Law Schools in Montana + LSAT Prep (2026 Guide)

Montana has one ABA accredited law school, the University of Montana, so the state is small for legal education. Its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports a median LSAT of 156, meaning the practical target for law schools in Montana centers on the mid 150s. This guide covers what score you need, tuition, the bar exam, the job market, and where to sit the LSAT in Montana.

By Ali Unar, Georgetown Law, Founder of Lovare Institut.

Ali Unar is a Georgetown Law student and the founder of Lovare Institut, an admissions and LSAT-prep practice built on primary-source law school data.

Verified August 2026.

What law schools are in Montana?

Montana has exactly one ABA accredited law school: the University of Montana, located in Missoula. Because a single institution serves the entire state, Montana is one of the smallest legal-education markets in the country. The table below lists the median LSAT, acceptance rate, and full-time tuition for that school, each figure taken from its 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure for the fall 2025 entering class.

SchoolMedian LSATAcceptance rateFull-time tuitionUniversity of Montana15651.4%$24,582

Each figure in the table above is drawn from the University of Montana's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure. The 509 disclosure is the annual, standardized report every ABA accredited school files, which is why it is the cleanest single source for comparing medians, acceptance rates, and tuition across law schools in Montana and beyond.

Two things stand out about the one law school in Montana. First, its median LSAT of 156 sits close to the national midpoint, so this is a genuinely attainable school for a wide band of applicants rather than a reach for most. Second, the full-time tuition of $24,582 reported in the 2025 ABA 509 disclosure is low by national standards, which matters a great deal in a state where the in-state legal market is compact. When you are deciding among law schools in Montana, you are really deciding whether the University of Montana fits your goals, because there is no in-state alternative accredited by the ABA.

Being honest about scale matters here. With one ABA law school, Montana does not offer the menu of price points, specializations, and admissions profiles that a large state like California or New York provides. What it does offer is a clear, single target and a comparatively affordable path for students who intend to build a career in the Northern Rockies. The rest of this guide treats that single school in depth and explains how to plan an application, a budget, and a bar-admission timeline around it.

What LSAT and GPA do you need for law school in Montana?

In-state median LSATs run from 156 to 156 across law schools in Montana, because the University of Montana is the only ABA school and its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports a median of 156. That single number is the anchor for everything below. The University of Montana is by definition both the top-median and the most accessible school in the state, since it is the only one, and its 51.4% acceptance rate from the same disclosure tells you this is a school that admits roughly half of the people who apply.

A median is the 50th percentile: half of the enrolled class in Montana scored at or above 156, and half scored at or below it. If your LSAT is at or above 156, you are competitive at the University of Montana and you sit in the stronger half of the applicant pool, which also improves your standing for merit scholarship consideration. A score in the high 150s or low 160s does not just clear the bar in Montana, it positions you well for the aid that offsets even the state's modest tuition.

If your LSAT is below 156, do not assume you are out of contention for law schools in Montana. An acceptance rate of 51.4% means the University of Montana routinely admits applicants below its median, and low-150s scorers are exactly the group the numbers say the school works with. Where a below-median score costs you is scholarship dollars and margin for error, not necessarily the admission itself. The practical read is that scores in the low 150s keep you in the conversation in Montana, mid 150s put you at the median, and high 150s or better make you a strong candidate.

On GPA, the University of Montana's 2025 ABA 509 spread shows a 25th-to-median GPA gap of 0.31, which is a relatively wide band. A wide GPA band signals that the school does not treat undergraduate GPA as a hard cutoff and will consider applicants whose grades sit well below the class median when the rest of the file is strong. The packet does not publish the school's exact median GPA, so treat GPA as a factor that flexes around a solid LSAT rather than a fixed threshold. In practice, a strong LSAT is the most reliable lever an applicant to law schools in Montana can pull, because it is the number the school can move furthest on.

Because there is only one ABA school in the state, your LSAT strategy for Montana is unusually clear. You are not calibrating across a dozen medians. You are aiming to clear or beat 156, and every additional point above that median improves both your admission odds and your scholarship leverage at the University of Montana. If a diagnostic puts you in the low 150s, a focused retake is often the single highest-return move, because moving from below the median to at or above it changes your entire aid picture in Montana.

