At a glance
- Breach notice to residents
- Without unreasonable delay
- State regulator notice
- Attorney General's consumer protection office
- State consumer privacy law
- Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act
- Dealer bond
- $50,000
On this page
Federal rules every dealer follows
These apply in every state. Each links to a free tool or guide.
- FTC Safeguards Rule (16 CFR Part 314): a written security plan, a Qualified Individual, a risk assessment, MFA, encryption and the FTC breach notice. Safeguards checklist.
- Red Flags Rule (16 CFR 681): a written identity theft program; most dealers who arrange financing treat themselves as covered. Red Flags program.
- Privacy notice (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act): give it to buyers who finance or lease. GLBA privacy notice.
- OFAC: never sell to someone on the Treasury's sanctions lists; keep records 10 years. Free OFAC search.
- Form 8300: report cash over $10,000 within 15 days. Form 8300 worksheet.
- Credit notices: adverse action within 30 days, and risk-based pricing notices. Adverse action notice.
- Used Car Rule: the Buyers Guide on every used car for sale. Buyers Guide.
- Advertised prices: include doc fees and other required fees, per the FTC's September 2026 FAQs. Ad and price check.
Montana's data breach notice law
Montana's breach notice law is Mont. Code Ann. § 30-14-1704. If personal information of Montana residents is breached, it says to notify them without unreasonable delay, consistent with law enforcement needs or measures to determine the scope of the breach and restore system integrity.
Who else to tell: the Attorney General's consumer protection office. Whenever resident notification is required; simultaneously with resident notice, submit an electronic copy of the notice and a statement of the date and method of distribution.
The law reads: "The disclosure must be made without unreasonable delay, consistent with the legitimate needs of law enforcement, as provided in subsection (3), or consistent with any measures necessary to determine the scope of the breach"
This is on top of the federal rule. Under the FTC Safeguards Rule, a dealer must tell the FTC within 30 days of discovering a breach of unencrypted information about 500 or more consumers. How the FTC notice works.
Montana's consumer privacy law
Yes. The Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act (Mont. Code Ann. § 30-14-2801 et seq.) has applied since October 1, 2024.
Who it covers: Persons that conduct business in Montana or target products/services to Montana residents and that control or process personal data of not less than 25,000 consumers (excluding data processed solely to complete a payment transaction), or not less than 15,000 consumers and derive more than 25% of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.
The law exempts only data covered by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, not the business. Credit application data is out of scope, but website, marketing, service and cash-buyer data stay in scope if your store meets the thresholds. (Mont. Code Ann. § 30-14-2804(1)(e),)
The law reads: "(a) control or process the personal data of not less than 25,000 consumers, excluding personal data controlled or processed solely for the purpose of completing a payment transaction"
Whether your store is covered depends on your own numbers, so check them each year, and keep giving financing buyers the federal privacy notice. Make a free GLBA privacy notice.
Montana dealer license and bond
A Montana retail dealer license calls for a $50,000 surety bond; other amounts apply to some license types or sales volumes. Everything about the Montana dealer license: who needs one, the lot rules and the application.
Montana dealer compliance checklist
Write and sign your security plan
Name your Qualified Individual, do the risk assessment and turn on MFA for every system with customer data.
Adopt a Red Flags program
Check the buyer's ID on every deal and log what you checked.
Give the privacy notice
To every buyer who finances or leases, at or before signing.
Check every buyer against the OFAC lists
Keep the dated result in the deal jacket for 10 years.
Track cash
Add up related cash payments and file Form 8300 when they pass $10,000.
Train your staff on security
The Safeguards Rule asks for security awareness training for everyone who handles customer data. Keep a record of who finished it.
Put Montana's breach deadline in your incident plan
Notice to residents as the law sets out, plus the Attorney General's consumer protection office, and the FTC within 30 days at 500 or more consumers.
Check your ads
Advertised prices include doc fees and every fee all buyers pay.
Rules checked and limits
Rules checked October 31, 2026. We read every rule on this page in the eCFR or on the agency's own site, and each is linked in the sources below. We re-check them every quarter.
Montana laws checked October 31, 2026 on the official sources linked below.
Templates and tools, not legal advice. CarShots is software, not a law firm. For a question about your own dealership, ask your attorney or your state dealer association.