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Checking a guard or a security company in Montana

This page is for whoever is doing the checking — a client, a property manager, a company vetting a subcontractor. It tells you what a guard and a guard company are supposed to hold in Montana, and walks you to Montana Dept. of Labor & Industry, Private Security Program’s own records to confirm it.

tessura is not a Montana agency and issues nothing. Every link below goes to the regulator, and the regulator’s answer is the one that counts.

Getting licensed yourself instead? The Montana requirements, training hours, and application steps →

Check the guard

Montana issues a credential to the guard, so you can check the person in front of you.

What they should hold

Every guard working a postPrivate Security Guard License16 hrs of training · renews yearly
If they carry a firearmArmed Security Guard Endorsementrenews yearly

Armed work: Armed guards add a $50 endorsement, firearms training from a board-certified instructor, and a shooting proficiency test with the firearm(s) they will carry on duty.

How to check it

  1. Ask the guard for their full legal name and the licence number on the photo ID card their employer issued — since 1 July 2024 the security firm prints these cards, not the state, so treat the number on it as a starting point rather than gospel.
  2. Open the Montana DLI Licensee Lookup System and narrow the search to the Private Security Program, then choose the Private Security Guard licence type.
  3. Enter the surname (the tool wildcard-matches, so "Rob" also returns "Robert") or paste the licence number, and run the search.
  4. Open the matching record and check the name against the card they showed you.
  5. Confirm the record shows an active licence and that the renewal date has not passed — every Private Security Program licence expires 1 March, so a record not renewed after that date is lapsed.
Open the Montana DLI Licensee Lookup System →

Shows licence status · does not show an expiry date · expects you to pass a “verify you are human” check. We have not confirmed these steps against the live form, so a menu name may have moved.

If the lookup finds nothing: Montana DLI Business Standards Division, (406) 444-6880, DLIBSDHelp@mt.gov

Check the company

Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division, Private Security Program licenses the firm itself here. This is the check most people skip, and it is usually the more important of the two.

What the firm must holdContract Security CompanyIssued by Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division, Private Security Program

How to check it

  1. Ask the company for the exact legal name on its licence and its Contract Security Company number. A company that cannot produce a number for a licence it claims to hold has told you something.
  2. Open the Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division, Private Security Program lookup and search for that name.
  3. Search the legal name, not the name on the uniform or the invoice. Brand names, DBAs, and the name on the truck are often not the licensed entity.
  4. Read the status and the expiry date, not just the presence of a record. An expired or suspended licence still returns a result.
  5. If nothing comes up, ask which entity holds the licence and in which state, then check that name. If the answer does not resolve, treat the licence as unconfirmed and call Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division, Private Security Program before signing.
Open the Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division, Private Security Program lookup →

Ask for insurance properly

A licence says the state let them operate. Insurance is what stands between you and a claim, and it is the easier of the two to fake — a certificate is only true on the day it was printed.

Montana requires it by law

$500,000 minimum occurrence-form commercial general liability including personal injury. Firms whose guards hold firearms endorsements must additionally carry firearms liability cover.

A yearly certificate is filed with the board, and ARM 24.182.405(5) imposes a dual duty: the licensee must immediately inform the department of a cancellation or lapse, AND must direct and authorise the carrier to inform the department as well.

If it lapses: Cover must be maintained at all times of active licensure; the earlier version of the rule put a licensee without current insurance into inactive/lapsed status.

ARM 24.182.405 — https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/montana/Mont-Admin-r-24.182.405

A certificate of insurance (COI) that names your business as an additional insured, not just the certificate holderCertificate holder means you were mailed a copy. Additional insured means their policy actually answers for you if you are pulled into a claim.
General liability, and workers’ compensation at your state’s statutory limitsIf a guard is hurt on your property and the company carries no workers’ comp, the claim tends to land on you. Ask for commercial auto too if they run patrol vehicles.
The policy number and the effective and expiry dates, on a certificate dated within the last monthAn undated or months-old certificate is the single most common tell. The dates let you ask the insurer about the right policy.
The name, agency, and direct phone number of the broker who issued it — then call themThe broker can confirm the policy is in force today. The certificate PDF cannot, and a forged or stale one looks identical to a real one.
A contract term requiring written notice to you before the policy is cancelled or non-renewedStandard certificates promise notice to the insured, not to you. Putting the duty on the company in the contract is what makes a mid-term cancellation a breach.
A fresh certificate part-way through the term, not only at signingRe-asking at 60 or 90 days costs you an email and defeats the whole get-the-COI-then-drop-it pattern.

tessura does not verify anyone’s insurance and has no access to insurers’ records. This is guidance for doing it yourself, not a statement about any company on this site. It is also not legal advice — for a contract of any size, have your own counsel or broker set the limits.

Where this comes from

Montana requirements last reviewed August 28, 2026. Rules change — the regulator’s page is authoritative if it disagrees with ours.

Hiring guards in Montana?

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