What Are the Requirements to Be a Daycare Teacher in Montana?

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) licenses and registers child care under the Montana Child Care Act, MCA Title 52, chapter 2, part 7.

The staff rules teachers follow sit in the department's administrative rules at ARM Title 37, chapter 96, which took effect May 1, 2025 and replaced the repealed chapter 37.95.

DPHHS confirmed the May 1, 2025 date in a May 9, 2025 supplemental notice after a legislative committee objection delayed the 2024 adoption.

Every requirement on this page comes from that current chapter.

ARM 37.96.904 describes lead teacher as an optional role and makes lead teachers responsible for facility activity planning and delivery.

A lead teacher must be at least 18, pass background checks, complete on-the-job and orientation training, stay current on the Practitioner Registry, and hold current CPR and pediatric first aid.

Montana sets no fixed degree, college-credit or CDA minimum for the role: a lead teacher qualifies with a combination of education, training, other licensing or experience in working with children, approved through the Practitioner Registry or by DPHHS.

Because the qualification is an approved combination rather than a diploma, two lead teachers can reach the same title by very different routes, and an individual employer can still list its own asks above this licensing floor — read each posting.

Montana's licensing rules call the assistant-level classroom role a teacher: teachers help a lead teacher or director provide instructional support to children and implement developmentally appropriate programming.

A teacher must be at least 16 years old, work under a lead teacher, site director or director, pass background checks, complete on-the-job and orientation training, stay current on the Practitioner Registry, and hold CPR and pediatric first aid.

The 16-year-old floor is the clearest difference from lead teacher, which starts at 18.

The rule's approved-combination qualification is written for lead teachers and directors; for teachers the rule lists age, supervision, background checks, training, Registry membership and CPR.

Montana splits new-hire training into two windows.

Within 30 days of hire and before you provide unsupervised care, staff counted in ratio must complete infant, child and adult CPR with certification earned in a hands-on setting, infant choking response and pediatric first aid, plus safe sleep training if the facility is licensed for infants and shaken baby / abusive head trauma training if it is licensed for infants or toddlers.

The remaining orientation topics are due within 90 days of hire: prevention and control of infectious diseases including immunization, child development, medication administration, food and allergy emergencies, premises safety, emergency preparedness, hazardous materials, bio-contaminant disposal, transportation, and mandated reporting of child abuse and neglect.

A trainee cannot be left alone with children until the 30-day orientation training is finished.

Staff and owners who work more than 500 hours a year must complete Practitioner Registry-approved annual training: 16 hours in licensed centers and registered group and family child care facilities, and 8 hours in licensed school-age care and registered family, friend and neighbor (FFN) care.

All staff who must take orientation also complete a DPHHS-approved health and safety refresher course at least every three years, and that refresher counts toward the annual training total.

CPR certification in Montana must be completed in a hands-on setting, and staff counted in ratio must complete infant, child and adult CPR, infant choking response and pediatric first aid within 30 days of hire and before unsupervised care.

Lead teachers and teachers must hold current CPR and pediatric first aid as part of the role's qualification.

Safe sleep and SIDS training is added when a facility is licensed for infants, and shaken baby / abusive head trauma training when it is licensed for infants or toddlers.

Our research did not confirm Montana's TB test or staff immunization requirements under ARM 37.96, so ask DPHHS Child Care Licensing what health documentation your employer will need on file.

Montana requires background checks before you start working in a child care facility and every year after that, with one exception: the national checks repeat every five years.

The checks cover Montana Department of Justice and FBI fingerprints, the national (NCIC) and Montana sex offender registries, and child protective services plus name-based criminal record checks for Montana and every state you have lived in during the past five years.

Volunteers are treated differently: they need background checks only if they will have unsupervised access to children.

Yes, within limits.

Montana's teacher role starts at 16, and teachers are among the roles a center may count toward its staff-to-child ratio; support staff and volunteers never count.

A trainee must be at least 16, works under an on-site lead teacher, site director or director, cannot be left alone with children until the 30-day orientation training is complete, and cannot stay in the trainee role longer than 90 days.

Volunteers must be at least 15, need background checks only when they will have unsupervised access to children, and do not count toward ratio.

The Practitioner Registry is the system Montana's licensing rules route staff credentials through.

Lead teachers and teachers must be current on it, a lead teacher's combination of education, training, other licensing or experience is approved through the Registry or by DPHHS, and annual training only counts if it is Registry-approved.

Our research did not confirm how a new teacher creates or renews Registry membership, so confirm the sign-up steps with DPHHS Child Care Licensing before your first day.

Montana repealed its old child care licensing chapter, ARM Title 37, chapter 95, and replaced it with ARM Title 37, chapter 96, effective May 1, 2025.

DPHHS confirmed the date in a May 9, 2025 supplemental notice after a legislative committee objection delayed the 2024 adoption.

Older sources can mislead: some DPHHS PDFs and legal-copy websites still post the repealed 37.95 rulebook, including the qualification tables that no longer apply.

If the page you are reading cites an ARM 37.95 rule number, it is describing rules that are no longer in force.