Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-07
4 of Montana's 56 counties — 7% — allow living in an RV on private land. That is the 17th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Fergus County (69/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 456 counties nationwide → Montana: no building codes → Montana: no zoning → Montana: no codes, no zoning → Montana: owner-builder → Montana: tiny homes → Montana: no minimum home size → Full Montana profile →
From the Montana guide
Montana RV occupancy has county-level answers in 12 counties: 4 allow it as a county land-use matter and 8 impose conditions; the remaining 44 are unanswered, not automatically allowed or prohibited.4 The allowed group is Fergus County, Musselshell County, Carter County, Petroleum County, with septic, floodplain and other applicable requirements still separate.4 Compare the Montana RV-living county list before choosing a parcel.4
Tiny-home occupancy has answers in 14 counties: 10 allowed as a county land-use matter, 4 limited and 42 unanswered.5 The highest-scoring allowed entries include Judith Basin County, Pondera County, Teton County, Fergus County, Musselshell County.5 The Montana tiny-home list links the county-specific conditions.5 Some limited RV answers concern rental spaces or RV parks, so ask the county planning office specifically about a personal RV on a private parcel.4 DNRC's state-trust-land camping rule applies to recreation on state trust land and does not answer private-land residency.19
From the Montana guide, written from the cited official sources and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: confirm with the office before you buy or build.
4 of 56 Montana counties · sorted by Index score
Unincorporated Fergus County: no county rule sets this, because Fergus County's own reviewed answer confirms it has no county-wide zoning ordinance. Septic, floodplain, subdivis…
Central Montana Central Region Hazard Mitigation Plan, Annex F: Fergus County ↗County zoning restrictions on RV occupancy in unincorporated Musselshell County. The county's no-zoning statement does not remove state, municipal, septic, subdivision, floodpla…
About | Musselshell County ↗RV occupancy on private land in unincorporated Carter County, as a county zoning matter. No county zoning restriction is established by the cited County policy. Airport-airspace…
Carter County Growth Policy Update (2024) ↗Unincorporated Petroleum County: no county rule sets this, because Petroleum County's own reviewed answer confirms it has no county-wide zoning ordinance. Septic, floodplain, su…
Central Montana Central Region Hazard Mitigation Plan, Annex K: Petroleum County ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Montana state page for all 56 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these Montana counties? The kit we'd start with:
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General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
