Idaho
Death Laws & End-of-Life Guide

At a Glance

Idaho requires filing within 5 days; who can order copies.

In Idaho, the funeral home, mortuary, or other person in charge of the deceased person's remains typically files the death certificate with the local registrar within five days of death. Certified copies can only be ordered by individuals with a 'direct and tangible interest,' such as immediate family members, legal representatives, or those needing it to claim a property right.

Who can order copies.

Certified copies are available from the Idaho Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics. Requests can be submitted online or by mail.

• -Idaho Department of Health and Welfare: https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/services-programs/birth-marriage-death-records/ordering-death-stillbirth-and-miscarriage
• -Cost: $16 per certified copy
• -By mail, allow 3 to 5 weeks for standard processing, or 2 to 3 weeks if you pay for express service. Add rush before you submit; it can't be added to an order already placed
• -Online orders through VitalChek (the state's official partner) are faster, but add a $10.50 VitalChek fee

Who can order a death certificate in Idaho?

You need a direct and tangible interest: the person named on the record, their immediate family, their legal representatives, or someone who shows the record is needed to claim a property right, with documentation if the relationship cannot be verified. Certified copies come from Idaho's Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, in Boise; there is no public counter, online through VitalChek, the official online partner, or by mail to the Bureau; there is no walk-in service.

How do I get a death certificate in Idaho?

Order certified copies from Idaho's vital records office; this section's source link is the official process. The funeral home or cremation provider usually orders the first copies for you. Ask each bank, insurer, court, and agency whether it needs its own certified copy before you decide how many to order.

How much does a death certificate cost in Idaho?

$16 per certified copy in Idaho, as shown above. Additional-copy pricing varies; the official source linked in this section has the current fee schedule.

At a Glance

When probate is required.

In Idaho, probate is generally required if the deceased person owned real estate or if their assets subject to probate exceed $100,000. Under Idaho Code § 15-3-1201 that $100,000 is the fair market value of the whole estate subject to probate, wherever it is, less liens and encumbrances, and you have to wait 30 days from the death before presenting the affidavit. The affidavit covers tangible personal property and instruments, not real estate.

If you die without a will.

If an Idaho resident dies without a valid will (intestate), state law dictates how their property will be distributed. The order of inheritance depends on surviving family members.

• -If you have a spouse but no living parents or descendants, your spouse inherits all of your intestate property.
• -If you have a spouse and descendants, your spouse inherits half of your community property and a portion of your separate property, with the remainder going to your descendants.
• -If you have no spouse or descendants, your parents inherit your property. If no parents, then siblings, and so on.
• -If no relatives can be found, your property escheats to the state of Idaho.

Avoiding probate.

Idaho residents can use several strategies to avoid probate, including creating a revocable living trust, using payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) designations for bank accounts and vehicles, and holding property in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship.

Handwritten wills.

Idaho accepts a handwritten will with no witnesses if the signature and the material provisions (the parts that say who gets what and who's in charge) are in the person's own handwriting (Idaho Code § 15-2-503). A typed will needs two witnesses. A will valid where it was signed, or where the person lived when they signed it or died, is valid here (§ 15-2-506).

Source: Idaho Code § 15-2-503 (Idaho Legislature) ↗

How long does probate take in Idaho?

A straightforward Idaho probate typically runs 4+ months, as shown in this section. Contested wills, missing heirs, or real property in other states stretch it well past that.

What is the small-estate limit in Idaho?

$100,000. Estates under that figure can use the simplified process or affidavit covered above instead of full probate.

Do I need a probate attorney in Idaho?

Not always. If the estate qualifies for the simplified process covered above, many people handle it without a lawyer. Hire one for full probate, a contested will, or property in more than one state. Before you hire anyone, know the fee structures: hourly, flat, and (in a few states) statutory percentages. Our probate attorney cost guide covers what each should run you.

Does Idaho allow transfer-on-death deeds?

No. Idaho has no transfer-on-death deed statute. A living trust, joint ownership with survivorship, or (for spouses) community property with right of survivorship does the same job here; and a uniform-act bill (S 1399) died in the 2026 session, so watch for it to come back.

Source: legislative record ↗

Time off work after a death in Idaho

Idaho doesn't require a private employer to give bereavement leave, paid or unpaid. Whatever you get is your employer's policy, and it can be changed or refused.

Who it covers. No one. No Idaho employer, public or private, is required to provide bereavement or funeral leave.

