# Idaho

Idaho has no state private investigator license; some cities, such as Pocatello, license investigators. Since 2023 Idaho has let courts shield some criminal records from public view, given agencies more time to answer non-residents’ records requests (since July 1, 2025, 21 days to grant or deny and up to 35 days to produce), restricted government license plate reader data, and extended its telephone harassment law to email and texts.

Source: https://uscli.org/licensing-tracker/idaho

## At a glance

- **Authority:** None statewide; no state licensing bill was introduced from 2023 through 2026
- **Local licensing:** Pocatello licenses private investigator and detective businesses ($100 a year) and each employee, with a firearm authorization required to carry at work (City Code ch. 5.44).
- **Continuing education:** None
- **Firearms:** A person over 18 who is a U.S. citizen or armed forces member and not disqualified may carry concealed without a license (Idaho Code 18-3302(4)(f)).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Jul 1, 2026 — **Home-based LLCs may list their registered agent’s address** — H 738 (2026), ch. 80 · Effective July 1, 2026 — Lets an LLC with only a residential address list its commercial registered agent’s address instead of a principal office on its certificate of organization (Idaho Code 30-25-201(b)(2)(ii)). — **For licensees:** New filings may not show the owner’s home address. — [H 738](https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2026/legislation/H0738/)
- Jul 1, 2026 — **Voyeurism and synthetic-media laws cover threatened disclosure and AI images of minors** — H 727 (2026), ch. 121 · Effective July 1, 2026 — According to its statement of purpose, the act bars threats to disclose intimate images and makes disclosing AI-generated explicit images of a minor a felony (Idaho Code 18-6605, 18-6606). Recording intimate areas where a person expects privacy was already a crime. — **For licensees:** Lawful surveillance in public is unaffected. — [H 727](https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2026/legislation/H0727/)
- Jul 1, 2025 — **Government license plate reader data limited to law enforcement** — S 1180 (2025), ch. 316 (Idaho Code 49-1432) · Effective July 1, 2025 — Limits government use of automated license plate readers to law enforcement and traffic analysis and bars use of the data for any non-law-enforcement purpose. The section does not regulate private systems. — **For licensees:** Government plate reader data is not available for private investigations. — [S 1180](https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2025/legislation/S1180/)
- Jul 1, 2025 — **Non-resident records requests: residency declaration, longer deadlines, separate fees** — H 253 (2025), ch. 298 (Idaho Code 74-101 to 74-103) · Effective July 1, 2025 — Every public records request must include the requester’s contact details and a sworn statement of whether the requester is an Idaho resident, meaning domiciled in Idaho for at least 30 days (74-101(15), 74-102(4)). Agencies must grant or deny a resident’s request within 3 working days and a non-resident’s within 21 days, and when more time is needed must produce records within 10 working days for residents and 35 days for non-residents (74-103(2)). The free first 2 hours and first 100 pages apply only to residents, and agencies may set separate fees for non-residents (74-102(10)). — **For licensees:** Out-of-state requesters should expect longer waits and higher fees. — [H 253](https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2025/legislation/H0253/)[Idaho Code 74-103](https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title74/t74ch1/sect74-103/)
- Jul 1, 2024 — **Longer public records deadline for non-residents** — H 588 (2024), ch. 107 (Idaho Code 74-103(2)) · Effective July 1, 2024 — When an agency needs more time, it must still produce records within 10 working days for an Idaho resident, but now has up to 21 working days for a non-resident. — **For licensees:** H 253 (2025, ch. 298) replaced this rule on July 1, 2025. An agency now has 21 days to grant or deny a request from a person who is not an Idaho resident (and not employed by one) and up to 35 days to produce the records, and every request must include a sworn statement of residency (Idaho Code 74-102(4), 74-103(2)). — [H 588](https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/H0588/)
- Jul 1, 2024 — **Telephone harassment law extended to email and texts** — S 1262 (2024), ch. 253 (Idaho Code 18-6710) · Effective July 1, 2024 — Extends the harassment offense from telephone calls to email, text messages, and other electronic communication made with intent to annoy, threaten, or harass. — **For licensees:** Repeated pretext messages to a subject who has asked for no contact carry risk. — [S 1262](https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2024/legislation/S1262/)
- Jan 1, 2024 — **Clean Slate Act: courts may shield some criminal records** — H 149 (2023), ch. 108 (Idaho Code 67-3004(11)) · Effective January 1, 2024 — Lets a person with a non-violent misdemeanor or felony drug possession record petition, 5 years after completing the sentence, to shield it; shielded court and State Police records become unavailable to the public. — **For licensees:** Do not treat the absence of a record as conclusive. — [H 149](https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0149/)
- Jul 1, 2023 — **Public agencies withhold judges’ home addresses on request** — S 1059 (2023), ch. 179 (now Idaho Code 19-6201 to 19-6203) · Effective July 1, 2023 — A public agency may not disclose an enrolled judicial officer’s residential address and phone number, except under court order or other listed exceptions; S 1277 (2024) extended the shield to the property’s legal description. The law binds agencies, not private data sources. — **For licensees:** County deed and agency searches may not reveal enrolled judges’ homes. — [S 1059](https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/S1059/)

## Checked and unchanged

- Second-degree stalking, whose nonconsensual contact includes electronic surveillance (Idaho Code 18-7906), and the wiretap definitions were not amended.
- Idaho has no comprehensive consumer privacy or data broker law.