Selling firewood in Montana: cords, delivery tickets and labels

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows sections of Title 30, chapter 12, weights, measures, standards and labeling, of the Montana Code Annotated 2025 as published by the Montana Legislature. The code is the main source, with the NIST model rule beside it.

The cord defined

In the Montana Code Annotated, section 30-12-101 gives the definitions for parts 1 through 5 of the chapter. Subsection 5 says the cord, when used for wood intended for fuel, means the amount of wood contained in a space of 128 cubic feet when the wood is ranked and well stowed. Subsection 6 names the Department of Labor and Industry as the department the chapter refers to. The section does not list banned unit words or a delivery ticket for wood.

Units and method of sale

In the same chapter, section 30-12-102 recognizes the customary United States system and the metric system, and says the NIST definitions, tables and equivalents govern weighing and measuring equipment and transactions in the state.

Section 30-12-301 covers the method of sale. The text is on the Montana Legislature section page. It says commodities not in liquid form may be sold only by weight, by measure of length or area, or by count, except as parts 1 through 5 otherwise provide. Counting is allowed only if it gives accurate information on the quantity. The exemptions it lists are as follows.

Commodities sold for immediate consumption on the premises.
Vegetables sold by the head or bunch.
Commodities in containers standardized by state or federal law.
Commodities in package form where there is a general consumer usage to state the quantity another way.
Concrete aggregates and loose solid materials such as earth, soil and gravel, sold by cubic measure.
Unprocessed vegetable and animal fertilizer sold by cubic measure.
Cottage food products, homemade food products and aquaculture products.

The department may adopt reasonable rules so that amounts sold are determined by good commercial practice and are accurate and informative. Firewood is not named in the section.

Offences and penalties

In the same chapter, section 30-12-504 lists what a person may not do. It includes selling or offering less than the quantity represented of a commodity, thing or service, and keeping, advertising or selling a commodity in a condition or manner contrary to law or rule. A person who violates the section, or knowingly allows an employee or agent to, is guilty of a misdemeanor. A first conviction carries a fine of not less than US$20 and not more than US$200, or imprisonment for not more than 3 months, or both. A second or later conviction carries a fine of not less than US$50 and not more than US$500, or imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both.

The model rule for comparison

Section 2.4 of the uniform regulation for the method of sale in NIST Handbook 130, 2026 edition, lets wood be sold by the cord, fractions of a cord or the cubic meter, bars face cord, rack, pile and truckload, and asks for a delivery ticket for non-packaged wood. The Montana sections read for this page do not repeat those parts or say the state adopts the handbook.

For the model rule and other places, see the firewood sale rules overview. Montana movement rules for wood are on the Montana moving firewood page.