Montana · Remodeling licensing · official-source guide
Montana licenses remodeling contractors at the state level. The Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Business Standards Division, runs the Construction Contractor License program, required of all construction contractors since January 1, 2026 under House Bill 239. There is no trade exam. The application and renewal fee is $70, and applicants must show proof of compliance with workers compensation laws.
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-10-05. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Montana licenses remodeling at the state level. The issuing agency is the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, and the Construction Contractor License program sits inside the department's Business Standards Division in Helena. The program answers at (406) 444-6880 and at dlibsdhelp@mt.gov. The governing law is Title 37, chapter 45 of the Montana Code Annotated, titled Construction Contractors. Section 37-45-101 states the purpose plainly: to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the public through the regulation of construction contractors. Section 37-45-201 makes the rule concrete. An individual or business entity may not engage in business as a construction contractor without a current license from the department. There is no county remodeling license and no separate city remodeling license. Montana used to run this as a registration inside the Employment Relations Division, under Title 39, chapter 9. Those registration sections are now repealed or renumbered into Title 37, chapter 45, so a contractor reading older guidance about contractor registration is reading about a program that has been replaced. The administrative rules that fill in the program are collected in ARM chapter 24.227, Construction Contractor Licensing. For a remodeler, the practical reading is short. One state credential covers your business entity for the full range of alteration, repair, addition and improvement work described in 37-45-102, including interior work such as installing carpet or other floor covering and exterior work such as installing or repairing roofing or siding. Licensed electrical and plumbing work inside that remodel is handled under separate chapters and separate licenses, which the next sections cover.
Sourcesboards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 1archive.legmt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3archive.legmt.gov 4archive.legmt.gov 5boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 6
The Business Standards Division states on its Construction Contractor License page that House Bill 239 from the 2025 legislative session overhauled construction contractor regulation in Montana, and that the law moved the state from a basic registration framework to an official licensing program managed by the Department of Labor and Industry. The effective date the department publishes is January 1, 2026. The page also records the transition rule: construction contractors that held an active Montana registration as of December 31, 2025 were converted to the new license, so those businesses did not have to file a fresh application to stay legal on January 1. The chapter that HB 239 built is short and newly enacted. Sections 37-45-101, 37-45-102, 37-45-103, 37-45-201, 37-45-202, 37-45-203, 37-45-301 and 37-45-302 all carry 2025 enactment histories under Chapter 644 of the 2025 laws. Two older sections survived the rewrite by renumbering. The local preemption language is now 37-45-204, and the long exemption list is now 37-45-104. Both were previously part of Title 39, chapter 9. Why this matters for a remodeler winning work in 2026: the credential has a different name, a different division and a different enforcement posture than the registration most Montana homeowners and general contractors remember. If your marketing, your estimate template or your proposal still says registered contractor with a 39-9 reference, it is describing a repealed program. Update the wording to construction contractor license and to the license number the department issued on conversion.
Sourcesboards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 1archive.legmt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3archive.legmt.gov 4archive.legmt.gov 5archive.legmt.gov 6archive.legmt.gov 7archive.legmt.gov 8
Section 37-45-201 requires a current license of any individual or business entity engaging in business as a construction contractor. Section 37-45-102 defines that term broadly. It covers a person, firm or corporation that, in the pursuit of an independent business, offers to undertake, undertakes, or submits a bid to construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish a building or other improvement attached to real estate for another. Submitting a bid is enough to trigger the definition, so quoting a kitchen or bath remodel is regulated activity, not just building it. Section 37-45-104 carries the exemptions, and three of them matter most in residential remodeling. Work on one undertaking or project considered casual, minor or inconsequential is exempt when the aggregate contract price for labor, materials and all other items is less than $2,500 a job. That exemption is explicitly unavailable when the work is only part of a larger operation, or when a job is split into contracts under $2,500 to evade the chapter. An independent contractor who has no employees is exempt but may voluntarily elect to register. An employee of a registered construction contractor who takes wages as sole compensation is exempt in that capacity. Other exemptions reach owners working on their own property, owners who contract the work out to a registered construction contractor, licensed Montana electricians and plumbers acting within their license scope, licensed architects and engineers acting solely in a professional capacity, water well contractors, fire suppression licensees, and enrolled tribal members whose business is conducted solely inside reservation boundaries.
