Montana Electrical Licensing Law

Montana Code · 14 sections

The following is the full text of Montana’s electrical licensing law statutes as published in the Montana Code. For the official version, see the Montana Legislature.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-45-104

37-45-104. Exemptions. As related to construction contractors, this chapter does not apply: (1) to an authorized representative of the United States government, the state of Montana, or any incorporated municipality, county, alternative form of local government, irrigation district, reclamation district, or other municipal or political corporation or subdivision of this state; (2) to an officer of a court acting within the scope of office; (3) to a public utility operating under the regulations of the public service commission or to a rural cooperative utility operating under Title 35, chapter 18, in construction, maintenance, or development work incidental to its own business; (4) to the repair or operation incidental to the discovery or production of oil or gas or incidental to the drilling, testing, abandoning, or other operation of an oil or gas well or a surface or underground mine or mineral deposit; (5) to the sale or installation of finished products, materials, or articles of merchandise that are not actually fabricated into and do not become a permanent fixed part of a structure; (6) to the construction, alteration, improvement, or repair carried on within the limits and boundaries of a site or reservation under the exclusive legal jurisdiction of the federal government; (7) to a person who only furnished materials, supplies, or equipment without fabricating them into or consuming them in the performance of the work of the construction contractor; (8) to work or operation on one undertaking or project considered of a casual, minor, or inconsequential nature, by one or more contracts, the aggregate contract price of which, for labor and materials and all other items, is less than $2,500 a job. The exemption prescribed in this subsection does not apply when the work or construction is only a part of a larger or major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different construction contractor, or in which a division of the operation is made into contracts of amounts of less than $2,500 a job for the purpose of evasion of this chapter or otherwise. (9) to a farmer or rancher while engaged in a farming, dairying, agriculture, viticulture, horticulture, or stock or poultry operation; (10) to an irrigation district or reclamation district; (11) to an operation related to clearing or other work upon land in rural districts for fire prevention purposes; (12) to an owner who contracts for work to be performed by a registered construction contractor, but this exemption does not apply to an owner who is otherwise covered by this chapter who constructs a residence on the owner's property with the intention and for the purpose of promptly selling the improved property; (13) to an owner working on the owner's property, whether occupied by the owner or not, but this exemption does not apply to an owner who is otherwise covered by this chapter who constructs an improvement on the owner's property with the intention and for the purpose of promptly selling the improved property, unless the owner has continuously occupied the property as the owner's primary residence for at least the last 12 months; (14) to owners of commercial properties who use their own employees to do maintenance, repair, and alteration work in or upon their own properties; (15) to an architect, civil or professional engineer, or professional land surveyor, licensed in Montana and acting solely in a professional capacity; (16) to an electrician or plumber, licensed in Montana, operating within the scope of the license; (17) to a contract security company, licensed under Title 37, chapter 60, operating within the scope of the license; (18) to a person who engages in the activities regulated as an employee of a registered construction contractor with wages as the sole compensation or as an employee with wages as the sole compensation; (19) to a person or entity licensed under Title 50, chapter 39, to sell, install, or service fire suppression or fire protection equipment; (20) to a water well contractor licensed under Title 37, chapter 43, performing the work of a water well contractor; (21) to an enrolled tribal member or an association, business, corporation, or other entity, at least 51% of which is owned by an enrolled tribal member or members and whose business is conducted solely within the exterior boundaries of an Indian reservation; (22) to a contractor engaged in the logging industry who builds forest access roads for the purpose of harvesting and transporting logs from forest to mill; (23) to a person working on the person's own residence, if the residence is owned by a person other than the resident; or (24) to an independent contractor who has no employees. However, an independent contractor may voluntarily elect to register under this chapter.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-67-101

