Montana

For Montana, payment bond threshold is A school district may waive their requirements of these bonds for contracts under $7,500. Other state or governmental authorities may waive their requirements for under $50,000; bond amount is Full contract price for state contracts; claim deadline is within 90 days from and after the completion of the contract and the acceptance of the work by the public officials; preliminary notice required is Not later than 30 days after the date of the first delivery of the provender, material, supplies or provisions to any subcontractor; statutory citation is Montana Code, Title 18, Chapter 1, §18-1-402; Chapter 2, §§18-2-201 to 18-2-208, 18-2-316, 18-2-401, 18-2-403, 18-2-409, verified against its source on 2026-08-17.

Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.

What the source says

MONTANA Amount of Bond: Full contract price for state contracts. The amount may be fixed by municipal ordinance, but in no event shall the penal sum be less than 25 percent of the contract price. (Mont. Code Ann. §18-2-203). Labor and Material Covered: Provender, materials, supplies, provisions or goods supplied and performed or labor furnished in the prosecution of the public work. (Mont. Code Ann. §18-2-201). Notice Required: Not later than 30 days after the date of the first delivery of the provender, material, supplies or provisions to any subcontractor or agent of any person, firm or corporation having a subcontract with respect to the prosecution of said public work, delivered or sent by registered mail to the contractor. This notice must contain the name of the subcontractor or agent ordering or to whom the same was furnished and state that such contractor or his bond will be held for the same. No suit or action shall be maintained in any court against the contractor or his bond to recover for such provender, provisions, material or supplies or any part thereof unless such notice shall have been given. (Mont. Code Ann. §18-2-206). No right of action shall be had on the bond unless within 90 days from and after the completion of the contract and the acceptance of the work by the public officials the claimant shall present to and file with the public body a notice in writing substantially in the form as required by the statute. (Mont. Code Ann. §18-2-204). Time for Suit: No special statutory provision. In the case where a settlement procedure is provided by a contracting agency, all actions authorized thereunder must be commenced within one year after a final decision has been rendered pursuant to such settlement procedure; and in the case where no settlement procedure is provided by the contracting agency, the action must be commenced by the contractor within one year after the cause of action has arisen. (Mont. Code Ann. §18-1-402). Contracts Excluded: A school district may waive their requirements of these bonds for contracts under $7,500. Other state or governmental authorities may waive their requirements for under $50,000. (Mont. Code Ann. §18-2-201). Penalty for Failure to Take Bond: The municipal corporation is liable to the persons intended to be protected by the bond to the full extent and for the full amount of all the debts so contracted by any subcontractor as well as the contractor. (Mont. Code Ann. §18-2-202). Limit on Retainage for Public Contracts: The maximum retainage applied to construction contracts administered by the State of Montana or any department, agency, or political subdivision of the State of Montana, by any county, municipality, or political subdivision of a county or municipality, or by a school district may not exceed 5 percent if the contractor is performing by the terms of the contract. The retainage percentage withheld by a government entity from a contractor is the maximum retainage percentage that a contractor may withhold from a subcontractor. (Mont. Code Ann. §18-2-316). Public Contracts: Prevailing Wage Law. Montana’s prevailing wage law, often referred to as Montana’s Little Davis-Bacon Law, applies to public works contracts entered into for construction services (heavy, highway and building) or nonconstruction services by the state, county, municipality, school district, or political subdivision in which the total cost of the contract is $25,000 or more involving public funds. It requires that bidders on contracts pay a set rate of compensation, including employee benefits, and that at least 50 percent of the employees of each contractor working on the jobs be bona fide Montana residents. (Mont. Code Ann. §§18-2-401, 18-2-403, 18-2-409). Statutory Citation: Montana Code, Title 18, Chapter 1, §18-1-402; Chapter 2, §§18-2-201 to 18-2-208, 18-2-316, 18-2-401, 18-2-403, 18-2-409.

— fullertonlaw.com, retrieved 2026-08-17

Source

• fullertonlaw.comhttps://fullertonlaw.com/50-state-summary-payment-bond-law

Last verified against source: 2026-08-17. Due for re-check by 2027-08-17. This page as Markdown · OKF bundle · full dataset as JSON.