up (MCA 46-9-106). The judge reviews the offense, criminal history, earlier escapes or missed dates, any risk to others and what property could secure a bond. For partner assault and strangling charges, a lethality assessment may also be read if the court has one (MCA 46-9-109).

At bail hearings, the state's side is argued by the County Attorney's Office. It works inside the courthouse and gets mail at P.O. Box 353, Ekalaka, MT 59324. Its number is 406-775-8853.

The prosecutor or the defense may ask the judge to cut or raise bail, alter the terms or trade one form of bail for another (MCA 46-9-311). Whoever asks has to give the other side reasonable notice.

1. Have the defense lawyer file a motion in whichever court holds the case.
2. Collect proof of work, a local address, family ties and what you can really pay. Bail may not be oppressive under the law. The judge also has to consider the person's finances, job, mental health and how long they have lived in the area (MCA 46-9-301).
3. Propose terms that ease the judge's concerns, like daily phone check-ins or living with a named relative.

Justice Court cases are scheduled through 406-775-8754. Felony cases go through the Clerk of District Court at 406-775-8714.

Yes, when the person qualifies. The judge has to explain, at that first hearing, that the person may have a lawyer (MCA 46-7-102). Montana's public defender system covers felonies, jailable misdemeanors and youth court.

Anyone whose household earns 133% of the federal poverty level or less qualifies, and so does a person who couldn't hire a private lawyer without real hardship. A request can't be turned down just because the person made bail or is working (MCA 47-1-111). The person swears to a written list of income and assets, and the court approves or rejects the request.

• Miles City office (Region 3): 515 Main St, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-851-7080
• Glendive office (Region 3): 100 1/2 S. Merrill, Suite 3, Glendive, MT 59330, 406-987-6010
• Online: the AdvOPD application, with your latest pay stubs and bank statements attached

Every local court works out of the courthouse at 214 East Park Street, Ekalaka, MT 59324. Each office uses its own post office box.

• Justice Court, also the Ekalaka City Court: P.O. Box 72, 406-775-8754. Misdemeanors, town ordinance cases and opening felony hearings.
• Clerk of District Court for the 16th Judicial District: P.O. Box 322, 406-775-8714. Felonies and youth matters.
• County Attorney: P.O. Box 353, 406-775-8853.

Federal cases from the southeast corner of the state are heard in Billings, at 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-7000.

Usually, yes. Once the conditions are met and the case closes, the court hands the cash back (MCA 46-9-502). A court rule says refunds go only to the name on the deposit, so hang on to that receipt.

A skipped hearing gives the judge the power to keep the bail. Within 10 working days, the court must mail a notice to the defendant and to any surety. If it misses that deadline, the bond is cancelled (MCA 46-9-503).

• Within 90 days of the forfeiture, the defendant can return, or a surety can turn them in, and the judge can wipe out the penalty.
• If misdemeanor bail is lost, that money stays in the local treasury where it was posted. Forfeited felony cash goes to the state general fund (MCA 46-9-511).
• The judge can direct forfeited bail to a crime victim as restitution (MCA 46-9-512).
• When a bondsman's bond backed the person, it must be released within 30 days after a conviction (MCA 46-9-121).

Ask the court that took the money about a refund. The Justice Court's number is 406-775-8754.

Whatever the person carried at arrest, plus any balance on their inmate account, stays at the jail where they were housed. Sort it out before they walk out, so nothing is stranded hours away.

If you don't know which facility that was, the Sheriff's Office at 406-775-8743 can tell you. Then phone the jail to set a pickup time and to ask whether the owner must sign a release slip. Carry a photo ID. Our inmate account page explains how leftover balances usually come back.

Federal crimes from this county land in the court's Billings Division. The courthouse there, named for James F. Battin, sits at 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200, Billings, MT 59101. The clerk keeps weekday hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Federal law calls for a detention hearing right at the first appearance (18 U.S.C. 3142). A short delay is allowed, at most five days when the defense asks and three when the prosecutor asks, and the defendant stays locked up in the meantime.
• The U.S. Marshals Service keeps custody of people charged federally. Its Montana headquarters is at 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 2300, Billings, MT 59101, 406-200-6004. Call there to learn which jail is holding them.
• A federal pretrial officer writes up background facts for the judge. The Billings pretrial staff work in Suite 1300 of the same building, 406-657-6287.

Federal dockets are on PACER. For someone already sentenced, try the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. Paying the court does nothing to an immigration hold. The usual order of events:

1. First, the jail receives a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is Form I-247A.
2. Jail staff can hold the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. In Montana, officers are required to carry out the detainer and explain the reason to the person. Credible proof of citizenship or legal status ends that duty (MCA 27-16-801).
4. The Salt Lake City Field Office runs ICE operations for Montana from 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
5. The ICE check-in site that covers this county is at 2900 4th Avenue, Suite 205, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-4083.

To track someone in ICE custody, search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Enter the A-number, or type the full name and pick the country where they were born.

A sentence longer than a year turns custody over to the Montana Department of Corrections. Under state policy, the person waits in a county jail while corrections staff screen them. Then the state picks a placement, which might be a treatment program, a prerelease center or one of the prisons.

• Search the Montana offender lookup by name or DOC number to see where they are held and their status.
• Each facility gets its own profile in our Montana state prisons guide.
• Questions about parole hearings go to the Board of Pardons and Parole, 1002 Hollenbeck Road, Deer Lodge, MT 59722, 406-846-1404.

Anyone younger than 18 counts as a youth, and their case normally goes to Youth Court, which the district judge runs (MCA 41-5-203). Adult jails are mostly off limits. A youth may be kept there up to 6 hours for processing, but never overnight. In rural places, a stay of up to 24 hours, weekends and holidays excluded, is allowed while a hearing is pending, and only if the youth is kept where adult inmates can't see or hear them (MCA 41-5-349).

• Once a youth is held in detention, a judge must review probable cause within one day, leaving out Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (MCA 41-5-332).
• A judge may set bail for a youth too, weighing how much the family is able to pay (MCA 41-5-323).
• The juvenile probation line for the 16th Judicial District is 406-874-3418. Parents can call it to find the youth and the hearing date.

A youth placed in long-term state custody may be sent to Pine Hills Youth Correctional Facility in Miles City.