How much. 0 required

Paid or unpaid. n/a (no mandate)

Idaho's Division of Human Resources has a bereavement leave policy and request form (dhr.idaho.gov, DHR-03), but that covers executive-branch state employees only. It's a personnel policy, not a statute binding private employers. School districts run on a permissive rule of their own: Idaho Code 33-1216 lets a local board of trustees establish a policy governing leave for the illness or death of members of an employee's family, so even there the leave is the district's choice. Nothing for pregnancy loss in the private sector.

Source: None. Idaho Code tit. 44 (Labor) has no leave chapter; Idaho Department of Labor, Guide to Idaho Labor Laws (2025), and the labor-laws FAQ on labor.idaho.gov. ↗

Can I leave money to care for my pet in Idaho?

Yes. Idaho enforces pet trusts under Idaho Code § 15-7-601 (purpose trusts), so money you set aside for an animal is legally binding on whoever you put in charge of it. Idaho's statute sets no end date at all, neither the death of your animal nor a year limit, so write the ending into the trust yourself and say where the money goes when it's over. Whoever you name in the trust enforces it, and naming nobody doesn't void the trust. If the person you named resigns, is removed, or can't act and you named no successor, the trustee has to go to court and a judge appoints someone. While nobody is enforcing it, the court can step in on its own, and any interested person can sue to enforce it. Idaho has no pet-specific trust statute. Yours runs on the general purpose-trust law, which supplies none of the defaults other states hand you: no automatic ending when your animal dies, no judge who can trim a trust that holds far more than the animal needs, no fallback caretaker. Write every one of those into the document.

Source: Idaho Code § 15-7-601 (purpose trusts) ↗

How to set one up, and what it costs →

Die without a will in Idaho and this law picks your heirs.

If you die intestate (without a valid will) in Idaho, Idaho Code §§ 15-2-101 to 15-2-114 decides who inherits everything a will would have covered. The shares depend on exactly who survives you: spouse, children, parents, siblings. What you told people you wanted doesn't matter. Only a signed will changes these defaults.

What your spouse gets.

What your spouse inherits depends on who else survives you. The four common family shapes:

• -Spouse only (no descendants or parents): everything, all community property plus the entire separate estate.
• -Spouse + parents (no descendants): all community property to the spouse; separate property splits half to the spouse, half to the parents.
• -Spouse + joint descendants: all community property to the spouse; separate property splits half to the spouse, half to the children.
• -Spouse + blended family: same split, Idaho doesn't distinguish whose children they are.
• -Source: Idaho Code §§ 15-2-101 to 15-2-114

Children's shares.

With no spouse, the issue take everything: equally if all in the same degree, otherwise remoter descendants take by representation.

No spouse, no children: the line of succession.

After issue come parents equally, then the parents' issue by representation, then half to the paternal grandparents (or their issue) and half to the maternal grandparents (or their issue): Idaho's list stops there, and with no takers the property escheats to the state under Idaho Code § 14-113 (the old § 15-2-105 was repealed in 1996).

At a Glance

Witnesses and notarization are optional under Idaho Code § 39-4510. A signed, dated document with your name, date of birth, phone number and mailing address is valid.

What Idaho requires.

Idaho law allows individuals to make their healthcare wishes known through an Advance Directive, which typically includes a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and a Living Will. Idaho Code § 39-4510 sets a short list of what a valid document needs: your name, date of birth, phone number and mailing address, your signature, and the date you signed. That's it. Witnesses and notarization are on the statute's list of things the document may include but isn't required to have. Blanks you leave empty are treated as deliberate and don't invalidate the rest.

Healthcare power of attorney.

A Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare (HCPOA) in Idaho allows you to appoint an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so. This can be a standalone document or part of a combined Idaho Advance Directive.

POLST / MOLST forms.

Idaho recognizes Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) forms. A POST form is a medical order signed by a healthcare professional and the patient (or their surrogate) that provides clear instructions for current medical treatment. It differs from an Advance Directive, which is a legal document for future care decisions, and is intended for individuals with serious illnesses.

Where do I get Idaho's advance directive form?

Start with Idaho Code § 39-4510; Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, linked as this section's source. Use the current form or sample that the official source provides or identifies. Form authority and execution requirements vary by state, so confirm the source before signing and get legal help if your situation or the instructions are unclear.

Does Idaho require a notary or witnesses for an advance directive?

Idaho doesn’t require witnesses or a notary. Witnesses and notarization are optional under Idaho Code § 39-4510. A signed, dated document with your name, date of birth, phone number and mailing address is valid. Anyone 18 or older of sound mind can make one.

