Montana

Recent / Pending Legislation

Arrestees: No law.

Convicted Offenders: Yes.

Qualifying Crimes: Montana requires DNA collection from:

• 1. Persons convicted of felony offenses;
• 2. Youth found to have committed a sexual or violent offense pursuant to an adjudicatory hearing;
• 3. Person required to register as a sexual or violent offender;
• 4. Person ordered to provide a biological sample for DNA testing by a judge as an additional restriction on a sentence;
• 5. Adult offender convicted in another state and sentenced to death or imprisonment for more than 1 year who is subject to supervision by the Department of Corrections pursuant to the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision.

Time of Collection: Collected following entry of judgment.

Expungement: Where a felony conviction — or a youth’s adjudication for a sexual or violent offense — is reversed, the related record must be expunged from the DNA identification index. The county attorney of the county of conviction must notify the department of the reversal.

Statutes / Case Law

• Mont. Code Ann. § 41-5-1502 – Adjudicatory hearing
• 44-6-101 – Definitions
• 44-6-102 – Establishment of DNA Identification Index
• 44-6-103 – Collection of samples and maintenance of data
• 44-6-107 – Expungement of DNA records
• 46-18-202 – Additional restrictions on sentence46-23-504 – Persons Required To Register – Procedure
• 46-23-1115 – Interstate Compact For Adult Offender Supervision

Legislative History

• HB 551 (54th Legislature, 1995) → Ch. 251, L. 1995, with an immediate effective date. The foundational act, creating Montana’s DNA program: it required certain sexual and violent offenders to provide DNA samples, established the DNA identification index within the Department of Justice, classified DNA records as confidential criminal justice information, set permissible uses for those records, and provided that DNA records are not sealed under the Montana Youth Court Act (amending § 41-5-604). Codified at §§ 44-6-101 (definitions), 44-6-102 (the index), and 44-6-103 (collection mandate). The bill carried a statement of intent to guide the implementing rules; the resulting administrative rule, Mont. Admin. R. 23.4.502, took effect August 9, 1996.
• HB 111 (55th Legislature, 1997), introduced by request of the Department of Corrections and the Department of Justice. A general revision of the laws on identification and registration of sexual and violent offenders that created the sexually violent predator designation and provided immunity for negligence. It amended § 44-6-101 alongside §§ 41-5-523, 46-18-201, and the 46-23-501 through 46-23-508 registration sections, and repealed § 46-18-254.
• SB 112 (56th Legislature, 1999) → Ch. 147, L. 1999, with an immediate effective date and a retroactive applicability date. Defined “fingerprints” for purposes of the Criminal Justice Information Act, expanded the group of persons subject to the DNA testing law, and added definitions to the DNA testing law. Amended §§ 44-5-103, 44-6-101, 44-6-102, 44-6-103, 46-18-202, and 46-23-215. As amended, § 44-6-103 reached a person convicted of a sexual or violent offense, a youth found under § 41-5-1502 to have committed such an offense, and a defendant ordered under § 46-18-202 to provide a biological sample — the two additions your list identified, now tied to their bill.
• HB 359 (57th Legislature, 2001) → Ch. 565, L. 2001. Expanded the collection of DNA evidence to certain adult felony offenses and defined “felony offense,” amending §§ 44-6-101, 44-6-102, 44-6-103, and 44-6-107. As amended, § 44-6-101 defines “biological sample” as cheek cells removed by a department-authorized buccal swab or a vial or other container of blood, confirming that buccal collection was available by this point.
• HB 602 (67th Legislature, 2021). A significant privacy measure and the most consequential Montana development for this project. It bars a government entity from obtaining DNA search results from a consumer DNA database without a search warrant issued on a finding of probable cause, unless the consumer previously waived their privacy right in the information. It separately bars obtaining familial DNA search results or partial-matching results from either the state DNA identification index or a consumer database without such a warrant. It defines “consumer DNA database” as one maintained by a private entity providing direct-to-consumer genetic testing, and defines “familial DNA search” as a search using specialized software to detect and statistically rank potential close biological relatives of the unknown evidence profile contributor, optionally combined with lineage testing.

No program or law found.

• Montana enacted Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-1113 (HB 612, 2021), one of the first two state FGG statutes in the nation. The law requires a search warrant based on probable cause before law enforcement may conduct a genealogical search of any government or consumer DNA database. Montana’s statute is one of the most restrictive in the nation; it does not distinguish by crime type and applies broadly. Montana also enacted broader genetic privacy protections in 2023 (SB 351), updated effective June 1, 2025.
• HB 602 (2023, enacted) – requires law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before utilizing a consumer DNA database to conduct familial searches or genetic genealogy tracing.

No program or law found.

No program or law found.