Montana ban-the-box law: no statute, the bills that failed and what applies

Montana has no ban-the-box law for private employers, state agencies or local governments, as of October 2026. The Legislature's research staff describe Senate Bill 168 of 2019 as a bill that "would have disallowed" the criminal history question on initial job applications; it did not become law, and the Legislature's 2025 bill records show no bill to revive it. We also found no city ordinance on the topic in the Montana cities we checked. That leaves federal law (Title VII, the Fair Chance Act for federal contractors and the FCRA) and each employer's own policy to set when the question comes up, while Montana law separately limits how licensing boards use convictions.

Does Montana have a ban-the-box law?

No. Neither the Montana Code nor any ordinance we found tells an employer when it may ask about criminal history. Our Montana background check guide and Montana hiring checklist reach the same conclusion. The clearest official record is a February 2020 memo by the Economic Affairs Interim Committee's research staff, "SJ 18: Past Legislative Options Regarding Job Applicants". It explains that SB 168 "would have disallowed use on an initial job application of a question asking whether the applicant had a criminal record or criminal history, with exceptions," and notes employer opposition: some worried that not asking up front would waste interview time on people unsuitable for the job.

What about state agency jobs in Montana?

We found no statute or executive order that sets a timing rule for state agencies. Agency policies can still add rules of their own. The Board of Pardons and Parole's published policy BOPP 3.8, Criminal Conviction in Employment (effective June 1, 2022) is one example: it runs criminal background checks as a condition of employment, says evidence of a conviction "may not automatically disqualify an applicant," and weighs the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since the sentence was completed, and the nature of the job. That is one agency's rule, not a statewide one. If you recruit for a Montana agency, ask for its written policy before you build the screen.

Do any Montana cities have ban-the-box ordinances?

We did not find one in Billings, Missoula, Bozeman or Helena, and we did not survey every city's code or internal city personnel policies. A city government can change its own application without an ordinance, so for a city or county client, ask how its application handles criminal history.

What Montana law does say about criminal records

The constitution restores rights after supervision ends

Article II, section 28 of the Montana Constitution says laws for the punishment of crime are founded on "prevention, reformation," public safety and restitution, and that "full rights are restored by termination of state supervision for any offense against the state." The provision sets no rule about what an employer may ask, and we found no statute applying it to private hiring, but it explains the policy tone of Montana's licensing law.

Licensing boards may not deny a license solely for a conviction

MCA 37-1-203 says "criminal convictions shall not operate as an automatic bar to being licensed to enter any occupation in the state of Montana," and that no licensing authority shall refuse a license "solely on the basis of a previous criminal conviction." A board may deny a license when the offense relates to public health, welfare and safety for the occupation and, after investigation, it finds the applicant "has not been sufficiently rehabilitated as to warrant the public trust." If an offer depends on a license, the board's review is a separate decision from the employer's.

Public records are easy to get, which makes the policy question sharper

Montana treats conviction and initial arrest information as public criminal justice information, and the Department of Justice sells online name-based searches, as our background check guide explains with its sources. Records of a deferred sentence that was later dismissed become confidential. Because a Montana employer can usually get a record without the candidate's help, the real decision is not whether it can find out but when it looks and how it weighs what it finds.

Which bills were filed in the 2025 session?

• House Bill 795 (2025), "Revise expungement laws to allow for certain nonviolent felony records." Introduced February 26, 2025, tabled in committee on March 4 and recorded as died in process.
• House Joint Resolution 45 (2025), an "interim study on the impact collateral consequences have on criminal record expungement." It passed both chambers and was filed with the Secretary of State on May 6, 2025. It requests a study; it changes no hiring rule.

Neither is a ban-the-box bill, and the 2025 bill records contain none for public or private employers. Watch the next session for any bill that grows out of the HJ 45 study.

What federal rules apply in Montana?

• Title VII. It covers employers with 15 or more employees (42 U.S.C. 2000e), and its disparate impact provision, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k), reaches criminal record rules that fall more heavily on a protected group. Courts decide those claims.
• The EEOC's 2012 guidance is rescinded. The EEOC voted on October 28, 2026 to rescind its arrest and conviction records guidance. Its release says that does not license discrimination: Title VII still bars race and national origin discrimination, including requirements that are proxies for it. Weighing the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job, the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case, remains the safe way to decide and document.
• The Fair Chance Act. Federal contractors may not request criminal history for positions related to the contract before a conditional offer, with exceptions for classified, law enforcement and national security roles (41 U.S.C. 4714); federal agencies follow 5 CFR part 920.
• The FCRA. Disclosure and written authorization before a screening company's report, and pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report before rejecting anyone because of it (FTC, Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know).

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in Montana?

1. Get the client's policy in writing. With no state rule, it decides when criminal history is considered and who weighs it.
2. Flag federal contract roles. If the job supports a federal contract, the Fair Chance Act keeps the question out until the conditional offer.
3. Separate licensing from hiring. For licensed roles, tell the candidate the board reviews convictions under MCA 37-1-203 on its own track.
4. Keep the question off your screen. The public record is a search away for the client; your notes do not need it. See what not to write in interview notes.
5. Mind out-of-state jobs. A remote role located in a state with a law follows that state's rule; neighbors North Dakota (public employers only), South Dakota and Wyoming are covered on their own pages.
6. Send FCRA notices every time. The steps are in the FCRA background check process.

A screening script. If a hiring manager asks you to ask on the phone screen: "Montana doesn't require us to wait, but your background check will show anything public, and asking now puts it in my notes before we know if the candidate fits. Let's keep it in your background step after an offer."

Montana ban-the-box rules at a glance

For the states that do regulate timing, see ban-the-box laws and interview questions. Other Montana rules for the same hire: drug testing, non-competes, staffing agency licensing and recording interviews, where Montana expects all parties to know.