Montana Ordinances (2026)

Montana SB 528, codified in 2023, requires cities and counties to allow accessory dwelling units on lots zoned for single-family use. Local governments cannot impose owner-occupancy…

Montana adopts statewide building and residential codes through the Department of Labor and Industry. Tiny houses on foundations follow IRC Appendix Q, while RV-classified tiny homes…

Montana requires all beekeepers to register hives with the Department of Agriculture annually. The state apiary law preempts local registration mandates and sets disease standards…

Montana's Right to Farm and Ranch Act (MCA 76-2-901 to 76-2-903) bars local ordinances from declaring established livestock and poultry operations a nuisance based on changed…

Montana law requires Fish, Wildlife and Parks permits to possess exotic, wild, or roadside menagerie animals. State licensing preempts local exotic pet rules across Montana communities.

Montana's animal cruelty statute applies universally and addresses neglect, deprivation, and conditions characteristic of hoarding regardless of local ordinances or jurisdiction across…

Montana state law prohibits intentional or negligent feeding of deer, elk, bears, and other game animals statewide. The rule preempts municipal allowance and applies on private…

Montana setbacks are set by local zoning, but 2023 housing laws limit them: SB 323 requires cities over 5,000 to allow duplexes on single-family lots, and SB 528 (MCA 76-2-345)…

Montana regulates vapor and tobacco retail under Title 16, chapter 11 (Youth Access to Tobacco Products Control Act). Retailers need a state tobacco license and must verify age…

Montana sets statewide licensing for marijuana dispensaries under Title 16, Chapter 12, MCA, including a 500-foot buffer from schools and places of worship. Counties that voted against…

Montana law (Title 16, Chapter 12, MCA) sets uniform statewide rules for adult-use marijuana home cultivation, allowing limited plants per household. The state framework controls plant…

Commercial drone pilots in Montana must hold an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. The FAA preempts local flight regulation, while Montana statutes restrict surveillance, evidence…

FAA rules govern airspace, while Montana law (MCA 45-8-213, 46-5-109) prohibits drone surveillance of private property and protected uses. Local governments cannot regulate flight, but…

Montana sets a single statewide minimum wage under MCA 39-3-409, indexed annually to inflation ($10.85 in 2026). No Montana statute authorizes local governments to set their own or…

Montana has no statewide paid sick or family leave mandate for private employers, and its minimum-wage statutes neither authorize nor clearly preempt local paid-leave ordinances.

Montana requires an MPDES construction stormwater permit before any land disturbance of one acre or more, enforced by the Department of Environmental Quality under the Water Quality…

The Montana Floodplain and Floodway Management Act (Title 76, Ch. 5, MCA) requires DNRC-approved local floodplain regulations meeting NFIP standards. State minimum standards apply…

Montana requires a Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit before stormwater reaches state waters. Under MCA 75-5-401, construction-site operators discharge under a…

Montana statute MCA 70-16-205 establishes the partition fence rule: when a neighbor encloses land bordering an existing fence, they must pay a just proportion of the fence value…

Montana permits consumer fireworks, sold at retail only June 24-July 5 and December 29-31 under MCA 50-37-106. Permissible fireworks are the federally defined consumer fireworks, which…

Montana permits concealed carry without a permit for most adults under HB 102 (2021), while still issuing optional permits under MCA 45-8-321 for reciprocity and convenience.

Montana statute MCA 45-8-351 broadly preempts local governments from regulating the purchase, sale, ownership, possession, transportation, or transfer of firearms and ammunition.

Montana law under MCA 45-8-316 generally allows adults to carry firearms in vehicles, with permitless concealed carry now extended to most public places under HB 102 (2021).

