11.3 ARM 24.122: Application, Examination, Fees, Renewal & Discipline

11.3 ARM 24.122: Application, Examination, Fees, Renewal & Discipline

Quick Summary: Administrative Rules of Montana Title 24, Chapter 122, "Boiler Operating Engineers" turns the statute into procedure. It fixes the passing score at 70 percent, sets the application fee at $70 for all classes including the examination and annual renewal at $35, and — with MCA 50-74-311 — imposes a 45-day wait after any failed examination. Exams are held at least quarterly under MCA 50-74-320, are sent to Job Service locations, and require department pre-approval before a candidate may sit. Licenses renew each year between February 1 and April 1.

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1. Chapter Layout

ARM Chapter 24.122 is short. Subchapters 1 and 2 are reserved; the operative rules are:

Two housekeeping points matter. First, ARM 24.122.515 was repealed in 2021; renewal is now handled under the department's standardized licensing rules rather than a boiler-specific rule. Second, ARM 24.122.501(2) confirms the statutory logic: if the boiler or steam engine being operated or monitored is exempt from Title 50, chapter 74, the person is not required to obtain a boiler operating engineer's license.

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2. The Application Sequence

What the rule requires — ARM 24.122.505

Any person required to obtain a license applies on forms and in the manner prescribed by the department. Applications must include:

• (2)(a) a completed application;
• (2)(b) the applicant's birth date and a declaration that the applicant is 18 or older;
• (2)(c) a nonrefundable application fee; and
• (2)(d) documentation acceptable to the department establishing that the applicant has the requisite experience and qualifications to take the examination.

Subsection (3) supplies the training-course substitute for classes other than first or second, and subsection (4) states that the department reviews applications case by case, approving only those meeting MCA 50-74-304 or 50-74-307, and may accept credentials it believes to be substantially equal to the required training and experience.

What the DLI checklist adds

The department's Licensing Requirements and Application Checklist (Rev. 11/07/2025) requires, alongside the basic application:

1. A completed experience form (the Boiler Experience Verification Form)
2. Proof of training course completion, if applicable
3. Official license verification from every state and jurisdiction in which the applicant holds or has ever held a professional license of any type
4. Documentation supporting any "yes" answer to a personal-history question — licensing-board records, federal agency records, or civil or criminal court documents including charging documents and final dispositions

Applications are filed online through the state Citizen Portal, and all license applications expire within one year of initial submission to the department.

Approval precedes examination

Candidates are pre-approved before they may test. The department reviews the experience documentation, verifies that the supervising engineer held a license at least equal to the class sought, and only then authorizes the applicant to take the written examination. Historically the department has required the application and fee to reach it at least two weeks before the examination date, and it does not accept walk-ins on exam day.

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3. Examinations — MCA 50-74-320 and ARM 24.122.510

The statutory frame

MCA 50-74-320 governs administration:

1. The department must administer engineer examinations at least once every 3 months at places within the state determined by the department.
2. The department determines the fees to be charged for each examination and reexamination, and those fees must be commensurate with costs.
3. The department may use a third party to provide examination and grading services.

MCA 50-74-302 supplies the underlying competency principle: no person may be granted a license who has not met the qualifications for licensing and been found to be competent by examination to perform the duties of an engineer.

The rule

ARM 24.122.510 adds four operating provisions:

1. The department may accept third-party testing locations and accept examination results from third-party agencies if it authorizes them.
2. Special examinations may be held where the regular date and place conflict with the religious beliefs of the applicant, or for other appropriate reasons. The applicant petitions by letter, and if the department allows it, the department sets the time and place at its discretion.
3. Applicants must complete the examination with a minimum passing score of 70 percent.
4. Failing candidates must pay a retake fee and must wait a minimum of 45 days from their last failure to retake the examination.

Where and when you test

Montana sends approved candidates' examinations to Job Service offices around the state; the department has historically used Billings, Havre, Helena, and Missoula, with examinations set on scheduled quarterly dates. Candidates indicate a preferred location on the application.

The 45-day rule — get this number right

Both the statute and the rule say the same thing. MCA 50-74-311: "In case of the failure of any applicant to successfully pass an examination, 45 days must elapse before the applicant may again be examined for license." ARM 24.122.510(4) repeats it as a minimum 45 days from the last failure, plus a retake fee. The department's own Boiler Application for Re-Examination form prints the citation on its face.

A related 45-day period appears in MCA 50-74-312, which handles rejected applications rather than failed exams. An applicant whose application is rejected may, within 45 days of the rejection, submit written arguments and request a departmental review. The department must notify the applicant within 2 days that it will review the matter on a day not less than 5 nor more than 30 days after receipt. The applicant may appear in person and may, on at least 2 days' notice, designate an engineer holding a valid license of equal or higher grade to testify. If the department affirms the denial, the applicant may reapply to test but may not take the examination within 45 days of the final decision.

