Interested in Becoming a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper?
Interested in becoming a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper?
Our fall recruitment cycle opens Monday, October 5!
The cities listed on this map are our top priority duty stations.
Join a respected agency and unleash your potential as a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper, a team committed to serving with pride and professionalism.
We accept entry level and lateral applications during active hiring periods.
An entry-level applicant has not graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Officer Basic Course in Montana and does not have any previous law enforcement experience.
A lateral applicant meets one of the following requirements:
- Has graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy Basic Law Enforcement Officer Course within the last three years.
- Possesses a current Basic Law Enforcement POST Certificate from Montana or another state and you must not have had a break in service that exceeds five years from your date of hire in Montana.
- Lateral applicants will need to successfully complete the 11 week MHP Advanced Academy.
- Out-of-state lateral applicants are also required to attend an additional two weeks of training (Legal Equivalency Course per MCA 7-32-303 and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing per MCA 61-8-404).
Minimum Requirements
All public safety officer positions have minimum requirements established by Montana law and the Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council.
To apply for Trooper position, you must:
- Be a high school graduate or have passed the general education development test and have been issued an equivalency certificate by the superintendent of public instruction, an appropriate issuing agency, another state or the federal government
- Have a valid driver’s license from any state
- Be a citizen of the United States at the time of application
- Be a Montana resident at the time you are appointed as a sworn trooper
- Be at least 18 years of age at the time of application
- Vision tests: (corrected/uncorrected; near/far; Farnsworth D-15; peripheral; depth perception; Ishihara)
- Corrected distant vision minimum must be 20/40 in each eye and 20/20 binocularly.
- Corrected near vision of no less than 20/40 in the better eye.
- Uncorrected distant vision with glasses or hard contacts should be 20/100 binocularly.
- Successful long-term soft contact lens wearers shall not be subject to the uncorrected criteria. Lens wearers require a letter from an optometrist or ophthalmologist stating that they have been a successful wearer for at least 12 months.
- List of qualities MHP seeks in potential hires
- Applicants with felony convictions that could have resulted in imprisonment in a federal or state penitentiary are disqualified.
- Misdemeanor convictions for criminal offenses are reviewed on a case-by-case basis
- Be willing to work varied shifts, including nights, weekends and holidays, as well as accept call-outs
Secondary Education/Experience
- Preferred secondary education (but not required) in criminal justice, psychology, police science, corrections, criminology, forensic science, legal studies, social work, and pre-law.
- Preferred experience (but not required): military, security, adult corrections/probation, social work, and juvenile probation/corrections experience.
- VETERANS! Did you know the Montana Highway Patrol participates in the VA Education Benefits Program?
