Montana Electrical License: Journeyman, Master and Contractor Requirements (2026)

Montana runs a genuine statewide electrician licensing system through the Montana State Electrical Board, and one line on the Board's own license pages matters more than everything else you will read about it. To hold an Electrical Contractor license, an applicant "must provide proof of compliance with workers compensation and unemployment laws, and must identify a full-time Montana licensed journeyman or master electrician responsible for all work done in Montana."

At a glance

• Who issues it: the Montana State Electrical Board, under the Department of Labor & Industry
• Journeyman hours: 8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience, no more than 50 percent of it residential
• Exam: PSI, pass at 70 percent (residential, journeyman) or 75 percent (master)
• Fees: $190 application fee for any individual license; $210 electrical contractor license
• Renewal: July 15 of every even numbered year, with 16 hours of continuing education, at least 8 of them on NEC updates

Full-time. Workers' compensation. Unemployment insurance. Three requirements in one sentence, and all three describe an employee.

The Board's rules go further: an owner who is not a master electrician "must employ a master electrician on a full-time basis," and no master may be the responsible electrician for more than one unlimited electrical contractor (ARM 24.141.505). Montana wrote an application that only a real employment relationship can complete.

This guide walks the process as the Board and its rules define it in 2026, from the individual license ladder to exactly where a licensed master or journeyman has to stand behind a business. It is a walkthrough of the licensing process, not exam preparation.

Who Licenses Electricians in Montana

Electrician licensing runs through the Montana State Electrical Board under the Department of Labor & Industry's Business Standards Division (301 South Park Avenue, 4th Floor, Helena, MT 59620; customer service (406) 444-6880 or dlibsdhelp@mt.gov; continuing education questions (406) 444-5696). One statewide board covers every electrician and every electrical contractor in the state, and under 37-68-301, MCA the Board's license is required wherever in Montana the work is done. A license issued by a city or other political subdivision does not replace it; at most, 37-68-308 lets the Board license the holder of a local license that required an examination without a written state exam.

That matters because Montana's general Construction Contractor License, a license rather than a registration since January 1, 2026 under Title 37, Chapter 45, MCA, still has no trade exam, no experience requirement and no classification tiers; 37-45-201 asks for identity, ownership and workers' compensation compliance, not a test. Electricians and plumbers are the exceptions, the two trades Montana licenses through real boards with real examinations. Our Montana contractor license page covers the general credential, and the Montana HVAC license guide covers the trades that run on it.

The Board issues three individual credentials, Residential, Journeyman and Master Electrician, plus the Electrical Contractor license for businesses, in Limited and Unlimited form. The governing law is Title 37, Chapter 68, MCA and ARM Title 24, Chapter 141, the rules were rewritten effective May 25, 2024 and the statute was amended by the 2025 Legislature. Several figures that circulate online, including some this page carried until this update, predate those changes.

Montana Electrical License Types at a Glance

Table sources: 37-68-304 and 37-68-305, MCA; ARM 24.141.405, 24.141.503, 24.141.505 and 24.141.515.

The Individual License Ladder

Apprentice (registered with the apprenticeship program, not licensed by the Board)

Apprentices are not licensed in Montana. The Board's old apprentice registration rule, ARM 24.141.402, is repealed; apprenticeship runs through the Department's registered apprenticeship program under Title 39, chapter 6, MCA, and 37-68-103(7) exempts an apprentice working under the supervision of a licensed electrician.

Two rules about apprentice hours cost applicants dearly later. ARM 24.141.301(1): "While serving an apprenticeship, hours of experience are not considered journeyman level experience." Apprentice hours build you toward journeyman, not toward master. And 37-68-305(5)(b), added in 2025 by House Bill 497, says "legally obtained practical experience" does not include hours from an apprenticeship that was not completed.

Residential Electrician

The residential license is limited to residential construction of fewer than five living units in a single structure (37-68-102(11)). Under 37-68-305(3) it takes an approved residential apprenticeship, 4,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience in residential construction, or 20,000 hours in the electrical maintenance field with the employer's written certification, at least 8,000 of them practical.

