Montana Hearing Aid Specialist Licensing Requirements

HEARING AID DISPENSERS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO PRACTICE IN MONTANA IN ANY MANNER WITHOUT AN ACTIVE MONTANA LICENSE.

Hearing Aid Dispenser (Upon completing requirements for a trainee):

• Be of good moral character.
• Education equivalent to a 4-year course in an accredited high school or holds a current license asan audiologist.
• Free of contagious or infectious disease.
• Pass a written examination provided by the International Hearing Society (IHS).
• Pass a state jurisprudence examination.
• Identify the Montana active licensed hearing aid dispenser who shall be responsible for providingdirect supervision.

Hearing Aid Dispenser (Upon completing requirements for a trainee):

• Be of good moral character.
• Education equivalent to a 4-year course in an accredited high school or holds a current license asan audiologist.
• Free of contagious or infectious disease.
• Complete 1000 hours of supervised training.
• Pass all sections of the practical examination provided by the International Hearing Society (IHS).
• Identify permanent place of business in Montana.

FEES
Application by examination – $500
Applicant from another licensure state – $500
Hearing Aid Trainee Application Fee – $600
Original license fee after passing all applicable exams – $300

EXAM FEES
Re-take fee for jurisprudence exam – $50
Re-take for board member administered practical IHS exam – $550

DOCUMENTS
The following documents must be submitted to the Board office in order to complete your license application.

Hearing Aid Dispenser Trainee:

• Completed application
• Application fee(s)
• High school diploma or its equivalent
• Identify the licensed hearing aid dispenser who shall be responsible for providing direct supervision
• Passing of the open book jurisprudence examination

Hearing Aid Dispenser (Upon completing requirements for a trainee):

• Completed application
• Application fee(s)
• High school diploma or its equivalent
• Completed 1000 hours of supervised training
• Passing the written examination provided by the International Hearing Society (IHS)
• Passing of the open book jurisprudence examination
• Identify permanent place of business in Montana

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
The written and practical examinations are provided by the International Hearing Society (IHS). The written examination is computer-based (taken on a computer). Although Montana neither administers nor develops the examination, it is responsible for assuring that only eligible candidates sit for the exams and that IHS receive the necessary registration and fees at www.ihsinfo.org.

To pass the written examination an applicant must achieve a passing score on the exam as set by the IHS. In the event of failure, the applicant may retake the exam by paying an exam fee to IHS.

Upon approval of the license application, the applicant will be notified by the Board office to take this exam. The practical examination is administered by the Board. Upon approval of completing the 1000 hours of training, the applicant will be notified by the Board office to take this exam. An applicant must achieve a passing score on each section of the practicalexamination as set by the IHS. An applicant who fails any section only has to retake the section(s) failed, but must pay the full re-examination fee.

PROCESSING PROCEDURES

• Once a routine application is complete, the application takes 14 days to process from the time it isreceived in the Board office.
• The applicant will be notified of any deficient or missing items from the application file.
• Once a routine application is processed and approved a permanent license will be issued