Bottom Line for Montana Nonprofits
- ✓School volunteers with unsupervised contact with students (HB 745, 2025)
- ✓Volunteers in licensed child care facilities
- ✓Volunteers with child-contact roles in CPS-affiliated organizations
- +1 more covered roles below
State Laws That Apply to Volunteer Background Checks
Student Protection Policy — School Volunteer Fingerprinting
Montana HB 745 (2025 Session), amending MCA Title 20 (School Laws)Enacted in 2025 with unanimous bipartisan support, requires school districts to adopt a Student Protection Policy mandating fingerprint-based national criminal history checks for any employee, contractor, or volunteer with unsupervised contact with students at school, school-sponsored activities, or in transit.
Child Protective Services Background Check
Mont. Code Ann. § 41-3-205Permits entities providing services to children to request CPS background checks on volunteers who have or may have unsupervised contact with children. Covers volunteer screening in licensed child-serving organizations.
Child Care Facility Fingerprint and Background Check
Mont. Admin. r. 37.96.1002Requires fingerprint-based state and federal criminal history checks for staff and volunteers in licensed child care facilities administered by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.
Who Must Be Screened in Montana
!Legally Required to Be Screened
- •School volunteers with unsupervised contact with students (HB 745, 2025)
- •Volunteers in licensed child care facilities
- •Volunteers with child-contact roles in CPS-affiliated organizations
- •Nursing facility and healthcare volunteers (Mont. Code Ann. § 37-8-434 and related provisions)
Types of Background Checks Required in Montana
How to Get Background Checks in Montana
$5 per check — includes national criminal database, sex offender registry across all 50 states, SSN trace, and FCRA Certified Compliance Team review.
Start Free Today →Volunteer Screening in Montana: What You Need to Know
Montana is a large, rural state where volunteer fire departments, search and rescue teams, and 4-H youth programs are significant volunteer sectors. HB 745 (2025) created a compliance challenge for school districts because the state provided no funding for fingerprinting costs, which falls on individual volunteers. Schools in rural areas with limited fingerprinting locations have faced logistical difficulties. The National Child Protection Act (federal) has long applied to Montana's volunteer sector.
Compliance Tips for Montana Nonprofits
- 1
Schools must adopt a written Student Protection Policy as required by HB 745 — document the policy and maintain records of all volunteer check completions.
- 2
Budget for fingerprinting costs; the state does not reimburse schools or volunteers under HB 745, so establish a cost-sharing or sponsor model early.
- 3
For child care volunteers, submit fingerprint cards to DPHHS via approved vendors — do not send directly to DOJ without DPHHS routing.
- 4
Rural nonprofits should coordinate with the nearest law enforcement or authorized fingerprinting vendor, as Montana's geography makes in-person submission challenging.
- 5
Nonprofit volunteers using the National Child Protection Act (NCPA) pathway can access reduced FBI fingerprint fees ($25) by marking 'Volunteer' and their specific role on the fingerprint form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Student Protection Policy — School Volunteer Fingerprinting apply to my nonprofit?
Montana law applies to nonprofits with volunteers working in covered roles — typically involving direct, unsupervised contact with children, elderly individuals, or vulnerable adults. Montana conditionally requires background checks for volunteers in child care, healthcare, and — as of 2025 — school settings under newly enacted HB 745.
What happens if we skip background checks in Montana?
Failing to screen volunteers in Montana can expose your organization to negligent supervision liability, loss of insurance coverage, and — in sectors with mandatory requirements — regulatory penalties. Under the federal FCRA, running checks without proper procedures also creates compliance risk.
How long does a Montana volunteer background check take?
Montana Department of Justice — Criminal Records and Identification Services (DCI); Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) for child care sector checks typically processes checks in Approximately 2–4 weeks for fingerprint-based checks; name-only checks faster. VolunteerBadge's national criminal database search returns results instantly for most volunteers.