Montana DNRC water rights are administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which tracks every active water right in the state and decides who can appropriate new water, change an existing use, or transfer a right when property is sold. Under Article IX, Section 3 of the Montana Constitution, the water itself belongs to the state; what you hold is a right to use a specific amount, at a specific place, for a specific purpose.1Montana State Legislature. Montana Constitution Article IX Section 3 – Water Rights If you own land with a ditch, a well, or an old water right number on your deed, the DNRC is the agency that governs what you can and cannot do with it.
How Montana’s Water Right System Works
Montana follows prior appropriation: first in time, first in right. The Water Use Act of 1973, codified at MCA 85-2-101, declares all water in the state subject to appropriation for beneficial uses.2Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-101 – Declaration of Policy and Purpose The person who first put water from a source to a beneficial use holds the most senior right on that source. When flows drop in a dry summer, senior holders get their full allotment before anyone with a junior priority date gets anything. A rancher whose family began diverting from a creek in 1910 will be served before a neighbor whose permit dates to 2005.
The DNRC keeps centralized records of every right and claim, logging priority dates, flow rates, volumes, points of diversion, and purposes of use. Those records are what the agency uses when shortages force curtailment decisions.
Pre-1973 Rights and Whether Yours Is Decreed
Before July 1, 1973, Montanans established water rights simply by diverting water and using it. No permit was required. The 1973 Act kept those older rights in place but required every one of them to be verified and formally recorded through a statewide court proceeding called adjudication.3Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. What Is Water Rights Adjudication?
Owners of pre-1973 rights had to file a statement of claim with the DNRC by April 30, 1982. Claims not filed by that deadline were generally treated as abandoned, with limited exceptions for certain stock and domestic uses. Once the Water Court issues a final decree for a basin, the DNRC releases a Certificate of Water Right to the holder. Claims examination was completed for all Montana basins in 2025.4Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Water Adjudication (Pre-1973 Water Rights)
If your property carries an old water right, check the DNRC records to confirm its status. A right that was never filed, or that has unresolved objections, can create serious problems when you try to sell the property or enforce the right during a shortage.
Applying for a New Permit
Any water use that began after July 1, 1973, requires a permit from the DNRC unless it qualifies for the small-well exemption. Applications are filed on DNRC Form 600, available from the agency’s regional offices and website.5Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-302 – Application for Permit or Change in Appropriation Right Before filing, schedule a preapplication meeting. These meetings cut your fee and give you a chance to identify technical problems before you commission engineering work that misses the mark.
The application requires the exact point of diversion, the place of use, the purpose (irrigation, domestic, stock, industrial, and so on), and the period of use during the year. You also document the flow rate in gallons per minute and total volume in acre-feet per year. Detailed maps and engineering assessments showing how the diversion will operate typically accompany the application.
Filing Fees
Fees turn on where the point of diversion sits and how much water you want. For appropriations over 35 gallons per minute outside a basin closure or controlled groundwater area, the fee is $2,500, reduced to $1,200 with an acceptable preapplication meeting. In a basin closure area, controlled groundwater area, or compact area, the fee is $2,900, or $1,600 with a preapplication meeting. For groundwater of 35 gallons per minute or less in a controlled groundwater area, the fee is $400.6Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Form 613 – Fee Schedule for Water Use in Montana Where a reduced fee applies, $500 is due when you sign the preapplication meeting form.
Deficiency Letters
If the DNRC finds missing or incomplete information, it issues a deficiency letter. You generally have 30 calendar days to respond, with the possibility of extending up to six months total if you need time to gather technical data.7Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Change Application Manual Miss the response deadline and your application can be returned, along with the time and fees already invested.
What the DNRC Must Find Before Approving
Under MCA 85-2-311, you must prove by a preponderance of evidence that your proposed use meets every statutory criterion. The two that sink most applications are physical availability and legal availability. Physical availability means water is actually in the source during the period you want to use it. Legal availability requires showing that, after accounting for every existing right on the source, enough water remains for your proposed use.8Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. HB0045 – Clarifying Criteria for Water Permits
Beyond availability, the DNRC asks whether your use would adversely affect any existing right holder, whether your diversion works are adequate, whether your intended use is genuinely beneficial, and whether you have a possessory interest in the land where the water will be used or written consent from whoever does. The agency also looks at water quality and discharge permits held by others.8Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. HB0045 – Clarifying Criteria for Water Permits Fail any single criterion and the permit is denied.
Public Notice and Objections
Once the DNRC considers an application correct and complete, it issues a preliminary determination. If the determination proposes to grant the permit, notice is published on the agency’s website and in a local newspaper, and direct notice is mailed to any water right holder whose rights could be affected. Other water users then have a comment period of at least 15 days and up to 60 days to file written objections.9Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-307 – Notice of Application for Permit or Change in Appropriation If no valid objections arrive, the DNRC grants the permit as proposed. If the preliminary determination proposes to deny, a hearing follows and the agency must issue its decision within 90 days of closing the administrative record.10Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 85-2-310 – Action on Application for Permit or Change in Appropriation
The Small-Well Exemption
Not every well in Montana needs a full permit. Under MCA 85-2-306, you can appropriate groundwater without a permit if your use is 35 gallons per minute or less and does not exceed 10 acre-feet per year, provided the well is outside both a controlled groundwater area and a designated stream depletion zone.11Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-306 – Exceptions to Permit Requirements Most residential and small stock wells fall under that threshold. If two or more wells from the same source together exceed 10 acre-feet, regardless of individual flow rates, a permit is required.
