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Start a clinic / Montana

How to start a medical clinic in Montana.

What a founder needs to know in Montana: who can own a practice, which state approvals apply, how nurse practitioners and PAs can work, and where to register. Every fact links to its source.

Updated October 2026Sources linked
MTMontanaStarting a clinic, at a glance
Corporate practice of medicine
No clear barNo clear statewide prohibition found
Certificate of need program
YesState review for some facilities or equipment
Nurse practitioner authority
Full practiceAANP classification
Register your business with
Montana Secretary of State, Business and UCC Services
Checked October 2026

Ownership: We found no Montana statute or Board of Medical Examiners guidance expressly barring lay ownership of a medical practice or corporate employment of physicians.

Certificate of need: Montana's CON program now covers only long-term care: changes in long-term care bed capacity, new or replacement long-term care facilities, acquiring 50 percent or more of one, and hospitals using more than five beds for nursing-level care or providing long-term care.

Nurse practitioners: AANP classifies Montana as full practice, with no transition-to-practice requirement listed on its state fact sheet.

Who can own a medical clinic in Montana

We found no Montana statute or Board of Medical Examiners guidance expressly barring lay ownership of a medical practice or corporate employment of physicians. Montana professional corporations may issue shares only to licensed professionals, qualifying partnerships and other professional corporations, so physician-owned PCs and PLLCs are common, and non-physician investors typically use management services arrangements or a licensed facility structure.

Sources: mca.legmt.gov, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov

Business entity and registration

Physicians commonly form a professional corporation under the Montana Professional Corporation Act (MCA 35-4) or a professional LLC, registered with the Montana Secretary of State through the online Business Filing Portal (biz.sosmt.gov).

Sources: mca.legmt.gov, sosmt.gov

Certificate of need in Montana

Montana's CON program now covers only long-term care: changes in long-term care bed capacity, new or replacement long-term care facilities, acquiring 50 percent or more of one, and hospitals using more than five beds for nursing-level care or providing long-term care. Physician offices, ASCs and imaging do not need CON.

Sources: mca.legmt.gov, ncsl.org

Licenses, registrations and state agencies

The DPHHS Licensure Bureau licenses health care facilities defined in MCA 50-5-101, which include outpatient centers for surgical services, outpatient centers for primary care (a facility providing diagnosis or treatment to ambulatory patients under a physician's direction), infusion therapy agencies, dialysis, mental health centers and hospitals. Offices of private physicians and other Title 37 licensed practitioners are excluded from the health care facility definition.

Sources: mca.legmt.gov, dphhs.mt.gov

Montana-specific requirements to know

Every Title 37 licensee who can prescribe or dispense must register with the Montana Prescription Drug Registry at initial licensure or renewal, and prescribers must check it before prescribing an opioid or benzodiazepine (or every 3 months for chronic pain patients), with exceptions such as hospice and 7-day non-refillable supplies. A clinic that is not a private practitioner's office, for example a lay-owned primary care center, may fall into the DPHHS outpatient center for primary care license category.

Sources: mca.legmt.gov, mca.legmt.gov, mca.legmt.gov

Agencies you will deal with

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants

Nurse practitioners: AANP classifies Montana as full practice, with no transition-to-practice requirement listed on its state fact sheet.

Sources: storage.aanp.org

Physician assistants: Montana PAs with fewer than 8,000 hours of postgraduate clinical experience must practice under a collaborative agreement with a physician or a PA who has 8,000 or more hours, and the PA remains responsible for the care they provide (MCA 37-20-203).

Sources: mca.legmt.gov

Med spas, injectables and IV therapy in Montana

We found no Montana statute, rule or position statement specific to med spas, injectables, lasers or IV hydration; the Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Nursing sites post no such guidance and direct scope questions to their executive officers. Montana NPs have full practice authority and experienced PAs can practice without a collaborative agreement, which allows clinician-led aesthetic and IV practices, but ownership still follows the professional corporation limits.

Sources: boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov, storage.aanp.org, mca.legmt.gov

Planning an aesthetic or IV business? See how to start a med spa and how to start an IV therapy business.

