04/10/2026
🚨🚨Decals no longer needed!!🚨🚨
REMINDER: Validation stickers no longer needed for watercraft in Montana!
You know those colorful boat stickers you had to have on your boat and replace every three years? They are no longer needed thanks to legislation signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte on May 1, 2025.
The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Steve Kelly and was proposed by FWP. The main feature of the new law is the removal of the requirement for watercraft validation for motorized vessels. This validation was a free a sticker that boat owners had to get every three years from FWP.
The reason for the validation was a requirement by the U.S. Coast Guard that allowed FWP to secure federal boating safety funds. However, the Coast Guard requirements changed and Montana was no longer compliant.
Rather than ask Montana boat owners to get an annual validation, Gov. Gianforte, FWP and lawmakers decided to remove the requirement all together.
“This new law eliminates a confusing and unnecessary piece of bureaucracy for boat owners,” said FWP Director Christy Clark.
“Boat owners just need to license their vessel one time with the county they live in.”