What the examination covers

Montana publishes no content outline and no domain weights. What it publishes instead is a Suggested Study Material sheet naming the department's reference texts:

• All classes of licensure: Low Pressure Boilers, 5th edition (F. M. Steingress and Daryl R. Walker)
• Third, second, and first class licensure: High Pressure Boilers, 6th edition (F. M. Steingress, H. J. Frost, and Daryl R. Walker)

The department also posts Hot Water Study Guide Pictures and Steam Boiler Study Guide Pictures — component-identification plates. Because there is no published weighting, prepare across the full span of both texts plus MCA 50-74 and ARM 24.122, and expect component identification from the picture guides. Anyone quoting a specific Montana question count, time limit, or percentage breakdown per topic is quoting something the department does not publish.

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4. Fee Schedule — ARM 24.122.401

Two consequences of the current schedule are worth noting. The $70 fee is uniform across all classes — a first-class application costs exactly what a limited low-pressure application costs. That flat structure replaced an older graduated schedule, so study material printed before the May 2021 amendment shows different, higher numbers for the upper classes; ignore it. And because the retake fee is 50 percent of the licensure fee, the department's re-examination form prices a retake at $35.00 for all classes of licensure.

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5. Renewal

Montana boiler operating engineer licenses are annual.

• Regular renewal period: February 1 through April 1.
• Late renewal online: available for 45 additional days, through May 15.
• Renewal fee: $35 (ARM 24.122.401(2)), plus any standardized late fee under ARM 24.101.403.
• No continuing education is required for the Montana boiler operator program.

Renewals are processed through the state's online licensing portal. Because ARM 24.122.515 was repealed effective 5/1/2021, the timing and late-fee mechanics now come from the department's standardized rules rather than from a chapter-122 rule.

An operator whose license has lapsed is, for purposes of MCA 50-74-315, a person operating without a license. There is no self-executing grace for an expired credential: the equipment must be turned over to a currently licensed engineer, or the employer must fall back on the narrow MCA 50-74-317 allowance, until the renewal posts.

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6. Losing a License

Montana's boiler chapter names one automatic disciplinary trigger and leaves the rest to the department's general licensing authority under Title 37, chapter 1, applied through the Montana Administrative Procedure Act.

The statutory trigger — MCA 50-74-214

"It is the duty of the engineer operating any boiler or boilers to assist the inspectors in their examination of the boilers and point out any defects known to the engineer in the boilers or machinery under the engineer's charge. If an engineer does not comply with this section, the engineer's license must be revoked or suspended."

The verb is must, not may. Refusing an inspector, or concealing a known defect, is the one act the statute treats as categorically disqualifying.

Supporting duties whose breach exposes the license

• ARM 24.122.410(1) — allow the inspector free access and assist when requested
• ARM 24.122.410(2), (3), (4) — do not leave an active power boiler unattended beyond the water-level test; hold the manual checking interval to no more than 120 minutes or the manufacturer's ASME CSD-1 interval, whichever is shorter
• ARM 24.122.410(5) — display certificates and licenses conspicuously in the boiler room, or post signage stating where they may be examined
• ARM 24.122.410(6) — give written notice of a change in operating responsibility within 10 days
• ARM 24.122.410(7) — notify the department as soon as practical when an incident renders a boiler inoperative
• Boiler Experience Verification Form affidavit — a false statement or evasive answer "may lead to subsequent revocation of licensure on ethical grounds"
• MCA 50-74-107 — an inspector or assistant inspector who willfully certifies contrary to the chapter, or grants a license contrary to the chapter, is guilty of a misdemeanor

Criminal exposure that runs alongside discipline

• MCA 50-74-315(2) — operating without a license: misdemeanor, $50 to $100, and/or up to 60 days in county jail
• MCA 50-74-208 — operating without a certificate, or failing to give the notice required by 50-74-206 or 50-74-207: $100 to $500 for each offense, 30 to 90 days in county jail, or both
• MCA 50-74-209(3) — an owner who negligently or knowingly fails to comply with a departmental compliance order: misdemeanor, $50 to $100, not more than 60 days, or both
• MCA 50-74-213 — failure to comply with department-directed access is a misdemeanor

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7. Administrative Standards Quick Reference

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8. Worked Administrative Scenario

Facts. A candidate documents 1,000 hours operating a 120 psig steam boiler under a third-class engineer, applies for a third-class license on March 3, pays the fee, and is approved. She sits the examination on the next quarterly date and scores 66 percent.

Analysis.

1. Result. 66 percent is below the ARM 24.122.510(3) minimum of 70 percent. She failed; there is no curve and no partial-credit scaling.
2. Wait. Under MCA 50-74-311 and ARM 24.122.510(4), 45 days must elapse from the date of the failed examination before she may test again — not 30.
3. Cost. She files the Boiler Application for Re-Examination with the retake fee, which ARM 24.122.401(4) fixes at 50 percent of the licensure fee, printed on the form as $35.00 for all classes. It is nonrefundable.
4. Scheduling. Because MCA 50-74-320(1) requires examinations at least quarterly, the next available date may fall well beyond the 45-day minimum. The wait is a floor, not a schedule.
5. Application life. Her application remains valid for one year from initial submission. If she has not passed by the following March, she starts over with a new application and a new $70 fee.
6. What she may operate meanwhile. Failing the third-class examination does not disturb any lower-class license she already holds, but it gives her no authority over 120 psig equipment. Operating that boiler in the interim is unlicensed operation under MCA 50-74-315, with her employer equally liable.