Montana Concealed Carry Permit

Montana allows permitless carry for non-prohibited adults 18+. A CWP is still available and is what other states recognize.

Permitless carry is legal in Montana

A non-prohibited adult aged 18 or older may carry a concealed handgun without a permit (since 2021). YES - no permit is needed to carry a concealed firearm in Montana. MCA 45-8-316(3) reads: 'This section does not apply to a person eligible to possess a firearm under state or federal law.' That subsection was added by HB 102, Ch. 3, L. 2021 (effective June 1, 2021), which also repealed the old exceptions statute MCA 45-8-317. The Montana DOJ's own page states: 'Montana law allows any person to conceal carry a weapon without a concealed weapon permit, so long as that person is eligible to possess a firearm under state or federal law.' This applies to residents and non-residents alike. IMPORTANT LIMITS on permitless carry: MCA 45-8-356 protects PERMIT HOLDERS (and out-of-state permits recognized under 45-8-329) from state/local restriction almost everywhere; a permitless carrier does NOT get that protection. Specifically, MCA 45-8-328 makes it an offense - punishable by up to 6 months in county jail and/or a $500 fine - to carry a concealed weapon in restricted portions of state or local GOVERNMENT OFFICE BUILDINGS unless you hold a 45-8-321 or 45-8-312 permit or a permit recognized under 45-8-329. MCA 45-8-351(2)(a) also lets local governments 'prevent and suppress the carrying of UNPERMITTED concealed weapons' into publicly owned and occupied buildings. Courtrooms/court-controlled areas and school buildings (per school board, MCA 45-8-361) are off limits, as are federal buildings, military reservations, TSA checkpoints, correctional/detention facilities, and private property where the owner prohibits firearms. Carrying concealed while under the influence of an intoxicating substance is a separate offense under MCA 45-8-327 and a permit is expressly no defense. The 18 minAge shown here is the practical floor for a concealed HANDGUN, derived from federal 18 U.S.C. 922(x) rather than from any express age in 45-8-316 - see uncertainties.

Getting the permit anyway is still worth it for most people: other states recognize the permit, not your residency, so without one you generally cannot carry across state lines.

MCA 45-8-316(3)

There are 10 details on this page we could not confirm from a primary source. Read what they are before relying on this.

Requirements at a glance

Permit name	Concealed Weapon Permit
Issuing authority	County sheriff of the applicant's county of residence (Montana Department of Justice keeps the central repository of permits and publishes the AG's recognized-states list)
System	shall-issue
Minimum age	18 — MCA 45-8-321(1) requires the standard-permit applicant to be a U.S. citizen or permanent lawful resident 'who is 18 years of age or older,' and the statutory application form in MCA 45-8-322(1) asks '18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER.' The Montana DOJ page confirms 18. Separately, the OPTIONAL 'enhanced' permit under MCA 45-8-312 (enacted 2023, Ch. 526) normally requires age 21, but MCA 45-8-312(15) directs the sheriff to issue a 'temporary restricted enhanced permit' to a qualifying applicant aged 18-20, convertible at no cost to an unrestricted enhanced permit on written request once the holder turns 21.
Training required	Yes
State fee	$50 initial / $25 renewal — the state's own charge, not the total
Valid for	5 years
Processing time	The sheriff must issue within 60 days after the application is filed (MCA 45-8-321(1)); a decision to deny a renewal must also be made within 60 days (MCA 45-8-323). Enhanced permits: 60 days after filing, following receipt of satisfactory background-check results (MCA 45-8-312(4)(c)).
Fingerprints	Not required
Non-resident permit	Not available

What it actually costs

The state fee is rarely the whole bill. Fingerprinting is usually charged by a private vendor, training is bought from an instructor, and several states add photographs, notarisation or other requirements on top.

State fee	$50
Training course	$75–$250 (private instructor)
Sheriff fingerprinting	$5 — MCA 45-8-322(4), only where the sheriff requires prints, and not repeated at renewal
Optional enhanced permit	$75 — MCA 45-8-312(11), paid to the county sheriff
Realistic total	$125–$305

MCA 45-8-322(3) sets $50 for the permit and $25 for each four-year renewal, and the sheriff may add $5 if fingerprints are taken. Montana sets no hour count and no live-fire requirement: MCA 45-8-321(3) accepts any one of several proofs, among them a hunter education or safety course run by Fish, Wildlife & Parks — which a great many Montana applicants completed years ago, at no cost attributable to this permit.

