Tree Service Insurance and Licensing in Montana: What to Verify

Does Montana license tree services?

We can only report what the state publishes, and it is worth reading closely because it changed recently. The Department of Labor and Industry's Construction Contractor License page says that, effective January 1, 2026, all construction contractors in Montana are required to be licensed with the Department, and that contractors with an active registration at the end of 2025 were converted to the new license. The page explains that legislation passed in 2025 moved the state from a basic registration system to a licensing program.

The definition of construction contractor on that page is written around buildings and structures: constructing, altering, repairing, adding to, moving, wrecking or demolishing a building, road, excavation or other structure or improvement attached to real estate. Tree work is not named in it, one way or the other. None of the Department pages we read describes a state license specific to arborists or tree care.

So do not assume a state license proves a tree company is qualified, and do not assume a tree company without one is breaking a rule. Ask the company what state and local licenses it holds, and if the answer matters to you, confirm with the Department. Its contractor pages link to a public license search.

What is an independent contractor exemption certificate?

This is the Montana document homeowners most often misunderstand. The Department says an independent contractor must obtain either an independent contractor exemption certificate or self-elected coverage under a Montana workers' compensation policy. Its published FAQ says the requirement applies to a person who regularly and customarily performs services away from their own fixed business location, and that the term covers sole proprietors and working members of partnerships and limited liability companies.

Here is the part that matters to you. The same FAQ states the purpose of the certificate: it allows an independent contractor to waive the rights and benefits a workers' compensation policy would otherwise provide. If the certificate holder is hurt doing the work listed on the certificate, they are not eligible for workers' compensation benefits.

In other words, an exemption certificate is not insurance. It is a statement that this one person has chosen to go without workers' compensation for themselves. It says nothing about anyone else on the crew.

Why does workers' compensation matter to a homeowner?

Because of who may be left responsible if it is missing. The Department's FAQ asks what the risk is of hiring an independent contractor who has neither an exemption certificate nor self-elected coverage. Its answer is that the state could treat that person as an employee of the hiring agent, which means the hiring agent may be responsible for claims related to work injuries and may incur penalties from the Uninsured Employers' Fund. It adds that labor agreements and tax forms do not by themselves make a person an independent contractor.

The FAQ also says a business that hires employees needs to cover them under a Montana workers' compensation policy, and it is blunt about substitutes: health insurance, commercial general liability insurance and accident insurance cannot take the place of workers' compensation coverage.

Put those together for a tree crew. A solo owner with an exemption certificate is one situation. A three person crew is another, and the two people who are not the owner should be covered by a workers' compensation policy. Tree care is work where, in OSHA's words, many workers get hurt or killed from falls, electrocutions or being struck by trees. This is not the trade in which to skip the question.

What does liability insurance cover that workers' comp does not?

They answer different questions. Workers' compensation is about injuries to the people doing the work. General liability insurance is about damage the work does to property and to other people: a limb through a roof, a crushed fence, a neighbor's vehicle. The Department's statement that liability insurance cannot stand in for workers' compensation cuts both ways. A company can have one and not the other, and you want to see both.

The City of Missoula treats this as a baseline for work on public trees. Its list of tree services permitted to work in the city right of way says the businesses on it are licensed by the City, carry commercial liability insurance at a level the City sets, and have an ISA Certified Arborist on staff. The City notes that businesses supply this information voluntarily and that it does not recommend one company over another. If your tree is a boulevard tree, read Missoula tree permits and the right of way as well.

How do you ask for proof of insurance?

Ask for certificates, and ask that they come from the source. The International Society of Arboriculture's advice on selecting an arborist is to ask for proof of insurance and then call the insurance company. A certificate of insurance sent directly by the company's agent, showing the policy dates and naming you as the certificate holder, is the normal way this is done, and a legitimate company is asked for it all the time.

For workers' compensation, the Department's FAQ says to request proof of coverage from the contractor or call their workers' compensation insurance agency. The Department's contractor page also links to a workers' compensation coverage verification tool. For an exemption certificate, the Department's guidance on hiring independent contractors says to ask for proof and verify it is in good standing through the licensee lookup on its website, and to check periodically that the certificate or coverage is still valid.

Check the dates. A certificate that expired last spring proves nothing about next week.

How do you verify an ISA credential?

ISA describes its arborist certification as a nongovernmental, voluntary process by which individuals document their knowledge. It is a credential held by a person, not a license issued by Montana, and not something a company holds in the abstract. ISA says its TreesAreGood website offers a Verify a Credential tool for confirming whether an arborist holds an ISA credential, and a Find an Arborist tool for locating one.

Ask for the name of the certified person and whether that person will be on your job or only on the letterhead. Our guide to ISA Certified Arborists in Montana explains what the credential covers and why it matters in this climate, so we will not repeat it here.

What else belongs on the checklist?

The Department's guidance on hiring an independent contractor recommends a written contract that states the work to be performed, the materials, the start and completion dates, payment based on the completed project and liability for failing to complete it. It also says to get references and check them. ISA's list adds getting more than one estimate, checking for local permits and licenses, not automatically taking the lowest bid, and being wary of people who go door to door offering bargains.

That last one matters after every windstorm and heavy spring snow in the valley, when out of area crews appear. The checks in this guide are how you tell them apart from an established local company, and they take the same fifteen minutes in an emergency as on a quiet day. Our guide to what drives tree trimming cost explains what a written scope should contain.

What should you ask us?

The same questions. Ask us for proof of our insurance coverage, and for co-owner Justin Johnson's ISA Certified Arborist credential, which you can look up yourself. We would rather be checked than trusted on our word, and you should hold every company you call to that standard.

Our tree services cover Missoula, Lolo, Florence, Stevensville, Hamilton and the rest of the Bitterroot Valley, and you can compare local options in our roundup of tree service companies in the Bitterroot Valley. More hiring and care guides are in the Montana Tree Guide.

Call HJ Property Care & Tree Service at (406) 215-7319 or request a tree assessment and an ISA Certified Arborist will look at the tree with you.

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