Where to take the 70-hour Montana course
The Board publishes the list of providers it approves for salesperson pre-licensing, and it is short — eight names, of which only three are national online schools. Both of ours are on it.
The CE Shop
- Named on the Board's approved salesperson pre-licensing list, so the certificate you finish with is one Montana will accept
- Covers all 70 hours in a single purchase, clearing the whole education requirement between you and the exam
- Sold in three tiers — course only, standard and value — so you can leave out exam prep if you do not want to pay for it
- Has a Montana state-portion exam prep product sold separately, which is the half of the exam a generic national prep course will not help you with
- Self-paced online, so the 70 hours fit around whatever job you are leaving
Colibri Real Estate
- Also on the Board's approved list, so it is a genuine alternative rather than a near-miss
- Four package tiers, the widest ladder available in Montana, if you want exam prep and a pass guarantee bundled in
- Sells Montana continuing education through its sister school McKissock, including the supervising-broker course you would need later if you upgrade
- Montana exam prep sold separately, useful if you have already finished the 70 hours somewhere else
How to get your Montana licence
Four steps — but the broker in step three is a condition of licensure, not something you sort out afterwards.
Complete the 70-hour course
Seventy hours with a Board-approved provider, covering 21 mandated subject areas. The hours must have been completed within the 24 months before you apply, so a course finished years ago will not carry you.
Pass both portions with Pearson VUE
The national and state salesperson exams are two separate sittings, $95 each. National is 80 scored questions in 150 minutes; state is 40 scored questions in 90. Pass one and fail the other and you retake only the part you failed.
Find a supervising broker before you apply
Montana law requires your application to carry the written recommendation of a broker holding a supervising broker endorsement, certifying that they will employ you and actively supervise and train you. Without that signature there is no licence — so start talking to brokerages while you are still studying.
File within 12 months, with E&O cover
The Board requires the exam to have been passed within the past 12 months. Submit the $80 application with proof of professional liability and errors and omissions insurance — in Montana that is an application-stage requirement, not something you add later.
From the Montana Board of Realty Regulation and its salesperson checklist dated November 2025, MCA §§ 37-51-302, 303, 311 and 325, ARM 24.210.611, 660 and 667 as amended by MAR notices 2025-125 and 2025-349, and the Pearson VUE Montana candidate handbook dated January 2026, verified August 2026. The $190 total for sitting both portions is our arithmetic on the handbook's per-exam fee, not a figure the handbook prints. Late renewal penalties are set in a department-wide fee rule we could not retrieve, so no figure appears above.
Montana FAQs
How many hours of pre-licensing does Montana require?
Seventy. State law is looser than the number suggests — MCA 37-51-302 only requires "between 60 and 80 classroom or equivalent hours, as set by the board" — and the Board has set it at 70 in ARM 24.210.660, which then lists 21 subject areas the course must cover. The Board's own salesperson checklist repeats it: "Must have completed 70 hours of approved pre-licensing education within the past 24 months." That 24-month window is as binding as the hour count.
Do I need a broker lined up before I get my licence?
Yes, and this is the single biggest difference between Montana and most states. MCA 37-51-302 requires your application to be "accompanied by the recommendation of a licensed broker with a supervising broker endorsement by whom the applicant will be employed or placed under contract," certifying that the broker "will actively supervise and train the applicant." Most comparison pages present finding a brokerage as a step you take after licensing. In Montana it is a condition of getting licensed at all, so line it up while you are still doing the coursework.
Do I need continuing education for my first renewal?
Not if you have been licensed less than twelve months. The Board amended ARM 24.210.667 effective 23 August 2025 to add that "no continuing education is required for salesperson licensees who are licensed less than 12 months on their first renewal." Separately, the old mandatory new-licensee course for salespersons — ARM 24.210.661 — was repealed back in May 2021. Pages still describing a first-year course obligation in Montana are running on rules that no longer exist. After that first renewal it is 12 hours in each licensing year, which runs 1 November to 31 October with no carry-over.
How long is my exam result good for?
Twelve months, and there is a conflict here worth knowing about. Pearson VUE's Montana handbook says "exam results are good for three (3) years from the date of passing the exam" — but that is the vendor's score-retention policy. The Board's own checklist requires that you "must have passed the Montana Real Estate Salesperson Examination within the past 12 months" to be licensed. The Board's rule is the one that governs, so work to twelve months. Your coursework has its own separate 24-month clock.
Do I need to be fingerprinted, or have a high school diploma?
Neither. Montana requires no fingerprinting or criminal history check for a salesperson licence — there is no such step on the application and no fee for one, which is worth noting when you are comparing all-in costs against neighbouring states. Instead you self-disclose any convictions and supply documentation. And the education requirement is not a diploma: MCA 37-51-302 asks for "credit for completion of 2 years of full curriculum study at an accredited high school or completed an equivalent education." The diploma standard applies to brokers, not salespersons.