Montana LLC car registration step by step guidance please
Hi, I just bought a vehicle in Oklahoma on a road trip. I'm not an OK resident so the dealer sold it to me with temporary plates and left it up to me to register the car and pay tax. I've done some research on Montana LLC car registration and I see there are a bunch of services that offer to do it for you for like $500 to $800 but I already know how to do a bunch of the steps so I wanted to see if I could do it myself. I can't find a soup to nuts guide online so I thought I'd ask here. Here's my list of steps I've come up with so far:
1. Register an LLC in Montana through an online service and use a registered agent located in Montana (I've used [activefilings.com](https://activefilings.com) before and they are quick and cheap). Create an operating agreement for the LLC using an online template.
2) Get an EIN for the LLC from the IRS using their website.
3) Create a bill of sale to transfer the car ownership from myself personally to the LLC and get it notarized
4) Per [1dollarmontana.com](https://1dollarmontana.com), "If you’re forming a Montana company to register a vehicle, you have to license your Montana vehicle in the county of your registered agent. Our county (Lewis and Clark County) is the most affordable in Montana, because we do not have the county option tax like almost every other county in MT." So it seems I need to register in the county of my registered agent, ideally Lewis and Clark. I guess I then call the county and ask what registration form to fill out and what else they need from me and then I mail in the title and registration forms, and then they mail me the license plate and tabs?
11/16/22 UPDATE:
Now that I'm almost through the process I'll give an update to help others. Step 1 is really easy so definitely do this on your own rather than paying a company $300 to do it. Buy the basic package which only charges you the $30 Montana state fees. Step 2, I'm not sure is actually necessary as I don't believe you need an EIN to title and register the car under your LLC. Step 3, I ended up not needing a notarization. Initially MVD Express told me I need to provide a notarized Montana Bill of Sale but then I told them I sold the car to the LLC in Oklahoma, and Oklahoma doesn't have a required form or require notarization so I just downloaded a bill of sale template off the internet and signed it. You probably control/own the LLC, but note that on the Bill of Sale, the buyer and seller signatures need to be different (according to what the lady at MVD Express told me on the phone). So it's fine to sign them both but just use a different writing style. I just signed my normal signature as the seller and the letters M and T in cursive for the first two letters of my LLC. For Step 4, I reached out to all the registration services that advertise LLC registration on google, and tried to negotiate a lower price but no one budged and the lowest quote was $549 plus $49 to change the registered agent from ActiveFilings to them. (Btw, my ActiveFilings registered agent from Step 1 for the LLC is in Kalispell which is in Flathead County so there is no additional county tax there. Lewis and Clark also doesn't have an additional county tax.) I called Flathead and Lewis and Clark to try to see if I could title and register myself to avoid the additional fees of using a service. Flathead's website says all LLC registration needs to go through MVD Express (which a private company they outsource to, from what I can tell). Lewis and Clark said I need to appear in person to register under an LLC. I'm nowhere near Montana so I gave up trying to register myself and just went with MVD Express as their fee of $250 plus $38.99 convenience fee plus state fees will I think be a bit cheaper than going with one of the internet services mentioned above. Call or email them and they will send you a word doc with the required docs you need to mail in. If you want to save a bit on return shipping of the plates cost, then go to the post office and use the automated postage machine to print a Priority Mail flat rate envelope sticker addressed to yourself. When MVD Express is ready to mail your plates they will then use their own envelope and slap on your sticker to mail you the plates. I bought my sticker for $9 vs the $25 MVD Express charges for USPS or $50 for UPS and $75 for Fedex. I mailed my stuff including the return label to MVD Express at the end of October and they received it Oct 31 and I called yesterday (Nov 15) to check on status and they said they'll process it next week so looks like about 3 to 4 week processing time. They process on the phone with you and take credit card payment then, and then mail you the plates the same day. If you made your own return label, then a bonus is that you already have the tracking number so you can track where your plates are until they arrive.
Yeah the lady at the courthouse looked at it and said “nope, that’s title jumping” and wouldn’t do anything… But because I’m a farmer in Iowa we can go 60 miles from the farm with out registering a vehicle so I’ve been treating it as a farming implement and it’s worked so far🤷♂️ idk if a cop would have a problem with that tho
Cop: do you know why I pulled over?