37-67-101. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply: (1) "Board" means the board of professional engineers and professional land surveyors provided for in 2-15-1763. (2) "Branch office" means any office or location where business is conducted that is not the headquarters, main office, home office, or other primary location of a sole proprietorship, firm, partnership, or corporation for purposes of regulation under 37-67-328. (3) "Department" means the department of labor and industry provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 17. (4) "Engineer intern" means a person who complies with the requirements for education, experience, and character and has passed an examination in the fundamental engineering subjects, as provided in this chapter. (5) (a) "Engineering survey" means all survey activities required to support the sound conception, planning, design, construction, maintenance, operation, and association of engineering projects. (b) The term does not include the surveying of real property for the establishment of land boundaries, rights-of-way, easements, and the dependent or independent surveys or resurveys of the public land survey system. (6) "Land surveyor intern" means a person who has qualified for, taken, and passed an examination on the basic disciplines of land surveying, as provided in this chapter. (7) (a) "Practice of engineering" means: (i) any service or creative work the adequate performance of which requires engineering education, training, and experience in the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences to the services or creative work as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning and design of engineering works and systems, planning the use of water, teaching of advanced engineering subjects, engineering surveys, and the inspection of construction for the purpose of ensuring compliance with drawings and specifications; (ii) any of the functions described in subsection (7)(a)(i) that embrace the services or work, either public or private, in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, work systems, projects, and industrial or consumer products or equipment of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or thermal nature insofar as they involve safeguarding life, health, or property. (b) The term includes other professional services necessary to the planning, progress, and completion of any engineering services. (c) The term does not include the work ordinarily performed by persons who operate or maintain machinery or equipment, communication lines, signal circuits, electric powerlines, or pipelines. (8) "Practice of land surveying" means any service or work, the performance of which requires the application of special knowledge of the principles of mathematics, physical sciences, applied sciences, and: (a) the principles of property boundary law to the recovery and preservation of evidence pertaining to earlier land surveys; (b) teaching of land surveying subjects; (c) measurement and allocation of lines, angles, elevations, and coordinate systems; (d) location of natural and constructed features in the air, on the surface of the earth, within underground workings, and on the beds of bodies of water, including work for the determination of areas and volumes; (e) monumenting of property boundaries; (f) platting and layout of lands and the subdivisions of land, including the alignment and grades of streets and roads in subdivisions; (g) preparation and perpetuation of maps, plats, field note records, and property descriptions; and (h) locating, relocating, establishing, reestablishing, laying out, or retracing of any property line or boundary of any tract of land or road, right-of-way, easement, right-of-way easement, alignment, or elevation of any of the fixed works embraced within the practice of engineering. (9) "Professional engineer" means a person who, by reason of special knowledge and use of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences and the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design acquired by engineering education and engineering experience, is qualified to practice engineering and who has been licensed as a professional engineer by the board. (10) "Professional land surveyor" means a person who: (a) has been licensed as a land surveyor by the board; (b) is a professional specialist in the technique, analysis, and application of measuring land; (c) is skilled and educated in the principles of mathematically related physical and applied sciences, relevant requirements of law for adequate evidence, and all requisites to the surveying of real property; and (d) is engaged in the practice of land surveying. (11) "Responsible charge" means direct charge and control and personal supervision either of engineering work or of land surveying. Only a professional engineer or a professional land surveyor may legally assume responsible charge under this chapter.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-101

37-68-101. Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to: (1) protect the health and safety of the people of this state from the danger of electrically caused shocks, fires, and explosions; (2) protect property from the hazard of electrically caused fires and explosions; (3) establish a procedure for determining where and by whom electrical installations are to be made; (4) assure the public that persons making electrical installations are qualified; and (5) ensure that the electrical installations in this state meet minimum safety standards.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-102

