Pre-trip check · ID → MT
Driving from Idaho to Montana?
The law changes the moment you cross the line — what's legal to carry, light, or do in Idaho can be a violation in Montana. Every status below is live from LawLert's database, dated, and linked to its official source.
What changes for you (12)
Big game hunters must wear at least 400 sq in of hunter orange above the waist, visible from all sides; archery-season bowhunters exempt.
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Legal but restricted to the state-run "Sports Bet Montana" (Montana Lottery): kiosks/terminals at licensed retailers; the app works only while physically on a licensed retailer's premises. No statewide remote mobile.…
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jul 20, 2026
Montana requires no education card for adults; youths 13-14 may operate a motorboat/PWC over 10 hp only with a Montana motorboat operator's safety certificate or if accompanied by someone 18+.
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Open burning of yard/land debris is allowed year-round but requires a permit from your local county fire-control authority. DEQ regulates seasonal periods (fall county-wide restrictions, winter by request in the western…
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Recreational legal for adults 21+; medical program also operates (Initiative 190, 2020; sales began Jan 2022).
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jul 13, 2026
Last call is 2 a.m. statewide.
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jun 5, 2026
Most consumer fireworks sold at licensed Montana retailers during seasonal windows.
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jun 5, 2026
Montana has no general statewide sales or use tax; some tourist localities levy local resort/lodging taxes.
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jul 15, 2026
No drone-specific law; Montana's critical-infrastructure statute (82-1-602) punishes only physical trespass at such sites, not drone overflight; FAA applies.
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
No red-flag/ERPO law. No assault-weapon ban or magazine restriction; strong preemption.
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
A 'concealed weapon' is defined as only a firearm, so carrying any knife concealed (any blade length) is not an offense in Montana (MCA 45-8-316).
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Montana has no statewide handheld or texting ban for adult drivers — only local ordinances apply. SB 359 failed in 2025, and the Montana Department of Transportation confirms there is no statewide law.
Full Montana rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Same status
Matching status ≠ identical law — details, limits and penalties can still differ.
Carrying with a permit? Whether Idaho permits are honored in Montana is its own map — check Montana concealed-carry reciprocity. And federal land (national parks, forests) plays by federal rules in both states — see the federal-land guide.
Also from Idaho: ID → NV · ID → OR · ID → UT · ID → WA · ID → WY · reverse (MT → ID)
Idaho to Montana: common questions
- Do the laws change when you drive from Idaho to Montana?
- Yes — 12 of the 13 categories LawLert tracks have a different status in Montana than in Idaho: hunting, gambling, boating, burn bans, cannabis, alcohol, fireworks, taxes, drones, firearms, knives, driving. Each is listed on this page with its current status, the official source it came from, and the date it was last verified.
- What are the hunting laws in Montana if I'm coming from Idaho?
- Montana: Restricted — Big game hunters must wear at least 400 sq in of hunter orange above the waist, visible from all sides; archery-season bowhunters exempt. In Idaho the same category is Conditional.
- What are the gambling laws in Montana if I'm coming from Idaho?
- Montana: Conditional — Legal but restricted to the state-run "Sports Bet Montana" (Montana Lottery): kiosks/terminals at licensed retailers; the app works only while physically on a licensed retailer's premises. No statewide remote mobile.… In Idaho the same category is Restricted.
- What are the boating laws in Montana if I'm coming from Idaho?
- Montana: Conditional — Montana requires no education card for adults; youths 13-14 may operate a motorboat/PWC over 10 hp only with a Montana motorboat operator's safety certificate or if accompanied by someone 18+. In Idaho the same category is Info.
- Is my Idaho concealed carry permit honored in Montana?
- Permit reciprocity is decided separately from the firearms status shown on this page, so it is not answered here. LawLert publishes Montana's recognition list, with the statute or agency page behind it, at lawlertapp.com/firearms/MT/reciprocity. Permitless carry, where a state allows it, is a different question again — it does not make an out-of-state permit valid.
- How current is this Idaho to Montana comparison?
- Every rule on this page stores the date it was last checked against its source; the oldest on this comparison is 2026-05-31. LawLert carries 6,693 rules, each with a source URL, and publishes a log of every correction it has made at lawlertapp.com/how-we-verify. Laws change — confirm anything consequential against the linked source.