Author: A. Ant, CADC-II, Licensing & Accreditation Expert
Disclaimer: This content is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, regulatory, or licensing advice. Requirements change frequently. Consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to your situation.
Montana’s health department cannot fine a treatment facility on its own say-so. The civil penalty in MCA 50-5-112, up to $1,000 for each day a facility is in violation, is imposed by a court on a petition from the department or a county attorney. What DPHHS can do directly is deny, suspend or revoke a license, knock it down to provisional status for up to a year, or order corrective action, and a revocation order can keep a former licensee out for up to two years. Nothing in the statute or the facility rules sets up a reinstatement process. Once a license is gone, the only route back we can find is a fresh application to the DPHHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), Licensure Bureau.
The same statute, MCA Title 50, chapter 5, governs substance use disorder facilities and mental health centers, so this guide applies to both. The license types themselves are explained in Montana Behavioral Health Licensing.
Two Credentials, Two Enforcement Tracks
OIG’s facility license and BHDD’s state approval come apart under pressure. The license is enforced under MCA 50-5-207 and 50-5-208. State approval for an SUD program sits in MCA 53-24-208, under which the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Division (BHDD) “may suspend, revoke, limit, or restrict an approval or refuse to grant an approval for failure to meet its standards,” after a hearing under the Montana Administrative Procedure Act, with review in district court. Because full state approval requires an active OIG license under ARM 37.27.106, our reading is that losing the license puts the approval at risk too, even if BHDD never opens its own case.
What OIG Can Do Under MCA 50-5-207
Grounds, tools and time limits in this section are quoted or paraphrased from MCA 50-5-207 as amended by SB 516 (Ch. 414, L. 2025), effective October 1, 2025.
Subsection (1) gives the department grounds for denial, suspension or revocation when a facility fails the minimum standards, lacks sufficient or qualified staff, is run by someone with a disqualifying felony or character problem, can’t show financial ability to operate, shows cruelty or indifference to patients, misappropriates or converts patient property, or violates parts 1 through 3 of chapter 5. Short of that, OIG may reduce a license to provisional status when an inspection finds noncompliance, when there are no patients to survey, when the facility is under accreditation review, or when the department needs more time to review. SB 516 added a ceiling, “A provisional license may be issued for a period of up to 1 year.” At the far end, “The department may provide in its revocation order that the revocation is in effect for up to 2 years.”
Notice, Hearing and Appeal Deadlines
| Action | Statute | What the facility gets | Deadline that matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corrective action order (may stop admissions or require relocation) | MCA 50-5-114 | Written notice, delivered personally or by certified mail | Becomes final if no written hearing request is made within 30 days of receiving the notice |
| Denial, suspension or revocation | MCA 50-5-208 | Notice and an opportunity for a hearing | Hearing set at least 15 days after notice is mailed or served, and the decision is final 30 days after mailing or service unless the facility appeals to district court |
| Civil penalty | MCA 50-5-112 | A court proceeding started by DPHHS or a county attorney | Up to $1,000 for each day of violation |
| BHDD approval action | MCA 53-24-208 | Administrative hearing | District court review afterward |
Thirty days is the number to remember on a corrective order. Miss that written hearing request and the order stands. The same section has the department try for voluntary compliance first, through a warning or a conference, so a warning letter is the moment to fix things cheaply. MCA 50-5-111 separately makes it unlawful to run a facility without a license, impede an investigation or violate the rules and orders, and part 1 of chapter 5 also has sections on criminal penalties (50-5-113), receivership (50-5-115) and injunctions (50-5-108).
How Findings Usually Start
Renewal inspections in Montana come “without prior notice to the operator or staff prior to the expiration of the current license” (MCA 50-5-204). Accreditation from an organization CMS approves takes a facility out of licensing inspections under MCA 50-5-103(4), but complaint inspections still happen, and ARM 37.106.310 requires the facility to share its full accreditation report. BHDD separately inspects each state-approved SUD program once every two years, either in person or remotely.
Self-reporting is another trigger. A substance use disorder facility must report every serious incident, a ten-item list in ARM 37.106.1413(34) that starts with a death and ends with alleged unlawful conduct or criminal activity, through a written report to OIG’s Licensure Bureau inside 24 hours (ARM 37.106.1426), and keep a copy on site. Allegations of client abuse, neglect or exploitation go to OIG in writing within 24 hours as well, alongside the child abuse hotline or Adult Protective Services reports staff must make (ARM 37.106.1427). A change of administrator has to be reported before it takes effect, and a change in location, use or bed count needs written approval first. Mental health centers work differently. We found no Subchapter 19 rule requiring external incident reports to OIG. Centers instead maintain their own incident report file, and a new administrator or medical director must be reported to the department in writing 30 days or more ahead.
The license term itself records history. ARM 37.106.310 allows a one-year license for a facility whose deficiencies in the preceding 12 months threatened the health, safety and welfare of residents or staff, while a deficiency-free survey or CMS-approved accreditation can earn three years.