37-68-102. Definitions. Unless the context requires otherwise, in this chapter the following definitions apply: (1) "Board" means the state electrical board provided for in 2-15-1764. (2) "Department" means the department of labor and industry provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 17. (3) "Electrical construction" means work performed by an individual, firm, or corporation in which an electrical connection is made to a supply of electricity or in which electricity is supplied to any electric equipment installation for which a permit is required by the authority having jurisdiction. (4) (a) "Electrical contractor" means a person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or combination of these entities that undertakes or offers to undertake for another the planning, laying out, supervising, and installing or the making of additions, alterations, and repairs in the installation of wiring apparatus and equipment for electric light, heat, and power. (b) The term does not include a person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or combination of these entities that only plans or designs electrical installations. (5) "Grid-tied generator" means a generator or a group of generators located on a utility customer's property or residence and designed to operate in parallel with a utility distribution facility. (6) "Journeyman electrician" means a person having the necessary qualifications, training, experience, and technical knowledge to wire for, install, and repair electrical apparatus and equipment for light, heat, power, and other purposes under the rules governing this work. (7) "Journeyman level experience" means being recognized as a journeyman electrician by a state or other legally authorized jurisdiction or having a minimum of 8,000 hours of practical experience. (8) "Master electrician" means a person having the necessary qualifications, training, experience, and technical knowledge to properly plan, lay out, and supervise the installation and repair of wiring apparatus and equipment for electric light, heat, power, and other purposes under the rules governing this work. (9) "Practical experience" means experience gained in the electrical construction industry consisting of layout, assembly, repairs, wiring, and connection and testing of electrical fixtures, apparatus, and control equipment in residential and nonresidential settings pursuant to the provisions of the national electrical code or pursuant to the requirements of another authority having jurisdiction. (10) "Public utility" has the meaning provided in 69-3-101. (11) "Residential electrician" means a person having the necessary qualifications, training, experience, and technical knowledge to wire for, install, and repair electrical apparatus and equipment for light, heat, power, and other purposes in residential construction consisting of fewer than five living units in a single structure under the rules governing this work. (12) "Utility distribution facility" means a facility by and through which electricity is received from a transmission services provider and distributed to a customer that is controlled or operated by a public utility, municipally owned utility, or cooperative utility that provides electricity for sale to consumers.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-103

37-68-103. Exemptions. (1) This chapter does not apply to the installation, alteration, or repair of electrical signal or communications equipment owned or operated by a public utility or a city. For purposes of this exemption, "communications equipment" includes telephone wire inside a customer's premises. This chapter does not prohibit a public utility from doing inside wiring to install, alter, repair, or maintain electrical equipment, installations, or facilities in buildings owned by the public utility if the work is accomplished by an employee who is a licensed electrician. If the building owned by the public utility is open to the public and the inside wiring constitutes major renovation or construction, the installation, alteration, repair, or maintenance of electrical equipment, installations, or facilities is subject to the permits and inspections required by law. (2) The licensing or inspection provisions of this chapter do not apply to regularly employed maintenance electricians doing maintenance work on the business premises of their employer or to line work on the business premises of the employer when ordinary and customary in-plant or onsite installations, modifications, additions, or repairs are performed. (3) (a) Except as provided in subsection (3)(b), this chapter does not require an individual to hold a license to perform electrical work on the individual's own property or residence if the property or residence is maintained for the individual's own use. (b) Subsection (3)(a) does not include an exemption for an individual who is performing electrical work on a grid-tied generator located at the individual's own property or residence. (4) An individual, firm, partnership, or corporation may apply for licensure as an electrical contractor if all electrical work performed by the individual, firm, partnership, or corporation is under the direction, control, and supervision of a licensed master electrician or under the direction, control, and supervision of a licensed journeyman electrician for residential construction consisting of less than five living units in a single structure. (5) A person who plugs in an electrical appliance where an approved electrical outlet is already installed may not be considered an installer. (6) This chapter may not in any manner interfere with, hamper, preclude, or prohibit a vendor of any electrical appliance from selling, delivering, and connecting any electrical appliance if the connection does not necessitate the installation of electrical wiring of the structure in which the appliance is to be connected. (7) (a) The licensing and inspection provisions of this chapter do not apply to an apprentice, as that term is defined in 39-6-101, who is working under the supervision of a licensed electrician. (b) Subsection (7)(a) includes an exemption for a person serving in an approved journeyman apprenticeship program or a residential apprenticeship program during training if serving under the supervision of a licensed electrician. (8) The licensing provisions of this chapter do not apply to a student who is enrolled in an electrician training program offered by an accredited college or university recognized by the board of regents if the student is undertaking class assignments in a classroom or a hands-on laboratory setting. This subsection does not authorize a student to engage in any electrical work that will be incorporated or used in an occupied structure. (9) This chapter does not require an individual to hold a license to perform electrical work involving 90 volts or less of alternating current or direct current.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-201

