Licenses and permits in Idaho

The Secretary of State filing is not a license to do the work. An assumed business name is not an Idaho business license and does not create a company¹. What you need depends on the activity and the city or county.

What’s different in Idaho

• No single statewide business license. The assumed-name filing is a name record. It does not authorize the work.
• Contractors register. They do not get a general state license. The threshold is $2,000³, counting materials and labor.
• Home food sales follow a 2026 statute, not the old cottage food rule. The health department page states the notice you must give. The act says a producer may sell homemade shelf-stable or perishable food to the fullest extent state and federal law allow⁷.
• A city license, if there is one, is the city’s. Ask the city or county clerk for its fee.

Do this

1. Ask the city or county where you will actually work. The Secretary of State does not issue a general business license. The Tax Commission tells new businesses to use the Business Wizard at business.idaho.gov for a checklist of permits. That wizard is a starting list. It is not the permit. The state pages do not print a city or county fee.* Ask the clerk before you assume there is no local license, and before you pay a third party who says they will get you one.
2. Get a contractor registration if the job is large enough. Idaho requires contractor registration, not a contractor license. The contractor FAQ says it applies to a job over $2,000, materials and labor included, unless an exemption fits. Employees paid wages, suppliers who do not install, some already-licensed trades, owners doing their own work on their own land when they do not intend to sell within 12 months, and commercial owners maintaining their own buildings with their own crews are the exemptions the FAQ lists. Read that list before you decide you are outside it. The application asks for workers’ compensation insurance, or a statement of why you do not need it, and for liability insurance of at least $300,000. The fee table, effective July 1, 2026, lists $120 to apply, for an individual or a business. Annual renewal is $60. Biennial renewal is $120. Reinstatement adds $40 on top of the renewal fee. Idaho Code 54-5211 says a registration is issued for at least 24 months and no more than five years, as the board decides. The expiration date is on the face of the certificate, and the board sends notice at least 30 days before it⁵. The fee page says the board began moving to biennial registration on October 14, 2025⁴. The FAQ still says the first registration is valid for 12 months after your next birthday, and renewal is required annually³, conflicting with the statute and the board’s transition notice.* Check your certificate’s actual expiration date and confirm your renewal cycle with the Contractors Board before paying. Working without a required registration costs you the right to sue for the money, the FAQ says.
3. Selling food from home? Read the food safety page. The Idaho Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act took effect March 20, 2026. It replaces the earlier cottage food rule. A producer who sells under that act must tell the buyer that its products are not inspected or licensed. The notice goes on a conspicuous sign, a label on the product, or a card given to the buyer, which also carries the producer's name and contact information and, for a product with two or more ingredients, the ingredient list. It says: “This product is not subject to government food safety inspection or licensing requirements. It may contain allergens.” Wholesale is not exempt. Sales outside Idaho may need FDA approval. The local public health district handles permits and inspections for a restaurant or other food business⁶. The act itself says a producer may sell homemade shelf-stable or perishable food to the fullest extent state and federal law allow⁷. Idaho Code 37-208 requires a record of each sale: the type and quantity of food sold, the sale date, the production date, where the food was made, and where each ingredient was produced or acquired. Under an animal share agreement, the record is the written contract or bill of sale. Keep those records at least two years from the date on the record. If a foodborne illness investigation finds the records were not kept, the fine can be up to $500⁸. A restaurant, a grocery, or food sold wholesale is outside that act.
4. Selling alcohol? The small seller exemption does not cover alcohol or tobacco. A seller’s permit is still only a tax permit. Alcohol licenses come from Idaho State Police Alcohol Beverage Control¹¹, whose licensing page has separate applications for beer and wine, liquor, and wholesale. That page does not print the retail license fees.* Use the application that matches what you will sell, and ask the city and county whether they have their own license on top.
5. A licensed profession is a separate step from the company filing. The professional LLC and professional corporation forms are on Register your business. The license comes from the board for that work. Start with the board that regulates your profession.
6. Selling taxable goods? Register for a seller’s permit: Get your tax IDs. The permit is not a business license.

What you get back

A local license where the city or county requires one, a contractor registration if the work needs it, the food notice or a health-district permit, and a professional license if the work is licensed. Each one renews on its own date. The Secretary of State annual report, due at the end of your formation month, is a separate calendar.