Idaho
Idaho has no forensic science commission and no general lab accreditation statute; the director of the Idaho State Police runs the state forensic laboratory. Idaho applies its own Rule 702, not Daubert, though its courts use some Daubert standards to test scientific validity. The DNA database is conviction-based, and since July 1, 2026 it also covers misdemeanor domestic violence and sexual battery. A 2023 bill for relief based on changed forensic science died.
- Sources checked
- Part of
- Forensic Ledger
At a glance
- Oversight body
- None. No forensic science commission or crime lab oversight board was found. The director of the Idaho State Police “shall operate and supervise a forensic laboratory,” whose equipment and facilities “may be used only by authorized employees or approved subcontractors” (Idaho Code 67-2901(6)). The State Police Bureau of Forensic Services manages the DNA database (19-5503).
- Lab accreditation
- No general mandate found. Two partial requirements exist. Publicly funded post-conviction DNA testing is done by the State Police only if the method is validated and “within the laboratory accreditation scope”; a petitioner may instead choose, at their own expense, an ISO/IEC 17025 or ASCLD/LAB-accredited lab (Idaho Code 19-4902(g)). Any lab doing blood, urine or vitreous alcohol analysis must have its procedures approved by State Police Forensic Services, must have its alcohol work assessed each calendar year “by either an accrediting body or the department,” and must pass approved proficiency testing at least once a year (IDAPA 11.03.01.013).
- Analyst licensing
- None for forensic analysts. Alcohol-testing labs and breath-testing operators work under State Police Forensic Services approval and standards (IDAPA 11.03.01.013 and .014).
- Admissibility standard
- I.R.E. 702: a qualified expert may testify “if the expert’s scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact” (I.R.E. 702, adopted March 26, 2018, effective July 1, 2018). The rule text has no reliability conditions. Idaho has not adopted Daubert: “This Court utilizes Idaho Rule of Evidence 702 rather than the Daubert test to analyze admissibility of expert evidence,” but it has “used some of Daubert’s standards in assessing whether the basis of an expert’s opinion is scientifically valid” (State v. Clapp, No. 47698 (Idaho May 20, 2022), n.4, citing Weeks v. Eastern Idaho Health Services, 143 Idaho 834 (2007)). Idaho has not adopted the 2023 change to Federal Rule 702.
- Post-conviction forensic relief
- No changed-science statute. Testing only: a petitioner may at any time seek fingerprint or forensic DNA testing of evidence not tested “because the technology for the testing was not available at the time of trial,” if identity was at issue and the chain of custody is adequate. Testing is allowed if it “has the scientific potential to produce new, noncumulative evidence that would show that it is more probable than not that the petitioner is innocent” (Idaho Code 19-4902(b) to (g)). A 2023 bill for relief based on new forensic science died (see below).
- DNA database scope
- Conviction-based; no arrestee collection. A DNA sample and right thumbprint are required from anyone, including a juvenile tried as an adult, convicted of or pleading guilty to a “serious crime” (Idaho Code 19-5506(1)). A serious crime is any felony, an attempted felony, a crime requiring sex offender registration, and, for convictions or pleas on or after July 1, 2026, misdemeanor domestic violence (18-918) or sexual battery (18-924) (19-5502(10), 19-5506(3)(b)). Without consent or a warrant, no one may be required to give a sample absent such a conviction or plea (19-5506(2)).
- Facial recognition
- No statute. A statute search for “facial recognition” and “face recognition” returned nothing. 2026 H0744 (commercial capture of biometric identifiers) was referred to committee on February 23, 2026, with no further action (H0744).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
DNA database expanded to misdemeanor domestic violence and sexual battery; court-ordered collection and new timing rules
New 19-5502(10) defines “serious crime” as any felony, an attempted felony, a crime requiring sex offender registration, misdemeanor domestic violence (18-918) or sexual battery (18-924), and 19-5506 now requires collection for any serious crime. For the two misdemeanors, the duty applies to those convicted or pleading guilty on or after July 1, 2026 (19-5506(3)(b)). New 19-2512A: at plea, conviction or sentencing the court “shall order” collection. The re-enacted 19-5507 sets timing: early collection before sentencing on a best-interest-of-justice showing; collection before release from custody; probationers report by the end of the next business day; jail and prison intakes collect within 10 days; parolees and interstate-compact offenders within 10 days of notice. Collection sites and sex offender registration locations must verify collection. Section 19-5510 (applicability) is repealed. The Statement of Purpose estimates 630 more convictions a year at about $100 each ($63,000 a year) and says the State Police “does not anticipate needing any new equipment or personnel.” The same rewrite, 2025 H0157, failed in the House 34-34-2 on March 7, 2025.
For practitioners: A plea to misdemeanor domestic violence or sexual battery on or after July 1, 2026 now carries a court-ordered DNA sample; factor that into plea advice.
Pending bills
No bill on these topics is pending. The 2026 session has adjourned, and the 2027 session has not convened. Measures that did not become law:
- H0358 (2023) would have added a post-conviction ground where “new forensic scientific evidence undermines forensic scientific evidence presented at trial,” with definitions of forensic science. It was introduced March 22, 2023 and filed with the Chief Clerk with no further action (H0358).
- H0157 (2025), the sample-collection rewrite later enacted as S1226, failed on House third reading 34-34-2 on March 7, 2025 (H0157).
- H0744 (2026), on commercial biometric identifiers, was referred to committee on February 23, 2026 and not acted on (H0744).
Checked and unchanged
- Idaho Code 19-4902 (post-conviction DNA and fingerprint testing): history ends at 2012, ch. 180.
- Idaho Code 67-2919 (sexual assault kit testing and retention): history ends at 2019, ch. 177.
- I.R.E. 702: effective July 1, 2018, with no later amendment. No later Supreme Court opinion adopting Daubert was found.
- Outside this tracker’s scope: 2025 H0198 (ch. 84, effective July 1, 2025) regulates clinical laboratories and exempts forensic work.
- Not found: any statute on investigative genetic genealogy, Rapid DNA or digital forensics standards. Whether the State Police laboratory holds accreditation was not checked; no statute requires it.
Last updated October 20, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Idaho forensic science oversight: Forensic Ledger,” uscli.org/forensic-science-tracker/idaho (last updated October 20, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.