37-68-201. Rulemaking power. (1) The board shall meet quarterly and at other times that the board considers necessary. (2) The board shall adopt rules for the administration of this chapter, for the licensing of electrical contractors, and for the examination of master, journeyman, and residential electricians.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-301

37-68-301. License required to engage in electrical work. (1) 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 this state until the person has received from the department a license or permit to work as an electrical contractor, residential electrician, journeyman electrician, or master electrician. (2) A person who has received a license from the department under the provisions of this chapter shall carry the license at all times while working at a jobsite and performing work that requires a license. (3) A private or public employment agency or labor union, or an employee of the agency or union who refers persons for employment by others may not refer a person for employment by others to perform the work of an electrical contractor, residential electrician, journeyman electrician, or master electrician in this state unless the person has received from the department a license or permit to work as an electrical contractor, residential electrician, journeyman electrician, or master electrician.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-302

37-68-302. Unauthorized use of title. A person, firm, partnership, corporation, or association may not assume or use the title or designation of licensed master electrician, master electrician, licensed journeyman electrician, journeyman electrician, licensed residential electrician, residential electrician, licensed electrician, or electrician unless qualified and licensed under this chapter.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-304

37-68-304. Master electricians -- application -- qualifications -- contents of examination -- fees. (1) An applicant for a master electrician's license shall furnish written evidence of at least one of the following: (a) being a graduate electrical engineer of an accredited college or university and having a minimum of 2,000 hours of legally obtained practical electrical experience; or (b) having at least 8,000 hours of legally obtained journeyman level experience in planning, laying out, or supervising the installation and repair of wiring, apparatus, or equipment for electrical light, heat, and power. (2) An applicant for a license as a master electrician shall file an application on a form furnished by the department, submit appropriate fees, and satisfactorily pass an examination prescribed by the board. The board shall notify each applicant that the evidence submitted with the applicant's application is sufficient to qualify to take the examination or that the evidence is insufficient and is rejected. If the application is rejected, the board shall set forth the reasons in the notice to the applicant. (3) The examination must consist of at least 80 questions designed to fairly test the applicant's knowledge and the applicant's technical application skills in the following subjects: (a) the national electric code; and (b) board rules and applicable laws under Title 37. (4) The board shall determine by rule the fees to be charged an applicant for each examination or reexamination. The fees must be commensurate with costs.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-305

37-68-305. Journeyman and residential electricians -- application -- qualifications -- contents of examination. (1) An applicant for a journeyman electrician's license shall furnish written evidence of at least one of the following: (a) completion of an approved apprenticeship program under Title 39, chapter 6, or a substantially equivalent program in the electrical trade; (b) 8,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience in the wiring for, installing, and repairing of electrical apparatus and equipment for light, heat, and power; or (c) work in the electrical maintenance field for at least 20,000 hours, accompanied by written certification by the applicant's employer that the employer considers the applicant qualified to take the examination for which the applicant is applying and that the applicant has attained at least 20,000 hours in the electrical maintenance field while working for the employer. A minimum of 8,000 of these hours must be practical experience. (2) Applications for license and notice to the applicant must be made and given in the same manner as for master electricians' licenses. The examination for a journeyman's license must consist of at least 60 questions designed to fairly test the applicant's knowledge and the applicant's technical application skills in the following subjects: (a) the national electric code; and (b) board rules and applicable laws under Title 37. (3) An applicant for a residential electrician's license shall furnish written evidence of at least one of the following: (a) completion of an approved residential electrician apprenticeship program under Title 39, chapter 6, or a substantially equivalent program; (b) 4,000 hours of legally obtained practical experience in the wiring for, installing, and repairing of electrical apparatus and equipment for light, heat, and power in residential construction consisting of less than five living units in a single structure; or (c) work in the electrical maintenance field for at least 20,000 hours, accompanied by written certification by the applicant's employer that the employer considers the applicant qualified to take the examination for which the applicant is applying and that the applicant has attained at least 20,000 hours in the electrical maintenance field while working for the employer. A minimum of 8,000 of these hours must be practical experience. (4) Application for license and notice to the applicant must be made and given in the same manner as for master electricians' licenses. The examination for a residential electrician's license must consist of at least 50 questions designed to fairly test the applicant's knowledge and the applicant's technical application skills in the following subjects: (a) the national electric code; and (b) board rules and applicable laws under Title 37. (5) For the purposes of this section, the following terms apply: (a) (i) "Electrical maintenance" means the ordinary and customary installations in a plant or onsite in addition to modifications, additions, or repairs that are limited to replacing ballasts, relamping, troubleshooting motor controls, and replacing motors, breakers, or magnetic starters in a kind-for-kind manner. The term includes the connection of specific items of specialized equipment that can be directly connected to an existing branch circuit panel by means of factory-installed leads. (ii) The term does not include installation of a new circuit to operate the equipment described in subsection (5)(a)(i) or installation that requires the size of supply conductors to be increased. (b) (i) "Legally obtained practical experience" means experience obtained in accordance with the laws and rules of the jurisdiction in which an applicant obtained the experience and within the applicable laws pertaining to the state electrical board. (ii) The term does not include experience obtained during an apprenticeship that was not completed.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-308

