Montana Nursing Home Administrator License: Exams, Fees, Renewal

To qualify for a Montana nursing home administrator license, you need to accumulate at least 1,200 points from a combination of education, training, and experience, pass two examinations, and pay the required fees to the Montana Board of Nursing Home Administrators. The Montana nursing home administrator license requirements are point-based rather than degree-based, so more than one pathway can get you there as long as the math works out.¹

The 1,200-Point Qualification Threshold

Rather than mandating a specific degree or a fixed number of training hours, Montana assigns point values to your documented education, training, and experience. The board reviews each application individually and adds up the points you’ve submitted.²

Education carries the most weight:

Bachelor’s degree in healthcare or business: 1,200 points
Bachelor’s degree in any other field: 800 points
Associate degree in healthcare or business: 600 points
Associate degree in any other field: 400 points
Individual college courses in healthcare or business, grade C or above: 20 points per credit hour

Only one degree counts toward the total. If you hold more than one, you pick which to apply.²

If your education alone doesn’t hit 1,200, you can close the gap through an Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program, which earns one point per clock hour. AIT hours must be documented and signed by a licensed, active nursing home administrator. So an applicant with an associate degree in business (600 points) could complete 600 AIT hours to reach the threshold.²

The Two Required Examinations

Meeting the point threshold is only part of the picture. Every applicant must pass both a national exam and a Montana-specific exam.³

NAB National Examination

The National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) runs a two-part exam. The CORE portion covers material common to all long-term care settings: 100 scored questions plus 25 unscored pretest questions, with 150 minutes of seat time. The NHA line-of-service portion is specific to nursing home administration and includes 60 scored questions plus 15 pretest questions, with 90 minutes of seat time. Most applicants take both as a combo, which costs $480 as of February 2026.⁴

NAB sets the passing scaled score and can change it. Montana accepts whatever passing score NAB has in effect at the time you test.⁵

Montana Jurisprudence Examination

The jurisprudence exam covers Montana long-term care laws and regulations. It’s open book, but the pass mark is 90%, so you’ll want to prepare rather than assume you can look everything up in real time. Fail either exam and you can retake it after paying the fees again.⁵

Fees

Application for licensure by examination: $225 (non-refundable)
Combined examination and temporary license application: $425
Application for licensure by credential (endorsement): $500
Active renewal: $235
Inactive renewal: $100

These are the state fees; the $480 NAB exam fee is paid separately to NAB.³

Temporary License While You Wait for the National Exam

If you’ve hit 1,200 points and passed the Montana Jurisprudence Examination but haven’t taken the NAB national exam yet, you can apply for a temporary license and begin working as an administrator while you prepare. It stays valid until you either pass the national exam, at which point you receive a full license, or fail the first national exam for which you’re eligible. Only one temporary permit is issued per applicant, so a failed first attempt ends that route.⁶

Licensure by Endorsement for Out-of-State Administrators

Already licensed elsewhere? You can apply by credential rather than repeating the process from scratch, but it isn’t automatic. You need to hold a current, valid, unencumbered license in another jurisdiction and submit license verification. You still have to document 1,200 points through your education, training, and experience, and you still have to pass the Montana Jurisprudence Examination at 90% or better. A current resume is part of the application. The fee is $500.³

Annual Renewal and Continuing Education

Montana licenses renew every year, not every two. The renewal window runs from November 1 through January 1, and a late renewal option is available online for 45 days after that (until roughly February 15).³

Every active licensee must complete 20 hours of continuing education each year. The board does not pre-approve courses or sponsors, which puts the responsibility on you to choose programs that contribute to professional competence, contain meaningful intellectual or practical content, and address substantive nursing home management issues.⁷

Keep records for each CE activity, including program, provider, date, and hours earned. The board can audit licensees and will ask for documentation.

Practicing Without a License

Serving as a nursing home administrator in Montana without a valid license is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both.⁸ Federal rules reinforce the state requirement: any skilled nursing facility that participates in Medicare or Medicaid must have a state-licensed administrator appointed by its governing body.⁹

1
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code Annotated 37-9-202 – Exclusive Jurisdiction of Board
2
Legal Information Institute. Montana Administrative Rules 24.162.501 – Application and Documentation for Licensure
3
Montana Department of Labor & Industry. Montana Nursing Home Administrator License Information
4
National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards. Exam Information
5
Montana Department of Labor & Industry. Board of Nursing Home Administrators Rules – 24.162.504
6
Montana Department of Labor & Industry. Board of Nursing Home Administrators Rules – 24.162.506
7
Legal Information Institute. Montana Administrative Rules 24.162.2105 – Continuing Education
8
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code Annotated 37-9-312 – Violation
9
eCFR. 42 CFR 483.70 – Administration