Skipping the permit does not mean skipping paperwork. Beginning in 2026, you must file a Notice of Intent to Appropriate Groundwater (Form 602I) with the DNRC before putting water to use. The DNRC reviews within 10 business days and notifies you of any defects; you then have 60 days to correct them or the notice is terminated. Once authorized, you have five years to complete the well and begin using water, with one possible five-year extension.11Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-306 – Exceptions to Permit Requirements
Within 60 days of completing the well and putting water to beneficial use, file a Notice of Completion (Form 602). The fee is $250.12Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Notice of Completion of Groundwater Development Your well driller must also file a Well Log Report (Form 603) with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology within 60 days of drilling.13Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Exceptions to Permit Requirements Without a completed Notice of Completion on file, you do not have an officially recognized water right, which leaves you exposed if a senior holder files a complaint.
Closed Basins and Controlled Groundwater Areas
Some parts of Montana are closed to new appropriations. The upper Missouri River basin, for example, is closed under MCA 85-2-343, meaning the DNRC generally cannot grant new surface water or groundwater permits there until final adjudication decrees are issued for all subbasins.14Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-343 – Basin Closure – Exceptions Narrow exceptions exist for domestic and stock use, nonconsumptive uses, municipal surface water use, storage of high spring flows, and groundwater appropriations that satisfy the mitigation requirements of MCA 85-2-360.
If your proposed diversion sits in a closed basin and you qualify for an exception, you will file additional forms with the standard Form 600 application, including the Basin Closure Addendum (Form 600-BCA) and, if a mitigation plan is required, the Mitigation Addendum (Form 600/606-MIT).15Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Water Right Forms and Resources Within closed basins, the DNRC can also designate stream depletion zones where the small-well exemption itself may be restricted to protect surface water rights.16Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Basin Closures, Stream Depletion and Controlled Ground Water Areas Check the DNRC’s basin closure and controlled groundwater area maps before you drill or plan a diversion.
Changing an Existing Right
Moving a point of diversion, switching the place where water is used, or changing the purpose of an existing right all require an application for a change in appropriation right on Form 606.17Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Change Existing Water Right This applies to any change made after July 1, 1973. You cannot simply start using an existing right in a different way and assume it is valid.
The DNRC evaluates change applications under MCA 85-2-402 using criteria similar to those for new permits: no adverse effect on other right holders, adequate diversion works, beneficial use, no degradation of water quality.18Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-402 – Changes in Appropriation Rights – Definition The additional hurdle is non-enlargement: your changed use cannot consume more water than the historical use under the original right. Many change applications fail here. You will need detailed records of past use (irrigation schedules, pump logs, ditch measurements, crop records) that show how much water was actually consumed. If your records are thin, consider hiring a consultant who specializes in water rights before filing.
Updating Ownership When Property Transfers
When property with an associated water right changes hands, the new owner must file an Ownership Update (Form 608) so state records reflect the transfer.19Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 85-2-424 – Filing The form requires the specific water right number and a copy of the deed or other instrument proving the transfer. At closing, the realty transfer certificate must include a water rights disclosure in which the seller acknowledges whether water rights are associated with the property and whether they transfer with the real estate.
The fee is $100 for the first water right updated on a single Form 608, plus $20 for each additional right, capped at $600.6Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Form 613 – Fee Schedule for Water Use in Montana If only part of the land is sold, the right may need to be split to document how the volume is divided between the parties. The DNRC must update its records within 30 days of receiving a complete form.19Montana Code Annotated. Montana Code 85-2-424 – Filing This matters more than most buyers realize. If a dispute arises during a drought, the DNRC contacts whoever is listed in its system. If that is still the previous owner, you may not receive notice until it is too late to protect your right.
Penalties and Filing a Complaint
Using water without a valid right, or in violation of a permit, carries real consequences. Under MCA 85-2-122, each day of unauthorized use is a separate violation, and each violation can result in a civil penalty of up to $1,000.20Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-122 – Penalties The DNRC can also petition a district court for injunctive relief, including temporary restraining orders, cease and desist orders, and permanent injunctions. Montana courts must grant a temporary restraining order when the verified complaint clearly shows a violation is occurring.21Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-114 – Judicial Enforcement
Before going to court, the DNRC typically tries to resolve the issue through voluntary compliance, allowing at least 7 days and up to 30 working days for the violator to correct the problem.21Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 85-2-114 – Judicial Enforcement If someone is illegally diverting water that affects your right, you can file a Water Use Complaint (Form 609) with the regional office covering your county. The DNRC generally expects you to contact the other party first and attempt to resolve the dispute directly before the agency investigates.22Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Water Use Complaint Form Document dates, take photos of the diversion, and record flow measurements if you can. That evidence is what moves a complaint from a neighbor dispute into an enforceable action.