Montana requires all mobile food establishments to obtain state retail food licenses through the Department of Public Health. Local jurisdictions cannot waive state food safety…

Montana never built freestanding card rooms: it licenses live card tables inside the bars, restaurants, and clubs that already hold on-premises liquor licenses. Under MCA 23-5-306, an…

Montana exempts 501(c)(3), (c)(4), (c)(8), and (c)(19) nonprofits from the state gambling permit fee to run charitable bingo, keno, and raffles under MCA 23-5-406. Groups exempted…

Montana defines any wager contingent on chance as gambling and bans it unless a statute specifically authorizes it. The only social-game exception covers bridge, cribbage, hearts…

Montana legalized sports wagering in 2019, but only as a state lottery monopoly, not a commercial sportsbook market. Sports Bet Montana, operated by the Montana Lottery, is the sole…

Montana has no general HOA statute creating an assessment lien, so an ordinary homeowners' association's lien and foreclosure power come only from the recorded declaration…

Most Montana HOAs are nonprofit corporations governed by the Montana Nonprofit Corporation Act (Title 35, Ch. 2): an annual members' meeting (§ 35-2-526), special meetings on a 5%…

Montana covenant and architectural disputes turn on the recorded declaration and common-law rules of restrictive covenants. Section 70-17-210 sets who may enforce a covenant and…

Montana has never enacted a homeowners' association fine statute. There is no dollar cap, no statutory schedule, no required cure period, and no statutory notice-and-hearing step…

Only Montana condominiums get a statutory assessment lien, and only the Unit Ownership Act says how it is foreclosed. Mont. Code Ann. § 70-23-608(1) requires the proceedings to conform…

Montana has one statute on association rental limits, Mont. Code Ann. § 70-17-901, in force since May 9, 2019. It bars a homeowners' association from entering into, amending, or…

A Montana cottage food operation registers with the local health authority in the county where the home sits, pays a $40 fee set by ARM 37.110.511(7), and is then exempt from retail…

Montana requires state registration or licensure for home-based child care under Title 52, Chapter 2, MCA. The Department of Public Health and Human Services sets capacity, safety, and…

Montana never created a microenterprise home kitchen permit because it went further. The Montana Local Food Choice Act, Mont. Code Ann. §§ 50-49-201 through 50-49-203, bars every state…

Montana's checkpoint statute never uses the words sobriety or DUI. Section 46-5-502, MCA, lets a law enforcement agency set up a temporary roadblock within its jurisdiction for three…

Montana has no statute that grants an express right to record police, and it does not need one to make open recording lawful. The offense in 45-8-213(1)(c), MCA, is committed only by…

Montana is not a stop-and-identify state. Section 46-5-401(2)(a), MCA, lets a peace officer who has made a lawful investigative stop request a person's name, present address and an…

Montana's search rules for a stopped vehicle come from its own constitution rather than from a legalisation-era statute. Article II, Section 11 was amended by Constitutional Amendment…

Montana's County Noxious Weed Control Act requires every landowner to manage state-listed noxious weeds on their property. County weed districts have statutory authority to inspect…

A golf cart may not be driven on any Montana public street or highway unless the county, city or town that controls that road has specifically authorised it by ordinance or regulation…

Aircraft noise in Montana is governed almost entirely by federal law under the Federal Aviation Act and FAA regulations. State and local authorities generally cannot regulate flight…

Montana treats a persistently barking dog as a nuisance. After the 2025 nuisance-law revision, a neighbor pursues it as a private nuisance under MCA 27-30-106, with a civil action and…

Montana has no dedicated light-trespass statute. Excessive light spilling onto a neighbor's property is handled as a private nuisance under MCA 27-30-106, with a civil action and…

Montana Title 61, Ch. 12, MCA establishes uniform statewide procedures for declaring vehicles abandoned, towing, lien sales, and title transfer. Local governments must follow state…

Montana regulates who may tow far more tightly than what they may charge. The Professional Tow Trucks part, Mont. Code Ann. §§ 61-8-901 through 61-8-920, sets no cap on hookup…