MCA 45-8-322(3): 'The fee for issuance of a permit is $50. The permit must be renewed for additional 4-year periods upon payment of a $25 fee for each renewal...' Replacement of a lost permit is treated as a renewal ($25). MCA 45-8-322(4): the sheriff may require fingerprints and may charge an additional $5 for fingerprinting; renewal does not require repeat fingerprinting. MCA 45-8-322(5) lets the sheriff retain permit, background-check and fingerprinting fees to implement 45-8-321 through 45-8-324. The separate OPTIONAL enhanced permit costs $75 (MCA 45-8-312(11)), paid to the county sheriff, who forwards part to the Dept. of Justice for background checks and fingerprinting. Individual sheriffs' offices may charge state/FBI background-check pass-through costs; verify with your county.

How to apply

Confirm eligibility: U.S. citizen or permanent lawful resident, 18 or older, Montana resident for at least 6 months, and holder of a valid Montana driver's license or other state-issued photo ID (MCA 45-8-321(1)).
Obtain the application from the sheriff's office in your county of residence. MCA 45-8-322(1) requires the form to be 'readily available at the sheriff's office' and prescribes its exact statutory content. There is no statewide online portal; contact your county sheriff directly.
Complete the form, which asks for full name and aliases, home and employer address and phone, place and date of birth, driver's license number and issuing state, Social Security number (expressly OPTIONAL), physical description, every employer or business for the last 5 years, every place lived for the last 5 years, military service and discharge type, arrest/conviction and court-martial history (minor traffic violations excepted), three character references known at least 5 years who are not relatives or present/past employers, and your reasons for requesting the permit.
Gather proof of firearms familiarity under MCA 45-8-321(3): a hunter education or firearms safety course certificate, a law enforcement course certificate, an out-of-state carry license issued on such a course, or evidence of military firearms qualification. A photocopy of the certificate, an instructor affidavit, or any other verifiable completion document creates a presumption of compliance (45-8-321(4)). Alternatively, if you and the sheriff agree, you may take a hands-on familiarity test instead (45-8-321(5)).
Sign the application in the presence of the sheriff or a designee - the statutory form requires this - and file it with the sheriff. The application is in triplicate: you keep the original, the sheriff keeps a copy at least 4 years, and within 7 days a copy is mailed to the chief of police if you live in a city or town with a police force (MCA 45-8-322(2)).
Pay the $50 issuance fee (MCA 45-8-322(3)).
Submit fingerprints IF your sheriff requires them. MCA 45-8-322(4) makes this discretionary: the sheriff 'may require an applicant to submit the applicant's fingerprints, and may charge the applicant $5 for fingerprinting.' Practice varies by county, so ask yours. Fingerprints are not repeated at renewal. Fingerprints ARE mandatory for the optional enhanced permit (MCA 45-8-312(2)(a)).
The sheriff conducts a background check to determine eligibility under MCA 45-8-321 and must issue within 60 days of filing (MCA 45-8-321(1)). All information on the application is confidential and must be treated as confidential criminal justice information under Title 44, ch. 5 (MCA 45-8-322(7)). No agency may ask a permittee to volunteer information beyond what the application and permit require (45-8-322(6)).
If denied, request the sheriff's written statement of reasonable cause (MCA 45-8-321(2)) and appeal under MCA 45-8-324.
RENEWAL: apply to the sheriff within the 90 days before expiration, with a 30-day grace period after expiration, and pay $25. Each renewal runs 4 years - note that only the INITIAL permit is 5 years (MCA 45-8-322(3)). A lost permit is replaced as a renewal.

