Rule 24.301.206 - STAFF QUALIFICATION(1) City, county, or town plumbing inspectors must be Montana licensed journeymen or master plumbers, or inspector certified in plumbing.(2) City, county, or town electrical inspectors must be Montana licensed journeyman or master electricians, or inspector certified in electrical.(3) City, county, or town building inspectors must be either inspector certified or have a construction related engineering or architecture degree or license.(4) City, county, or town mechanical inspectors must be either inspector certified, have a construction related engineering or architecture degree or license, or hold an active plumbing license.(5) Plans examiners must be either plans examiner certified, or be building inspector qualified as allowed in (3).(6) Certification must be by a nationally recognized entity for testing and certification in the same code as is adopted by the department. The certification must be considered current by the certifying entity. In the situation where a new edition or replacement code has been published but is not yet adopted by the department, certification in the most recent published edition or replacement code is acceptable.(7) Plumbing, electrical, mechanical, or building inspector certification may be obtained as part of a combination inspector certification to the extent the individual inspector certifications meet the requirements of (6). In lieu of combination inspection certification, inspectors must hold commercial certification in a discipline to inspect commercial projects and must hold residential certification in a discipline if inspecting residential projects. Equivalent certifications may be approved by the department upon review and determination that the certification is substantially equivalent or exceeds the required certifications.(8) The types of buildings that may be inspected or plans examined by any certification classification shall be determined by the department utilizing the standards and recommendations of the entity administering the certification program. However, residential building inspector certification shall be acceptable for inspections of residential buildings containing less than five dwelling units.(9) Newly hired building inspectors, mechanical inspectors and plans examiners who do not meet the certification standards listed above may conduct inspections and review plans if they obtain the necessary certification within six months of the date of hiring, and are supervised in the interim by appropriately certified personnel. If the city, county, or town code enforcement programs cannot provide supervision by a certified person, the newly hired noncertified building inspector or plans examiner must have actual practical experience in the construction trade, and must participate in six working days of on-the-job training with the department. Such training shall be at the expense of the city, county, or town employing the inspector. There shall be no fee charged by the department. Upon approval by the department, on-the-job training with another code enforcement program may be accepted. Upon approval by the department, four days of classroom training may be substituted for six days of on-the-job training.(10) A city, county, or town may opt to have a medical gas piping permit and inspection program as part of a plumbing permit and inspection program. If the city, county, or town does not opt to have a medical gas permit and inspection program then such program will be administered by the department. Medical gas piping inspectors must either possess a Montana medical gas piping endorsement or have 30 hours of medical gas piping inspection training acceptable to the department.Mont. Admin. r. 24.301.206
NEW, 1998 MAR p. 2563, Eff. 9/25/98; AMD, 1999 MAR p. 1885, Eff. 10/1/99; TRANS, from Commerce, 2001 MAR p. 2301; AMD, 2003 MAR p. 2299, Eff. 10/17/03; AMD, 2022 MAR p. 911, Eff. 6/11/2022; AMD, 2024 MAR p. 2223, Eff. 9/21/2024AUTH: 50-60-203, 50-60-302, MCA; IMP: 50-60-302, MCA