Montana's MCDPA has the lowest consumer threshold of any state privacy law (50,000 residents), making it relevant to smaller businesses with a Montana customer base.
Last reviewed 2026-06-19 · Risk rating rationale: Low population state but 50,000-resident threshold means many small businesses with even modest national reach cross it.
Find out in 10 seconds whether your site meets Montana's requirements
Scantra runs a free, no-account, 9-check audit of your homepage covering privacy policy, contact info, CCPA-style opt-out, security headers, accessibility, and SEO basics. Most Montana sites we scan fail at least three.
No credit card · Email required so we can send you the full results.
Key Montana laws affecting websites
The statutes most likely to apply to a commercial website serving Montana residents. Click a citation to read the official text where available.
MCDPA
— Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act· Effective 2024
Applies to: Entities that conduct business in Montana or produce products/services targeted to Montana residents AND control or process data of 50,000+ Montana consumers (or 25,000+ with 25%+ revenue from data sale).
What your website must do
Privacy notice with required categories + rights enumeration
Honour Global Privacy Control
Opt-in for sensitive data
Opt-out of targeted ads, sale, and profiling for significant decisions
Data protection assessments for high-risk processing
What your site has to disclose, ask consent for, and allow consumers to do with their personal information.
MCDPA mirrors the Virginia/Connecticut framework with a lower threshold and an unusual provision that lets the AG decide whether to offer a cure period.
Practical requirements for your website
Privacy notice with rights enumeration
Honour GPC as opt-out signal
Respond to rights requests within 45 days
Conduct data protection assessments for sensitive data and high-risk profiling
Cookies and tracking
Federal law applies
When you need consent, opt-outs, or universal-signal honor for cookies and analytics scripts.
No cookie banner mandate. GPC must be honoured.
Practical requirements for your website
Privacy choices link in footer
Honour GPC
Accessibility (ADA + state)
Federal law applies
WCAG conformance expectations and how the state's accessibility cases tend to be litigated.
Federal ADA Title III applies.
Practical requirements for your website
WCAG 2.1 AA conformance
Cybersecurity and breach response
Federal law applies
What 'reasonable security' looks like under state law and how fast you have to notify after a breach.
Federal FTC Act applies.
Practical requirements for your website
Material connection disclosures
Email and SMS marketing
Federal law applies
How federal CAN-SPAM and TCPA interact with state-level marketing rules in this jurisdiction.
Federal CAN-SPAM applies.
Practical requirements for your website
Standard CAN-SPAM compliance
AI regulation
Federal law applies
Which AI uses the state has chosen to regulate, who's covered, and what the website has to disclose.
MCDPA covers profiling for significant decisions.
Practical requirements for your website
Profiling opt-out for credit, employment, etc.
Frequently asked questions about Montana website compliance
Is 50,000 Montana consumers really a low bar?
Montana's population is around 1.1 million. Most national businesses with broad US marketing reach process data for more than 5% of Montana adults within a calendar year. That puts the MCDPA threshold within reach of many SMBs.
Ready to check your own site against Montana's requirements?
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Important: Scantra is a software tool and a non-profit publisher, not a law firm. The summaries on this page are written for general business orientation and reflect the editors' reading of the statutes as of 2026-06-19. They are not legal advice and should not be the only source you rely on for compliance decisions. For your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney in Montana.