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FreedomRankings

Occupational Licensing in Montana

Montana requires a licence for 108 of the 246 occupations the Archbridge Institute tracks, against a national median of 124. It ranks 42 of 51 on their index, where 1 is the most burdensome.

Licensed occupations
108
With any entry barrier
144
National rank
#42
In the Mountain
#5

Moving to Montana with a licence

Montana recognises out-of-state licences narrowly — graded bronze. Universal recognition is the reform that lets someone already licensed elsewhere practise after moving, instead of repeating the training; 28 of the 51 jurisdictions have some version of it.

Licensed here, rarely elsewhere

These are the occupations Montana licenses that few other jurisdictions do — the clearest sign of where its rules go further than the national norm.

Every licensed occupation in Montana

All 108, alphabetically. Archbridge tracks 246 occupations in total, so anything absent here is either unlicensed in Montana or outside their list.

Where this comes from

The Archbridge Institute's State Occupational Licensing Index 2026, retrieved 2026-09-16. The index records whether an occupation needs a licence — it does not record fees or training hours, so nothing here says what a licence costs or how long it takes. The rank is Archbridge's own and is not part of the FreedomRankings score. Check the relevant Montana board before acting on any of it.

More on Montana: its freedom score and rank · school choice · homeschool laws