Idaho contractor license rules: what your registration lets you do, and where a handyman must stop

Published November 3, 2026 · Law checked November 3, 2026

• Free to read, nothing to download. The "can I take this job?" table below is the tool.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors (scheduling, quotes, invoicing, card payments). The section before the FAQ says where it fits and where it doesn't.
• Not legal advice. Every rule here links to the statute, rule or agency page it comes from. Ask DOPL or an Idaho attorney before you bet a job on my reading.

Idaho has no general contractor license. It has a registration. Anyone who does construction as a business registers with the Idaho Contractors Board at DOPL, unless the job is one small, casual project under $2,000 or another exemption applies.^1,2 The registration has no exam, no size classes and no dollar cap, so once you hold it you can sign a $3,000 bathroom or an $800,000 house, residential or private commercial. It doesn't cover electrical, plumbing or HVAC work. Those need a DOPL trade license at any price, down to a $40 light fixture swap.^3,4,5 Public jobs of $100,000 or more need a separate public works license.⁶

A handyman in another state summed up what registering usually takes: "registering literally only requires a small fee and proof of insurance which you should have anyway" (r/Handyman). In Idaho that's $120 and a $300,000 liability policy, and you've done it. Here's what it lets you take, where the line sits for the people around you, and what crossing it costs, with the statute behind each rule. What goes into the contract itself (the 45-525 disclosure, deposits, cancellation) is its own article: the Idaho contract template and the 45-525 disclosure.

Idaho contractor license or registration: what you actually hold

DOPL's FAQ says it in one line: "The Act requires registration, not licensure."⁷ The difference is real. A license tests what you know. Idaho's registration checks that your business exists, carries insurance and hasn't lost a license somewhere else. To register, you gave the board:⁸

• a certificate of general liability insurance "including products and completed operations insurance," at least $300,000 single limit;
• a workers' comp certificate, or "a statement by the contractor as to why such certificate or coverage is not required";
• your owners' names and addresses, and a statement of the type of construction you'll do;
• the fee, which from July 1, 2026 is $120 to apply, then $60 a year or $120 every two years as the board moves to two-year renewals.⁹

No exam, no experience requirement. Search "Idaho contractor license" and an exam-prep site sits in the top three results anyway. There's no test to prep for. Two things to keep current: the insurance, because letting it lapse is grounds for a fine of up to $1,000 or a suspension,¹⁰ and the registration itself, for a reason the penalties section explains.

What your Idaho general contractor registration lets you do

The act defines construction about as wide as English allows: "building, altering, repairing, adding to, subtracting from, improving, reconstructing, moving, excavating, wrecking or demolishing any building, highway, road, bridge, or other structure."¹ Your registration covers all of it, and nothing in the act splits it by size or type:

• No dollar limit per job or per year. For private work, Idaho has no Class A, B or C.
• Residential and commercial, on one registration.
• New homes, additions and remodels.
• Structural work: framing, bearing walls, foundations. The permit and the inspector decide how it's done; the registration lets you contract for it.
• Roofing, siding, windows, decks, concrete, drywall, paint, tile, cabinets. Idaho has no separate roofing license.

It stops at four things:

• Electrical, plumbing and HVAC, which in Idaho takes in water heaters and gas piping. That's the next section.
• Public works of $100,000 or more, a separate license covered below.⁶
• Manufactured home installation, which DOPL licenses on its own.⁷
• City licenses in Idaho Falls and Pocatello, which sit on top of the state registration (see the local section).

Electrical, plumbing and HVAC: the Idaho trade licenses you sub out

This is where Idaho is stricter than a lot of states. Some carve out small trade jobs. A handyman elsewhere described his: "In my state I am allowed to change fixtures or add onto existing, but not add new ones" (r/handyman). Idaho has no such carve-out. Each trade act lists who is exempt, and the lists are short: the owner working on their own home, an employer's maintenance staff, utilities and a few others. There's no dollar floor and no like-for-like exception for a contractor or a handyman.^3,4,5