Journeyman Electrician

The journeyman is the core working electrician license. Under 37-68-305(1) it takes a completed apprenticeship under Title 39, chapter 6, 8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience in wiring for, installing and repairing electrical apparatus and equipment for light, heat and power, or 20,000 hours in the electrical maintenance field with the employer's written certification, at least 8,000 of them practical. ARM 24.141.515(1) caps residential work at 50 percent of those hours. A journeyman can perform the work; a journeyman license alone does not let you contract for it in your own name.

Master Electrician

The master license is the credential an Unlimited Electrical Contractor license is built on. Section 37-68-304, MCA offers two routes, and the Board's master checklist repeats them:

Route A, education. Written evidence of being a graduate electrical engineer of an accredited college or university, plus a minimum of 2,000 hours of legally obtained practical electrical experience.

Route B, experience. Third party verification of at least 8,000 hours of legally obtained journeyman level experience in planning, laying out or supervising the installation and repair of wiring for electrical light, heat and power (37-68-102(7): recognition as a journeyman by a state, or a minimum of 8,000 hours of practical experience).

The residential mix rule for masters lives in ARM 24.141.515(2), effective May 25, 2024: no more than 50 percent of the experience may be residential work. That is a ceiling only. Older Board checklists, and the previous version of this page, described a band of no less than 20 percent and no more than 50 percent residential under ARM 24.141.501(3); that rule was repealed on May 25, 2024 and the 20 percent floor went with it. All commercial hours now qualify; all residential hours still do not.

The master exam has at least 80 questions and the passing grade is 75 percent.

Proving Your Hours: the Experience Verification Affidavit

Both the journeyman and the master applications come with an Experience Verification Affidavit, and its instructions quietly disqualify a lot of documentation:

• Each employer completes a form, with dates of employment and the position held.
• It requires third party verification, which the Board describes as including but not limited to corporate officers, registered agents for the business, or owners of the business. The form states the corollary plainly: an applicant cannot verify their own hours.
• Residential hours and commercial, industrial and institutional hours go in separate columns, with the states in which they were obtained. That is how the Board polices the 50 percent residential ceiling.
• An apprenticeship completion certificate replaces the affidavit; a union sponsored apprenticeship is documented with a union travel letter.

Two instructions from older affidavits no longer appear on the forms revised July 22, 2024: that union records are not acceptable verification, and that apprenticeship hours must be excluded. The substance of the second survives in ARM 24.141.301(1), quoted above.

Montana Electrician License Fees (ARM 24.141.405)

The Board's fee schedule was rewritten effective May 25, 2024. These are the current figures, all non-refundable. The exam fee is separate: ARM 24.141.405 says examination fees are set by the testing agency and paid directly to it once the Board approves your application.

Board checklists dated January 2024 carried a $240 application fee by exam and $250 by reciprocity or endorsement, and the previous version of this page carried the $240 figure; the May 2024 rule change reset them to the figures above. For the 2026 renewal cycle the Board announced renewal fees abated 50 percent; the schedule itself did not change.

The Exam: PSI, Passing Scores and Retakes

PSI is the exam vendor for the State Electrical Board. The Board approves your application first and issues an admission letter; from approval you are eligible to sit within one week. ARM 24.141.503 sets the rules that matter:

• One year from Board approval to take and pass the exam.
• Passing grade: 70 percent for the residential and journeyman exams, 75 percent for the master exam.
• Question counts: at least 50 residential, 60 journeyman and 80 master.
• Open book: the applicable NEC code book (tabs, highlights and notes allowed), a silent nonprogrammable calculator, the Montana electrician statutes and rules, and the Printreading text by David L. Hittinger.
• Retakes: fail once and you may take the next scheduled exam; fail twice and you must show proof of an eight hour Board approved code seminar before you sit again.