Apply on the official Montana site

What disqualifies you

Ineligible under Montana or federal law to own, possess, or receive a firearm - MCA 45-8-321(1)(a)
Charged and awaiting judgment in any state for a state or federal crime punishable by incarceration of 1 year or more - 45-8-321(1)(b)
Convicted in any state or federal court of a crime punishable by more than 1 year of incarceration - 45-8-321(1)(c)(i) (subject to the rights-restoration provision in subsection (6))
Convicted of any crime, regardless of sentence, that includes as an element an act, attempted act, or threat of intentional homicide, serious bodily harm, unlawful restraint, sexual abuse, or sexual intercourse or contact without consent - 45-8-321(1)(c)(ii); this disqualifier is NOT cured by restoration of rights
Convicted under MCA 45-8-327 (carrying concealed while under the influence) or MCA 45-8-328 (carrying concealed in a prohibited place), unless pardoned or 5 years have elapsed since conviction - 45-8-321(1)(d)
An outstanding arrest warrant from any state or the federal government - 45-8-321(1)(e)
Adjudicated in any state or federal court to be an unlawful user of an intoxicating substance and still under a court order of imprisonment, probation, suspended or deferred imposition of sentence, treatment or education, other conditions of release, or otherwise under state supervision - 45-8-321(1)(f)
Adjudicated in any state or federal court to be mentally ill, mentally disordered, or mentally disabled and still subject to that court's disposition order - 45-8-321(1)(g)
Dishonorable discharge from the United States armed forces - 45-8-321(1)(h)
DISCRETIONARY: the sheriff MAY deny if the sheriff has reasonable cause to believe the applicant is mentally ill, mentally disordered, or mentally disabled, or otherwise may be a threat to the peace and good order of the community such that the applicant should not carry concealed - MCA 45-8-321(2). Unless the applicant is the subject of an active criminal investigation, the sheriff must give a written statement of the reasonable cause for denial. This is the one discretionary element in an otherwise shall-issue statute; denials and revocations are appealable under MCA 45-8-324.
Not a Montana resident for at least 6 months, or not a U.S. citizen or permanent lawful resident, or under 18, or lacking a Montana driver's license or other Montana-issued photo ID - MCA 45-8-321(1)

Where to get the required training

Montana does not publish a central list of certified instructors. Confirm directly with County sheriff of the applicant's county of residence (Montana Department of Justice keeps the central repository of permits and publishes the AG's recognized-states list) that a course will be accepted before you pay for it.

Reciprocity

Carrying into Montana

Montana recognizes permits from 43 other jurisdictions.

Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming

33 jurisdictions honor a Montana permit

Derived from what each of those states officially publishes.

Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming

Official Montana reciprocity page Full reciprocity matrix →

Building your own in Montana

Build for personal use

Allowed

Serial number required

Montana law permits building a firearm for personal use. There is no Montana statute prohibiting private manufacture, and no Montana statute requiring a serial number, state registration, or a background check for a self-made firearm. MCA 30-20-104 (Montana Firearms Freedom Act, enacted 2009) expressly contemplates 'A personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or PRIVATELY in Montana,' and declares that such an item, if it remains within Montana's borders, 'is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration.' The Act reaches only firearms made in Montana from basic materials (unmachined steel, unshaped wood) without significant imported parts. MCA 30-20-105 carves out firearms that cannot be carried and used by one person, bores over 1-1/2 inches using smokeless powder, exploding-projectile ammunition, and firearms that discharge two or more projectiles per trigger pull. MCA 30-20-106 imposes the Act's only marking requirement - and it is a marking, not a serial number: 'A firearm manufactured or sold in Montana under this part must have the words "Made in Montana" clearly stamped on a central metallic part, such as the receiver or frame.' A full search of MCA Title 45, ch. 8, part 3 (sections 45-8-301 through 45-8-377) found no provision criminalizing an unserialized or self-manufactured firearm. Montana's separate weapon crimes remain applicable regardless of who made the gun: MCA 45-8-313 (possession of firearm by convicted person), 45-8-334 (destructive device), 45-8-336/337 (silencers), and 45-8-340 (sawed-off firearm). CRITICAL FEDERAL CAVEAT: the Montana Firearms Freedom Act is a state-law declaration about the limits of the federal commerce power; it does NOT and cannot repeal federal law. Federal law governs privately made firearms independently - including the National Firearms Act, the federal prohibition on manufacturing for sale without a license, the federal undetectable-firearms statute (18 U.S.C. 922(p)), and ATF marking and 'firearm frame or receiver' rules. Federal courts have rejected the MFFA's central premise (see uncertainties). Do not treat MCA 30-20-104 as a shield against federal prosecution.

MCA 30-20-101 through 30-20-106 (Montana Firearms Freedom Act); MCA Title 45, ch. 8, part 3 (Weapons) contains no serialization or registration requirement

