Montana’s rules come from statute, board regulation, and uniform licensing-enforcement provisions. Check the legislation tracker for pending changes.
1. CPOD status
Tier: Strict- The proprietor clause, § 37-4-101(2)(b), makes owning or operating a dental place the practice of dentistry, with a single carve-out for the personal representative of a deceased or disabled dentist’s estate under § 37-4-104.
- Exemptions are narrow. Section 37-4-103(6) permits dentists to contract with or be employed by university clinics, correctional facilities, and federally funded community, migrant, and homeless health centers. Even those exempt entities may not “govern the clinical sufficiency, suitability, reliability, or efficacy” of care or restrict a dentist’s independent professional judgment (§ 37-4-103(7)).
- Enforcement runs through the uniform provisions of Title 37, ch. 1: department cease-and-desist orders, civil penalties up to $$1,000 per day, and injunctions (§ 37-1-109). Knowing violation of an injunction is a felony, and § 37-1-109(5) reaches officers, agents, partners, and members of a business entity who personally participate.
2. Other professions
This page covers dentistry only. Medicine, optometry, veterinary practice, and other professions are governed by different statutes and boards, even within the same state. For medical-practice sources, use the MSO-PC Wiki. The practice act does not address hygienist ownership of a dental practice. Verify the point with counsel.3. Professional entity forms
Permitted forms: a professional corporation under the Montana Professional Corporation Act (Title 35, ch. 4). Practice through an LLC falls under Title 35, ch. 8; verify the statutory mechanics with counsel. Ownership: § 35-4-301 restricts share issuance and transfer to licensed natural persons, all-licensed general partnerships, and professional corporations. Also confirm before filing:- Naming rules, designator requirements, and any limits tied to licensed owners’ names; several states regulate dental trade names separately
- Board pre-approval or certificates, whether the dental board must act before (or after) the secretary of state will file
- Officer and director licensure, including states that restrict these roles as well as ownership to licensees
4. Fee-splitting and management-fee structure
No express percentage-fee ban was located in the dental practice act. Section 37-4-104(2), however, lists setting or limiting fees or payment methods among the actions that even a permitted estate-period manager may not take. A revenue-linked management fee needs careful review against that restriction. For the MSA, test whether a percentage-of-collections fee is permitted under the state’s dental, fee-splitting, referral, tax, and contract rules. Several states expressly restrict revenue-linked dental management fees, and the Aspen Dental settlements imposed related party-specific terms. Flat and cost-plus formulas are not automatic safe harbors; the services, calculation, amount, control rights, and actual payments still matter. See Fee-splitting rules and Set the management fee.5. Dentist noncompetes
No dental-specific noncompete statute was identified in the sources this page relies on; enforceability runs on Montana’s general restrictive-covenant law. Verify with counsel before including one. Federal noncompete policy changed substantially in 2025 and 2026. The FTC’s Non-Compete Rule was vacated, the agency dismissed its appeals in September 2025, and the rule was removed from 16 C.F.R. pt. 910 effective February 12, 2026. State law remains central. Dental enforcement resolutions in New York and California have also restricted noncompetes for the settling parties as a corporate-practice remedy. Verify the current rule, worker, agreement type, transaction context, effective date, and remedy in this state. See the legislation tracker.6. DSO-specific law and registration
None. Montana has no DSO registration or disclosure regime. In the estate-management context, § 37-4-104(2) prohibits a manager from governing the clinical sufficiency, suitability, reliability, or efficacy of care; restricting independent professional judgment; controlling the selection or compensation of clinical personnel; setting or limiting fees or payment methods; or limiting the scope of services. Use that list when drafting the clinical carve-out in a Montana management services agreement. For states that require registration, see Register a DSO.7. Death and transition window
Section 37-4-104 gives a non-dentist personal representative of a deceased or disabled dentist 12 months from filing the death certificate or disability attestation to sell or dispose of the practice. During that period, the representative may contract with a dentist to manage the practice, subject to the § 37-4-104(2) control restrictions. At the entity level, § 35-4-311 requires redemption or transfer of a deceased or disqualified shareholder’s shares within 10 months. Section 35-4-312 permits the personal representative of a sole shareholder’s estate to amend the articles. See Plan for succession.8. Practical structuring notes
The professional entity must remain the operator. Montana treats operating the dental office as practicing dentistry. In a friendly-PC structure, the professional entity should hold patient records, employ the clinical team, and set fees. The DSO can provide support for fair-market-value compensation but should not control clinical personnel or pricing, both of which appear in § 37-4-104(2). No Montana board rule on management agreements, attorney general opinion, or dental case was verified for this page. Base the initial analysis on the statute and have counsel confirm the current enforcement position.9. Verification checklist
- Confirmed the permitted entity form for dentistry in this state
- Confirmed whether dental board pre-approval or a certificate is required before filing
- Confirmed whether officers and directors must be licensed dentists
- Confirmed the management fee structure is lawful here, including any restriction on revenue-linked fees
- Clinical carve-out drafted against this state’s current statutory language, including any enumerated control prohibitions
- Transfer restriction and succession documents checked against this state’s death-transition window
- Noncompete provisions checked against current state law
- DSO foreign-qualified before it has employees here
- Any DSO registration, licensure, or disclosure obligation identified and calendared
- Trade-name and advertising-disclosure rules for dental practices checked
10. Sources and where to verify
For the cases and statutes referenced above, see DSO & dental case law and the 51-jurisdiction table. For enacted and pending legislation, see the dental legislation tracker.