1. (1) The department shall:

   1. (a) effective January 1, 2026, issue decisions on private training program submissions for on-premises licensee and off-premises licensee training within 60 days;
   2. (b) publish private training provider contact information on the department's website;
   3. (c) notify private training providers of statutory changes to RASS training which require action by the providers;
   4. (d) evaluate private training provider program effectiveness, as needed, including the percentage of program participants who sell to underage or intoxicated persons;
   5. (e) notify a private training provider of any required changes based upon training program deficiencies; and
   6. (f) provide private training providers with a Montana specific exam for program participants to complete at the end of a training.

2. (2) A private training provider shall:

   1. (a) update and electronically submit its training program materials for department approval within 30 days of receiving the notice in (1)(c);
   2. (b) only utilize updated training program materials upon receipt of departmental approval;
   3. (c) establish the time and location of in-person training sessions and notify the department at least two weeks in advance of any training;
   4. (d) administer the required Montana exam and questions based upon the training program content requirements in ARM 42.13.907;
   5. (e) grade exams;
   6. (f) issue proof of training documents;
   7. (g) electronically submit training records to the department within two weeks of a training session;
   8. (h) contact training participants who fail a compliance check, while employed, to determine the reason for failure and report findings to the department; and
   9. (i) comply with all applicable laws and department policies concerning the confidentiality of training participants’ personally identifiable information in training records. Training records must be transmitted to the department by secure means only.
3. (3) The department may review a private training provider’s training program if any five of the provider’s training participants fails a compliance check, while employed, in any consecutive four-month period.
4. (4) Upon determining that an approved training program is ineffective or that the private training provider failed to adhere to any requirement in (2), the department shall notify the provider, and the provider may be subject to corrective action, including suspension or decertification of its training program. To continue to offer training, the private training provider must cure program deficiencies and reapply to have its new training program reviewed and approved by the department.
5. (5) The department will not compensate a private training provider for training services. A provider may charge participants for a training session.

Authorizing statute(s): 16-4-1009, MCA

Implementing statute(s): 16-4-1006, MCA

History: NEW, 2012 MAR p. 122, Eff. 1/13/12; AMD, 2015 MAR p. 1205, Eff. 8/14/15; AMD, 2026 MAR, Notice No. 2025-292, Eff. 3/7/26.