Sourcesarchive.legmt.gov 1archive.legmt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3
This is where Montana looks different from most states a remodeler may have worked in. The department's published requirements and application checklist for the Construction Contractor License lists the minimum eligibility requirements, and they are administrative rather than technical. An applicant must submit a complete application form provided by the department, including all required fees and documentation. The checklist cites ARM chapter 24.227, Construction Contractor Licensing, as the rule source. The program's license information page lists continuing education requirements as Not Required. Neither the license information page nor the requirements checklist publishes a trade examination, an hours of experience floor, a classroom education requirement or a qualifying individual who must pass a test on the company's behalf. Title 37, chapter 45 does not create an examination section either. Part 2 of the chapter contains only 37-45-201 through 37-45-205, covering the license requirement and application contents, liability limits, fees, local preemption and partnership registration. What the application does demand is identity and compliance documentation. Section 37-45-201 requires the applicant's social security number, proof of compliance with workers compensation laws, the internal revenue service employer identification number if any, and the name and address of each partner in a firm or partnership, the owner if the applicant is an individual, the corporate officers and registered agent of a corporation, or the manager or members and registered agent of a limited liability company. Section 37-1-137 applies to all those listed people. The checklist also states that all license applications expire within one year of initial submission to the department, so a part-finished application cannot sit indefinitely.
Sourcesboards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 1boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3archive.legmt.gov 4
The Construction Contractor License program publishes its fee schedule on its license information page, and the numbers are the same on both ends. The application fee is $70.00 and it is non-refundable. The renewal fee is $70.00. The requirements and application checklist repeats the same figure, listing the application and renewal fee as $70. Renewal runs on the anniversary date of issuance rather than on a single statewide date, and the renewal window opens 60 days before the expiration date. Continuing education requirements are listed as Not Required. Applications and renewals must be completed online through the links on the program page. Section 37-45-203 is the statutory authority behind the fee. It directs that each applicant for a construction contractor license shall pay an application fee established by the department, and that fees collected under the chapter in accordance with 37-1-134 must be deposited in a special revenue account for the administration and enforcement of the chapter. The same section creates a consumer and industry education duty. The department shall provide, in cooperation with building industry stakeholders, a program to educate consumers and the building industry about construction contractor licensing requirements. Fines are routed differently from fees: a fine collected from a construction contractor under 37-1-109 or 37-1-406 must be deposited in the uninsured employers' fund established in 39-71-503. For planning purposes, the anniversary renewal is the detail that trips up contractors who moved from a state with calendar-year renewals. Put the issue date in your own calendar, because a lapsed license is a licensing problem and an advertising problem at the same time.
Sourcesboards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 1boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 4
Proof of compliance with workers compensation laws is written directly into the license application contents in 37-45-201. Under 39-71-401 the Workers' Compensation Act applies to all employers and all employees, and an employer with any employee under any appointment or contract of hire, expressed or implied, oral or written, shall elect to be bound by compensation plan No. 1, 2 or 3. The statute then lists employments the act does not reach unless the employer elects coverage, including household or domestic employment, casual employment, and the employment of sole proprietors, working members of a partnership or limited liability partnership, and working members of a member-managed limited liability company. A Montana remodeler working without employees normally deals with the Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate program instead. The Employment Relations Division states that an independent contractor must obtain either an independent contractor exemption certificate or self-elected coverage under a Montana workers' compensation insurance policy, with reference to 39-71-417. No test is required to qualify. The application is filed online with a non-refundable fee of $125, plus business documentation demonstrating an established business for each occupation listed on the application. The division also publishes the exposure. Independent contractors can be fined up to $5,000 per violation for performing work without an ICEC or workers compensation coverage, for performing work with a revoked or suspended ICEC, for transferring an ICEC to another person, or for misrepresenting independent contractor status. Section 37-45-202 gives the other side of the coin a reason to care: a person who engages a construction contractor licensed under the chapter is not liable as an employer for workers compensation coverage under 39-71-405, for unemployment insurance, or for wages and fringe benefits for that contractor, its employees, or a subsequent subcontractor.
Sourcesarchive.legmt.gov 1archive.legmt.gov 2erd.dli.mt.gov 3archive.legmt.gov 4
Montana does not publish a trade bond amount or a liability insurance minimum on the Construction Contractor License pages. The program's license information page lists only the application fee, the renewal period, the renewal fee and the continuing education status. The requirements and application checklist lists a complete application form with required fees and documentation, the $70 application and renewal fee, and the unprofessional conduct standards. Neither document sets a surety bond figure or a general liability limit for a remodeler. Section 37-45-204 does mention a bond, but in the context of preemption rather than as a published amount. It says the chapter's provisions on registration or licensing, including the requirement of a bond with the state of Montana named as obligee and the collection of a fee, are exclusive for registered construction contractors, and that a political subdivision may not require or issue any registrations, licenses or bonds for the same or similar purpose. Because the department does not publish a dollar figure, treat the bond question as something to confirm with the program directly before you print it on a proposal. On a recovery fund, Title 37, chapter 45 creates no homeowner restitution pool. The money flows the other way. Section 37-45-203 sends license fees to a special revenue account for administration and enforcement, and sends fines collected under 37-1-109 or 37-1-406 to the uninsured employers' fund established in 39-71-503. That fund exists for injured workers of uninsured employers, not for a homeowner whose remodel went badly. Section 37-1-406 does, however, let the department order a refund of costs and fees billed to and collected from a consumer as a disciplinary sanction.
