Licensing, Identification Card, and Recordkeeping Requirements
Application and qualifications
Montana requires applicants to meet age, character, experience or training, and examination requirements. Answers on the application must be truthful; omissions and false statements are independent grounds for denial. A firm must designate a qualifying licensee and ensure that persons performing regulated work hold the proper credential. A license is not transferable.
Identification cards
Licensees and registered employees must carry the Board-issued identification card while performing regulated duties and present it on request to law enforcement or Department investigators. The card identifies the person, photograph, credential number, classification, and expiration. It is not a law-enforcement badge and must not be displayed in a way that implies police status. Lost, stolen, or expired cards must be handled through the Department; an expired card cannot support working.
Records
Licensees must keep case and business records sufficient to show compliance: client identity, dates, services, employees assigned, findings, and billing. Records must be protected as confidential and produced to the Department on lawful request. Follow the rule's retention period; when litigation is likely, preserve records until the matter and any appeal are final. Destroying records after a complaint is filed can be treated as obstruction.
Worked example
A licensed investigator promotes an office assistant to case manager and has her call references and run database checks for client reports. She has no employee registration. Because she is performing investigative work rather than clerical support, the firm must obtain the required credential and ensure she carries an identification card. The firm's own license does not cover her.
Traps
Assuming only the owner needs a license; treating occasional investigative calls as clerical; working while renewal is pending; failing to update the Department on address or employment changes; keeping case records in a personal email account outside the firm's control.