In January 2026, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte established the Licensing Reform Task Force to assess the professional licensing standards across various professions and occupations within the state. The Executive Order also directed the Task Force to determine something rarely tested with real data: whether there is public support for professional licensure.
To answer that question, the Montana Department of Labor & Industry commissioned Peak Insights to conduct a statewide survey of 600 Montana adults, with an oversample of 250 licensed professionals. The findings, published in the Task Force’s September 2026 report to the Governor, are among the most direct measurements to date of how the public views professional licensing. Here’s what the survey found*:
Professional licensing is seen as public protection, and the public wants it kept.
- 88% of residents and 91% of licensed professionals said Montana should continue issuing licenses and regulating certain professions to protect public health, welfare, and safety.
- 80% of residents rated evaluating qualifications, issuing licenses, and monitoring professionals as important.
- 62% of residents and 69% of licensed professionals identified licensed professionals in the industry as the most appropriate entity to oversee a regulated profession, including qualifications and discipline.
- 90% supported multiple pathways to licensure, including education, apprenticeship, or a combination.
Licensing debates are too often framed as a choice between protecting the public and expanding opportunity. Montanans rejected that framing. They want clearer, more accessible pathways into licensed professions and they want the standards, the oversight, and the professional expertise behind them left intact. That is what responsible licensing reform looks like.
Methodology note
Peak Insights conducted 600 interviews with Montana adults from July 29 through August 5, 2026, using live telephone and text-to-online responses, with an oversample reaching 250 licensed-professional respondents. The margin of sampling error for the statewide resident sample is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level; subgroup results carry larger margins.
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