37-68-308. Licensure without examination of persons licensed locally. The board may authorize the department to issue a license as a master electrician, journeyman electrician, or residential electrician to an applicant without written examination on satisfactory proof that the applicant has the qualifications to apply for a license under this chapter and is the holder of a valid license issued by a city or other political subdivision of this state which provides for the examination and licensing of electricians.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-311

37-68-311. Application fee -- license fee. Master electricians and journeyman or residential electricians installing or intending to install for hire electric wiring or equipment to convey electric current or apparatus to be operated by electric current shall apply for a license to the department. The application must be on a form furnished by the department and must be accompanied by an application fee set by the board. The forms must state the applicant's full name and address, the extent of work experience, and other information required by the board. If the applicant has complied with the rules adopted by the board and, being qualified, has successfully completed the examination, the department shall issue the proper license to the applicant.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-315

37-68-315. Presentation of license. (1) A building code compliance inspector in compliance with 50-60-302, an employee of the department, a person who is professionally responsible for the jobsite, or an electrician licensed under this chapter who is working on the same jobsite has the right to ask a person who is working at a jobsite doing work that requires an electrician's license to present the person's license. If the person performing the work is unable to furnish the person's license, the requesting person may report that fact to the board or the department. (2) An employee of the department may issue a citation to and collect a fine, as provided in 37-68-316, from a person at a jobsite where the person is performing electrical work if the person fails to display an electrician's license at the request of the department employee.

Mont. Code Ann. § 37-68-316

37-68-316. Citation and fine for failure to display license. (1) A citation for failure to display an electrician's license or proof of licensure issued by an employee of the department must include: (a) the time and date on which the citation is issued; (b) the name, address, mailing address, and signature of the person to whom the citation is issued; (c) reference to the statutory authority to issue the citation; (d) the name, title, affiliation, and signature of the person issuing the citation; (e) information explaining the procedure for the person to follow in order to pay the fine or to demonstrate proof of licensure; and (f) the amount of the applicable fine. (2) The applicable civil fines for failing to display a license or proof of licensure are as follows: (a) $100 for the first offense, unless the provisions of subsection (4)(b) apply; (b) $250 for the second offense; and (c) $500 for the third and any subsequent offense. (3) Each day of violation constitutes a separate offense. The person issuing the citation is responsible for determining, by means of an up-to-date list or through telephone or other communication with the board office, whether the citation being issued is for a first, second, or subsequent offense. (4) (a) The person who issues the citation is authorized to collect the fine, but the person who is issued a citation may pay the fine to the appropriate authority identified on the citation within 5 business days of the date of issuance. (b) The board may not impose a fine for a first offense on a licensee who produces proof of licensure to the department within 5 days of the citation. In other cases, the board may, upon finding that the person has demonstrated acceptable proof of licensure, waive or refund the fine. (5) A person who violates this section is also subject to the provisions of 37-1-109.

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)