Montana Childcare Training Hour Requirements (2026)

Montana does not set a fixed pre-service clock-hour total

infectious-disease control, child development, medication administration, emergency preparedness, hazardous-materials handling, transportation, and child-abuse reporting

instead, before providing unsupervised care a staff member must complete current infant/child/adult CPR (hands-on), infant choking response, and pediatric first aid certification, prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and safe sleep practices, and prevention of shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma, all as part of department-approved early childhood teacher orientation due within 30 days of hire (ARM 37.95.163(2)(a)-(d))

ARM 37.95.163(2)(a)-(d)

the remaining orientation topics (infectious-disease control, child development, medication administration, emergency preparedness, hazardous-materials handling, transportation, and child-abuse reporting) must be completed within 90 days of hire (ARM 37.95.163(3)).

infectious-disease control, child development, medication administration, emergency preparedness, hazardous-materials handling, transportation, and child-abuse reporting

All directors, early childhood teachers, and assistant teachers at any child care facility must complete annual training required to be current on the Montana ECP Practitioner Registry, approved through MTECP (ARM 37.95.162(1)-(2))

ARM 37.95.162(1)-(2)

teachers (ECTs) at facilities serving exclusively school-age children must complete at least eight hours of continuing education annually and are not required to be on the registry (ARM 37.95.162(5))

ARM 37.95.162(5)

and all directors, substitutes, ECTs, ECLTs, and ECATs must complete a health-and-safety review course at least every three years, which counts toward the required annual training (ARM 37.95.162(6)).

ARM 37.95.162(6)

How many pre-service training hours does Montana require?

Montana does not set a fixed pre-service clock-hour total; instead, before providing unsupervised care a staff member must complete current infant/child/adult CPR (hands-on), infant choking response, and pediatric first aid certification, prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and safe sleep practices, and prevention of shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma, all as part of department-approved early childhood teacher orientation due within 30 days of hire (ARM 37.95.163(2)(a)-(d)); the remaining orientation topics (infectious-disease control, child development, medication administration, emergency preparedness, hazardous-materials handling, transportation, and child-abuse reporting) must be completed within 90 days of hire (ARM 37.95.163(3)).

How many annual training hours does Montana require?

All directors, early childhood teachers, and assistant teachers at any child care facility must complete annual training required to be current on the Montana ECP Practitioner Registry, approved through MTECP (ARM 37.95.162(1)-(2)); teachers (ECTs) at facilities serving exclusively school-age children must complete at least eight hours of continuing education annually and are not required to be on the registry (ARM 37.95.162(5)); and all directors, substitutes, ECTs, ECLTs, and ECATs must complete a health-and-safety review course at least every three years, which counts toward the required annual training (ARM 37.95.162(6)).

Does CPR/First Aid count toward Montana training hours?

States differ on whether CPR and First Aid certification counts toward required training hours. Confirm with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), Early Childhood and Family Support Division (ECFSD) — Child Care Licensing (CCL) Program before relying on it for your annual total.