Which Montana law schools are splitter friendly?

A splitter is an applicant with a high LSAT and a lower GPA; a reverse splitter has the opposite, a strong GPA paired with a lower LSAT. Schools that admit these profiles are called splitter friendly, and they are worth identifying because they reward applicants whose numbers are lopsided. Among law schools in Montana, the University of Montana reads as splitter friendly based on its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure.

The signal comes from the school's GPA spread. The University of Montana's 25th-to-median GPA gap is 0.31, computed from its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, which is wide enough to indicate the school regularly enrolls students whose GPA sits noticeably below the class median. That is the classic splitter pattern: a candidate brings a competitive LSAT and leans on it to offset a softer GPA. If you have a 156 or better but an undergraduate record that dipped, Montana's only law school is a realistic target rather than a long shot.

Because Montana has a single ABA school, there is no in-state reverse-splitter alternative to point to, and the packet does not identify the University of Montana as reverse-splitter friendly. If your profile is a high GPA with a lower LSAT, the same advice from the score section applies: the acceptance rate of 51.4% gives you room, but investing in the LSAT is still the surest way to strengthen an application to law schools in Montana. The narrow reality of a one-school state is that your splitter or reverse-splitter status is measured against one admissions committee, which makes the University of Montana's relatively forgiving GPA band genuinely useful to know.

What is the legal job market like in Montana?

The defining fact about the Montana legal market is retention. According to ABA Class of 2024 employment data, the University of Montana keeps 77% of its graduating class in Montana. That is a high retention rate, and it tells you that the state's only law school functions as the primary pipeline into the state's bar. If your goal is to practice in Montana, studying at the in-state school puts you inside the network of judges, firms, and agencies where most of your classmates will also land.

Montana's legal market is geographically spread across a handful of population centers rather than concentrated in one dominant metropolis. Billings is the state's largest city and its biggest private-practice market; Helena, the capital, anchors state government, the courts, and public-sector legal work; Missoula, home to the University of Montana, supports firms tied to the university and the western part of the state; and Bozeman has grown quickly alongside its economy. A 77% in-state retention rate spread across these markets means graduates of law schools in Montana overwhelmingly build careers close to where they trained.

Be realistic about scale. A single-school state with a small population supports a smaller bar than a large coastal market, so the number of large-firm and specialized positions is limited, and competition for the most sought-after clerkships and government roles is real. The upside is that a high in-state retention rate and a tight professional community mean relationships built in law school carry directly into practice. The packet does not provide salary figures for Montana, so this guide does not estimate earnings; for compensation data, consult each employer and the school's detailed employment reports rather than any national average.

The strategic takeaway is that Montana rewards commitment to the state. Because 77% of the University of Montana's class stays, the school's alumni network is dense within Montana and thinner outside it. Applicants who want to practice elsewhere can still do so, but they should weigh that the in-state advantages of studying at law schools in Montana are strongest for those who plan to stay in Montana.

Does Montana use the NextGen bar exam?

Yes. According to the NCBE, Montana has adopted the NextGen bar exam, with its first NextGen administration scheduled for February 2028. Montana is currently a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction, so until that transition it administers the UBE, and it will move to the NextGen exam at the February 2028 sitting. The NCBE has confirmed that the legacy UBE and its Multistate Bar Examination component end after the February 2028 administration, which makes Montana's changeover coincide with the national sunset of the older format.

For applicants planning a timeline, the practical implication is straightforward. If you enter the University of Montana and graduate before 2028, you will most likely sit the current UBE that Montana administers. If your graduation and bar sitting fall at or after February 2028, you should plan for the NextGen exam, which is the NCBE's redesigned test built around integrated legal skills rather than the older segmented structure. Either way, the bar you take is set by when you sit it in Montana, not by when you enrolled.

Montana's current status as a UBE jurisdiction carries a portability benefit worth understanding. A UBE score earned in Montana can, subject to each jurisdiction's own rules and score requirements, be transferred to other UBE states, which is useful if you might practice across the Mountain West. As the country moves to NextGen, the NCBE is coordinating how scores and admissions will work across jurisdictions, so anyone sitting the exam around the 2028 transition in Montana should confirm the current rules with the Montana bar authorities before committing to a test date.