Sourcesboards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 1boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3archive.legmt.gov 4archive.legmt.gov 5
Montana has no separate home improvement contract statute, but it does have a cancellation right that lands on a large share of residential remodeling sales. Part 5 of Title 30, chapter 14 governs personal solicitation sales. Under 30-14-502, a personal solicitation is any attempt by a seller to sell goods or services when the seller or someone acting for the seller contacts the buyer by telephone or in person other than at the seller's place of business. A personal solicitation sale is the purchase, lease or rental of goods or services following that contact when the buyer must give consideration of more than $25 in cash or credit. The exceptions are what decide whether your kitchen remodel contract is covered. The definition excludes a sale where the buyer, before the attempted sale, personally knows the seller's identity, the business name and the kinds of goods or services offered. It also excludes a sale where the buyer initiated the contact. A homeowner who called you from your website and knew who you were sits outside the definition. A door knock after a hailstorm does not. Section 30-14-504 gives the buyer, or any other person obligated for part of the purchase price, until midnight of the third business day after the day the buyer signed the agreement or offer to purchase. Cancellation occurs when written notice is given to the seller, and notice by mail counts when deposited properly addressed with postage prepaid. No particular form is needed. Section 30-14-505 requires the seller to furnish a cancellation notice in not less than 10 point boldfaced type with the seller's name and business address. Until the seller complies, the three day clock has not started and the buyer may cancel by any means.
Sourcesarchive.legmt.gov 1archive.legmt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3
Section 37-45-301 puts advertising squarely inside the discipline rules. Fraud, misrepresentation, deception or concealment of a material fact in advertising is unprofessional conduct for a construction contractor licensee or license applicant. The same section lists fraud or concealment in applying for or securing a license or renewal, in written communications with a client, and in a contract, written contract negotiations or written communications with a person you hold a contract with. The administrative rule the department quotes, ARM 24.227.2301, adds that engaging a person to perform work for which the person is not licensed is unprofessional conduct, and that failing to notify the department within 30 days of a change in ownership, business name, or business officers, members or partners is unprofessional conduct. Montana does not publish a statute in Title 37, chapter 45 requiring a construction contractor license number on vehicles, signs, websites or written estimates. The restriction that does bite is on titles. Section 37-68-301 bars a person from holding out to the public that the person is an electrician, electrical contractor, residential electrician, journeyman electrician or master electrician until the department has issued the matching license or permit. Section 37-68-302 bars assuming or using those titles and their licensed variants unless qualified and licensed. A remodeling company that advertises in house electricians without the licenses behind the claim is exposed on both the title statute and the advertising limb of 37-45-301. Display rules exist on the jobsite side. Under 37-68-301 an electrician must carry the license at all times while working at a jobsite on work requiring a license, and 37-69-301 imposes the same carry duty on licensed plumbers.
Sourcesarchive.legmt.gov 1boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3archive.legmt.gov 4archive.legmt.gov 5
Montana stacks three separate penalty tracks, and a remodeler can be hit by more than one for the same job. Section 37-45-302 is the chapter's own penalty. In addition to the penalties in 37-1-406, a department determination of unprofessional conduct under 37-45-301 subjects the person who committed the violation to a penalty of up to $5,000 as determined by the department, and to suspension or debarment of rights to public works contracts. The penalty is deposited in the uninsured employers' fund established in 39-71-503. Section 37-1-406 is the general sanction menu for licensing programs without boards. On a decision that a licensee or applicant committed unprofessional conduct, the department may revoke the license, suspend it for a fixed or indefinite term, impose probation for up to three years, restrict or limit the practice, require supervision, require remedial education, impose a fine not to exceed $5,000 for each violation, deny an application, censure or reprimand, or order a refund of costs and fees billed to and collected from a consumer. Section 37-1-109 reaches people with no license at all. The department may issue a cease and desist order on credible evidence that a person is acting, has acted, or is about to act in a Title 37 profession without the required license, with a restricted title without meeting the requirements for its use, or in violation of a statute or rule. A screening panel or the department may assess a penalty of not more than $1,000 a day for each day the order is violated, and may sue for injunction. Knowingly or purposely violating that district court injunction is a felony.