Step-by-step checklist in Montana

  1. Choose your structure and check ownership rules. Decide who will own the practice and confirm it fits Montana’s corporate practice of medicine rules. We found no Montana statute or Board of Medical Examiners guidance expressly barring lay ownership of a medical practice or corporate employment of physicians.
  2. Form the entity with the Montana Secretary of State, Business and UCC Services. Physicians commonly form a professional corporation under the Montana Professional Corporation Act (MCA 35-4) or a professional LLC, registered with the Montana Secretary of State through the online Business Filing Portal (biz.sosmt.gov).
  3. Get federal numbers. Apply for an EIN from the IRS, then a Type 2 NPI for the practice and Type 1 NPIs for each clinician through NPPES.
  4. Confirm licenses with the Montana Board of Medical Examiners. Every physician needs a Montana license. Check the board’s rules for any practice registrations, supervision agreements or office requirements before opening.
  5. Check certificate of need and facility licensing. Montana's CON program now covers only long-term care: changes in long-term care bed capacity, new or replacement long-term care facilities, acquiring 50 percent or more of one, and hospitals using more than five beds for nursing-level care or providing long-term care.
  6. Register to prescribe. Register with the DEA for controlled substances and complete any Montana controlled substance registration and prescription monitoring program enrollment. Every Title 37 licensee who can prescribe or dispense must register with the Montana Prescription Drug Registry at initial licensure or renewal, and prescribers must check it before prescribing an opioid or benzodiazepine (or every 3 months for chronic pain patients), with exceptions such as hospice and 7-day non-refillable supplies.
  7. Set up lab, safety and privacy basics. Get a CLIA certificate if you will run any lab tests, including waived tests, and put HIPAA privacy and security and OSHA policies in place.
  8. Enroll with Medicare, Medicaid and insurers. Enroll in Medicare through PECOS, enroll with Montana Healthcare Programs (Montana Medicaid, DPHHS; provider relations by Conduent) and start commercial credentialing early, because payer enrollment often takes months.
  9. Plan staffing around NP and PA rules. AANP classifies Montana as full practice, with no transition-to-practice requirement listed on its state fact sheet.
  10. Launch your marketing before opening day. Claim your Google Business Profile, publish a website with online booking and start ads and content four to eight weeks before you open, so the schedule is not empty on day one.

The national steps are explained in more detail in our guide to how to start a medical clinic, and costs are broken down in how much it costs to start a clinic.

Marketing a new clinic in Montana

New clinics usually fail on cash flow before they fail on care. The fastest fix is patients booked before opening day: a complete Google Business Profile, a website with online booking, local search ads and a few weeks of social content showing the team and the space. We run that launch for new clinics and keep it going once the doors open.

Plan your Montana launch with us →

Important. This guide is general information checked against official and professional sources in October 2026. It is not legal advice. Rules change and details depend on your services, so confirm your plan with a healthcare attorney licensed in Montana and with the agencies listed above.

Sources

  1. https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0350/chapter_0040/part_0030/section_0010/0350-0040-0030-0010.html
  2. https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/medical-examiners/
  3. https://sosmt.gov/business/
  4. https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0500/chapter_0050/part_0030/section_0010/0500-0050-0030-0010.html
  5. https://www.ncsl.org/health/certificate-of-need-state-laws
  6. https://storage.aanp.org/www/documents/no-index/state-fact-sheets/montana.pdf
  7. https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0370/chapter_0200/part_0020/section_0030/0370-0200-0020-0030.html
  8. https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0500/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0010/0500-0050-0010-0010.html
  9. https://dphhs.mt.gov/qad/licensure
  10. https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/nursing/
  11. https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0370/chapter_0070/part_0150/section_0030/0370-0070-0150-0030.html
  12. https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0370/chapter_0070/part_0150/section_0150/0370-0070-0150-0150.html

Nearby state guides

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Montana questions

Starting a clinic in Montana, answered.

Can a non-physician own a medical clinic in Montana?
We found no Montana statute or Board of Medical Examiners guidance expressly barring lay ownership of a medical practice or corporate employment of physicians. Montana professional corporations may issue shares only to licensed professionals, qualifying partnerships and other professional corporations, so physician-owned PCs and PLLCs are common, and non-physician investors typically use management services arrangements or a licensed facility structure.
Does Montana require a certificate of need to open a clinic?
Montana's CON program now covers only long-term care: changes in long-term care bed capacity, new or replacement long-term care facilities, acquiring 50 percent or more of one, and hospitals using more than five beds for nursing-level care or providing long-term care. Physician offices, ASCs and imaging do not need CON.
Can nurse practitioners open their own practice in Montana?
AANP classifies Montana as full practice, with no transition-to-practice requirement listed on its state fact sheet.
Who can perform Botox, laser or IV therapy in Montana?
We found no Montana statute, rule or position statement specific to med spas, injectables, lasers or IV hydration; the Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Nursing sites post no such guidance and direct scope questions to their executive officers. Montana NPs have full practice authority and experienced PAs can practice without a collaborative agreement, which allows clinician-led aesthetic and IV practices, but ownership still follows the professional corporation limits.
Where do I register a medical practice in Montana?
Physicians commonly form a professional corporation under the Montana Professional Corporation Act (MCA 35-4) or a professional LLC, registered with the Montana Secretary of State through the online Business Filing Portal (biz.sosmt.gov).