Federal law, gunsmithing schools, and tools →

Statutes

What we could not confirm

MINIMUM AGE FOR PERMITLESS CARRY IS NOT STATED IN THE STATUTE. MCA 45-8-316(3) exempts 'a person eligible to possess a firearm under state or federal law' and sets no age. I recorded 18 because federal 18 U.S.C. 922(x) generally bars handgun possession by persons under 18, but that federal statute has express exceptions (e.g., temporary possession by a 16- or 17-year-old with written parental consent for employment, ranching, farming, target practice, or hunting), and Montana's own MCA 45-8-344 only restricts firearm use by children under 14. Whether a person under 18 could lawfully carry a concealed handgun in Montana in one of those narrow circumstances is a genuinely unsettled question that I could not resolve from any Montana primary source. Anyone under 18 should consult a Montana attorney and their county sheriff before relying on this.
PERMIT TERM IS ASYMMETRIC AND I WANT TO FLAG IT RATHER THAN SMOOTH IT OVER. MCA 45-8-321(1) says the initial permit 'is valid for 5 years from the date of issuance,' but MCA 45-8-322(3) says it 'must be renewed for additional 4-YEAR periods.' I set validityYears to 5 for the initial permit. Renewals appear to run 4 years, not 5. Both readings come from the current MCA 2025 text; I found no official gloss reconciling them.
FINGERPRINTS ARE SHERIFF-DISCRETIONARY, NOT UNIFORMLY REQUIRED. I set fingerprintsRequired to false because MCA 45-8-322(4) says the sheriff 'MAY require' fingerprints. That is a statement about state law, not about your county. Actual practice varies county by county and I could not survey all 56 Montana county sheriffs. Fingerprints ARE mandatory for the optional enhanced permit under MCA 45-8-312(2)(a).
NO STATE-CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR REGISTRY EXISTS, so I set instructorRegistryUrl to null. Montana does not license or certify concealed-weapon instructors. MCA 45-8-321(3) instead accepts courses from FWP, out-of-state equivalents, national firearms associations, law enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher education. Enhanced-permit courses must be 'approved by a law enforcement agency' (45-8-312(5)), and approval is made agency by agency; no consolidated state list of approved courses or instructors was found on dojmt.gov.
MONTANA FIREARMS FREEDOM ACT IS OF DOUBTFUL FEDERAL EFFECT AND I COULD NOT VERIFY THE CASE LAW FROM A PRIMARY SOURCE IN THIS SESSION. My recollection is that the Ninth Circuit rejected the MFFA's central premise in Montana Shooting Sports Association v. Holder (2013), affirming that federal firearms law still applies to firearms made and kept in Montana, and that the Supreme Court denied review. I was unable to pull the opinion to confirm the citation, holding, or current status, so treat that as unverified. What IS verified from primary sources is the statutory text of MCA 30-20-104 through 30-20-106. Regardless of the MFFA, federal law independently governs privately made firearms - NFA registration, the ban on manufacturing for sale without a license, 18 U.S.C. 922(p) undetectable firearms, and ATF frame/receiver and marking rules. Do not present MCA 30-20-104 to a reader as protection from federal prosecution.
I COULD NOT RUN WEB SEARCHES THIS SESSION (the search budget was exhausted before I began), so I navigated directly to official sites rather than scanning for recent news. Mitigating factors: the MCA edition served at mca.legmt.gov is 'Montana Code Annotated 2025,' the current official edition; the Montana Legislature meets in regular session only in odd-numbered years, so no regular 2026 session has amended these statutes; and the Montana DOJ concealed-weapons page carries a last-modified timestamp of 2025-12-11. I nonetheless did not independently check for a 2026 special session, new Attorney General reciprocity determinations issued after 2025-12-11, or any post-2025 Montana or federal court decision affecting these provisions.
THE 2023 AMENDMENT HISTORY OF MCA 45-8-321 (Ch. 474, L. 2023) is noted in the statute's history line, but I did not retrieve the bill text to determine exactly what it changed. I therefore cannot say whether the age-18 threshold in subsection (1) is longstanding or was set in 2023. The current operative text is what I have reported.
COUNTY AND LOCAL VARIATION IS REAL AND NOT CAPTURED HERE. MCA 45-8-351(2)(a) expressly preserves local authority to suppress UNPERMITTED concealed carry into publicly owned and occupied buildings, and the DOJ page instructs readers to 'check local regulations' and notes that 'County sheriffs can provide information on where concealed weapons are prohibited in their counties.' I did not survey local ordinances. A permitless carrier in particular should verify local rules before entering any government building.
TRIBAL LANDS ARE NOT ADDRESSED by any source I reviewed. Montana contains seven federally recognized reservations, and tribal law may impose separate firearms restrictions that neither MCA Title 45 nor the DOJ page speaks to.
SCHOOL BUILDINGS: MCA 45-8-361 governs and permits an exception 'as determined by a school board.' I did not fetch the full text of 45-8-361, so I have not verified the precise scope of its exceptions, its penalties, or its seizure-and-forfeiture provisions. The DOJ page states flatly that it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon into a Montana public school unless the school board in charge orders otherwise.