Code edition. The Board's exam page states that exams are based on the 2020 NEC as of June 10, 2022, while the Building Codes Program lists the 2023 NEC as the adopted electrical code effective September 26, 2026. Confirm the edition in your admission letter before you buy a code book.

The Temporary Practice Permit, and Two Hard Limits

ARM 24.141.502 governs the temporary practice permit. A permit may be issued once the application is complete, experience is verified, the $50 permit fee is paid on top of the $190 application fee, and the Board or its designated representative approves. An applicant for a master license may be issued a journeyman temporary practice permit. An active permit allows the applicant to perform work while employed by a licensed electrical contractor.

Limit one, the permit expires fast. A temporary practice permit expires 90 days from the date of issuance or upon receipt of licensure examination results, whichever comes first. If it expires before your scheduled exam date, the Department may extend it case by case; that is discretion, not entitlement. The previous version of this page stated 60 days, the figure before the May 2024 rule change.

Limit two, a permit holder cannot qualify a company. The rule states it without qualification: "A temporary practice permit does not allow an individual to act as a responsible electrician for a licensed electrical contractor." The permit lets someone work; it does not let them carry the company.

And there is a floor beneath the floor. A second permit may be issued to someone who fails the first exam, but applicants who fail a residential or journeyman exam with a score of 64 percent or less, or a master exam with 69 percent or less, are not eligible for one. The Board's July 2024 checklists still print older wording on this point (65 percent on the residential and journeyman forms, 69 on the master form, with no mention of a second permit); the rule text is what governs.

One change is in motion: after House Bill 414 (2025) repealed 37-1-305, MCA, the Board proposed in November 2025 (MAR Notice 2025-136.1) to rename the credential a "provisional license" with the same 90 day term and limits; it has not been adopted, so the rule text above is the one in force.

Step by Step: How to Get a Montana Electrical License

1. Pick the credential your hours support. 4,000 residential hours or a residential apprenticeship for Residential; 8,000 hours or a completed apprenticeship for Journeyman; 8,000 journeyman level hours, or an engineering degree plus 2,000 hours, for Master.
2. Collect the paperwork. An Experience Verification Affidavit from each employer (or your apprenticeship completion certificate), transcripts on the engineer route, and license verifications from every state in which you have ever held a professional license.
3. Apply online through the Department's licensing portal (the Board links ebiz.mt.gov/pol; the July 2024 checklists point to the same system at aca-prod.accela.com/POL) and pay the $190 application fee, plus $50 for a temporary practice permit.
4. Wait for approval. The Board's contractor applications state that a complete, routine application is processed within 30 days. Nonroutine applications take longer and may require you to appear before the Board for an interview.
5. Schedule with PSI using your admission letter, pay PSI's exam fee, and sit within one year of approval.
6. Pass at 70 percent (residential, journeyman) or 75 percent (master). Hard cards are no longer mailed; download the license to your phone and carry it on every jobsite.
7. Renew by July 15 of every even numbered year with 16 hours of continuing education, at least 8 of them on NEC updates.
8. If you own or run the company, apply for the Electrical Contractor license ($210), naming a full-time Montana licensed master (Unlimited) or journeyman (Limited) as the responsible electrician.

Renewal and Continuing Education

Every Montana electrical license renews on the same clock: July 15 in even numbered years, with the renewal window open for the 60 days before the deadline (the contractor applications print it as biennial renewal, May 15 to July 15). The next deadline after the 2026 cycle is July 15, 2028. Renewal is online, and the Board warns that waiting for the last hours can leave you with late fees and no staff to call. The renewal fee is $140 for a master, journeyman or residential license and $210 for an electrical contractor, per two year cycle.

Continuing education is set by ARM 24.141.2102: 16 hours of Board approved continuing education during each renewal cycle, with a minimum of 8 hours on NEC updates. New graduates of approved apprenticeship programs are exempt for their first renewal cycle; licensees moving up to a higher license are not. Keep the certificates: the Department audits a random sample of licensees.

