Montana does not issue a competency based statewide general contractor license with an exam.
Requirements checked against the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Business Standards Division, Construction Contractor Licensing published requirements on September 29, 2026.
| Licensing board | Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Business Standards Division (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov), licensing line 406 444 6880 |
|---|---|
| License required when | Construction Contractor License required for any construction business with employees and for every corporation or manager managed LLC; any single job under 2500 dollars in aggregate contract price is exempt |
| What the state calls the qualifier | none; Montana has no qualifying individual model for the general construction contractor license, only officers, managers, or members listed on the application for a background check style review |
| NASCLA exam accepted | no |
| Reciprocity and endorsement | Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota (journeyman plumber only; no master plumber reciprocity and none for the general Construction Contractor License) |
| Exam waivers | no general contractor exam exists to waive; a journeyman plumber from one of the four reciprocity states who passed both the written and practical exam there can skip the Montana journeyman exam but must still formally apply for licensure by reciprocity |
| Experience required | none for the general Construction Contractor License; trade licenses require experience (journeyman plumber 5 years and 7500 hours, journeyman electrician 8000 hours or an approved apprenticeship) |
| Application and exam fees | 70 dollars for the Construction Contractor License (125 dollars for the Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate) |
| Renewal | two year term; renewal fee 70 dollars, the same as the application fee |
| Time to license | 5 to 7 business days for the CR license and 10 to 15, up to 30, for the ICEC; confirm with the department before relying on it |
| Bond and financial requirements | no bond and no net worth or financial statement; proof of Montana specific workers compensation coverage for every employee is required, out of state policies not accepted |
| Penalty for unlicensed work | Not stated |
| Time to replace a qualifier | not applicable; Montana has no qualifying individual system behind the construction contractor license |
| Companies one qualifier may qualify | not applicable; Montana licenses individuals, not companies, for electrical and plumbing, and the general license has no qualifier |
Facts checked on August 22, 2026.
Each line was checked against the state board’s published requirements on the date shown. Not stated means the board material we reviewed did not state it, so we do not guess. Boards change rules; confirm the current figure with the board before you file.
The state runs a construction contractor credential through the Department of Labor and Industry tied to workers compensation compliance, and that program changed on January 1, 2026: all construction contractors in Montana are now required to be licensed with the Department, and contractors holding an active Montana registration as of December 31, 2025 were converted to the new license. The trades are separate: electricians are licensed through the Montana State Electrical Board and plumbers through the Montana Board of Plumbers, both under the Department of Labor and Industry. An electrical contractor license requires a Montana licensed master electrician as the responsible party for the business, which is a trade licensing requirement, not a qualifying agent program.
Anything beyond the state credential for general contractors comes from local building departments, so check the city or county where you will pull permits.
In Montana, general contractors need a Construction Contractor License, or an Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate for solo operators with no employees, issued by the Business Standards Division; no exam or qualifying individual is required. Electricians and plumbers are licensed individually, and companies in those trades need licensed journeymen or masters performing or supervising the work.
Montana has no tier system, no classification by job size, and no monetary contract cap tied to the construction contractor license. A Montana general contractor is licensed the same way whether a job is 5,000 dollars or 5 million dollars, so long as the individual project does not fall under the small job exemption described later in this brief.
The Construction Contractor License, formerly called the Construction Contractor Registration and still referred to as the CR, is required for any construction business with employees, and is required for corporations and manager managed LLCs even if the only employees are officers or managers. The application fee is 70 dollars, nonrefundable, with no additional fee for updates. It is valid for two years and requires no exam. It does require proof of Montana specific workers' compensation coverage for every employee; out of state workers' compensation policies are not accepted in the construction industry. The underlying statute, 37-45-203, leaves the fee amount to the department rather than stating a number itself, so the 70 dollar figure should be treated as the department's current rule rather than a statutory guarantee (Montana Code Annotated, checked September 29, 2026). The renewal term is also two years, and the renewal fee is the same 70 dollars as the application fee, according to the Montana DLI Construction Contractor Program FAQ.
The Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate, or ICEC, is for individuals who work without employees and want to waive their own workers' compensation coverage rights so they can be treated as a true independent contractor rather than as an employee of whoever hires them. It applies to sole proprietors, working partners, working members of member managed LLCs, and managers of manager managed LLCs in construction. The application fee is 125 dollars, nonrefundable, and the certificate is valid for two years.
A one person construction business with no employees can choose the Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate path instead of the Construction Contractor License. A business that is a corporation or a manager managed LLC needs the Construction Contractor License regardless of employee count.
Montana's construction contractor license application asks a corporation to list its corporate officers and registered agent, and asks a manager managed LLC to list its manager, or, for a member managed LLC, its members and registered agent (37-45-201, Montana Code Annotated). The statute cross references 37-1-137, a general disciplinary and license denial provision applied to everyone listed on the application. That is a background check style provision, not a qualifying individual system. Montana has no equivalent to a state where an approved qualifying agent personally holds the trade exam credential that a company's license is built on, because there is no trade exam behind the Montana construction contractor license at all. The qualifying agent model used in states that require a trade exam behind the license does not translate directly to Montana general contracting.
Any properly formed business can get the Construction Contractor License itself with a workers' compensation policy and a fee; no outside credentialed individual is required to unlock it. Montana's real qualifying opportunity sits on the electrical and plumbing trade licenses instead, where Montana licenses individuals rather than companies, and a company still needs actual licensed journeymen or masters doing or supervising the work.
No. Montana does not appear on NASCLA's participating state agency list for the Accredited Commercial Building Contractor exam, which lists 20 states and territories, none of them Montana (checked September 29, 2026). Montana also does not appear on NASCLA's separate electrical exam participating state agencies list, which lists 17 states and jurisdictions, none of them Montana (checked September 29, 2026). A NASCLA card from another state unlocks nothing at the Montana state level, because there is no Montana general contractor exam for it to waive. This holds on both the commercial side and the electrical side, so a NASCLA credential earned elsewhere does not shorten the path to any Montana license.
Montana has no general contractor exam of any kind, so the only exams that apply are the two trade board exams described in this brief, electrical and plumbing, each split into a Journeyman level and a Master level test. Those four tests, Journeyman Electrician, Master Electrician, Journeyman Plumber, and Master Plumber, are the trade board exams described in this brief. There is also a separate Residential Electrician exam referenced in PSI's Montana bulletin that is not covered in detail here. The exam mechanics below are current as of August 22, 2026; the 2020 NEC basis and the 16 hour continuing education figure were checked again September 29, 2026.
PSI Services LLC administers this exam under contract to the Montana State Electrical Board: 60 multiple choice questions, 180 minutes, based on the 2020 NEC, open book, 75 percent passing score. The exam fee is 75 dollars, nonrefundable and nontransferable, valid one year from the date of payment.
Same vendor and scheduling as Journeyman: 80 multiple choice questions, 240 minutes, based on the 2020 NEC, open book, 75 percent passing score. The exam fee is 85 dollars, nonrefundable and nontransferable, valid one year from the date of payment.
IAPMO administers this exam under contract to the Montana Board of Plumbers. The written exam has 100 multiple choice questions with a 3 hour limit, plus a separate practical exam of 3 virtual diagram problems with a 2.5 hour limit. The passing score is 70 percent on each, separately. It is open book, based on the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code as amended, with remote proctoring available through IAPMO's FLEX platform.
Same vendor as Journeyman: 125 multiple choice questions, written only, with no practical exam at this level, a 3 hour limit, and a 70 percent passing score, open book, on the same 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code basis.
No experience requirement and no net worth or financial statement requirement exists for the general Construction Contractor License; only proof of workers' compensation coverage and the application fee are required. Financial and experience requirements do exist for the electrical and plumbing trade licenses described above.