Sourcesarchive.legmt.gov 1archive.legmt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3archive.legmt.gov 4
Montana handles permits differently from most states, and a remodeler crossing county lines needs to know which office has the file. The Building Codes Program sits in the Building and Commercial Measurements Bureau inside the Business Standards Division of the Department of Labor and Industry. The program establishes and enforces statewide codes by issuing permits and performing inspections, and it covers building, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permitting plus the elevator and boiler programs. It also administers the Factory-Built Building and Underground Facility Protection programs. The division of labor is explicit. In Montana, cities, counties and towns have the option to enforce local building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical codes, all or in part, and those local programs must be certified by the Building Codes Program. The cities, counties and towns that have chosen not to enforce building codes fall under the jurisdiction of the state program. State-owned agencies must be permitted through the department regardless. So the same addition built in two Montana towns can be permitted by a city building department in one and by a state field inspector in the other. Field inspection staff are positioned around the state, and the program publishes an inspection areas page for finding the assigned inspector. Permits can be filed through the department's online public portal, and the program office is at 2705 Skyway Drive in Helena, reachable at (406) 841-2056 and buildingcodes@mt.gov. The program also states that the 2024 codes take effect on September 26, 2026, which is a date worth tracking if you are quoting work that will be inspected after it.
Sourcesbsd.dli.mt.gov
Section 37-45-204 is the section a remodeler should read before paying a city for a second contractor credential. The chapter's provisions on registration or licensing, including the requirement of a bond with the state of Montana named as obligee and the collection of a fee, are exclusive for registered construction contractors. A political subdivision of the state may not require or issue any registrations, licenses or bonds for the same or a similar purpose. The section then carves out what a city can still do. It does not limit or abridge the authority of a local government to levy and collect a general and nondiscriminatory license fee levied upon all businesses. So a city business license that every business in town pays is fine, while a Billings-only or Missoula-only remodeling contractor license is not. The section also does not limit local authority over contractors who are not required to be registered under the chapter, which keeps city rules alive for the small jobs and the no-employee operators that 37-45-104 exempts. Work-specific bonds posted with a city are a different animal from a contractor license, and they persist. The City of Billings City Clerk publishes contractor bond forms for demolition, excavation, monument setting, relocation and moving, and utility work, along with liability insurance requirements and sample certificates, and points to the city ordinances behind the excavation and utility bonds. A remodeler cutting into a city street for a sewer tie-in or moving a structure in Billings is dealing with that layer, not with a duplicate license. Confirm the specific bond and insurance paperwork with the clerk's office for each city before the dig, because the forms and the triggering work differ by ordinance.
Sourcesarchive.legmt.gov 1archive.legmt.gov 2billingsmt.gov 3
The construction contractor license does not authorize licensed trade work. Section 37-45-104 exempts an electrician or plumber licensed in Montana, operating within the scope of the license, from the construction contractor chapter, which means those trades answer to their own chapters instead of to chapter 45. Section 37-68-301 is the electrical gate. A person may not engage in or work at the business or trade of, or hold out to the public that the person is, an electrician, electrical contractor, residential electrician, journeyman electrician or master electrician in Montana until the department has issued a license or permit for that role. A licensee must carry the license at all times while working at a jobsite on work requiring a license. The same section bars an employment agency, labor union or their employees from referring a person for electrical contractor, residential, journeyman or master electrician work unless that person holds the department's license or permit. Enforcement on display is specific and cheap to trigger. Under 37-68-315, a department employee, a person professionally responsible for the jobsite, or another licensed electrician working the same jobsite may ask a person doing licensed electrical work to present a license, and a department employee may issue a citation and collect a fine for failure to display. Section 37-68-316 sets the civil fines at $100 for a first offense, $250 for a second, and $500 for a third or subsequent offense, with each day of violation a separate offense. The board may not fine a first offense if the licensee produces proof of licensure within five days. On the plumbing side, 37-69-301 requires a master or journeyman plumber license and the same jobsite carry duty.
