A person convicted of partner or family member assault (PFMA) in Montana must pay for and complete a counseling assessment and then complete at least 40 hours of counseling with a provider the court has approved (MCA § 45-5-206(4)). The requirement applies to a first offense as much as a third. This page goes through subsection (4) in order. It is part of our Montana Domestic Violence Guide, and the PFMA penalties chart shows how counseling fits with jail and fines.
Step One: The Counseling Assessment
The statute first requires an assessment "with a focus on violence, controlling behavior, dangerousness, and chemical dependency" (MCA § 45-5-206(4)(a)). A related definition calls this the preliminary assessment for counseling: an assessment completed by a counselor to determine a person's need for counseling, attendance at psychoeducational groups, and referrals for other treatment. It must be completed either before counseling and groups start or within 4 weeks after (MCA § 45-5-231(7)).
To help the provider, the law enforcement report from the arrest is copied and sent to the local offender intervention program. Providers must protect the confidentiality of that report, and any confidential information about the other person's location, or information not related to the charged offense, must be deleted before it is sent (MCA § 45-5-206(4)(a)).
Step Two: At Least 40 Hours of Counseling
After the assessment, the person "shall complete all recommendations for counseling, referrals, attendance at psychoeducational groups, or treatment, including any indicated chemical dependency treatment, made by the counseling provider," and "shall complete a minimum of 40 hours of counseling" (MCA § 45-5-206(4)(b)). Three points follow from that wording:
- Forty hours is the minimum. If the provider recommends more, the recommendation is what must be completed.
- Groups can count. The counseling may include attendance at psychoeducational groups in addition to the assessment. The definitions describe these as group discussions with instructional themes aimed at change in members' daily lives (MCA § 45-5-231(8)), and "counseling" includes group counseling (MCA § 45-5-231(3)).
- The minimum has a required subject. The 40 hours must be directed to the violent or controlling conduct. Other issues the assessment turns up may be addressed in additional counseling beyond the minimum (MCA § 45-5-206(4)(c)).
Who Can Provide the Counseling
The provider must be approved by the court. Beyond that, the assessment and the counseling that holds a person accountable for violent or controlling behavior must meet the standards adopted under MCA § 44-7-210 and be with one of three kinds of provider:
| Provider category | Notes | MCA |
|---|---|---|
| A person licensed under Title 37, chapter 17, 22, or 23 | Chapter 17 is the psychologist licensing chapter. See the note below about chapters 22 and 23. | § 45-5-206(4)(b)(i) |
| A professional person as defined in § 53-21-102 | That definition lists a medical doctor, a psychiatric advanced practice registered nurse, a licensed psychologist, a psychiatric physician assistant, and a person certified by the department under § 53-21-106. | § 45-5-206(4)(b)(ii) |
| A specialized domestic violence intervention program | A program built around the violent or controlling conduct itself. | § 45-5-206(4)(b)(iii) |
A note on the first row. The PFMA statute still points to Title 37, chapters 22 and 23, but §§ 37-22-102 and 37-23-102 were repealed by the 2023 Legislature, and social workers, clinical professional counselors, addiction counselors, and marriage and family therapists are now defined in Title 37, chapter 39 (MCA § 37-39-102). The practical answer is the same either way: the court approves the provider, so ask the court or its probation office which providers it accepts.
If the court determines that no treatment program directed to violent or controlling conduct is available, the statute does not prohibit placing the person in other appropriate treatment (MCA § 45-5-206(4)(c)). That can matter in rural parts of Western Montana.
The Statewide Standards
MCA § 44-7-210 directs the Montana Board of Crime Control to adopt statewide offender intervention program standards "to ensure that counseling and other services organized under the program are evidence-informed practices that are designed to reduce the risk of future violent behavior." An offender intervention program is the combination of counseling and other services organized in a judicial district to provide the assessment and the services required after a conviction (MCA § 45-5-231(6)).
This is why a generic class found online may not satisfy the sentence. The statute describes a specific kind of program, and the court has to approve the provider.
Who Pays
The person convicted pays. Subsection (4)(a) says the offender "is required to pay for and complete" the assessment, and the counseling that follows is likewise the offender's obligation. This is separate from, and in addition to, the fine, the cost of probation, and the other person's counseling costs that the court must order under subsection (5). The statute does not set a price, and we will not guess at one. Providers set their own fees. Our page on restitution and court costs lists the other amounts a sentence can include.
If You Do Not Finish
Subsection (4) does not spell out a consequence for stopping early. It does not need to, because counseling is part of the sentence. When it is also a condition of a suspended or deferred sentence, that is where enforcement happens.
If a petition to revoke is filed, the prosecution must prove a violation by a preponderance of the evidence at a hearing, and the judge may then continue the sentence unchanged, continue it with modified or added conditions, or revoke the suspension and require the person to serve the sentence (MCA § 46-18-203(7), (8)). The petition has to be filed before the suspended or deferred period expires (MCA § 46-18-203(2)).
The practical lesson is to start early, keep proof of attendance and payment, and tell your lawyer right away if cost, work, or distance is getting in the way. A problem raised before a deadline is easier to solve than one discovered after it. See PFMA probation conditions for how violations are handled.
Counseling in Related Cases
A person convicted of strangulation of a partner or family member must pay for and complete the same counseling assessment (MCA § 45-5-215(3)). Counseling can also come up in family court. A parenting case has its own standards, and completing a criminal sentence does not decide them. If you have both kinds of case, see PFMA and child custody. Ashley Hurlbert handles both criminal defense and family law matters at A&M Law.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.