The process is shifting toward an online first model through the state's eBiz portal; see the note above on the conflict between sources over whether a mailed paper application is still required after online payment. A specific number of business days for turnaround is not promised here: earlier figures of 5 to 7 business days for the Construction Contractor License and 10 to 15, up to 30, days for the Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate came from the department's older Employment Relations Division page and have not been checked against the newer Business Standards Division pages. Confirm current processing time with the department at 406 444 6880 before relying on a specific timeline.
No reciprocity exists at all for the general Construction Contractor License, because there is no exam or credential to waive in the first place; an out of state general contractor simply applies fresh the same way an in state one does. Real reciprocity exists only on the trade side: electrical licensure by endorsement based on substantial equivalency, with the full mechanics still not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page beyond the military spouse and provisional license provisions noted above, and plumbing journeyman reciprocity limited to Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota, with no master plumber reciprocity from any state.
The exemptions statute, 37-45-104, exempts numerous categories from needing the Construction Contractor License at all. The two most likely to come up are any single job under 2,500 dollars in aggregate contract price, and property owners working on their own primary residence, with limited exceptions. Licensed electricians and plumbers working within the scope of their own trade license are also exempt from separately needing the general Construction Contractor License for that trade work.
Electrical and plumbing are the two trades Montana licenses at the state level, each through its own board under the Business Standards Division (checked September 29, 2026). HVAC and mechanical work carry no state license in Montana at all. An HVAC business only needs the same Construction Contractor License or Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate as any other construction business, plus federal EPA refrigerant certification if it handles refrigerants. Some cities layer on their own municipal HVAC licensing requirements; this brief does not confirm those city by city. There is no state HVAC license to get in Montana, but that does not mean no license is needed at all, so confirm requirements with the specific city.
The Montana State Electrical Board licenses Journeyman and Master Electricians (checked September 29, 2026). Journeyman licensure requires completion of an approved apprenticeship or union training program, or 8,000 hours of qualifying practical experience, or 20,000 hours of electrical maintenance work with employer certification, with a minimum of 8,000 of those hours being hands on practical experience. These specific hour tiers are not spelled out on the board's current journeyman page, so confirm hour requirements directly with the board for a borderline case. Master licensure requires either an electrical engineering degree plus 2,000 hours of practical experience, or third party verified experience of 8,000 hours at the journeyman level with between 20 and 50 percent residential experience.
Exams are currently based on the 2020 National Electrical Code, in force since June 10, 2022. Licensees owe 16 hours of board approved continuing education per renewal cycle under ARM 24.141.2102, with at least 8 of those hours on code updates.
The board's journeyman page offers a specific accommodation for military spouses, who can list states where they already hold an active professional license for online verification consideration, and separately allows a provisional license with a 60 day reservation of rights while other requirements, including out of state verification, are processed. The full mechanics of licensure by endorsement for an applicant who is not a military spouse, including a complete list of which states currently qualify as substantially equivalent, are not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page. Confirm the current substantial equivalency list and application fee directly with the board at 406 444 6880 or DLIBSDHELP@MT.GOV before telling an applicant they qualify.
The Montana Board of Plumbers licenses Journeyman and Master Plumbers. Journeyman licensure requires 5 years and 7,500 aggregate hours of documented plumbing experience, or completion of a qualifying apprenticeship, followed by passing the Montana Journeyman exam at 70 percent or better. Master licensure requires 4 years as a licensed journeyman with at least 3 of those years in a supervisory role or working with a licensed master, or alternatively 9 years of notarized experience, followed by passing the Master exam at 70 percent or better.
Fees, drawn from the board's own application checklists: Journeyman Plumber by examination, 270 dollars, plus a separate optional 100 dollar temporary work permit fee for exam candidates. Master Plumber by examination, 380 dollars, plus the same optional 100 dollar temporary journeyman work permit fee. Journeyman Plumber specifically by out of state reciprocity carries a different combined fee: 100 dollars application plus 300 dollars reciprocity license fee, 400 dollars total, plus the same optional 100 dollar temporary permit. These fee figures rest on the board's checklist titles and descriptions rather than a directly readable primary document, so confirm them with the board before quoting a figure as final.
