Starting a service business in Montana

Form your business in Montana

To create a Montana LLC, you submit Articles of Organization to the Secretary of State online, through its Business Filing Portal. The Secretary of State's filing fee page lists domestic Articles of Organization at $35, plus $50 for each series named in a series LLC, as listed by the Montana Secretary of State in October 2026. A name reservation is $10 if you want to hold a name while you sort out the rest.

Ongoing state filings

The Secretary of State's fee page lists an annual report for LLCs, and its site flags the due date as April 15. On the October 2026 fee page, the LLC annual report fee is listed as waived when filed before April 15 and $35 after April 15. A lapsed LLC that has to be reinstated pays $35 plus $35 for each year of missed reports, so put the date on your calendar the day you form the company.

Using a business name (DBA)

Montana calls a DBA an assumed business name. The Secretary of State's business structures page says a sole proprietor who does not operate under their own name must register one, and LLCs and corporations can register them too. The fee is $20 to register and $20 to renew, as listed by the Montana Secretary of State in October 2026. Under MCA 30-13-206, a registration lasts five years, and the office cancels it if you do not renew within the 90 days before it expires. The Department of Labor and Industry also tells contractor and ICEC applicants to register their business name first, because those applications go smoother with it in place.

Not sure whether you need an LLC at all? Read LLC vs sole proprietor for contractors, then get your free EIN from the IRS.

Licensing for service trades

Montana licenses electricians and plumbers through state boards inside the Department of Labor and Industry, and since January 1, 2026 it also licenses construction contractors. House Bill 239 (2025) turned the old registration into the Construction Contractor License, and contractors who held an active registration on December 31, 2025 were converted automatically. The license covers anyone who, as an independent business, builds, alters, repairs, improves, moves or demolishes structures or improvements attached to real estate, including flooring, roofing and siding. The department's FAQ says it targets contractors with employees and also corporations and manager-managed LLCs regardless of employee count, and lists the application and renewal fee at $70, as listed in October 2026. MCA 37-45-104 exempts an independent contractor with no employees (who may register voluntarily), licensed electricians and plumbers working within their license, and casual jobs under $2,500 that are not split up to dodge the rule. If your work does not construct, alter or repair anything attached to real estate, ask the program whether the license applies before you assume either way, and check city or county business license rules where you work.

• Montana Construction Contractor License Program (Department of Labor and Industry): Construction contractors who build, alter, repair or demolish improvements to real estate, including roofing, siding and flooring; $70 application and renewal
• Montana State Electrical Board: Residential, journeyman and master electricians, and electrical contractors
• Montana Board of Plumbers: Master and journeyman plumbers, plus the medical gas endorsement
• Montana Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate (ICEC) Program: Workers' comp exemption certificate for owners who work at other people's locations; $125 non-refundable fee

Workers' compensation

The Department of Labor and Industry's insurance compliance page states that employers must provide workers' compensation insurance under the Montana Workers' Compensation and Occupational Disease Acts, with no employee-count threshold stated there. You can buy a policy from any insurer authorized to write Montana workers' comp, or from Montana State Fund, which the department names in its ICEC FAQ; financially qualified employers can apply to self-insure. Montana adds a rule that catches owners: a sole proprietor, a working partner, or a working member of a member-managed LLC who regularly works somewhere other than their own fixed business location must hold either an Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate or self-elected workers' comp coverage. The ICEC requires no test and costs a non-refundable $125, as listed in October 2026. It waives your own right to comp benefits, and liability or health insurance does not substitute. Working without either can bring fines of up to $5,000 per violation, according to the department.

More on coverage: business insurance for contractors.

Sales tax on services

The Montana Department of Revenue states that Montana does not have a general sales tax, so there is no state sales tax permit to collect on mowing, cleaning, washing or repair invoices. The department notes that out-of-state vendors sometimes ask for a Montana sales tax permit or exemption number that does not exist, and it offers a Business Registry resale certificate and asks vendors to contact it for clarification. Income and withholding taxes are separate, and the department's business tax pages cover those.

Recording business calls in Montana

MCA 45-8-213 makes it an offense to record a conversation with a hidden device without the knowledge of all parties, but exempts people who were given warning, and if one person gives the warning, either side may record. For a Montana business that means a clear "this call may be recorded" message at the start of every recorded call. For greeting wording and phone system setup, read our call recording guide.

See our guide to recording business calls before you turn on call recording or an AI receptionist.

How the seasons shape the work

Montana's outdoor season is short and the distances are long. Exterior painting, roofing, washing and lawn work crowd into the months between late spring snow and early fall frost, and west of the Divide, wildfire smoke can shut down outdoor jobs for days in late summer. Winter brings steady snow plowing and roof snow removal in places like Bozeman, Missoula and Whitefish, while the eastern plains see wind and cold more than deep snow. With towns far apart, many crews quote drive time and stack jobs by route.

Solo operators: ICEC or comp before your first job

Because the ICEC rule applies to the owner as well as the crew, a one-person window cleaner, handyman or pressure washer who works at customers' homes needs either the certificate or a self-elected comp policy before taking paid work. The department says the certificate is issued for the occupations you list, so list every trade you plan to offer, and register your assumed business name with the Secretary of State before you apply.

Hiring a sub without paperwork

The department warns that hiring an independent contractor who has neither an ICEC nor their own comp coverage can lead the state to treat that worker as your employee, leaving you responsible for injury claims and Uninsured Employers' Fund penalties. A 1099 or a written labor agreement does not change that, so ask every sub for proof before they start.

Then set up the back end that gets you hired

The paperwork makes you legal. Customers still have to find you, reach you and pay you. Before your first job, set up a business phone number, email on your own domain, a Google Business Profile, a simple website, and a way to send quotes and take card payments. The launch checklist lays out the order.

Montana questions