Out of State Electricians: Substantial Equivalency, Not a State List

Montana used to publish named lists of reciprocal and endorsement states. The Board's January 2024 journeyman checklist listed sixteen reciprocal states (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming). The July 2024 checklists replaced that model with substantial equivalency (SE) under 37-1-304, MCA, and the 2025 Legislature (House Bill 246) standardized the SE definition across every Montana licensing board.

The current test, from the Board's checklists: you must hold an active, unrestricted license in good standing in a state that required passage of an electrical exam and one of Montana's own experience routes for the license you want. If your state qualifies, you file license verifications and the $190 fee and you are licensed without sitting Montana's exam; if not, you take the exam. A license issued by a city or county is not considered (ARM 24.141.504), and until the Board adopts its proposed SE state list by rule (MAR Notice 2025-136.1, still pending), each application is measured against that test.

The Electrical Contractor License and the Responsible Electrician

Here is the step business owners miss, and where Montana is explicit. An individual license lets a person do electrical work. For a business to plan, lay out, supervise and install electrical work for others, the definition of an electrical contractor in 37-68-102(4), it needs an Electrical Contractor license under 37-68-312, MCA and ARM 24.141.505, and the license level is set by the electrician who stands behind it:

• Unlimited Electrical Contractor: residential, commercial, industrial and institutional work. The responsible electrician must be a Montana licensed master electrician.
• Limited Electrical Contractor: residential construction of fewer than five living units in a single structure. The responsible electrician must be a Montana licensed journeyman electrician.

The application fee is $210, and the application requires certification of compliance with the Workers' Compensation Act (39-71-101, MCA) and the Unemployment Insurance Law (39-51-101, MCA), or a current Montana Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate for an owner who works alone. The Board's checklist adds a warning worth its weight: under 39-71-118(8)(c) a nonresident employee of an out of state construction employer is a Montana employee, so an out of state workers' compensation policy must list Montana as a covered state.

Then the rules define the person the license depends on. ARM 24.141.301(6): "Responsible electrician" means the Montana-licensed electrician engaged in a full-time capacity, who is responsible for all licensed electrical work performed by the electrical contractor. ARM 24.141.505: an owner of an unlimited electrical contracting business who is not a master "must employ a master electrician on a full-time basis," an owner of a limited business who is not a journeyman must employ a journeyman on a full-time basis, and no master may be the responsible electrician for more than one unlimited electrical contractor. The responsible electrician signs the Board's Acknowledgment of Responsibility, declaring that they are actively engaged in a full-time capacity for the named firm and assume responsibility for supervising all of its electrical work.

And the exit clock is short. Under ARM 24.141.505, a responsible electrician who leaves, for whatever reason, must notify the Board in writing within ten working days, and the contractor's failure to name a replacement within ten working days is cause for suspension of the contractor license and cause for revocation.

Our national guide on how to get an electrical contractor license covers this business layer across states, and journeyman vs. master electrician covers the individual ladder in the terms most states use.

Where a Qualifying Agent Fits in Montana

If you own or want to start an electrical business in Montana and you are not a licensed Montana master or journeyman electrician, or you are expanding an out of state company into Montana without one on the team, you have two honest paths. Earn the credential yourself: the hours, the affidavits, the exam at 70 or 75 percent. Or bring a licensed Montana master or journeyman electrician onto your team as the responsible electrician your contractor license is built on.

That second path is what a qualifying agent is: a properly licensed professional who serves as the responsible licensed person a company's contractor license stands on, and who actually supervises the work. In Montana that is a master for an Unlimited license or a journeyman for a Limited one: full-time, one contractor at a time, on payroll with workers' compensation and unemployment insurance behind them.

The Licensing Company places qualifying agents as full-time W-2 employees of the company they qualify. Not on a percentage of revenue, not for a flat fee, not per project, not on a 1099.