The Board of Plumbers' own FAQ states that Montana has reciprocity agreements for the Journeyman license only with four states: Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota, and that it does not reciprocate the Master license from any state (checked September 29, 2026). An out of state journeyman from one of those four states who passed both the written and practical exam there with no complaints on their license can skip the Montana journeyman exam, but must still formally apply for licensure by reciprocity.
The biggest change is administrative rather than statutory: the Construction Contractor License and the Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate have moved from the Department of Labor and Industry's Employment Relations Division to the Business Standards Division's boards website (checked September 29, 2026). The Employment Relations Division's own contractor page, previously the main home for this program, now functions mainly as a pointer to the Business Standards Division's construction contractor and independent contractor pages. This lines up with a January 1, 2026 recodification that moved the program from Title 39, Chapter 9 to a new Title 37, Chapter 45, placing a workers' compensation style registration program on the same Business Standards Division infrastructure that runs the electrical and plumbing boards. The practical effect: the Business Standards Division's main licensing line, 406 444 6880 or DLIBSDHELP@MT.GOV, is now a single contact point for the Construction Contractor License, the Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate, and the electrical and plumbing boards alike.
Second, the Business Standards Division's construction contractor page states that applications and renewals must be completed online through the state's eBiz portal, which is a real shift away from the mail-in application the state described as recently as last year. Other department materials describe paying online through eBiz and then mailing in a completed paper application, which conflicts with the fully online description above. Treat the process as online first through eBiz, but do not promise an applicant that no paper is involved until this is confirmed directly with the department, since the two sources reviewed for this page do not fully agree yet, likely because the migration is still underway.
Third, a new fee detail applies specifically to a Journeyman Plumber licensed by out of state reciprocity rather than by original Montana examination: the board's own reciprocity checklist describes a 100 dollar application fee plus a 300 dollar reciprocity license fee, a combined 400 dollars, with the same optional 100 dollar temporary work permit fee available if the applicant wants to work while the reciprocity application is pending. This figure has not been confirmed from a cleanly readable board document; confirm it with the board before quoting an applicant a specific dollar amount. It is a materially different number from the 270 dollar by-examination fee, so it should not be used for an applicant coming in on reciprocity from Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota, or South Dakota.
Everything else checked for this page came back unchanged: Montana's nonparticipation on both the NASCLA commercial and NASCLA electrical exam lists, the four state plumbing journeyman reciprocity list with no master reciprocity, the 70 dollar Construction Contractor License fee, the 125 dollar Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate fee and its two year validity, the 16 hour electrical continuing education requirement, and the Title 37, Chapter 45 statutory structure.
Montana has no state exam based general contractor license the way Georgia, Tennessee, or Florida do. Effective January 1, 2026, the legislature moved this program from Title 39, Chapter 9 to a new Title 37, Chapter 45. The operative statute reads: an individual or business entity may not engage in business as a construction contractor without a current license from the department (37-45-201, Montana Code Annotated, checked September 29, 2026). The statute is organized into three parts: Part 1, General; Part 2, Licensing and Registration; Part 3, Unprofessional Conduct and Penalties. So Montana's contractor authorization is technically a license rather than a registration, even though the actual bar to entry has not changed: still no exam, still no board hearing, just an application, proof of workers' compensation coverage, and a fee. It is accurate to call it a license, but it should not be treated as a bigger hurdle than it is.
The program is now administered through the Business Standards Division's boards website rather than the Employment Relations Division page that previously hosted it. General licensing questions for the Construction Contractor License, the Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate, and the electrical and plumbing boards can all be directed to 406 444 6880 or DLIBSDHELP@MT.GOV.
Official Licensing Authority
All contractor license applications, renewals, and qualifying agent changes must go through this board.
We place a licensed qualifying agent with your company as a full time W-2 employee and prepare the qualifier filing with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Business Standards Division, Construction Contractor Licensing. Tell us your trade and what you have going on, and pick a time for a discovery call. Or call 615-219-2110.
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