By Deanna Fry Bidwell
If you bring up the topic of brand inspections and traveling with your horse, you’ll often get lots of information and even more confusion. Here’s help from a former Montana brand inspector to help you know more about brands when you need one, and how a lifetime brand can help.
Remember, you may need a brand inspection even if your horse doesn’t have a visible brand. The brand inspection paperwork simply means that a brand inspector has looked at your horse or livestock and charted their appearances so they are on record with the issuing state.
Brand States
While the rules differ for every state, you’ll need to know about brands when you travel with horses to California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, and Washington.
Each brand state has its specific laws. However, if you get a lifetime from any brand state (state that requires a brand for livestock and horses), you will be legal in all the other brand states. Brand states will honor the card for the life of the horse or mule, as long as you own the animal. Brand inspections are required to prove horse ownership, like the title to your car. Just because you have your negative Coggins & health certificate with you (or even registration papers) does not exclude you from needing an inspection card in the brand states. Most states will accept these items as proof of ownership. However, getting stopped without a brand inspection card in brand inspection states can cause you to pay a hefty fine and have your stock impounded.
Microchips are not considered brand inspections and do not exclude you from needing a brand inspection. The paperwork you acquire through your veterinarian for travel (including the trip permit number many states require) is not part of, nor is it considered a brand inspection. Your veterinarian is responsible for the health end of your paperwork and is not expected to know the livestock brand laws of other states. It is up to you to check each state’s laws to see their brand inspection laws. Be sure to check out our new state travel guides at: https://www.horsetrailsofamerica.com/travel-resources
Brands in Montana
Montana’s brand inspectors are assigned to districts, and they are law enforcement. According to the brand office in Helena, Montana overnighting in Montana technically requires a brand inspection before you leave the county and or state. However, most Montana brand inspectors will let that requirement slide if you are overnighting. However, if you come to Montana and camp and ride, attend a multi-day horse show or event, etc. you need a brand inspection before you cross the county line where your event was held— and certainly before you leave the state.
You must have a brand inspection to cross county and state lines. It does not matter if your horse or mule has a brand or not (unbranded stock will have any markings, etc. noted, and also will signify “no brand”), and it does not matter if your home state requires brand inspections or not. You will need an inspection in Montana under all these circumstances. This information can be verified by calling the State Brand Office in Helena at (406) 444-2045 or any District Brand Inspector.
When Do You Need a Brand Inspection in Montana?
You must have an inspection before crossing a county line or leaving the state (resident or not). You must have a brand inspection before a change of ownership (this is the seller's responsibility). You must have a brand inspection before a horse is sold at a livestock auction and before slaughter at a licensed establishment.
All brand inspections must be done in daylight. The inspection shall include an exam of the livestock and all marks and brands to identify livestock ownership. A bill of sale or the most recent brand inspection is required to prove ownership. The seller must sign A bill of sale and adequately describe the livestock sold.
Here is the link to Montana’s district Brand Inspectors: https://liv.mt.gov/Brands-Enforcement/Find-A-Brand-Inspector/index. You can call any of them to make an appointment or verify this information. The district’s state brand inspector is Wes Seward.
For the “law buffs,” Seward supplied the actual Montana legal codes: MCA Codes 81-3-211 (Travel Laws), 81-3-212 (Exceptions), 81-3-213 (Removal from State inspection requirements), 81-3-321 (Penalties).
These are Montana’s particulars on brand inspections. Each state has its own offices and extra regulations. Check each state’s laws you plan to travel to. Many brand states are putting up surprise pullover checks, and in addition to that, Montana has added stiff fines for not having current, correct health paperwork. This is under HB 388, and the bill states that penalties would go to $500 per animal or $5000 per rig, whichever is greater.
For more information for Montana, visit the travel resources on HTA.horse
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