Moving between states / Montana

Flag of North CarolinaNorth CarolinatoFlag of MontanaMontana, Truck driver

Moving from North Carolina to Montana as a CDL holder

What a CDL holder licensed in North Carolina has to do to work in Montana, what the move does to your pay, and who in Montana is hiring from out of state.

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Montana resident you surrender the North Carolina CDL at a Montana driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Montana. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

What the move does to your paycheck

North Carolina and Montana take about the same from a $60,000 salary; the difference is under $150 a year either way.

SalaryNorth Carolina state taxMontana state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,700$1,652+$48
$60,000$2,550$2,478+$72
$90,000$3,825$3,717+$108

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: North Carolina to Montana

Transfers by reciprocity. Your North Carolina certificate stays on the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Nurse Aide I Registry; to work in Montana you apply to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Nurse Aide Registry for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: North Carolina to Montana

Works on day one. Both North Carolina and Montana are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from North Carolina is valid in Montana the day you arrive. Once Montana is your primary residence, apply there for a Montana multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

Electrician: North Carolina to Montana

Reciprocity likely. Montana licenses electricians at state level through the Montana State Electrical Board, and reciprocity with the western group of states for journeymen with an equivalent licence. Your North Carolina licence comes from the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

No statewide program in Montana pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Openings filed in Montana

72 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Montana employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from North Carolina to Montana

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Montana employers.

Plan my move to Montana

Same move, by trade

CNA: North Carolina to Montana · RN or LPN: North Carolina to Montana · Electrician: North Carolina to Montana · All licences: North Carolina to Montana

From North Carolina to the states next to Montana

North Dakota (progressive, top rate 2.5%) · South Dakota (no state income tax) · Wyoming (no state income tax) · Idaho (flat 5.3% state income tax)

To Montana from the states next to North Carolina

Virginia · Tennessee · Georgia · South Carolina

Everything about working in Montana · All moves between states · All 50 states

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