Writing a Response OIG Can Close
Match the rule the finding cites to the current text before you answer it. No Subchapter 14 rule has been amended since the September 24, 2022 rewrite, yet the subchapter still carries stale cross-references, including an LAC definition pointing to the repealed counselor statute 37-35-202, and a surveyor may cite language your policy manual phrased differently. Mental health center rules did change recently, with 37.106.1902, 1956 and 1961 amended effective August 22, 2026. A response that holds up shows the fix already in place: the revised policy adopted, staff trained on it with a dated sign-in and competency check, and an internal audit a few weeks later showing it stuck. For a staffing finding under 50-5-207, a current roster with each counselor’s Board of Behavioral Health license or LAC candidate status is usually the first document asked for.
Coming Back After a Lapse, Revocation or Sale
Montana’s statute and rules contain no reinstatement procedure that we could find. The path below is our reading of MCA 50-5-201, 50-5-203 and 50-5-207.
Renewal is due “no later than the expiration date of the license” (MCA 50-5-203). A facility that lets the date pass has no license to operate under, and MCA 50-5-201 says plainly that “A person may not operate a health care facility unless the facility is licensed by the department.” Our reading is that such a facility starts over with an initial application in the OIG licensing portal. The 45-day statutory lead time applies again, OIG has 45 days after notice of readiness to inspect, and OIG’s application letters describe a six-month provisional license as the first license issued.
After revocation, check the order. If it names a bar period, up to two years under 50-5-207(5), a new application has to wait it out. If the order sets no bar, we read the statute as allowing a new application right away, though the grounds that supported revocation can just as easily support denying the new license. Under ARM 37.106.310, a facility that has operated for under a year can be held to a one-year license, so expect a short first term. An SUD program then reapplies to BHDD for state approval, which requires the active license.
Sales follow the same logic. “A license may not be sold, assigned, or transferred” (MCA 50-5-201), so a buyer files its own change of ownership application through the portal rather than inheriting the seller’s license. Before refiling, call the Licensure Bureau (406-444-2676) or write to PO Box 202953, Helena, MT 59620-2953. BHDD takes approval questions at 406-444-3964 or bhddapprovalapps@mt.gov. The license-specific guides are Montana Drug and Alcohol Inpatient Treatment Licensing, Montana Drug and Alcohol Outpatient Treatment Licensing, Montana Mental Health Inpatient Licensing and Montana Mental Health Outpatient Licensing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can DPHHS fine a Montana treatment facility directly?
No. Under MCA 50-5-112 the civil penalty, up to $1,000 for each day of violation, is imposed by a court on a petition from the department or a county attorney. DPHHS itself acts on the license through denial, suspension, revocation, provisional status or a corrective action order.
How long can a Montana revocation keep a facility out?
Up to 2 years if the revocation order says so, under MCA 50-5-207(5). We found no reinstatement procedure in Montana law, so our reading is that the facility files a fresh initial application with the OIG Licensure Bureau after any bar period runs out.
What is the deadline to contest a Montana corrective action order?
30 days. Under MCA 50-5-114 the order becomes final unless the facility requests a hearing in writing within 30 days after receiving the notice. For a denial, suspension or revocation, MCA 50-5-208 requires at least 15 days’ notice of the hearing.
Holding a Montana corrective action order with the 30-day clock running? Talk it through with us.
Sources
- MCA 50-5-103: Accreditation and licensing inspections (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA Title 50, chapter 5, part 1: Section index (criminal penalties, receivership, injunction) (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA 50-5-111: Unlawful acts (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA 50-5-112: Civil penalty (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA 50-5-114: Corrective action orders (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA 50-5-201: License required, not transferable (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA 50-5-203: Application and renewal (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA 50-5-204: Inspections and license term (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA 50-5-207: Denial, suspension, revocation, provisional license (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA 50-5-208: Notice and hearing (checked October 15, 2026)
- SB 516, Ch. 414, L. 2025: Session law (PDF) and Bill Explorer effective date record (checked October 15, 2026)
- MCA 53-24-208: Approval of facilities (checked October 15, 2026)
- ARM 37.27.106 as amended, MAR Notice 2026-170: official rule text on rules.mt.gov, adoption notice (PDF) and proposal notice with rule text (PDF) (checked October 15, 2026)
- ARM 37.106.310: official text on rules.mt.gov and verbatim mirror, licensing procedure and license terms (checked October 15, 2026)
- ARM 37.106.1413, 37.106.1426 and 37.106.1427, verbatim mirror: Serious incident reporting and Abuse and neglect reporting, read against the official Subchapter 14 on rules.mt.gov (checked October 15, 2026)
- ARM 37.106 Subchapter 19, DPHHS printable copy: Mental health center rules (PDF), with 2026 amendment history read on the official Subchapter 19 on rules.mt.gov (checked October 15, 2026)
- DPHHS OIG: Licensure Bureau contacts, Substance Use Disorder Initial Application Letter (PDF) and online licensing portal (checked October 15, 2026)
- DPHHS BHDD: Division page and Facility State Approval Application (PDF) (checked October 15, 2026)
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