Idaho's law sits in Title 74, Chapter 1 of the Idaho Code, and section 74-102 states the presumption: every person has a right to examine and take a copy of any public record of the state, and all public records are presumed open at all reasonable times for inspection except as expressly provided by statute. The right to copy includes making photographs or other copies while the records remain with the custodian, using equipment the agency provides or the custodian designates, and a certified copy must be given on demand where the record permits it.
The form of an Idaho request now matters more than it used to. An agency may require a written request that specifically describes the subject matter and the records sought, including a specific date range for when they were created, and the request must give the requester's name, mailing address, email address and telephone number together with a written declaration attesting or affirming under oath whether the requester is a resident. A request must also clearly indicate that it is a public records request, and an agency has no obligation to answer one that does not comply. Requests and deliveries may both be by email. For Idaho records held locally, see the Idaho county pages.
- Three working days, or twenty one: residents are answered within three working days, nonresidents who are not employed by a resident within twenty one days.
- Ten or thirty five with notice: where locating or retrieving takes longer, written notice extends the period to ten working days for residents, thirty five days otherwise.
- Silence is denial: failure to respond within the time allowed means the request is deemed denied, which starts the appeal clock.
- Two hours and a hundred pages free: residents pay nothing for the first two hours of labour or the first hundred pages of paper copies.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Idaho's own systems: Idaho Code 74-102, the right to examine public records, Idaho Code 74-103, request and response, Idaho Code 74-115, proceedings to enforce the right, Idaho Code 74-116, court orders, costs and attorney fees, the Attorney General's public records pages, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Two clocks, and what extends them
Section 74-103 sets different periods according to who is asking. A public agency or custodian must grant or deny a resident's request to examine or copy within three working days of receipt. A request from a person who is not a resident and not employed by a resident must be granted or denied within twenty one days of receipt. Where employees of the agency determine that longer is needed to locate or retrieve the records, the agency must notify the requester in writing and must then provide the records no later than ten working days after the request for a resident, and no later than thirty five days for a nonresident.
A separate written notice is required where an existing electronic record must first be converted to another electronic format, whether by the agency or a third party, and cannot be converted within the response period; the converted record is then provided at a time mutually agreed, with due consideration to the limits of the conversion process. If the agency fails to respond within the time allowed, the request is deemed to be denied, which matters because that is the event the appeal period runs from.
The written refusal, and the lawyer disclosure in it
Where a request is refused in whole or in part, the person legally responsible for administering the agency, or their designee, must notify the requester in writing. The notice must do three things. It must state that the attorney for the public agency has reviewed the request, or state that the agency has had an opportunity to consult an attorney about the request and has chosen not to do so, which is an unusual requirement that forces an agency to disclose whether it took legal advice.
It must indicate the statutory authority for the denial. And it must indicate clearly the requester's right to appeal the denial or partial denial and the time periods for doing so.
Two free hours, a hundred free pages, and what comes after
Except where other Idaho law prescribes a fee, no fee may be charged for the first two hours of labour in responding to a resident's request, or for copying the first hundred pages of paper records requested by a resident. Beyond that an agency may establish fees to recover actual labour and copying costs where the request is for more than a hundred pages, where nonpublic information must be deleted, or where the actual labour exceeds two person hours.
Agencies may keep separate copying schedules for residents and nonresidents, with the resident fee not exceeding the actual cost of copying unless another law sets one. Resident labour charges may not exceed the reasonable labour costs necessarily incurred, must reflect the personnel and time reasonably necessary, and must be charged at the hourly pay rate of the lowest paid administrative staff employee or official who is necessary and qualified to process the request.
Where redactions must be made by an attorney employed by the agency, the rate is capped at the hourly rate of the lowest paid attorney in the agency who is necessary and qualified, and where the agency has no attorney on staff, at the usual and customary rate of the attorney it retains for the purpose. For a duplicate of a computer tape, disc, microfilm or similar system, the fee is capped at the sum of the direct cost of copying in that form, any standard price for selling the same information as a publication, and the cost of conversion where an existing electronic record is converted, charged uniformly to all residents, with additional fees permitted for nonresidents.
What a custodian may and may not ask
A custodian is to make no inquiry of a person requesting a record, with three exceptions: verifying the requester's identity under section 74-113, ensuring the record or information will not be used for a mailing or telephone list prohibited by section 74-120 or otherwise barred by law, and what is required to protect personal information under the motor vehicle chapter and federal law. The custodian may not review, examine or scrutinise any copy, photograph or memoranda in the requester's possession, and must extend all reasonable comfort and facility for the full exercise of the right, while keeping the vigilance needed to prevent any record being altered during examination.
Inspection happens in regular office hours unless the custodian authorises otherwise, in which case the staff who supervise are entitled to reasonable compensation, paid by the agency from funds the requester provides in advance. Where a response is likely to be voluminous or to require payment, the agency may give the requester information to help narrow the scope or make the request more specific.
The one remedy, and the twenty eight day hearing
Section 74-115 is blunt about the route: the sole remedy for a person aggrieved by a denial is to institute proceedings in the district court of the county where the records or some part of them are located, to compel the agency to make the information available. The petition must be filed within one hundred and eighty calendar days from the date the notice of denial or partial denial was mailed. Where the records are claimed exempt under particular provisions covering material supplied by third parties, the petitioner must name and serve the person or entity that provided the documents, who may then oppose disclosure and support the agency.
Courts must move quickly: the time for responsive pleadings and for hearings is set at the earliest possible time and in no event beyond twenty eight calendar days from the date of filing. The agency must keep the disputed documents until the appeal period ends or a decision is rendered, whichever is longer.
What the court can order, and the frivolity rule
Under section 74-116, where it appears that records are being improperly withheld, the court orders the official to disclose or to show cause why not, decides on the pleadings with such argument and additional evidence as it allows, and may examine the record in camera at its discretion. Where it finds the refusal was not justified it orders disclosure; where it finds the refusal justified it returns the item without disclosing the content and enters an order supporting the decision.
Costs and attorney fees run on an unusual trigger: the court shall award reasonable costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party or parties if it finds that the request, or the refusal to provide records, was frivolously pursued. So fees follow bad faith on either side rather than success alone, which rewards a focused request and a reasoned refusal and penalises the opposite.
Questions about public records requests in Idaho
Related Idaho records
Idaho's other public records guides on this site are the Idaho background check guide for the State Police criminal history service, the Idaho court records guide for the judiciary's case portal, the Idaho arrest records guide for what a booking makes public, and the Idaho county pages for every county office.