The requirements and responsibilities of registration for both offenders and law enforcement agencies are defined in Title 46 Chapter 23 Part 5 of the Montana Code Annotated.

Sexual Offenses

Individuals convicted of one or more of the following offenses are designated as sexual offenders and are required to register with Montana’s Sexual or Violent Offender Registration Unit.

• 45-5-301, Unlawful Restraint, if the victim is less than 18 years of age and the offender is not a parent of the victim
• 45-5-302, Kidnapping, if the victim is less than 18 years of age and the offender is not a parent of the victim
• 45-5-303, Aggravated Kidnapping, if the victim is less than 18 years of age and the offender is not a parent of the victim
• 45-5-502, Sexual Assault; (2)(b) on a second conviction, (2)(c) on a third and subsequent conviction for sexual assault, (3) If the victim is less than 16 years old and the offender is 3 or more years older than the victim or if the offender inflicts bodily injury upon anyone in the course of committing sexual assault, and (4), If the victim is a client receiving psychotherapy services and the offender is providing or purporting to provide psychotherapy services to the victim
• 45-5-503, Sexual Intercourse without Consent

• 45-5-504, Indecent Exposure; (2)(c) On a third or subsequent conviction, and (3) A person commits the offense of indecent exposure to a minor if the person commits an offense under subsection (1) and the person knows the conduct will be observed by a person who is under 16 years of age and the offender is more than 4 years older than the victim, and subsection (4)(a) Except when a minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian, or when an individual with developmental disabilities is accompanied by a parent, guardian, or other caretaker or health care provider designated by the parent or guardian, a person commits the offense of indecent exposure in a public place when the person knowingly or purposely, under circumstances in which the person knows the conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm, exposes their genitals or intimate parts to members of the opposite biological sex or opposite the person’s sex observed at birth.

  • (c) As used in this subsection (4), “public place” means a place to which the public or a group of persons has access and includes but is not limited to transportation facilities, restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and showers that are designated for multiperson, single-sex use, schools, places of amusement, parks, places of business, playgrounds, and hallways, lobbies, and other portions of apartment houses, multifamily dwellings, and hotels, except for rooms or apartments designed for actual residence.

• 45-5-507, Incest, if the victim is less than 18 years of age and the offender is 3 or more years older than the victim, or if the victim is 12 years of age or younger and the offender is 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense
• 45-5-508, Aggravated Sexual Intercourse without Consent
• 45-5-601, Prostitution; (2)(b) A patron may be convicted of patronizing a prostitute if the patron engages in or agrees or offers to engage in sexual intercourse or sexual contact that is direct and not through clothing with another person for compensation, whether the compensation is received or to be received or paid or to be paid and (3), If the person patronized was a child and the patron was 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense, whether or not the patron was aware of the child’s age
• 45-5-625, Sexual Abuse of Children
• 45-5-622, Endangering the Welfare of Children;(2)(b)(ii), a parent or guardian or any person who is 18 years of age or older, or other person is supervising the welfare of the child, commits the offense of endangering the welfare of children knowingly contributes to the delinquency of a child less than:16 years old by assisting, promoting, or encouraging the child to: engage in sexual conduct
• 45-5-627(1)(a), Ritual Abuse of a Minor; A person commits the offense of ritual abuse of a minor if the person purposely or knowingly and as part of any ceremony, rite, or ritual or of any training or practice for any ceremony, rite, or ritual:(a) has sexual intercourse without consent with a person less than 16 years of age; commits assault, aggravated assault, assault on a minor, or assault with a weapon against a victim less than 16 years of age; or kills a person less than 16 years of age
• 45-5-705, Patronizing a Victim of Sex Trafficking
• 45-5-706, Aggravated Sex Trafficking
• 45-5-711, Child Sex Trafficking
• 45-8-218, Deviate Sexual Conduct; A person who knowingly engages in deviate sexual relations or who causes another to engage in deviate sexual relations commits the offense of deviate sexual conduct.
• 45-2-101 Sexual Deviant Conduct with Corpse; “deviate sexual relations” is defined as any form of “sexual intercourse with an animal or dead human body”
• 45-5-629 Grooming of Child for Sexual Offense
• 45-5-802(1) Sexual Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult

OR any violation of a law of another state, a tribal government, the federal government, or the military or a foreign entity that is reasonably equivalent to a violation listed in MCA 46-23-502 (10) or for which the offender was required to register as a sexual offender after an adjudication or conviction.

Violent Offenses

In 1995, the Montana Legislature required certain violent offenders to register in Montana in addition to sexual offenders. Montana is one of the few states that register violent offenders.

• 45-5-102, Deliberate Homicide
• 45-5-103, Mitigated Deliberate Homicide
• 45-5-202, Aggravated Assault
• 45-5-206, Partner or Family Member Assault (third or subsequent offense)
• 45-5-210, Assault on a Peace Officer or Judicial Officer (1)(b), (1)(c), or (1)(d)
• 45-5-212, Assault on a Minor
• 45-5-213, Assault with a Weapon
• 45-5-215, Strangulation of a Partner or Family Member
• 45-5-302, Kidnapping (if the victim is not a minor)
• 45-5-303, Aggravated Kidnapping (if the victim is not a minor)
• 45-5-401, Robbery
• 45-6-103, Arson
• 45-9-132,Operation of Unlawful Clandestine Laboratory
• 45-5-802(1) Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult

Reasonably equivalent offenses of another state, a tribal government or the federal government also qualify.

Sexual and Violent Offenders

Offenders who have been convicted of both a qualifying sexual offense and a qualifying violent offense are listed on the Registry as sexual and violent offenders.

Additional Designations

In addition to sexual offenders and violent offenders, the Registry also refers to:

• Sexually Violent Predators – offenders who have been convicted of a sexual offense and who suffer from a condition that makes them likely to engage in predatory sexual offenses, or offenders 18 years of age or older who have committed an offense against a victim 12 years of age or younger – MCA 46-23-502(11)(a) and (b)
• Transients – offenders who cannot provide a permanent address – MCA 46-23-502(12)
• Non-Compliant Registrants – offenders who have failed to keep their registration current as required by Montana law. Information on these registrants is provided as allowed under MCA 44-5-103(13)(f)
• Non-Compliant/Address Verification Overdue – Offenders who have failed to return the Address Verification Letter within 10 days of receipt – MCA 46-23-504(6)(c)

Local law enforcement and the Sexual or Violent Offender Registration Unit make a constant effort to locate non-compliant registrants. Please contact your local law enforcement agency with any information you may have on such an offender’s whereabouts.