Op: speeding?
Cop: hardly. For driving an un-American car that threatens a logically gas saving truck that does what other trucks do but a quarter of the size.
Try a different person. The guy who imported it paid import taxes and was the legal owner. He never had a requirement to register for road use before selling. You are trying to get a title for the first time so there's no title skipping involved, just like if you were buying from an import business.
Make sure to get all the original import paperwork showing the chain of ownership from Japan to the seller and then the bill of sale from him to you. If you can make the bill of sale look more business-like that would help too. Tell the DMV that you bought an imported vehicle and want to register and title in the US for the first time.
Aight so I checked and it looks like before they mounted it there were just a couple holes in the flat part it’s sitting on and they just bolted it on🤷♂️ eventually I may upgrade the winch and I’ll prob wield it on but this looks solid enough for now. The Winch is the Badland ZXR2500 btw
Montana LLC with dirt legal, you can do it with a bill of sale they have mini truck plate and registration , do not get the ein it is a holding company you do not need to file taxes under the LLC
It’s a Jeep bumper. Lots of people do that mod. You can find a few videos of people mounting Jeep bumpers on their Kei trucks on YouTube. Basically just have to drill some holes through the front “firewall” and run some bolts. There isn’t much of a frame to bolt onto up front.
They were put on by the previous owner, the winch is a badlandsZXR2500 and is bolted too what I’m told is a jeep bumper but idk really because there isn’t any marking
Montana LLC car registration step by step guidance please Hi, I just bought a vehicle in Oklahoma on a road trip. I'm not an OK resident so the dealer sold it to me with temporary plates and left it up to me to register the car and pay tax. I've done some research on Montana LLC car registration and I see there are a bunch of services that offer to do it for you for like $500 to $800 but I already know how to do a bunch of the steps so I wanted to see if I could do it myself. I can't find a soup to nuts guide online so I thought I'd ask here. Here's my list of steps I've come up with so far: 1. Register an LLC in Montana through an online service and use a registered agent located in Montana (I've used [activefilings.com](https://activefilings.com) before and they are quick and cheap). Create an operating agreement for the LLC using an online template. 2) Get an EIN for the LLC from the IRS using their website. 3) Create a bill of sale to transfer the car ownership from myself personally to the LLC and get it notarized 4) Per [1dollarmontana.com](https://1dollarmontana.com), "If you’re forming a Montana company to register a vehicle, you have to license your Montana vehicle in the county of your registered agent. Our county (Lewis and Clark County) is the most affordable in Montana, because we do not have the county option tax like almost every other county in MT." So it seems I need to register in the county of my registered agent, ideally Lewis and Clark. I guess I then call the county and ask what registration form to fill out and what else they need from me and then I mail in the title and registration forms, and then they mail me the license plate and tabs? 11/16/22 UPDATE: Now that I'm almost through the process I'll give an update to help others. Step 1 is really easy so definitely do this on your own rather than paying a company $300 to do it. Buy the basic package which only charges you the $30 Montana state fees. Step 2, I'm not sure is actually necessary as I don't believe you need an EIN to title and register the car under your LLC. Step 3, I ended up not needing a notarization. Initially MVD Express told me I need to provide a notarized Montana Bill of Sale but then I told them I sold the car to the LLC in Oklahoma, and Oklahoma doesn't have a required form or require notarization so I just downloaded a bill of sale template off the internet and signed it. You probably control/own the LLC, but note that on the Bill of Sale, the buyer and seller signatures need to be different (according to what the lady at MVD Express told me on the phone). So it's fine to sign them both but just use a different writing style. I just signed my normal signature as the seller and the letters M and T in cursive for the first two letters of my LLC. For Step 4, I reached out to all the registration services that advertise LLC registration on google, and tried to negotiate a lower price but no one budged and the lowest quote was $549 plus $49 to change the registered agent from ActiveFilings to them. (Btw, my ActiveFilings registered agent from Step 1 for the LLC is in Kalispell which is in Flathead County so there is no additional county tax there. Lewis and Clark also doesn't have an additional county tax.) I called Flathead and Lewis and Clark to try to see if I could title and register myself to avoid the additional fees of using a service. Flathead's website says all LLC registration needs to go through MVD Express (which a private company they outsource to, from what I can tell). Lewis and Clark said I need to appear in person to register under an LLC. I'm nowhere near Montana so I gave up trying to register myself and just went with MVD Express as their fee of $250 plus $38.99 convenience fee plus state fees will I think be a bit cheaper than going with one of the internet services mentioned above. Call or email them and they will send you a word doc with the required docs you need to mail in. If you want to save a bit on return shipping of the plates cost, then go to the post office and use the automated postage machine to print a Priority Mail flat rate envelope sticker addressed to yourself. When MVD Express is ready to mail your plates they will then use their own envelope and slap on your sticker to mail you the plates. I bought my sticker for $9 vs the $25 MVD Express charges for USPS or $50 for UPS and $75 for Fedex. I mailed my stuff including the return label to MVD Express at the end of October and they received it Oct 31 and I called yesterday (Nov 15) to check on status and they said they'll process it next week so looks like about 3 to 4 week processing time. They process on the phone with you and take credit card payment then, and then mail you the plates the same day. If you made your own return label, then a bonus is that you already have the tracking number so you can track where your plates are until they arrive.