Sourcesarchive.legmt.gov 1archive.legmt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3archive.legmt.gov 4archive.legmt.gov 5
Montana publishes a public license search, and a remodeler should expect homeowners and general contractors to use it. The Department of Labor and Industry eBiz professional and occupational licensing portal at ebiz.mt.gov/POL/Default.aspx offers Licensee Lookup, License Verification Request and licensee mailing lists alongside application and renewal functions. The Business Standards Division's complaint page points to the same DLI License Search tool for viewing current license status and information regarding disciplinary actions, and offers an online license complaint form plus a licensee self report route. The division states that its compliance, investigative and legal staff investigate complaints of unprofessional conduct filed against licensees and license applicants. Reciprocity is a gap in the published material. Title 37, chapter 45 contains no reciprocity or endorsement section. Part 2 runs from 37-45-201 to 37-45-205 and covers the license requirement, liability limits, fees, local preemption and when a partnership or joint venture is considered registered. An out-of-state remodeler should plan on applying as any other applicant does and should ask the program directly about credential recognition. Two more items belong on the setup list. Section 37-45-301 makes failure to comply with the Workers' Compensation Act, the Unemployment Insurance Law in Title 39 chapter 51, or the wage payment, minimum wage and overtime provisions of Title 39 chapter 3 unprofessional conduct, so payroll compliance is license compliance in Montana. And the Montana Department of Revenue states that Montana does not have a general-use sales tax, so a remodeler here is not collecting sales tax on labor and materials the way the same company would in a sales tax state.
Sourcesebiz.mt.gov 1bsd.dli.mt.gov 2archive.legmt.gov 3archive.legmt.gov 4revenue.mt.gov 5
These are common details other guides publish about Montana, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Yes. The Montana Department of Labor and Industry issues a Construction Contractor License, and 37-45-201 says an individual or business entity may not engage in business as a construction contractor without one. The definition in 37-45-102 covers altering, repairing, adding to and improving a building, including floor covering, roofing and siding work.
January 1, 2026. The Business Standards Division states that House Bill 239 from the 2025 session moved Montana from a basic registration framework to an official licensing program managed by the Department of Labor and Industry. The statutes in Title 37, chapter 45 carry 2025 enactment histories under Chapter 644 of the session laws.
No. The Construction Contractor License program page states that construction contractors with an active Montana registration as of December 31, 2025 were converted to the new license. Check your record in the eBiz licensee lookup, then update estimates, proposals and advertising so they cite the license rather than the repealed registration program.
The department's published requirements and application checklist lists no trade examination. It requires a complete application form with all required fees and documentation, and cites ARM chapter 24.227. Title 37, chapter 45 contains no examination section. Continuing education is listed as Not Required on the program's license information page.
The program publishes a non-refundable application fee of $70.00 and a renewal fee of $70.00. The requirements checklist repeats the same $70 figure for both. Section 37-45-203 is the authority, directing that fees collected under the chapter be deposited in a special revenue account for administering and enforcing the chapter.
Section 37-45-104 exempts an independent contractor who has no employees, and adds that such a contractor may voluntarily elect to register. You still need either an independent contractor exemption certificate or self-elected workers compensation coverage. The Employment Relations Division charges a non-refundable $125 fee for the exemption certificate and requires no test.
Yes, and it is narrow. Section 37-45-104 exempts work on one project of a casual, minor or inconsequential nature where the aggregate contract price for labor, materials and all other items is less than $2,500 a job. It does not apply when the work is part of a larger operation or when jobs are split to evade the chapter.
No. Section 37-45-204 makes the state provisions exclusive and says a political subdivision may not require or issue registrations, licenses or bonds for the same or a similar purpose. A city may still levy a general and nondiscriminatory license fee on all businesses, and may regulate contractors who are not required to be licensed.
Under 30-14-504, a buyer in a personal solicitation sale may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing. Section 30-14-505 requires you to furnish a cancellation notice in at least 10 point boldfaced type with your name and business address. Until you comply, the clock has not started and the buyer may cancel by any means.
Title 37, chapter 45 publishes no vehicle, sign, website or estimate display requirement for the construction contractor license. What it does police is content: 37-45-301 makes fraud, misrepresentation, deception or concealment of a material fact in advertising unprofessional conduct. Electricians and plumbers must carry their own licenses on the jobsite under 37-68-301 and 37-69-301.
Not on the construction contractor license. Section 37-68-301 bars doing or holding yourself out as doing electrical work without the department's license or permit, and 37-69-301 requires a master or journeyman plumber license. Section 37-45-104 exempts licensed Montana electricians and plumbers from chapter 45 because they are regulated separately.
Section 37-1-109 lets the department issue a cease and desist order against unlicensed practice, assess up to $1,000 a day for each day the order is violated, and seek an injunction. Section 37-45-302 adds a penalty of up to $5,000 plus suspension or debarment from public works. Section 37-1-406 allows fines up to $5,000 per violation.
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