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Home / General Contractors / Montana
How to become a general contractor in Montana
Most general contractors in Montana start in an apprenticeship or a helper job and learn on the job. The contractor license comes later, if you run your own business.
Pick your way in
Earn while you learn
A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.
- Pay
- From day one
- In MT
- 19 registered programs
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In MT
- 3 schools with programs
Start on a crew
Get hired as a helper by a licensed general contractor and log hours on the job.
- Pay
- Paid on the job
- Start
- No experience needed
The license steps
Get hired or start training
Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.
Work as a general contractor
Run your own shop
To bid and contract on your own you need a general contractor license or registration.
- Issued by
- Montana DLI Business Standards - Construction Contractor License
$76,910
a year is the median for general contractors in Montana ($36.98 an hour, May 2025).3
Pay by city and percentile- Bozeman$38.22
- Great Falls$37.45
- Billings$36.75
- Helena$36.70
- Missoula$35.88
Questions
Do you need a license to work on your own as a general contractor in Montana?
Check the Montana DLI Business Standards before you bid work on your own.1
Are general contractors in demand in Montana?
Projections Central expects about 470 general contractor openings a year in Montana through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.2
Find an apprenticeship near you
19 registered programs in Montana. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for general contractors in Montana
Sources
- Montana DLI Business Standards - Construction Contractor License (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Montana, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)