Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 37. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS

CHAPTER 60. PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS, PRIVATE SECURITY AND FIRE ENTITIES, AND PROCESS SERVERS

Part 1. General

Exemptions

37-60-105. Exemptions. (1) This chapter does not apply to:

(a) an individual employed singly and exclusively by an employer other than a private security firm in connection with the affairs of that employer only and when there exists an employer-employee relationship and the employee is unarmed, does not wear a uniform, and is guarding inside a structure that at the time is not open to the public;

(b) an individual employed singly and exclusively by a retail merchant as a private security guard;

(c) an officer or employee of the United States, of this state, or of a political subdivision of the United States or this state while the officer or employee is engaged in the performance of official duties;

(d) an individual who provides information about the financial rating, financial habits, and financial responsibility of applicants for insurance, indemnity bonds, or commercial credit;

(e) an attorney engaged in the practice of law;

(f) a law student, legal intern, paralegal, or legal assistant under the direction of one or more attorneys;

(g) a collection agency or finance company making an investigation incidental to the business of the agency or company;

(h) special agents employed by railroad companies;

(i) insurers and insurance producers and insurance brokers licensed by the state while performing duties in connection with insurance transacted by them;

(j) individuals engaged in the collection and examination of physical material for forensic purposes;

(k) an insurance adjuster who investigates insurance claims to determine the extent of liability under an insurance policy but does not engage in surveillance or investigate crime;

(l) an internal investigator or auditor while making an investigation incidental to the business of the agency or company by which the investigator or auditor is singularly and regularly employed;

(m) an individual who evaluates and advises management on personnel and human resource issues in the workplace;

(n) a confidential intermediary under 42-6-104; or

(o) a certified public accountant engaged in an investigation relating to the practice of accounting.

(2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(b), persons listed as exempt in subsection (1) are not exempt for the purposes of acting as registered process servers.

(b) Subsection (2)(a) does not apply to attorneys or persons who make 10 or fewer services of process in a calendar year, as provided in 25-1-1101.

History: En. 66-3306 by Sec. 6, Ch. 234, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 66-3306; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 550, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 647, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 63, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 332, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 47, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 14, Ch. 405, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 194, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 38, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 481, L. 2023.