Registered Nurse (RN) License Renewal in Montana
Montana repealed its nursing CE requirement in 2023, so RNs renew every 2 years with no continuing education. Montana is a Nurse Licensure Compact state.
| Renewal cycle | Every 2 years |
|---|---|
| CE hours required | Check with your board Montana repealed its nursing continuing-education requirement effective November 18, 2023. RNs, LPNs, and APRNs no longer complete CE contact hours to renew. Before that change the requirement was 24 contact hours per cycle. |
| Renewal fee | $100.00 |
| Mandatory CE topics | None prescribed |
| Licensing board | Montana Board of Nursing (Department of Labor and Industry) |
Sourced from Montana Board of Nursing (Department of Labor and Industry), verified July 25, 2026. Requirements change. Confirm with your board before relying on this.
Montana recently did something unusual: it got rid of its continuing-education requirement entirely. As of late 2023, there is no CE to complete to renew a registered-nurse license here. If you’re working from older guidance that lists “24 contact hours,” it’s out of date, that rule was repealed.
No continuing education, as of November 2023
The Montana Board of Nursing adopted a proposal to repeal the continuing-education requirement effective November 18, 2023. RNs, LPNs, and APRNs licensed in Montana no longer complete CE contact hours as part of renewal. Before the repeal, Montana required 24 contact hours per two-year cycle, which is the figure most CE-vendor pages still quote, so treat any “Montana requires 24 hours” claim as stale.
Because there’s no hour target, the CE calculator on this site isn’t shown for Montana. What renewal involves now is the fee and the disclosure questions, not a CE tally. The Board still expects you to practice competently, it just no longer translates that into required credits.
The cycle
Montana renews RN licenses every two years, expiring December 31. Montana staggers its licensees: about half expire in even-numbered years and half in odd-numbered years, so your renewal year isn’t the same as every other nurse’s, check your own expiration date rather than assuming. Renew online through the Board’s system.
The fee
Renewal is $100, stated on the Board’s own RN page and set in rule at ARM 24.159.401(5), which reads: “The license (RN or LPN) renewal fee is $100 per renewal period.” Pay it through the state’s online licensing system.
Miss the December 31 deadline and Montana adds late fees on top, so the $100 is a floor rather than a ceiling for a nurse who lets the date slip. Across a two-year cycle it lands mid-pack nationally, above Wisconsin’s $73 and below Michigan’s $131.
Montana is a compact state
Montana implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact on January 19, 2018. If Montana is your primary state of residence, your RN license can be a multistate license, letting you practice in the other compact states without applying separately in each. That reaches into compact neighbors like Idaho, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. The privilege follows your legal residence, so it holds as long as Montana stays home. Use the compact checker below to see exactly which states a Montana license reaches.
Add your renewal deadline to your calendar
Enter your expiration date and download a calendar file. Your own calendar will remind you at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days out. We don't ask for your email, we store nothing, and the date never leaves your device.
Works with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, and Outlook. This is a convenience, not a compliance service. Confirm your exact deadline with the Montana Board of Nursing (Department of Labor and Industry).
Renewal fee
Montana charges $100. The median across the 49 states that publish a figure is $100, running from $50 to $245. Ranked cheapest to dearest, Montana is 24 of 49.
Each mark is one state. The taller line is the median, the filled dot is Montana. States that set no flat hour count, or publish no fee, are left out of that comparison rather than counted as zero.
Where can you practice with your license?
The Nurse Licensure Compact lets a nurse who lives in a compact state hold one multistate license and practice in every other compact state. Pick where you live to see whether that's you, and where it reaches.
Member data from the NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map, verified July 2026. A multistate license requires the compact state to be your primary residence. This is a convenience, not legal advice. Confirm your status with your board or at nursecompact.com.
What will this renewal cost?
Montana's renewal fee is filled in from the board below. Add what you expect to spend on CE courses, plus a late fee if you're past due, for a running total. Nothing you type is stored.
The renewal fee is from the Montana Board of Nursing (Department of Labor and Industry) and dated on this page; the CE and late-fee figures are your own estimates. A convenience, not a compliance service, and not legal advice. Confirm fees with your board.