Montana Debt Collection Laws: Your Rights Beyond the FDCPA

In Montana, a business whose main purpose is collecting consumer debts owed to someone else generally must be licensed by the State of Montana before it can legally collect from you, and Montana gives consumers an unusually long exposure on signed contracts: the statute of limitations on a written contract is eight years under Montana Code Annotated (MCA) § 27-2-202, one of the longest deadlines in the country, versus five years for an open account such as most credit cards. Those two facts — mandatory licensing of collection agencies and an 8-year written-contract clock — are where Montana law most clearly diverges from the bare federal floor, and they shape almost every collection dispute in the state.

Montana's own debt-collection framework

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the national baseline. It bars third-party collectors from harassing you, lying about a debt, calling at unreasonable hours, or contacting you after a written cease request, and it lets you sue for damages in federal court. Montana does not have a single state statute that simply copies the FDCPA, but it layers two important protections on top of it.

First, Montana regulates collection agencies directly. Companies that collect debts owed to others as a regular part of their business are required to hold a Montana license, administered through the Montana Department of Administration's Division of Banking and Financial Institutions. Licensing matters because it gives the state leverage the FDCPA does not: a collector that abuses consumers, fails to account for payments, or operates without authority can have its license challenged, suspended, or revoked, and unlicensed collection activity can itself be a violation. Always verify the exact licensing and bonding requirements, and whether a specific company is licensed, with the Division of Banking and Financial Institutions, because the details and any surety-bond amounts change over time.

Second, Montana's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (MCA § 30-14-101 and following) prohibits unfair or deceptive acts in trade and commerce. Deceptive collection tactics — misrepresenting the amount owed, falsely threatening lawsuits or arrest, or trying to collect a debt that is not actually owed — can fall under this act. The Montana Department of Justice's Office of Consumer Protection enforces it, and in some situations a consumer harmed by a deceptive practice may recover actual damages and, where authorized, additional relief.

The statute of limitations: Montana's long memory on written debt

The statute of limitations is the deadline for a creditor or collector to sue you. After it expires, the debt is "time-barred" — you can still be asked to pay, but a court should dismiss a lawsuit if you raise the expired deadline as a defense. In Montana, MCA § 27-2-202 sets these periods:

• Written contracts — 8 years. This covers many signed loan agreements and promissory notes and is notably longer than the four-to-six years common in other states.
• Open or stated accounts — 5 years. This category typically includes revolving credit-card accounts.
• Oral (spoken) contracts — 5 years.

Two cautions. The clock generally starts from your last activity or default on the account, and figuring out which category a particular debt falls into — especially credit-card debt, which courts may treat as an account rather than a written contract — can be legally technical. Making a payment or signing a new written acknowledgment can restart the clock. Because the difference between five and eight years is large, confirm how the limitation applies to your specific debt before assuming a debt is too old to sue on. A time-barred debt is also still reportable separately under credit-reporting rules.

Wage garnishment and protected income in Montana

A collector generally cannot garnish your wages in Montana until it has sued you, won a judgment, and obtained a court order. Once it has a judgment, Montana garnishment tracks the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act limit: a creditor may take the lesser of 25% of your disposable weekly earnings or the amount by which your disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. That federal 25% cap is the national ceiling, and Montana does not push garnishment beyond it for ordinary consumer debts; certain obligations such as child support, taxes, and student loans follow their own, often higher, rules.

Montana also exempts categories of income and property from collection. Funds such as Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, veterans' benefits, and many other public benefits are generally protected, and Montana provides statutory exemptions for a portion of your wages, household goods, tools of your trade, and home equity (the homestead exemption). The homestead and other exemption dollar amounts are set by statute and can be adjusted, so confirm the current figures before relying on a specific number. Montana's minimum wage is adjusted annually for inflation; as of 2026 you should confirm the current state rate with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, though note that the wage-garnishment calculation above uses the federal minimum wage, not the state figure.

What collectors can and cannot do

On top of the FDCPA's national rules, a licensed Montana collector is expected to operate honestly and within the terms of its license. In practice, you have the right to:

• Demand written verification. Within the FDCPA's validation window you can dispute the debt in writing and require the collector to verify the amount and the original creditor before continuing to collect.
• Stop the contact. A written request that a third-party collector cease communication generally must be honored, except for limited notices such as telling you a specific legal step will be taken.
• Be free of harassment and false threats. Repeated harassing calls, threats of arrest or jail, or threats to garnish without a judgment are prohibited.
• Accurate credit reporting. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you can dispute inaccurate or outdated collection entries with the credit bureaus, and a debt that you have disputed must be reported as disputed.

Keep a written record of every call and letter. Dates, names, and copies of correspondence are what turn a complaint into an enforceable case, and they help if you later sue under the FDCPA, which allows statutory damages plus attorney fees for violations.

How to file a complaint in Montana

If a collector breaks the rules, Montana gives you more than one place to turn:

• Montana Office of Consumer Protection (Department of Justice). This is the state's primary consumer-complaint office for deceptive and unfair collection practices. You can request a complaint form and submit details and supporting documents through the Department of Justice consumer-protection website (doj.mt.gov) or by contacting the office in Helena. Provide copies, not originals, of your records.
• Division of Banking and Financial Institutions (Department of Administration). Because this division licenses collection agencies, complaints about licensing, bonding, or whether a collector is even authorized to operate in Montana are appropriately directed here.
• Federal regulators. You can also file with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and report FDCPA violations to the Federal Trade Commission, and you may sue under the FDCPA in court within its one-year deadline.

Because statutes, license rules, and exemption amounts are updated periodically, verify any specific figure or requirement with the official source — the Montana Office of Consumer Protection, the Division of Banking and Financial Institutions, or the Montana Code Annotated itself — before acting. For a disputed lawsuit, an expired statute of limitations, or a large garnishment, consult a Montana-licensed attorney or a legal-aid program; the protections above only help if you assert them in time.

Official Montana Sources

This page is based on Montana law. Limits and deadlines change — verify the current details directly with the official Montana sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.

• Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection — official Montana agency.
• File a Consumer Complaint - Montana Office of Consumer Protection
• Montana Code Annotated Title 30, Chapter 14, Part 1 - Consumer Protection Act (Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act of 1973)

Federal law also applies. Federal laws like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act protect you nationwide, on top of Montana’s own rules.