Electrical: the Idaho electrical license covers repairs too

An electrical contractor is anyone "engaging in, conducting, or carrying on the business of installing wires or equipment to carry electric current or installing apparatus to be operated by such current."³ The Electrical Board's rule shuts the repair door: "Contracting work includes electrical maintenance or repair work, in addition to new electrical installations."¹¹ So swapping a light fixture, a switch or an outlet for pay is electrical contracting. DOPL's FAQ adds that "A permit is required when any electrical, plumbing or HVAC work is performed."¹²

Plumbing

Plumbing is "the design, construction, installation, improvement, extension and alteration of all piping, fixtures, appliances and appurtenances" in a plumbing system, and doing it as a business without a certificate of competency is unlawful.⁴ A new faucet, toilet, sink or dishwasher is a fixture or appliance being installed, so it's plumbing. Repair isn't in that list of verbs, though, and no permit is needed to clear a stoppage or fix a leak "when such work does not involve or require any functional rearrangement of pipes, valves or fixtures."⁴ That leaves a dripping cartridge in a gray zone. Replacing the faucet isn't in one.

HVAC, water heaters and gas lines

Idaho's HVAC act reaches past furnaces and AC. Its definition of an HVAC contractor includes anyone who "installs, maintains, services and repairs" heating systems, boilers and "gas, propane, electric or oil-fired water heaters," and an HVAC system includes "gas piping, venting, ductwork and controls."⁵ Licensed plumbers can also do water heaters and fuel piping.^4,18 Either way, a water heater swap or a gas line to a new range goes to a licensed trade. Repairing or maintaining an existing system needs no permit, but it still takes the license.⁵

How to run a job that has trade work in it

• Carry the trade price in your bid. The Electrical Board's rule says a registered general contractor who bids a multi-trade project "which includes a licensed electrical contractor's pricing is not considered as acting or attempting to act as an electrical contractor."¹¹
• Let the trade pull the trade permit. Plumbing permits go only to certificate holders and the few people the act excepts, like an owner doing their own work.⁴
• Check every license on DOPL's public search. "Knowing employment of a person who does not hold an active license" is its own penalty count under the electrical rules.¹¹
• Keep trade words off your ads. Advertising electrical, plumbing or HVAC contracting without the license, or without the license number in the ad, costs up to $1,000 per count, and the rules count internet listings and door-to-door pitches as advertising.^11,13,14 "Handyman, plumbing, electrical" on a truck door is a violation anyone can photograph.

On a house you own

The owner exemptions are narrower than they sound. The electrical act exempts a property owner doing "noncommercial electrical work in the owner's primary or secondary residence."³ The plumbing and HVAC acts exempt a person working on a single-family or duplex home they own or are buying, with a permit.^4,5 So on your own home you can do all three yourself. On a spec house the electrical exemption doesn't reach, and I read the plumbing and HVAC ones as covering a person who owns the house, not an LLC that does. Ask the boards before you wire or plumb a house you plan to sell.

What can a handyman do without a license in Idaho? The $2,000 line

If you're registered, this section is about the people around you: helpers, subs, the guy who wants to take over your punch lists. If you still run small jobs yourself, it's also how Idaho counts them.

The exemption is in section 54-5205(2)(f). No registration is needed for "one (1) undertaking or project considered casual, minor, or inconsequential, whether by one (1) or more contracts, the aggregate contract price of which, for labor and materials and all other items, is less than two thousand dollars ($2,000)."² Read it the way an investigator would:

• Under $2,000, not at it. The statute says "less than." DOPL's FAQ says registration applies to jobs "exceeding $2000.00."⁷ At exactly $2,000 the two disagree, and the statute is the law. Price at $1,999 or register.
• Labor, materials and everything else. The statute counts the whole contract price. It doesn't say what happens when the customer buys the materials. The FAQ counts "materials & labor," so I'd count them.
• One project, however many contracts. Two $1,200 invoices on one bathroom are a $2,400 project. One commenter put it plainly: "No, splitting one job into multiple smaller jobs to bypass is not allowed" (r/handyman). The statute agrees, removing the exemption when a job is split "for the purpose of evasion of this chapter or otherwise."²
• Change orders count. A $1,700 job that grows to $2,300 is a $2,300 job.
• Not part of anything bigger. The exemption is gone when the work "is part of a larger construction project, whether undertaken by the same or a different construction contractor."² A $600 trim job inside a $40,000 remodel is part of a $40,000 project.
• No yearly cap, no part-time rule. I found no annual total in the act or the board's rules. I also found no definition of "casual, minor, or inconsequential." A full-time business built on a stream of $1,900 jobs leans on three words nobody has defined. As another handyman put it, "I would not build the business around the exemption line" (r/Handyman).
• Registration only. The $2,000 exemption comes from the registration act and does nothing for trade work. An unregistered handyman can't swap a $40 light fixture for pay either.

Helpers and subs

Employees paid wages are exempt from registering. A "subcontractor or other independent contractor who is not otherwise exempt" is not.² And you may not engage a contractor who has to register "unless such other contractor furnishes satisfactory proof" that he is.¹ DOPL's FAQ spells out what skipping that check costs: it "violates the Act. You could also lose your lien rights."⁷ So the helper on your remodel is either on payroll or registered, and you keep a copy of his registration in the job file.

The other exemptions that come up for a small shop: an owner working on their own residential property (not someone building to sell, unless they've lived there as their main home for 12 months first), suppliers who don't install, and commercial building owners using their own employees.²

Lead paint and asbestos

Lead paint (EPA's RRP rule)

Idaho doesn't run its own lead renovation program, so EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies directly.¹⁵ Disturb paint for pay in a home built before 1978 and your firm needs EPA certification, with the work directed by a certified renovator. EPA says that covers "all firms, even sole proprietorships." The exception is minor repair: "6 square feet or less of painted surface per room for interior activities or 20 square feet or less" outside. Window replacement never counts as minor, and jobs "in the same room within the same 30 days must be considered the same job."¹⁵ One owner's post opens where nobody wants to be: "I recently got caught scraping and painting a small area on pre 1978 house" (r/Contractor). The civil penalty under the federal statute behind the rule is up to $49,772 per violation.¹⁶

Asbestos

The federal asbestos rule for renovation and demolition (NESHAP) leaves out "residential buildings having four or fewer dwelling units."¹⁷ On apartment buildings of five or more units and on commercial buildings it applies: a notice 10 working days ahead of any demolition, and of any renovation that disturbs at least 160 square feet, 260 linear feet or 35 cubic feet of regulated asbestos material, sent to EPA Region 10 (or to Idaho DEQ for the largest permitted facilities).¹⁷ I didn't find an Idaho license for asbestos work on houses. That's no reason to scrape a 1970s popcorn ceiling untested. Test it, and if it comes back positive, sub it out.

Can I take this job? A table for registered Idaho contractors

The verdicts assume you're registered, you don't hold a trade license, and the house is single-family. The permit column uses Boise's published list as the example.¹⁸ Your city's list can differ, and depending on where the job is, trade permits come from DOPL or from the city.¹² Call the building department when in doubt.

Sources for the table: registration and exemptions,^1,2 trades,^3,4,5,11 public works,⁶ lead,¹⁵ asbestos,¹⁷ Boise permits,¹⁸ city licenses,^25,26 insurance deductibles.²⁷

What happens if you cross the line

Unregistered, on a job of $2,000 or more

• It's a crime: a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both.¹⁹
• You may not get paid. You can't sue to collect "without alleging and proving that he was a duly registered contractor ... at all times during the performance of such act or contract."¹⁹ "At all times" reaches registered contractors too. Let your registration lapse in week three of a six-week job and you've handed the customer a defense. Renew early.
• No lien. An unregistered contractor "shall be deemed to have conclusively waived any right to place a lien."²⁰
• No permit. The building department has to ask for your registration number before it issues one.²¹
• The board can investigate and go to court for an injunction to stop you working.¹⁰
• Registered contractors can't hire you without proof of registration.¹

Trade work without the trade license

• Electrical: a misdemeanor, plus civil penalties of up to $1,000 per count under the board's rule (the statute allows up to $3,000 per violation), and each day is a separate offense.^3,11
• Plumbing: a misdemeanor with a fine of $10 to $300 or up to 30 days in jail for each violation, plus civil penalties of up to $1,000 per count.^4,13
• HVAC: a misdemeanor, plus civil penalties of up to $1,000, with each day a separate offense.^5,14
• Skipping the permit is a separate count under each trade's rules.^11,13,14
• Your registration can take a hit too. The Contractors Board can discipline a contractor whose violations of contracting laws make him "a threat to the public safety."¹⁰ I found no published case, but unlicensed wiring is an easy fit.

Public works without the license

A misdemeanor with a fine of up to $5,000, up to a year in county jail, or both, and the same bar on suing to collect that applies to registration.⁶

Lending your registration

Someone will ask you to pull a permit for a job you're not running. Your certificate "shall not be assignable nor transferable,"²¹ and the board can discipline a contractor who uses "fraud or deception" or "a misrepresentation" to get a building permit.¹⁰ A GC on Reddit gave the best answer to the question: "Never attach your name to anything in a legal way that you don't have control over... Just a recipe for disaster" (r/GeneralContractor).

Insurance

Your registration stands on that $300,000 general liability policy with completed operations coverage.⁸ Let it lapse and the board can fine you up to $1,000 or suspend you.¹⁰ On a home job over $2,000, the homeowner also has a right to proof of the policy and of workers' comp for your employees.²² I found no Idaho rule on what unlicensed trade work does to your coverage. That's in your policy wording, so ask your agent in writing: "Does my policy cover work that needs a license I don't hold?" Keep the reply.

Where your registration number has to appear

• The statute's list: your place of business, advertising, contracts, permits, letterheads, purchase orders and subcontracts, within 60 days of registering.²¹
• The jobsite. DOPL's FAQ adds it,⁷ and the permit, posted at the site, shows your number.²¹
• Quotes. A quote the customer signs becomes the contract, so put the number on the quote template.
• Trucks. The act doesn't name vehicles. If the lettering advertises the business, adding the number costs a few dollars of vinyl.
• Trade license numbers, if you hold one: every trade ad must carry it.^11,13,14

On any home job over $2,000 there's also the disclosure statement under Idaho Code 45-525, given before the contract. The contract article covers it, with a template.

Local licenses: Idaho Falls and Pocatello add their own

State law says that from January 1, 2007, no city or county "shall implement its own program for the registration or licensure of construction contractors,"²³ and electrical and HVAC licensing belong to the state alone.^3,5 In most of Idaho, your state number is all the permit desk wants. Boise's permit application comes with a contractor declaration form: your registration number, or the 54-5205 exemption you're claiming.¹⁸ Twin Falls says "The City will need your State of Idaho registration or license number before you can pull permits," and Nampa's building code has no contractor licensing chapter.²⁴ Meridian's website was down when I checked, so ask when you open a permit account there.

Two cities in east Idaho still run their own licenses, and their permit desks won't issue a permit without them:

• Idaho Falls requires a city building contractor license for anyone doing permit work inside city limits. Residential general contractors need Class B or C, commercial needs A or B, and roofing needs Class D. You qualify by passing an ICC exam, holding a bachelor's degree in architecture, engineering or construction management, or by reciprocity with a license from Utah, Arizona, Oregon, California or Florida. It's $325 new and $225 a year to renew ($250 and $150 for Class D), plus 8 hours of continuing education a year (4 for Class D). Finish work like trim, flooring and paint needs neither a permit nor the license. The city's licensing ordinance goes back to 1996.²⁵
• Pocatello requires a builder's license for construction work done for pay in the city. Class A-2 covers one- and two-family homes ($100, with $500,000 of liability coverage and a $25,000 license and permit bond). Class B covers limited work like siding, windows, roofing, decks and concrete ($50, $300,000 and $10,000). A-1 is commercial. The city has to be named as an additional insured, and licenses renew by December 31.²⁶

I checked Boise, Twin Falls, Nampa, Idaho Falls and Pocatello. If you work in Ammon, Chubbuck, Rexburg or Blackfoot, call the building department before you bid.

Before the next job

1. Look yourself up on DOPL's public search. Write down your registration number and expiry date, and set a reminder 60 days ahead. A lapse mid-job costs you the right to sue on that job.
2. Put the number on your quotes, contracts, invoices, website and ads.
3. Line up a licensed electrician, plumber and HVAC contractor now, and look each one up. Don't wait for the first bathroom.
4. Get proof of registration from every sub who isn't on your payroll, and keep a copy.
5. On a home job over $2,000, give the 45-525 disclosure before the contract.
6. If you'll disturb paint in pre-1978 homes, get the firm EPA-certified and take the certified renovator course.
7. Working in Idaho Falls or Pocatello? Get the city license before you bid there.
8. A public job of $100,000 or more needs a public works license before you bid.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is the field service software I build, and it doesn't know Idaho law. It won't warn you when a handyman quote crosses $2,000, check your subs' registrations, or flag a line item that needs an electrician. What it does help with: the shop-wide terms text you set once is copied onto every quote and shows under "Terms" on the customer's quote page, and the invoice footer is copied onto every invoice, so your registration number goes on every document without retyping. Quotes can carry options, the customer approves and signs on screen, and an optional card deposit is credited on the final invoice. Free covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team, with scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments, and customer and equipment records. Pro is $29 a month with unlimited estimates and invoices (pricing).

Frequently asked questions

Do contractors have to be licensed in Idaho?

General contractors, remodelers and handymen register rather than license. Anyone doing construction as a business registers with the Idaho Contractors Board at DOPL, unless the job is one casual, minor project under $2,000 or another exemption applies. There's no exam: you show a $300,000 general liability policy, workers' comp or a reason you don't need it, and pay $120. Electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors are different. They hold real licenses from DOPL, and those apply at any job size.

Do you need a license to be a handyman in Idaho?

Idaho has no handyman license. A handyman doing one casual, minor project under $2,000 (labor, materials and everything else, and not part of a bigger project) doesn't have to register. Above that, register as a contractor. Either way, a handyman can't do electrical, plumbing or HVAC work for pay without the trade license, and that includes swapping a light fixture or a faucet.

How much can a handyman charge without a license in Idaho?

Less than $2,000 for the whole project, counting labor, materials and all other items, across every contract on that project. Splitting one job into several invoices doesn't get under the line, and work that's part of a larger construction project isn't exempt at any price. The statute says 'less than $2,000' while DOPL's FAQ says 'exceeding $2,000', so price at $1,999 or register.

What is the difference between a contractor and a handyman in Idaho?

Idaho law has no handyman category. A contractor is anyone who undertakes, offers or bids to perform construction, and the act defines construction as building, altering, repairing, improving or demolishing any structure. A handyman is a contractor whose jobs all fit the small-project exemption, or a registered contractor who uses that name. Neither may do electrical, plumbing or HVAC work without the trade license.

What qualifies you as a general contractor in Idaho?

Registration with the Idaho Contractors Board. The application asks for your SSN or EIN, your business name and address, every owner, a certificate of general liability insurance of at least $300,000 single limit including completed operations, a workers' comp certificate or a statement of why you don't need one, the type of construction you'll do, and any license denied or revoked elsewhere. There's no exam and no experience requirement. Idaho Falls and Pocatello add city licenses on top.

Do I need a public works license in Idaho?

Only for public jobs with an estimated cost of $100,000 or more. Below that, the public works act doesn't apply, and a sub working under a Class A or higher licensee is exempt if the subcontracted work is under $100,000. Classes run from C (up to $200,000) to Unlimited. Contracting without the license is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $5,000 and a year in jail, and you can't sue to collect.

Can a general contractor do electrical work in Idaho?

Not on a customer's job, unless the firm also holds an electrical contractor license and a licensed electrician does the work. Your registration doesn't cover it. You can include a licensed electrical contractor's price in your bid on a multi-trade project: the Electrical Board's rule says that isn't acting as an electrical contractor. On your own primary or secondary residence you can do the work yourself with a permit.

Sources

1. Idaho Code 54-5202 (the chapter "provides for the registration of construction contractors"), 54-5203 (definitions of "construction" and "contractor") and 54-5204 (registration required; no engaging an unregistered contractor without "satisfactory proof"). 54-5203, 54-5204, chapter PDF at legislature.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
2. Idaho Code 54-5205, exemptions from registration, including (2)(a) employees for wages but not "any subcontractor or other independent contractor", (e) suppliers, (f) one casual, minor or inconsequential project under $2,000 "for labor and materials and all other items", not part of a larger project and not split, (k) and (l) owners, (m) commercial owners with their own employees. legislature.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
3. Idaho Code 54-1002 (electrical contractor license required; licensing "within the exclusive jurisdiction of the state"), 54-1003A (definitions; $300,000 liability insurance for electrical contractors), 54-1016 (exemptions, including (2)(a) an owner's "noncommercial electrical work in the owner's primary or secondary residence") and 54-1017 (misdemeanor; civil penalties "not to exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000) per violation"; each day a separate offense). Title 54 chapter 10 PDF, read November 3, 2026.
4. Idaho Code 54-2602 (exceptions to the certificate of competency, including (1)(a) an owner or contract purchaser of a single or duplex dwelling), 54-2603 (definition of plumbing), 54-2610 (certificate required), 54-2620 (permits only to certificate holders or excepted persons), 54-2621 (no permit for clearing stoppages or repairing leaks without "functional rearrangement") and 54-2628 (misdemeanor, $10 to $300 or up to 30 days). Title 54 chapter 26 PDF, read November 3, 2026.
5. Idaho Code 54-5002 (exceptions, including (1)(a) an owner or contract purchaser of a single or duplex dwelling), 54-5003 (definitions; the HVAC contractor "installs, maintains, services and repairs" heating systems and "gas, propane, electric or oil-fired water heaters"; the HVAC system includes "gas piping, venting, ductwork and controls"), 54-5008 (certificate required), 54-5015 (no local certification; plumbers may install fuel piping), 54-5016 (permits; none "to perform work related to repair or maintenance of an existing HVAC system") and 54-5022 (misdemeanor; civil penalties up to $1,000; each day a separate offense). Title 54 chapter 50 PDF, read November 3, 2026.
6. Idaho Code 54-1902 (public works license required), 54-1903(9) and (12) (exempt below an estimated cost of $100,000, and subcontracted work under $100,000 under a Class A or higher licensee), 54-1904 (Class C up to $200,000 through Class Unlimited) and 54-1920 (misdemeanor, fine up to $5,000 or up to one year; no action to collect without a license "at all times during the performance"). Title 54 chapter 19 PDF, read November 3, 2026.
7. Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, Contractors Board FAQ ("The Act requires registration, not licensure"; registration for jobs "exceeding $2000.00 (materials & labor)"; licensed trades and manufactured home installers don't register; display at "place of business and jobsite"; penalties list; "You could also lose your lien rights"). dopl.idaho.gov, page last updated March 19, 2026, read November 3, 2026.
8. Idaho Code 54-5210 (application: workers' comp certificate or statement; general liability "including products and completed operations insurance ... not less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) single limit"; type of construction) and 54-5211 (registration term and reinstatement). 54-5210, read November 3, 2026.
9. DOPL, Idaho Contractors Board page: transition to biennial registration from October 14, 2025; fees effective July 1, 2026: $120 application, $60 annual renewal, $120 biennial renewal, $40 reinstatement. dopl.idaho.gov/con. IDAPA 24.21.01, Rules of the Idaho State Contractors Board (qualifications and fees). adminrules.idaho.gov. Both read November 3, 2026.
10. Idaho Code 54-5215: investigation and injunctive relief (1); reprimand, suspension, revocation or "a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)" for, among others, "failure to keep current or provide insurance coverage" (2)(a), fraud or misrepresentation in securing a building permit (2)(d), and violations of laws relevant to contracting that make the contractor "a threat to the public safety" (2)(f). legislature.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
11. IDAPA 24.39.10, Rules of the Idaho Electrical Board: 200.01 ("Contracting work includes electrical maintenance or repair work"); 300 (civil penalty up to $1,000 per count; 300.02 the multi-trade bid rule for registered general contractors; .04 employing unlicensed persons; .06 permits; .09 advertising without the license or license number); 500 (permits). adminrules.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
12. DOPL, Electrical FAQs ("A permit is required when any electrical, plumbing or HVAC work is performed"; homeowner permits only for the owner's own primary or secondary residence; permit jurisdiction varies between DOPL and cities and counties). dopl.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
13. IDAPA 24.39.20, Rules Governing Plumbing, section 300 (civil penalty up to $1,000 per count, including plumbing without a certificate, permits and advertising) and 500 (permits). adminrules.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
14. IDAPA 24.39.70, rules for the installation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, section 300 (civil penalty up to $1,000 per count, including HVAC without a certificate, permits and advertising) and 500 (permits). adminrules.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
15. EPA, "Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program" (authorized states listed; Idaho isn't one; "all firms, even sole proprietorships"), epa.gov, last updated June 17, 2026; 40 CFR 745.81, 745.82, 745.83 (minor repair and maintenance: 6 square feet per room inside, 20 outside, never window replacement, same room within 30 days is one job) and 745.89, law.cornell.edu. Read November 3, 2026.
16. 40 CFR 19.4, Table 1, civil monetary penalty inflation adjustments: 15 U.S.C. 2615(a)(1) (TSCA), $49,772. law.cornell.edu, read November 3, 2026.
17. 40 CFR 61.141, definition of "facility" ("excluding residential buildings having four or fewer dwelling units"), ecfr.gov (title 40 current as of October 30, 2026); Idaho DEQ, "Compliance Assistance" (asbestos NESHAP notification thresholds of 260 linear feet, 160 square feet or 35 cubic feet; all demolitions; EPA Region 10 for nonmajor facilities, DEQ for Tier 1 major facilities), deq.idaho.gov. Read November 3, 2026.
18. City of Boise, "Homeowner's Guide" (required building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits; interior finish exemption; decks over 12 inches; sheds over 200 square feet), cityofboise.org; Contractor Registration Declaration Form #302, June 2026 ("a registration number be supplied with the permit application ... or the permit applicant declares themselves to be exempt"), cityofboise.org. Read November 3, 2026.
19. Idaho Code 54-5217 (misdemeanor, fine up to $1,000 or up to six months, or both; no action to collect without proving registration "at all times during the performance"). legislature.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
20. Idaho Code 54-5208, denial of lien rights. legislature.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
21. Idaho Code 54-5209 (no permit without "presentment of an Idaho contractor's registration number"; permits posted at the site) and 54-5214 (certificates "shall not be assignable nor transferable"; number displayed "in his place of business, on advertising, contracts, permits, company or business letterheads, and purchase orders and subcontracts within sixty (60) days"). 54-5209, 54-5214, read November 3, 2026.
22. Idaho Code 45-525(2)(b), the homeowner's right to proof of general liability insurance "including completed operations" and of workers' compensation insurance, on residential contracts over $2,000. legislature.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
23. Idaho Code 54-5213(1): "On and after January 1, 2007, no incorporated municipality, county ... shall implement its own program for the registration or licensure of construction contractors." Title 54 chapter 52 PDF, read November 3, 2026.
24. City of Twin Falls, FAQ "Does the City require contractor licenses?", tfid.org; City of Nampa Code of Ordinances, Title 4 Building Regulations, table of contents, library.municode.com. Read November 3, 2026.
25. City of Idaho Falls, "Contractor Licensing" (classes, qualification routes, fees, continuing education, finish-work exception), idahofallsidaho.gov; Idaho Falls City Code Title 4, Chapter 7, Building Contractors (ordinances from 1996, 2003, 2006 and 2007; 4-7-3 license required), idahofallsidaho.gov. Read November 3, 2026.
26. City of Pocatello, "Contractor Licenses" (effective October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026: fees, insurance, bonds, city as additional insured), pocatello.gov; Pocatello City Code 15.03.020 (license required for construction trades work for compensation; class definitions; renewal by December 31), codelibrary.amlegal.com. Read November 3, 2026.
27. Idaho Code 41-348(2): unlawful for a service provider "to engage in a regular practice of waiving, rebating, giving, paying, or offering to waive, rebate, give or pay all or part of a claimant's deductible". legislature.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.