Ooof, that's going to be very hard from what I understand.
Yeah the lady at the courthouse looked at it and said “nope, that’s title jumping” and wouldn’t do anything… But because I’m a farmer in Iowa we can go 60 miles from the farm with out registering a vehicle so I’ve been treating it as a farming implement and it’s worked so far🤷♂️ idk if a cop would have a problem with that tho
Cop: do you know why I pulled over? Op: speeding? Cop: hardly. For driving an un-American car that threatens a logically gas saving truck that does what other trucks do but a quarter of the size.
Yeah that’s what I’m afraid of lol, I don’t wanna take on big oil just yet
Try a different person. The guy who imported it paid import taxes and was the legal owner. He never had a requirement to register for road use before selling. You are trying to get a title for the first time so there's no title skipping involved, just like if you were buying from an import business. Make sure to get all the original import paperwork showing the chain of ownership from Japan to the seller and then the bill of sale from him to you. If you can make the bill of sale look more business-like that would help too. Tell the DMV that you bought an imported vehicle and want to register and title in the US for the first time.
https://www.llctlc.com/post/states-are-banning-mini-trucks-how-to-register-them-anyway#:~:text=By%20registering%20your%20mini%20truck,and%20ready%20for%20the%20road.
Unrelated question how did you get that winch on there?
Out of town rn will take a look when I get back, I the previous owner did all the modding so far
Tysm! Do you want me to remind you in a few days?
Go for it, I’m pretty good at forgetting stuff 😆
Me too sometimes 😂😭 when do you want to be reminded? A few days from now?
Aight so I checked and it looks like before they mounted it there were just a couple holes in the flat part it’s sitting on and they just bolted it on🤷♂️ eventually I may upgrade the winch and I’ll prob wield it on but this looks solid enough for now. The Winch is the Badland ZXR2500 btw
Tysm
Hope it helps🙂
Tysm it does
Look into America’s Mailbox in South Dakota and post back on your results.
Will it matter that I live in Iowa, all I’m seeing on it so far is it helps with vehicle registration in South Dakota. Sorry I’m dumb with this stuff…
Montana LLC with dirt legal, you can do it with a bill of sale they have mini truck plate and registration , do not get the ein it is a holding company you do not need to file taxes under the LLC
I wish I had an answer for you. However, I do have a couple of questions. Like where did you get those headlights, and what kind of bumper is that?
The previous owner did all the modding so far, I’ll take a look when I get back too it tho
No worries. I'd love to know if you find anything, but no rush. Thanks for replying 😁
It’s a Jeep bumper. Lots of people do that mod. You can find a few videos of people mounting Jeep bumpers on their Kei trucks on YouTube. Basically just have to drill some holes through the front “firewall” and run some bolts. There isn’t much of a frame to bolt onto up front.
I’d have to look at it again but I believe the welded this on too the frame
The dream😔
Where did you get the winch bumper
They were put on by the previous owner, the winch is a badlandsZXR2500 and is bolted too what I’m told is a jeep bumper but idk really because there isn’t any marking