At a Glance

Cremation rules in Idaho.

If a body is going to be held longer than 24 hours before burial, cremation, or other disposition, Idaho requires it to be embalmed or refrigerated at 36 degrees Fahrenheit or colder until disposition (IDAPA 24.08.01.100). Cremation needs the written authorization of the county coroner in the county where the death occurred, on top of the authority of the legal next of kin. Watch the paperwork here: the mortician's written report to the registrar, due within 24 hours of taking possession, works as a permit to transport, bury, or entomb, but it is not a permit to cremate. That takes a separate authorization for final disposition plus the coroner's sign-off (Idaho Code § 39-268).

Green burial and alternatives.

Idaho allows for home burials, though local zoning laws should be checked. Human composting (terramation) is available through private services. While alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation) is also an option, Idaho doesn't currently have active green burial cemeteries, meaning families seeking natural burial grounds may need to look to neighboring states.

• -Home burial: Permitted, but check local government regulations and zoning laws.
• -Human composting: Available through private providers in Idaho.
• -Alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation): Permitted as an alternative to flame cremation.

Funeral home regulations.

Funeral homes in Idaho are subject to state licensing requirements and must comply with the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Funeral Rule. This rule mandates price disclosure, allowing consumers to compare prices and choose only the goods and services they want.

Who decides what happens to the body in Idaho

Idaho sets this order by statute. The first person on the list who is available and willing decides, and a funeral home takes its instructions from them.

1. the decedent's own prearranged funeral plan under Idaho Code § 54-1139 controls first, and § 54-1142 applies only where there is no plan or the plan does not clearly cover a point
2. person designated in a written document executed by the decedent and acknowledged like a real property deed, or the decedent's DD Form 93 designee if the decedent died in military service
3. agent under the decedent's durable power of attorney for health care, unless that document expressly and clearly denies the right
4. person designated in the decedent's durable power of attorney, if it expressly and clearly grants the right
5. guardian acting at the time of death, or if none, the conservator acting at the time of death
6. competent surviving spouse
7. majority of competent surviving adult children (fewer than half may act if they made reasonable efforts to notify the others and know of no opposition from more than half)
8. competent surviving parents or parent (one parent alone may act after unsuccessful reasonable efforts to locate the absent parent)
9. court-appointed personal representative or administrator of the estate
10. person nominated as personal representative in the decedent's will
11. competent adults entitled to inherit under Idaho intestate succession in the next degree of kinship, by majority of that degree (fewer than a majority may act on the same notice-and-no-known-opposition condition)

Naming someone in advance. Idaho recognizes a stand-alone written designation: "a written document executed by the decedent and acknowledged in the same manner as required for instruments conveying real property," meaning it must be notarized to deed standards, and the designation is subject to whatever limitations, restrictions or directions the document itself sets. No statutory form text is prescribed. A DD Form 93 designee sits in the same top tier for service members. Below that, Idaho gives disposition authority to the agent under a durable power of attorney for health care (Idaho Code title 39, chapter 45) unless that document expressly denies it, and to the agent under a general durable power of attorney (Idaho Code § 15-12-102) only if that document expressly grants it. Separately, a prearranged funeral plan under Idaho Code § 54-1139 outranks the whole § 54-1142 list.

When the same tier disagrees. Not stated. Section 54-1142 sets no court procedure for deadlock. It resolves conflict only inside a tier by majority rule, plus a fallback that lets a minority act if it used reasonable efforts to notify everyone else in the tier and is unaware of opposition from more than half (for children) or from one-half or more (for equal-degree kin).

Idaho puts the health care power of attorney agent above the surviving spouse, so a signed advance directive can outrank a husband or wife by default unless the directive expressly says otherwise. Anyone charged with first or second degree murder or voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death loses the right the moment the funeral director or cemetery authority knows of the charge, and gets it back if the charges are dropped or they are acquitted. Section 54-1142(6) also lets a funeral director or mortician dispose of unclaimed cremated remains if the person with the right does not claim them or fails to exercise control for at least one year, with records kept ten years, and expressly exempts unclaimed veterans' remains under § 54-1144. The section was last amended in 2025 (ch. 137, sec. 1), and the site notes Idaho statutes are updated to the web July 1 following each session.

Source: Idaho Code § 54-1142(1) (authority in absence of or uncovered provisions in a prearranged funeral plan); prearranged funeral plan at Idaho Code § 54-1139 ↗

If you can't afford the funeral in Idaho

Three separate pots of money, on three different agencies' websites, collected nowhere. A family that qualifies for all three usually claims none of them.

