Crane operator rules in Montana

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The sources are sections 50-76-101 to 50-76-114 of the Montana Code Annotated (2025 edition) as published by the Montana Legislature, a Licensing Reform Task Force paper from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, and a second department paper that compares state crane licensing. The national picture is on the parent page, cranes in tree work.

At a glance

Item	What the sources say
Law	Title 50, Chapter 76 of the Montana Code Annotated, sections 50-76-101 to 50-76-114
Regulator	Montana Department of Labor and Industry
Equipment covered	Crane and hoist equipment with a manufacturer's load chart rating of 6 tons or more, and any tower crane, used in hoisting or lowering personnel or material
Left out by name	Equipment with excavation attachments or log loading equipment when in use; forklifts, front-end and rear-end loaders, line trucks and bucket trucks
Classes	First, second and third class crane and hoist engineer
Offense	Misdemeanor for the operator and for an owner, employer or manager who permits an unlicensed person to operate

The license requirement

Section 50-76-103(1)(a) says it is unlawful to operate crane and hoist equipment, when used in hoisting or lowering personnel or material, with a manufacturer's load chart rating of 6 tons or more, or to operate a tower crane of any capacity, without first obtaining a license from the department. It says the crane and hoist equipment includes overhead trolley and gantry cranes used only in construction and excludes equipment with excavation attachments or log loading equipment when in use. Section 50-76-111 defines a crane as a machine with a hoisting mechanism that is integral to the machine and is used for lifting and lowering a load and for moving it horizontally.

Section 50-76-102 adds a separate license for hoisting engines driven by any power when used in lowering or hoisting personnel or material in industrial operations or on construction projects. It sets two classes: first class for unlimited horsepower and second class for engines not in excess of 100 brake horsepower. Subsection (4) says that section does not apply to the hoists and cranes defined in 50-76-103.

What the chapter leaves out

Section 50-76-101(2) says the chapter does not apply to forklifts and front-end and rear-end loaders or line trucks and bucket trucks. Subsection (3) defines a line truck as a hoisting and digging device on a standard manufacturer's truck chassis with an all-weather cab for a driver and two or more crew members, equipped with a hydraulically operated telescoping boom that uses a nonmetallic cable for hoisting. It defines bucket trucks as personnel-lifting devices designed to lift personnel to work stations above ground, and says they are not designed for the purposes intended for a line truck. Subsection (1) also excludes hoisting engines, air compressors and elevators under federal control.

None of these sections names tree work, tree removal or arboriculture, and none of the pages read for this guide says how the department treats a tree crew. The office the statute names is the Department of Labor and Industry.

The three classes

First class. Section 50-76-103(2)(a) says a first-class engineer may operate any hoisting equipment in industrial or construction operations. An applicant must be at least 18 years old, have at least one year of experience on equipment requiring a second-class license or show equivalent competency by examination, and pass a written test. A biennial physical exam is required.
Second class. Section 50-76-103(2)(c) says a licensed second-class engineer may operate crane and hoist equipment with a load chart rating between 6 tons and 17.5 tons, or a tower crane of any capacity. An applicant must be at least 18, have at least one year of experience in actual operation of covered equipment or show equivalent competency by examination, and pass a written examination. A biennial physical exam is required.
Third class. Section 50-76-103(2)(e) says a licensed third-class engineer may move all truck cranes driven by any power and of any capacity, and the license requirement also applies to truck crane oilers who move truck cranes. An applicant must be at least 18 and pass a written test.

Section 50-76-103(3) says the department reexamines each licensee every five years, in the anniversary month of the license, if the licensee has not worked at the trade for five years. Section 50-76-107 says the license specifies the machinery the holder may operate and does not qualify the holder to operate a boiler, steam engine, steam-driven machinery or air compressor.

National certification

Section 50-76-113 says the department shall issue a first-class or second-class license to an individual certified by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators, or by another organization the department approves as at least substantially equivalent. It adds that such a licensee remains subject to the chapter, including license fees, biennial physical exams and five-year reexaminations. The department's Licensing Reform Task Force paper says the same in its own words: a certified operator has to obtain a Montana license and remains subject to the state requirements and fees.

Carrying the license, offenses and inspection

Section 50-76-114 says a person may not operate covered equipment without having the license or proof of license in possession. The department issues a citation stating a fine of US$100, and the fine is waived for a person who shows proof of licensure within 30 days. Section 50-76-109 makes it a misdemeanor to operate covered equipment without a license, and it applies the same to every owner, employer or manager who permits an unlicensed person to operate. Section 50-76-109 gives no amount for that misdemeanor. Section 50-76-110 requires the department to employ at least one crane inspector with three years of experience as a licensed third-class engineer, and lets an inspector declare equipment out of service until it meets an operating or safety standard the department has adopted from the American National Standards Institute.

A reform paper

The Construction Subcommittee of the department's Licensing Reform Task Force recommends that the full task force support modernizing the crane and hoist operator framework for consideration in the 2027 Montana legislative session. Its paper lists options, among them converting the state credential for a nationally certified first- or second-class operator into a streamlined registration, and keeping a lower-cost state examination and experience pathway for operators without a national certification. The paper is a recommendation. It does not change the statute.

Where Montana sits among the states

A second department paper, OSHA against state licensing, names Montana among the states with specific crane or hoisting operator licensure requirements, and says that in a licensing state an operator must satisfy both the state license and the federal OSHA qualification requirement as implemented through the employer. It adds that a national certification does not stand in for a required Montana license.