You may have seen the plethora of different Montana license plates that make their way into North Dakota, but you may not know that some of those license plates are telling you where in the state the drivers are from.

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Vehicles in Montana are identified by the county in which they were registered through the use of a county-code system. The state assembly established the method in 1934, and the figures are based on the population of each county as reported in the 1930 census.

Standard license plates still feature the county number, albeit with a smaller letter size. With a few exceptions, the state's license plates have featured an outline of the state since 1933.

Some license plates forgo the county demarcation and stick to just six characters, but it's always much more interesting and fun to see a plate with the two digit demarcation leading the charge.

Below is a list of each county with its corresponding county seat and license plate number:

County
County Seat
License Plate Number
Anaconda-Deer LodgeAnaconda30
BeaverheadDillon18
Big HornHardin22
BlaineChinook24
BroadwaterTownsend43
Butte-Silver BowButte1
CarbonRed Lodge10
CarterEkalaka42
CascadeGreat Falls2
ChouteauFort Benton19
CusterMiles City14
DanielsScobey37
DawsonGlendive16
FallonBaker39
FergusLewistown8
FlatheadKalispell7
GallatinBozeman6
GarfieldJordan50
GlacierCut Bank38
Golden ValleyRyegate53
GranitePhilipsburg46
HillHavre12
JeffersonBoulder51
Judith BasinStanford36
LakePolson15
Lewis & ClarkHelena5
LibertyChester48
LincolnLibby56
MadisonVirginia City25
McConeCircle41
MeagherWhite Sulphur Springs47
MineralSuperior54
MissoulaMissoula4
MusselshellRoundup23
ParkLivingston49
PetroleumWinnett55
PhillipsMalta11
PonderaConrad26
Powder RiverBroadus9
PowellDeer Lodge28
PrairieTerry45
RavalliHamilton13
RichlandSidney27
RooseveltWolf Point17
RosebudForsyth29
SandersThompson Falls35
SheridanPlentywood34
StillwaterColumbus32
Sweet GrassBig Timber40
TetonChoteau31
TooleShelby21
TreasureHysham33
ValleyGlasgow20
WheatlandHarlowton44
WibauxWibaux52
YellowstoneBillings3

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