Verified November 6, 2026 against the state board. Rules change, so read the board’s current rules before relying on them.
Montana Board of Public Accountants licenses CPAs in Montana. Its rules and forms are the authority for everything on this page.
Active Montana CPAs need 120 CPE hours in any rolling three-year period, including 2 hours of ethics.
Sources: boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/faq, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/pac/24-201-53pro-arm.pdf, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/pac/24-201-53adp-arm.pdf, nasbaregistry.org/cpe-requirements/montana
Montana CPA licenses renew every year by December 31. A late renewal adds a 100% late fee.
Sources: boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/license-information/index, mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0370/chapter_0500/part_0030/section_0250/0370-0500-0030-0250.html, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/license-information/mobility, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/license-information/transfer-licensure, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/pac/2025-350pro-arm.pdf, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/pac/2025-350adp-arm_Substantial-Equivalency.pdf, nasbaregistry.org/cpe-requirements/montana
Montana no longer requires 150 semester hours for every applicant. A license requires a postgraduate degree plus one year of experience, a bachelor's degree plus 30 more semester hours and one year, or a bachelor's degree plus two years, along with the CPA Exam and the AICPA ethics course.
Sources: boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/license-information/education-requirements, mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0370/chapter_0500/part_0030/section_0050/0370-0500-0030-0050.html, archive.legmt.gov/content/Sessions/69th/Contractor_index/CH0346.pdf, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/pac/2025-167pro-arm.pdf, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/pac/2025-167adp-arm.pdf, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/license-information/experience-requirements, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/public-accountants/license-information/exam-requirements, montana.cpa/navigating-cpa-new, nasba.org/licensure/nasbalicensing/montana, nasba.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/MONTANA-EXPERIENCE-REQUIREMENTS-updated.pdf
Active Montana CPAs need 120 CPE hours in any rolling three-year period, including 2 hours of ethics. Two of the 120 hours must be in ethics in each rolling three-year period (Board FAQ; ARM 24.201.2106). A new licensee meets the first requirement in the three calendar years after the year of initial licensure; CPE earned in the licensing year does not count toward that first period (ARM 24.201.2106(4)). Retired and inactive licensees are exempt. A nonresident licensee meets Montana's requirement by meeting the CPE rules of the state of the principal place of business, unless that state has no CPE requirement for renewal.
The three-year period rolls by calendar year (January 1 to December 31). At least 60 of the 120 hours must be in technical fields of study. The Board audits CPE compliance through NASBA's CPE Audit Service. Lecturer and instructor credit is capped at 60 hours per rolling three-year period.
Montana CPA licenses renew every year by December 31. A late renewal adds a 100% late fee. Annual. December 31 each year. Annual renewal is $125 for an active license, $75 for inactive and $25 for retired. A 100% late fee applies after December 31. Annual firm registration has no fee but must be filed by December 31.
A CPA whose principal place of business is outside Montana and who holds a valid license from a state NASBA's National Qualification Appraisal Service has verified as substantially equivalent has practice privileges with no notice, fee or other filing (MCA 37-50-325). A CPA from another state can also get a Montana license by transfer if the license comes from a substantially equivalent jurisdiction. Under HB 246 (2025, effective October 1, 2025), the Board adopted its own substantial equivalency list by rule (ARM 24.201.527), effective March 7, 2026.
To sit for the exam a candidate needs at least 24 semester hours of accounting above the introductory level, including financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting, and at least 24 semester hours of non-accounting business courses, from an accredited four-year institution. Foreign education must be evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Services. SB 166 (2025, Ch. 346) removed the 150-semester-hour requirement from MCA 37-50-305, effective January 1, 2026. The statute now requires a bachelor's degree and the accounting and business credits set by Board rule. The Board's amended ARM 24.201.503, effective September 13, 2025, sets three routes: a post-baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration and one year of experience, a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration plus 30 semester hours and one year, or a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration and two years.
Each required year means at least 12 calendar months and 2,000 hours of private, governmental, academic or public accounting work, earned in the three years before the application (ARM 24.201.502). The experience must be attested by a U.S. CPA with an active license, or a licensee of an accounting body with a NASBA/AICPA mutual recognition agreement who supervises the applicant.
Applicants for an initial license must pass the AICPA comprehensive professional ethics course (ARM 24.201.503).
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