In Montana that is not a preference; it is the only structure that satisfies the application, because a percentage, per project or 1099 arrangement produces no workers' compensation coverage and no unemployment insurance contributions for that person. The Department of Labor & Industry's independent contractor guidance says so plainly: "The issuance of 1099s and lack of withholding taxes does not make an individual an independent contractor. Contract labor agreements do not establish contractor status. By law, a worker cannot sign away their rights to workers' compensation or unemployment insurance coverage."

Montana's other licensed trade says the same thing even more directly. On the plumbing side, 37-69-305(3), MCA ties a master plumber's license to that plumber's own business and no one else's, and ARM 24.180.507 caps a master plumber of record at one plumbing business at any one point in time while making that plumber responsible for supervising all of the business's plumbing work. We cover the mechanism in Montana's Master Plumber of Record rule; ARM 24.141.505 is its electrical twin.

For the electrical specific version of the relationship, see electrical contractor qualifying agent. If you already hold a Montana master or journeyman license, you can become a qualifying agent. If you need to hire a qualifying agent for a Montana electrical contractor license, that is the conversation we have every week.

Working Across the Northern Rockies

The neighboring systems are structured differently from Montana's. Idaho writes a full-time employment requirement into its electrical statute: under Idaho Code 54-1010(2) the owner of an electrical contracting business "shall employ a full-time journeyman electrician with over two thousand (2,000) hours of documented experience as a licensed journeyman electrician or a master electrician." See the Idaho electrician license and Idaho plumbing license guides. North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington and Colorado each run their own statewide electrical boards with distinct hour requirements and contractor license structures, and under Montana's substantial equivalency model each is evaluated on its own requirements.

Carrying the License, and Who Is Exempt

Montana enforces on the jobsite. Section 37-68-301 requires every licensee to carry the license at all times while working at a jobsite, and bars employment agencies and labor unions from referring an unlicensed person for electrical work. The fines in 37-68-316 for failing to display a license are $100 for a first offense, $250 for a second and $500 for a third or later, with each day a separate offense; the Board may not fine a first offense when you produce proof of licensure within five days of the citation.

The exemptions in 37-68-103, MCA are narrow: work on your own property or residence (but not on a grid-tied generator there), regularly employed maintenance electricians on their employer's own premises, an apprentice under the supervision of a licensed electrician, and work involving 90 volts or less. Everything else needs a licensed electrician working for a licensed electrical contractor, and the Building Codes Program requires an electrical permit for any installation in new construction, remodeling or repair.

How Much Does It Cost to Get Licensed in Montana?

The government side is knowable: the $190 application fee for any individual license, the $50 temporary practice permit if you need one, PSI's exam fee, the $210 electrical contractor license, $140 (or $210 for a contractor) every two years at renewal, 16 hours of continuing education per cycle with 8 on code updates, and the Montana workers' compensation and unemployment insurance your business and your crew require. Each is set by the Board, the vendor or your insurer; verify current figures before you budget.

The question owners actually ask is different: what does it cost to solve the problem of not having a full-time Montana master or journeyman electrician to stand behind the contractor license, so the business can operate and take the work in front of it? That has no honest flat number.

It depends on whether you already employ a qualified master or journeyman, whether you need the Unlimited or Limited license, how fast you need to be operational, how many states you are expanding into, and the risk profile of the work. Anyone quoting a single figure before understanding your situation is guessing. Start with the consultation options or hire a qualifying agent and we will map your Montana plan with you.

Montana Electrician License FAQ

Does Montana have a statewide electrical license? Yes. The Montana State Electrical Board, under the Department of Labor & Industry, licenses Residential, Journeyman and Master electricians for the entire state, plus Limited and Unlimited Electrical Contractor licenses for businesses. The state license is required wherever in Montana the work is done (37-68-301, MCA); a local license does not replace it.

How many hours do I need for a Montana journeyman electrician license? 8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience, no more than 50 percent of it residential, then the PSI exam passed at 70 percent. A completed apprenticeship replaces the hours, and 20,000 hours in the electrical maintenance field with employer certification is an alternate route.

