Montana Secretary of State Jacobson highlights business filings, election training and limits of investigatory authority

Secretary of State Christy Jacobson told the Senate State Administration and Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 10 that her office handled a record number of business filings and ran a successful 2024 election year while expanding outreach and security training for counties.

Jacobson said the office now lists about 321,000 businesses in Montana and that the state saw record new business formations—about 60,000 in 2023 and about 64,000 in 2024. She said the office waived annual filing fees for roughly 320,000 businesses in 2024 and again for 2025, and that staff reductions and workflow changes were intended to make filings easier.

The update matters because the Secretary of State’s office administers statewide elections and maintains the statewide business and administrative records that many legislators use…