The bottom line for law schools in Montana is that bar planning is a scheduling exercise. Know your expected graduation date, check it against the February 2028 NextGen start that the NCBE has set for Montana, and prepare for whichever exam your sitting falls under. Because Montana has one law school, the University of Montana's own bar-preparation resources and pass-rate history are the most relevant benchmarks, and you should request those figures directly, since the disclosures cited in this guide do not include Montana bar passage rates.

Where can you take the LSAT in Montana?

LSAT test centers are available in Montana's major metros, but the specific locations offered change from cycle to cycle, so the reliable move is to consult LSAC's official test-center list at lsac.org when you register rather than relying on any fixed address. LSAC also administers the LSAT in a remotely proctored online format, which is often the most practical option for candidates in a large, low-density state like Montana where in-person seats can be limited and travel distances are long.

Montana's largest metros, and therefore the areas where in-person testing and study resources cluster, include Billings, Missoula, Great Falls, Bozeman, and the capital, Helena. Applicants across law schools in Montana frequently choose the online LSAT precisely because it removes the need to drive hours to a physical center, but if you prefer testing in person, check the current LSAC list for seats in or near these cities. Register early: in smaller markets, in-person seats fill and disappear faster than in large metro areas.

Whichever format you choose, treat the logistics of the LSAT in Montana as part of your preparation. Confirm the test date against your application timeline, secure your seat or online slot as soon as registration opens, and build your study calendar backward from the sitting. Because your target in Montana is a single median of 156, a well-timed, well-prepared LSAT is the most controllable variable in your entire application.

Which Montana universities feed law school?

Montana's flagship and largest universities are the natural pre-law feeders into legal education, both in-state and beyond. The University of Montana in Missoula, which houses the state's only law school, is a common starting point for Montana students who go on to law school, and its undergraduate programs in political science, history, and the humanities are traditional pre-law tracks. Montana State University in Bozeman, the state's land-grant institution and its largest by enrollment, is the other major university and a frequent source of pre-law applicants.

Smaller institutions contribute as well. Carroll College in Helena is a private liberal arts college known for strong pre-professional advising, and Montana Technological University in Butte rounds out the state's notable four-year options. Students from all of these universities apply to law schools in Montana and out of state, and none guarantees admission; a strong LSAT and a coherent application remain the decisive factors regardless of where you did your undergraduate work.

It is worth noting the general nature of this section: naming Montana's flagship and major universities as common pre-law feeders reflects the state's higher-education landscape, not a specific placement statistic. The packet does not attribute a placement rate to any Montana university, and neither does this guide. What matters for an applicant is that a pre-law path in Montana can begin at any accredited undergraduate program, and that the University of Montana's law school evaluates candidates on their LSAT, GPA, and application, not on which Montana college they attended.

Frequently asked questions about law school in Montana

How many law schools are in Montana?

Montana has one ABA accredited law school, the University of Montana in Missoula. That single institution makes Montana one of the smallest legal-education markets in the country. Any list of law schools in Montana begins and ends with the University of Montana, which is why applicants to the state face one clear admissions target rather than a field of competing medians and price points.

What is the easiest law school to get into in Montana?

Because Montana has only one ABA law school, the University of Montana is by definition both the easiest and the most selective law school to get into in Montana. Its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure reports an acceptance rate of 51.4%, meaning it admits roughly half of applicants. That is a comparatively accessible rate, especially for candidates who meet or approach the school's median LSAT of 156.

What is the best law school in Montana?

The University of Montana is the best law school in Montana in the practical sense that it is the state's only ABA accredited option. With a median LSAT of 156 and full-time tuition of $24,582 from its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, it pairs an attainable admissions profile with low relative cost. For anyone committed to practicing in Montana, it is both the strongest and the sole in-state choice.

What LSAT score do you need for law school in Montana?

The University of Montana reports a median LSAT of 156 in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, so 156 is the number to aim for at law schools in Montana. A score at or above 156 makes you competitive and strengthens your scholarship case. Given the 51.4% acceptance rate, applicants in the low 150s remain in contention, though a higher score improves both admission odds and aid.

How much does law school cost in Montana?