1. When nobody can pay. County indigent burial or cremation under Idaho Code § 31-3412 (Title 31, Chapter 34, Nonmedical Indigent Assistance). No statewide program. Verbatim: "It shall be the duty of the board to provide for burial or cremation of any deceased indigent person." A companion section, Idaho Code § 31-2802, covers unclaimed bodies: when nobody takes charge within fourteen days, the coroner arranges disposition and, if the estate can't cover it, "the expenses are a legal charge against the county pursuant to the provisions of section 31-3412, Idaho Code." Families find their program through the county clerk or county assistance office, e.g. the Kootenai County Assistance Office. The board of county commissioners, working through the county's assistance office; the county coroner for unclaimed bodies.

What it pays. not published as a statewide figure. Idaho Code § 31-3412, verbatim: "The amount paid by the obligated county shall not in any case exceed the established or negotiated rate set by each board." Kootenai County's page likewise says the county pays "an amount established by the Board of County Commissioners" without naming it.

What disqualifies you. A deceased indigent person, judged on "requirements of indigency and residency" (Kootenai County), covering "deceased Kootenai County residents or unclaimed bodies." The applicant is often not the family: "Local funeral homes, friends or relatives of the deceased, or the Kootenai County Coroner can submit an application for cremation," and a coroner, mortician, or other responsible party may apply when next of kin can't be established or has signed a waiver of intent to abandon.

The official page ↗

2. If the death was caused by a crime. "The Program may reimburse claimants for funeral and burial expenses, to a maximum of $5,000, as authorized under Idaho Code § 72-1019(4)." The guidelines add that beyond "traditional" costs (casket, plot, headstone, organist, vocalist, clergy, flowers), "food and beverages for a wake or reception following a funeral service, and funeral expenses which are customary to the victim's culture or religious beliefs" are also reimbursable, subject to the same $5,000 cap. Benefits "shall first be directed to the funeral and burial providers (if not yet paid.)." Aggregate cap across all benefits is $25,000, and a claim must be filed "with the commission within one (1) year after the day the crime occurred."

Idaho crime victim compensation ↗

3. Money the person was already owed. Search Idaho's unclaimed property before you borrow anything. Searching and claiming are free.

Idaho unclaimed property ↗

The timing rule is the one that costs families money: Kootenai County states that "State law requires that the application must be filed with the Kootenai County Assistance Office BEFORE the cremation or burial services are rendered." Apply first, then let the funeral home proceed. Separately, once an application is on file a coroner may authorize cremation ten days after death, and the county "shall be free from any liability for said burial or cremation."

At a Glance

Idaho doesn't have a state estate tax.

Idaho is one of many states that doesn't impose a state-level estate tax. Therefore, Idaho residents don't need to worry about a state estate tax, regardless of the size of their estate.

Idaho doesn't have an inheritance tax.

Idaho doesn't levy an inheritance tax. This means that beneficiaries who inherit property from an Idaho resident won't pay a state tax on their inheritance.

Federal estate tax.

The federal estate tax applies to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for married couples. This is separate from any state estate or inheritance tax. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent, so the drop to roughly $7 million once scheduled under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act never took effect.

Does Idaho have an estate tax?

No. Idaho has no state estate tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for a married couple.

Does Idaho have an inheritance tax?

No. Idaho doesn’t tax inheritances. Heirs owe no state tax on what they receive.

What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?

$15 million per person, $30 million for a married couple, indexed for inflation. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent. Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax.

At a Glance

Registering as a donor in Idaho.

Idaho residents can register to be organ, eye, and tissue donors through the Yes Idaho registry. This decision can be made when obtaining or renewing a driver's license or state ID, or by registering online directly with Yes Idaho.

• -Yes Idaho Donor Registry: https://www.yesidaho.org/
• -Register at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when applying for or renewing a driver's license or state ID.
• -Indicate your wishes on your advance directive.

Your family can't override an adult donor's decision.

In Idaho, a registered organ donor decision is legally binding, and nobody else can amend or revoke it after your death (Idaho Code § 39-3408(1)). One exception: if the donor is an unemancipated minor, a parent who is reasonably available can revoke or amend the gift (Idaho Code § 39-3408(7)). Organ procurement organizations still consult families in practice, so tell yours what you decided.

Source: Idaho Code § 39-3408 (preclusive effect of anatomical gift) ↗