(1) All Montana brands must be issued through the Department of Livestock Brand Recording office.

(2) Brand fees are set by the Board of Livestock as authorized by state statute.

(3) Application forms for new brands are available on the department website, at the brand office in Helena, and at brand offices located in livestock auction yards.

(a) The application and appropriate fee must be submitted to the brand recorder for processing.

(i) Mailed, e-mailed, or faxed applications will be processed in the order in which they are received.

(ii) Walk-in applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis.

(4) The refund policy is as follows:

(a) fifty percent of the fee to record a brand is nonrefundable;

(b) if the applicant fails to respond to the brand recording office for a period of more than six months, the entire brand recording fee becomes nonrefundable.

(5) The brand recorder shall process the application in the following manner:

(a) deposit the fee;

(b) check for conflicts in the order listed on the application:

(i) the applicant must list ideas for brands in preferential order;

(ii) the first brand on the application that does not have any conflicts with existing brands will be issued to the applicant.

(c) issue brand and/or communicate results to the applicant:

(i) if none of the applicant's submissions are available, the brand recorder may check a similar brand for conflicts and offer it as an alternative option;

(ii) if the available option was not on the original application, the applicant must accept the offered option in writing within ten working days;

(iii) the applicant will have ten working days from the date of the offer letter to accept the offered available option. If the applicant's reply is received after ten working days it will be considered a new application and must be rechecked for conflicts and will require an additional $100 fee.

(6) All brand transfer requests must be submitted with the appropriate fee to the brand recording office:

(a) completion of the request for transfer (located on the reverse side of the official brand certificate) must include the notarized signatures of the original owners as listed on the front of the official brand certificate;

(b) if the original owner of the transferring brand is deceased, a copy of the death certificate and power of attorney or appropriate documentation must be provided to complete the transfer;

(c) the new owner names must be listed exactly as they will appear on the new certificate to be issued upon completion of the transfer process;

(d) the brand owner name on applications and transfer must consist of individuals or entities with documentable proof of identity:

(i) individuals must use legal names;

(ii) businesses and trusts must be registered with the Montana Secretary of State's office, or provide proof of registry with another state;

(e) where multiple individuals or entities appear on a brand owner name, either "and" or "or" must be used between owner names;

(i) no other notation or description is allowed (ex: DBA, hyphens, commas, parenthesis, in care of, "and/or").

(f) transfer fees apply as per ARM 32.18.107;

(i) to ensure that fees are commensurate with cost, owners may be charged additional fees as a result of their errors in transfer paperwork.

(7) Fees for new brands or transfers shall not be prorated.

(8) Changes to image, species, or position require submission of a new brand application and an additional $100 fee.

(9) Notwithstanding any other provision or policy, a brand will not be held or checked for conflicts by phone.

(10) All forms or model letters issued for purposes of recording brands or clarifying brand recording requirements are considered part of the brand rules and practices of the Board of Livestock.

(11) The Department of Livestock, as one of its primary services to the livestock industry, provides easily recognizable brands to prospective livestock owners.

(a) Departmental employees, having continual access to brand books and being acquainted with the communities in which they live and work, generally have advance opportunity to acquire desirable brands.

(b) Considering the service the department provides, employees shall not take unfair advantage of this opportunity:

(i) employees may not record more than three brands at any time;

(ii) employees may not record brands by phone;

(iii) employees may not record for others in any manner;

(iv) employees may not record any brand which has not been available for recording less than sixty days; and

(v) employees attempting to circumvent these rules are subject to disciplinary action.