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-422, a Montana landlord may terminate for unpaid rent if the tenant fails to pay within 3 days after written notice. Most lease violations carry a 14-day…

Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-303 requires Montana landlords to keep rentals fit and habitable: meeting building codes, maintaining utilities, supplying running water, reasonable hot water…

Montana's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act establishes statewide eviction procedures and grounds. Cities cannot impose just-cause eviction requirements beyond state law, which…

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-312, a Montana landlord must give the tenant at least 24 hours' notice of intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times. Entry is allowed to…

Montana's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no statutory cap on late rent fees and requires no grace period. Late fees are governed only by the rental agreement under Mont. Code…

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-441, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days' written notice and a week-to-week tenancy with 7 days' written notice. A…

Rent control is prohibited at the local level in Montana. Mont. Code Ann. § 7-1-111(26) denies every local government any power to control the amount of rent charged for private…

Montana sets no statutory limit on the size of a residential security deposit. Under Mont. Code Ann. § 70-25-202, a landlord must return the deposit within 10 days when there are no…

Montana adverse possession is hard to establish. Under Mont. Code Ann. § 70-19-411, a claimant must occupy and claim the land continuously for 5 years and must have paid all state…

Montana counties may zone to protect farmland, and the Right to Farm and Ranch Act (MCA 76-2-901 to 76-2-903) bars local ordinances from declaring established agricultural operations a…

Montana imposes a statewide 4% lodging facility use tax and a 4% sales tax on short-term rental accommodations. Hosts must register with the Department of Revenue, collect taxes from…

Political signs in Montana are protected by the First Amendment and Article II of the Montana Constitution. Following Reed v. Town of Gilbert, content-based restrictions on political…

Montana enacted MCA 7-1-121 in 2021 (HB 407), preempting local governments from regulating, banning, or imposing fees on plastic bags and other auxiliary containers.

Montana has never passed a statute voiding covenants that ban or restrict solar panels. There is no "reasonable restriction" test, no architectural approval deadline, and no cost or…

Montana requires regulated electric utilities to offer net metering to customers whose solar systems generate no more than 50 kilowatts. The Montana Public Service Commission oversees…

Montana law gives consumers a statewide three-day right to cancel door-to-door sales of $25 or more. Sellers must provide written notice of cancellation rights, and the protections…

Montana regulates public swimming pools, spas, and bathing places under state health rules requiring licensing, water quality testing, and lifeguard standards regardless of local…

Federal law bars tobacco, vapor, and alternative-nicotine sales to anyone under 21, and that applies in Montana. Montana's own statutes (MCA 16-11-305 and 45-5-637) still reference age…

Montana sets no recycling mandate for households or businesses. Under Mont. Code Ann. § 75-10-805, only state agencies, the legislature, and the university system must prepare…

Montana counts your extra lamps. Section 61-9-217, MCA, allows no more than two spot lamps, no more than two fog lamps and no more than two auxiliary driving lamps, each with its own…

Montana does not publish a closed list of things that may sit on a windshield. Section 61-9-405(2)(a), MCA, prohibits driving with a sign, poster, substance or other nontransparent…

Montana authorised lane filtering in 2021 and the section is still in force with no expiry. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-8-392 lets the operator of a two-wheeled motorcycle overtake and pass a…

Montana never wrote a statute naming license plate covers, frames or tinted shields. What governs instead is Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-301(1)(a), which requires plates to be conspicuously…

No section of the Montana Code prohibits owning, mounting or using a radar detector in a private vehicle. Title 61, chapter 9, the vehicle equipment chapter, contains no reference to a…

Montana lets you run studded snow tires on any highway between October 1 and May 31 of each year. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-9-406(3) bans studs, cleats and spikes on a tire the rest of the…

Montana sets its tint limits in 61-9-405(4), MCA. Front side windows must pass at least 24% light transmission and reflect no more than 35%. Rear and behind-the-front-seat side windows…