PawnSmarts comes pre-configured for Montana — the 25% fee cap, the vehicle-title prohibition, the §31-1-402 register and your local police reporting — so you write a clean ticket in about 30 seconds and stay on the right side of the law.
Montana pawn shop software is a point-of-sale and loan-management system configured for Montana's pawn rules — the all-inclusive 25% fee cap for a 30-day period under MCA §31-1-401, the vehicle-title prohibition, the §31-1-402 register, and the 30-day stolen-property hold — plus the police-reporting formats Montana cities and counties require. It calculates each fee and due date to Montana's rules so a pawnbroker can write a compliant ticket without doing the math by hand.
Montana regulates pawnbrokers through state law and local ordinance together. At the state level, Title 31, Chapter 1, Part 4 of the Montana Code Annotated sets fee limits, licensing rules and recordkeeping standards. On top of that, cities, towns and counties have their own authority over waiting periods, identification and inspection rights. That means the rules can differ between Billings, Missoula, Great Falls and rural areas.
PawnSmarts is built for exactly this kind of split. It comes ready for Montana out of the box, calculates fees and due dates against the rules you set, keeps the register Montana requires, and exports the reports your city or county asks for. You handle the customer; the software handles the paperwork.
Montana caps what a pawnbroker may charge. Under MCA §31-1-401, a pawnbroker may not charge a fee of more than 25% of the loan amount for a 30-day period. The same 25% cap applies to a 30-day extension of the pawn agreement.
The statute defines "fee" broadly — it includes every cost or charge, not just interest:
No separate charges may be tacked on outside the 25% cap. A separate licensing threshold also applies: a person may not carry on the business of pawnbroker by taking pledged goods at any rate above 10% a year without first obtaining a license.
Montana carries a distinctive restriction. Under MCA §31-1-401(4)(c), unless licensed as a consumer loan licensee or deferred deposit loan licensee, a pawnbroker may not "receive the title to a motor vehicle for the purpose of a pawn transaction or in pledge for a loan."
In practice, traditional vehicle title loans are off-limits for pawnbrokers operating under the standard pawn license. The same section also prohibits:
MCA §31-1-402 requires every pawnbroker to keep a register containing, for every article pawned or purchased:
The register must be available for inspection by any peace officer. PawnSmarts keeps every one of these fields automatically as you write tickets, so the register is always current and ready to hand over or print.
MCA §46-5-212 sets a clear procedure when property is suspected stolen. When a peace officer informs a pawnbroker that pawned or purchased property is stolen, the pawnbroker must hold the property for 30 days upon issuance of an administrative warrant by a peace officer.
MCA §45-6-314 provides that a pawnbroker who lets stolen property be sold, bartered or disposed of after a 30-day hold request commits theft under §45-6-301. PawnSmarts lets you flag held items and lock them out of sale so an item under a warrant can't accidentally go out the door.
Much of Montana's pawn regulation lives at the local level, and PawnSmarts is built to export whatever format your local agency wants.
City or town councils can require owners of pawn, secondhand and junk shops to keep a record of all articles purchased or pawned, with the records and articles subject to inspection by city or town police officers. Cities may add recordkeeping requirements beyond the state register.
Boards of county commissioners may regulate pawnbrokers outside an incorporated city or town — recordkeeping standards, a waiting period for investigators to examine merchandise, required ID, and penalties. Any such regulation must be adopted by ordinance. The statute's pawnbroker definition specifically includes repurchase agreements.
Local detail varies across Montana jurisdictions:
Montana has no single statewide electronic reporting mandate. Reporting requirements are set at the municipal or county level under §7-21-4207 and §7-21-2120, and regardless of frequency, peace officers can inspect pawn records and articles on demand. Some Montana jurisdictions participate in LeadsOnline; others run direct reporting systems.
PawnSmarts handles both. It exports transaction data to LeadsOnline and produces the police reports agencies request, and you can match a local agency's required layout. For a wider view of how reporting rules differ by jurisdiction, see our US state licensing guide and the full list of states we serve.
The federal Military Lending Act applies to pawn transactions with covered borrowers — active-duty service members and their dependents — where the APR, including pawn service charges, may not exceed 36%. Covered status is checked through the free DMDC (Defense Manpower Data Center) portal at or before the transaction, and you keep proof of the check. PawnSmarts lets you store the DMDC confirmation and supporting documents on the customer record alongside the transaction.
PawnSmarts is $89/month for Essential or $129/month for Professional — month to month, cancel anytime, no contract. Prefer to own it outright? Professional is also a one-time purchase at $2,995. Use integrated card processing and the software can be free. Data migration is a one-time $395, done for you, and you're live in under 24 hours. No setup fee, no exit fee.
New to this? Start with what pawn shop software is and what it does for a shop.
Under MCA §31-1-401, Montana caps the total pawnbroker fee at 25% of the loan amount for a 30-day period, and the same 25% cap applies to any 30-day extension. The cap is all-inclusive — it covers interest, commission, discount, storage, care of property and any purchase option. No separate charges may be added outside the 25% limit. Charging above the cap results in forfeiture of double the fee, and a pledgor who paid an excessive fee may recover double the amount paid plus reasonable attorney fees.
No. Under MCA §31-1-401(4)(c), a pawnbroker operating under a standard pawn license may not receive the title to a motor vehicle for the purpose of a pawn transaction or in pledge for a loan, unless also licensed as a consumer loan licensee or deferred deposit loan licensee. The same section also prohibits cashing postdated checks for a fee, using deposit-account access as loan security, and any device to evade the law such as disguised loans or leaseback transactions.
MCA §31-1-402 requires every pawnbroker to maintain a register recording, for each article pawned or purchased: the date of the pawning or purchasing, the date the article must be redeemed, the name of the person who pawned or sold the article, and the amount loaned on or paid for the article. The register must be available for inspection by any peace officer at any time. PawnSmarts keeps all four fields current automatically as tickets are written.
Under MCA §46-5-212, when a peace officer informs a pawnbroker that property is suspected stolen, the officer may issue an administrative warrant directing the pawnbroker to hold the property for 30 days. After the 30-day hold, the pawnbroker must surrender the property to the officer upon demand and receive a receipt. The pawnbroker may appeal the warrant's validity in justice's court or municipal court during the hold period. Allowing held property to be sold or disposed of during the 30 days constitutes theft under MCA §45-6-301.
Pawn shop software generally runs from about $89 to $350 per month depending on features and number of stations. PawnSmarts is $89/month for Essential or $129/month for Professional — month to month, no contract and no setup fee — or $2,995 as a one-time purchase, and it can be free with integrated card processing.
Open the live demo and click around. If it looks right, sign up and we'll move your data for $395.
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