How many hours do I need for a Montana master electrician license? Either an electrical engineering degree plus 2,000 hours of practical experience, or at least 8,000 hours of journeyman level experience with no more than 50 percent residential work under ARM 24.141.515(2). Apprenticeship hours do not count. The master exam is passed at 75 percent.

When does a Montana electrical license expire? July 15 of every even numbered year, for every license type, with the renewal window opening 60 days before. You need 16 hours of Board approved continuing education in each two year cycle, at least 8 of them on NEC updates.

Does Montana have reciprocity for electricians? Montana now evaluates out of state licenses on substantial equivalency under 37-1-304, MCA. If your license is active and in good standing in a state that required an electrical exam and an experience route equal to Montana's, you can be licensed without Montana's exam for the $190 fee. City or county licenses are not considered.

How long is the Montana temporary practice permit good for? 90 days from issuance or until you receive your exam results, whichever comes first, extendable case by case. It costs $50 on top of the application fee, only lets you work while employed by a licensed electrical contractor, and does not let you act as a responsible electrician. Fail at 64 percent or less (residential, journeyman) or 69 percent or less (master) and you cannot get a second permit.

Do I need a master electrician to own an electrical company in Montana? For an Unlimited Electrical Contractor license, yes: a Montana licensed master must be the responsible electrician, and an owner who is not a master must employ one on a full-time basis under ARM 24.141.505. A Limited license needs a journeyman under the same terms. Either way the Board requires proof of workers' compensation and unemployment insurance compliance.

Can a Montana electrical business operate without its own full-time licensed electrician? No. The contractor application asks you to name a full-time responsible electrician who signs an acknowledgment of responsibility for all of the company's electrical work, and to prove workers' compensation and unemployment compliance, obligations that attach to an actual employee. That is exactly how a W-2 qualifying agent is placed.

Sources

• Board, Journeyman Electrician (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Board, Master Electrician (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Board, Electrical Contractor (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Board, Renewal Process (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Board, Exam Information (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Board home page (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Master checklist, Rev. 07/22/2024 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Journeyman checklist, Rev. 07/22/2024 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Residential checklist, Rev. 07/22/2024 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Electrical Contractor checklist, Rev. 07/22/2024 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Unlimited Electrical Contractor application, Rev. 01/23/2024 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Journeyman checklist, Rev. 01/23/2024 (superseded) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Laws and Rules Booklet, June 7, 2024 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• MAR Notice 2025-136.1 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Board rule notices (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.141.301 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.141.405 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.141.501 (repealed) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.141.502 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.141.503 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.141.504 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.141.505 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.141.515 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.141.2102 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• ARM 24.180.507 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-68-102, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-68-103, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-68-301, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-68-304, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-68-305, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-68-308, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-68-312, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-68-316, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-1-304, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-1-305, MCA (repealed 2025) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-45-201, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• 37-69-305, MCA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Construction Contractor License program (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Building Codes Program, Current Codes (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Building Codes Program, Electrical Permits (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• DLI Independent Contractor brochure (retrieved 2026-09-23)
• Idaho Code 54-1010 (retrieved 2026-09-23)

Talk to The Licensing Company About Montana

Montana's electrical rules reward companies that build the responsible electrician relationship correctly from day one: a ten working day clock on replacements, a full-time declaration, and a workers' compensation proof requirement that an informal arrangement cannot satisfy. Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski built The Licensing Company around that reality, placing Montana licensed master and journeyman electricians as full-time W-2 qualifying agents so the contractor license, the payroll records and the Board's application all tell the same story.

Call 615-219-2110 to talk through your Montana plan, or start at hire a qualifying agent. For the national picture, see our contractor license pillar and the licensing guides for other states.

Fees, hours, code editions, renewal cycles and rules are set by the Montana State Electrical Board and the testing vendor and change over time; verify current requirements with the Board before applying. Related Montana guides: Montana contractor license, plumbing license Montana, HVAC license Montana and Montana's Master Plumber of Record rule.