The University of Montana reports full-time tuition of $24,582 in its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure, which is low by national standards and a genuine advantage of studying law in Montana. That figure is tuition alone and does not include living expenses, fees, or books, and it can differ for out-of-state students. Applicants should confirm current residency-based rates and total cost of attendance directly with the school.

Does Montana use the NextGen bar exam?

According to the NCBE, Montana has adopted the NextGen bar exam and will first administer it in February 2028. Until then Montana remains a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction, so it currently administers the UBE. The legacy UBE and MBE end after the February 2028 administration, so whether you take the UBE or NextGen in Montana depends on when your bar sitting falls.

Can you take the bar in Montana with an out-of-state degree?

Yes. Montana admits graduates of ABA accredited law schools from any state to sit its bar exam, so an out-of-state degree does not bar you from practicing in Montana. Montana is currently a UBE jurisdiction and transitions to NextGen in February 2028 per the NCBE, so confirm the current exam, application deadlines, and admission requirements with the Montana bar authorities before you plan a sitting.

Which Montana law school has the best bar passage?

Montana has only one ABA law school, the University of Montana, so it is the sole in-state bar-passage benchmark by default. The disclosures cited in this guide cover medians, acceptance, and tuition but not Montana bar passage rates, so this guide does not state a figure. Request the University of Montana's current first-time and ultimate bar passage numbers directly from the school or its ABA 509 report.

Are there part-time or evening law programs in Montana?

The packet used for this guide does not specify whether the University of Montana offers a part-time or evening program, so this guide does not claim one exists. Program format is an important detail for working applicants, so anyone needing a part-time or evening option in Montana should confirm directly with the University of Montana whether such a track is available for the entering class they are targeting.

Where can you take the LSAT in Montana?

LSAT test centers are available in Montana's major metros, including areas around Billings, Missoula, Great Falls, Bozeman, and Helena, but the exact centers change each cycle. Check LSAC's official test-center list at lsac.org when you register. Many Montana candidates use the remotely proctored online LSAT to avoid long drives, which is often the most practical option in a large, low-density state.

Which Montana law schools are splitter friendly?

The University of Montana reads as splitter friendly among law schools in Montana, based on its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure. Its 25th-to-median GPA spread of 0.31 is wide, indicating the school enrolls applicants whose GPA sits below the class median when a strong LSAT supports the file. If you have a competitive LSAT and a softer GPA, Montana's only law school is a realistic target.

Do you have to go to law school in Montana to practice there?

No. You do not have to attend law schools in Montana to practice in Montana; graduates of any ABA accredited school may sit the Montana bar. That said, the University of Montana keeps 77% of its class in the state per ABA Class of 2024 data, so the in-state school offers the strongest local network. Studying elsewhere is fully compatible with a Montana career if you plan for it.

Is the University of Montana affordable compared with other law schools?

By national standards, yes. The University of Montana's full-time tuition of $24,582 from its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure is among the lower figures you will find, which is a real advantage of pursuing law schools in Montana. Affordability improves further when a strong LSAT earns merit aid. Remember that tuition excludes living costs and may vary by residency, so confirm the full cost of attendance with the school.

How competitive is admission to law school in Montana?

Admission to the University of Montana, the only ABA law school in Montana, is moderately competitive. Its 2025 ABA 509 disclosure shows a 51.4% acceptance rate and a 156 median LSAT, so roughly half of applicants are admitted and the target score sits near the national midpoint. Meeting or beating the median makes you a strong candidate; the wide GPA band gives applicants with uneven records a genuine path.

Sources

Medians, acceptance rates, and tuition for law schools in Montana come from each school's 2025 ABA Standard 509 disclosure, published on the ABA Required Disclosures portal at https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/. Bar exam status for Montana, including its NextGen adoption and February 2028 first administration, comes from the National Conference of Bar Examiners at https://www.ncbex.org/. LSAT test-center information is maintained by LSAC at https://www.lsac.org/.

Plan your Montana application with a data-backed evaluation

Because Montana comes down to one clear target, a focused plan goes a long way. If you want a read on how your LSAT and GPA stack up against the University of Montana's numbers, and a concrete strategy for hitting or beating the 156 median, start here. Get your free Montana law school profile evaluation and turn the data in this guide into a personalized plan for law schools in Montana.