What Is the Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act?
MTCDPA applies to controllers processing data of 50,000+ Montana consumers or 25,000+ while selling data — lower thresholds than larger states, reflecting Montana's small population. Rights include delete, access, correct, port, and opt-out. Universal opt-out mechanisms are recognised from January 2025. Enforcement is exclusive to the Office of Consumer Protection.
At a glance
- Full name
- Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act
- Short code
- MTCDPA
- Effective date
- October 1, 2024
- Response deadline
- 45 days
- Cure period
- None (sunset)
- Private right of action
- No
- Enforcement
- Montana Department of Justice — Office of Consumer Protection
- Maximum penalty
- Up to $10,000 per violation under the Montana Consumer Protection Act
- Statutory citation
- Mont. Code Ann. § 30-14-2801 et seq.
Who MTCDPA applies to
A business is covered if it meets the applicability thresholds set out in Mont. Code Ann. § 30-14-2801 et seq.. Most state laws use an “or” framework — any one of the thresholds triggers coverage unless otherwise noted.
- Conducts business in Montana or targets Montana residents, AND
- Controls or processes personal data of 50,000+ Montana consumers (excluding data processed solely for payment), OR
- Controls or processes personal data of 25,000+ Montana consumers AND derives more than 25% of gross revenue from the sale of personal data
Consumer rights under MTCDPA
Delete, access, correct, port, opt-out
Universal opt-out mechanism recognition (from 2025)
AG exclusive enforcement
Notable features (vs. CCPA)
MTCDPA has a lower consumer threshold (50,000) than most peer laws — reflecting Montana's smaller population of roughly 1.1 million. The law requires recognition of a Universal Opt-Out Mechanism (such as Global Privacy Control) starting January 1, 2025. Businesses must also obtain opt-in consent before processing personal data of known minors aged 13-16 for targeted advertising or sale.
Enforcement & penalties
Enforcing agency: Montana Department of Justice — Office of Consumer Protection
Maximum penalty: Up to $10,000 per violation under the Montana Consumer Protection Act
Cure period: The 60-day cure period sunset on April 1, 2026. Violations are now directly enforceable.
Private right of action: MTCDPA has no private right of action. Enforcement is exclusive to the Montana Department of Justice — Office of Consumer Protection.
Where to file a complaint: Montana Office of Consumer Protection
How to exercise your MTCDPA rights
- 1
Identify the business that holds your data (or use OfflistMe, which pre-targets 300+ known brokers and applies MTCDPA citations automatically).
- 2
Submit a verifiable consumer request to the business's designated contact. Include enough identifying data that the business can verify you as a Montana resident (e.g., ZIP code, email associated with your record).
- 3
Under MTCDPA, businesses have 45 days to respond. Extensions are permitted with written notice under most state laws.
- 4
If the business fails to respond or denies the request without legal basis, file a complaint with the Montana Office of Consumer Protection at https://dojmt.gov/consumer/consumer-complaint-form.
Use your rights
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OfflistMe drafts MTCDPA-compliant deletion emails for 300+ data brokers. Citations included. You send from your own inbox. No account, no ID upload.
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Do low-population states get less broker coverage?+
Not typically. National data brokers operate unified CCPA-compliant workflows regardless of the requester's state. Montana residents get the same broker coverage as California residents in practice; the state law governs enforcement backstop only.
Official sources & citations
Compare with sibling state laws
MTCDPA is one of 18 comprehensive US state privacy laws. Its closest peers by effective date — useful when tracking how this law influenced or was influenced by neighbouring legislation: