State Resources
Idaho
Idaho has a statewide court portal, and the public tier of it shows less than people assume. Business and UCC search are free and good. The records law has a three-day clock and no residency requirement.
At a glance
| Record | Held by | Cost | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business and entity search | Secretary of State — SOSBiz | Free to search | Yes |
| UCC filings | Secretary of State — UCC | Free to search | Yes |
| Professional licenses | Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses | Free | Yes |
| Property and land records | County recorder and county assessor | Free online in most counties | By county |
| Court records | Idaho Courts — iCourt Portal | Free | Yes |
| Criminal records | Idaho State Police, Bureau of Criminal Identification | Fee | By request |
| Vital records | Health and Welfare, Bureau of Vital Records | Certified copies carry a fee | Yes |
| Unclaimed property | State Treasurer | Free | Yes |
| Voter and resident records | Secretary of State | Free | Yes |
Worth knowing about Idaho
iCourt has tiers, and you’re on the bottom one
Idaho moved every county onto a single case management system, and the public portal searches it statewide. So far so good.
What catches people is that iCourt access is tiered. Attorneys of record, government agencies and registered users see more than the general public does. The public tier returns the case, the parties and the register of actions — but many documents that are public at the courthouse aren’t viewable remotely.
So a case that looks thin online may have a full file behind it. If the register of actions names a filing you can’t open, the clerk of that district court has it, and Idaho clerks are generally easy to deal with by phone.
Idaho also seals or restricts more case types from remote display than from the counter. An empty online result deserves a phone call before it becomes a finding.
The business search is better than the court search
SOSBiz, the Secretary of State’s system, is free and genuinely good. Entity search and UCC search run through the same portal, and filings are viewable.
Idaho requires an annual report, and the annual report lists the entity’s governors — directors, managers or members depending on entity type. That means Idaho publishes a dated list of who ran a company each year, for free.
Pull two consecutive annual reports and a change in governors is a dated event: somebody joined, somebody left, and you know the year. That’s the kind of thing you normally have to buy.
Record by record
Business and entity search
Open business search →- Held by
- Secretary of State — SOSBiz
- Cost
- Free to search
Free entity search returning status, formation date, registered agent, and the governors named on the annual report.
Filed documents are viewable. Comparing consecutive annual reports gives you a dated record of who came and went — see above.
UCC filings
Open UCC search →- Held by
- Secretary of State — UCC
- Cost
- Free to search
Free UCC search by debtor or secured party through the same SOSBiz portal.
A UCC-1 names the debtor, the secured party and the collateral, and the secured party is usually a lender. Idaho filings frequently describe agricultural equipment and irrigation assets in detail.
Professional licenses
Open licensing division →- Held by
- Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses
- Cost
- Free
A single division covering most Idaho professional and occupational boards, with free verification returning name, status, dates and disciplinary history.
Property and land records
- Held by
- County recorder and county assessor
- Cost
- Free online in most counties
No statewide property search. Each of Idaho’s 44 counties runs its own, with the recorder holding documents and the assessor holding ownership and value.
Ada and Canyon are the deepest online. Idaho is also a community property state, so a spouse may hold an interest in property titled in one name only.
Court records
Open iCourt Portal →- Held by
- Idaho Courts — iCourt Portal
- Cost
- Free
Free statewide case search across all 44 counties. Criminal, civil, family and infractions, searchable by party name.
Remember the access tiers — see above. The register of actions tells you what exists; the clerk holds what you can’t open.
Criminal records
Open Bureau of Criminal Identification →- Held by
- Idaho State Police, Bureau of Criminal Identification
- Cost
- Fee
BCI handles Idaho criminal history checks. A name-based check is available but a fingerprint check is more reliable and Idaho encourages it.
For most work the iCourt portal answers faster and free, since it covers the criminal courts statewide.
Vital records
Open Health and Welfare →- Held by
- Health and Welfare, Bureau of Vital Records
- Cost
- Certified copies carry a fee
Births, deaths and marriages from the state office. Idaho restricts certified copies to the subject and immediate family.
Unclaimed property
Open unclaimed property →- Held by
- State Treasurer
- Cost
- Free
Free name search. The holder named on a reported item is a confirmed bank, insurer or employer relationship with a last known address.
Voter and resident records
Open voter information →- Held by
- Secretary of State
- Cost
- Free
Individual registration lookup confirming status and county. Idaho restricts the bulk voter list to political purposes.
Public records requests in Idaho
- Statute
- Idaho Code §§ 74-101 et seq. (Public Records Act)
- Response deadline
- Three working days, extendable to ten
- Appeal to
- District court
- Appeal window
- 180 days from the denial
Idaho gives you a short clock: three working days to respond, extendable to ten if the agency notifies you in writing that it needs longer.
There’s no ombudsman or administrative appeal. The remedy is district court, and you have 180 days from the denial to file. A requester who prevails may recover costs and attorney fees, and the court can impose a civil penalty on an official who denied access frivolously.
No residency requirement, and you don’t have to explain your purpose. A denial has to be in writing with the statutory basis cited — an agency that refuses without citing an exemption has already erred.
What Idaho will not give you
- Documents behind the iCourt public tier. Available at the courthouse but not through public remote access.
- Driver and vehicle records. Closed under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
- Juvenile records. Not public.
- Expunged and sealed records. Removed from the public index.
- Investigatory records of law enforcement. Exempt while active.
Course
How to Find Out Where Someone Banks
UCC filings, business registrations and lien records all point at the same thing: who holds the money. The course walks the full sequence, including the free sources on this page and the ones that cost.
See the bank locate courseRelated
- Washington — WATCH returns a criminal history for $11
- Alaska — no counties at all
- UCC filings name the lender
- Tracing an LLC to a human being
- Appealing a public records denial
Fees and procedures verified August 2026. Clerks change their counter rules more often than the statutes change — call before you drive.