CNM · Montana
Collaborative Practice Agreement for Certified Nurse-Midwives in Montana
No. Certified Nurse-Midwives practice independently here. Montana does not require one.
Montana Board of Nursing rule describes nurse-midwifery practice as 'independent management of care... within a health care system that provides for medical consultation, collaborative management, and referral' — consultation and referral are expected as clinically indicated, but no signed collaborative agreement or supervising-physician relationship is required to practice.
What the collaboration must look like
The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.
Proximity
No proximity requirement
No physician proximity/availability requirement is codified; CNM practice occurs 'within a health care system' providing for consultation and referral, not a supervising-physician standard.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
CNMs are APRNs and may hold Board-granted prescriptive authority (§ 37-8-202, MCA) directly, consistent with the general APRN framework; no CNM-specific schedule restriction was found.
Written agreement
Not required
Unconditional as researched — CNM practice does not require a signed collaborative agreement; ongoing consultation/referral relationships are a professional expectation, not an agreement-based legal gate.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same Professional Corporation framework (Title 35, ch. 4, MCA) as other APRNs above.
Legal sources for these rules (2)
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Montana
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Certified Nurse-Midwife. Standard-tier state.
About Montana's rules
House Bill 810 (2023) would have imposed a 2-year physician/NP-collaboration requirement on APRNs; it was referred to committee and this research could not confirm it became law — current APRN statute text found shows no such requirement, so NP/CRNA/CNM/CNS are coded as independent, but verify this hasn't changed before relying on it. Montana repealed its corporate-practice-of-medicine statute in 1995; CPOM entries below reflect residual board rule, not a clear statutory line.
Other clinicians in Montana: see the state overview.