Module 1: The Role of the County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder

One Elected Officer, Four Jobs

Idaho has no separate elected county clerk. The Constitution creates a clerk of the district court, elected in each county for a four-year term,¹ and gives the same person two more jobs: "The clerk of the district court shall be ex-officio auditor and recorder."² Idaho Code § 31-2001, which lists the county's officers, adds a fourth:

"A clerk of the district court, who shall be ex officio auditor and recorder, and ex officio clerk of the board of county commissioners."

Idaho Code § 31-2001(2)

This module shortens the office to "the clerk" when the meaning is plain. The statutes don't. The auditor is Title 31, chapter 23. The recorder is chapter 24. The clerk of the board lives mostly in chapter 7. Chapter 21, the one people cite by mistake, belongs to the county treasurer.³ "Ex officio" means the duties come with the office. Nobody appoints the clerk to be auditor, and no extra election happens. One vote fills four jobs.

The clerk can hire help only as far as the commissioners allow. The Constitution says the clerk is "empowered by the county commissioners to appoint such deputies and clerical assistants as the business of their office may require," at pay the commissioners fix.⁴

County officers draw fixed annual salaries. Fees collected above actual and necessary expenses go to the county treasury each quarter, with a sworn statement of expenses and fees that the board audits "as other accounts." An officer who fails to pay over excess fees within ten days of the quarterly settlement commits a felony, graded as embezzlement of public funds.⁵

Bonds back the arrangement. The clerk of the district court posts a $5,000 bond with two sureties approved by the district judge. The recorder's bond runs from $5,000 to $20,000, is fixed by the commissioners, and covers the duties of recorder, auditor and clerk of the board.⁶ Section 31-2017 makes any county official who issues warrants or approves bills in excess of the levies personally liable for the excess.⁷ The county indemnifies officials for lost public money unless the loss came from their own negligence, gross negligence or intentional conduct (§ 31-2018).⁷

One caution. Article XVIII, § 12 lets counties adopt optional forms of government by a vote of the electors, and an adopted form supersedes the constitutional sections that create the standard offices (Title 31, chapters 50 through 58).⁸ Check which form your county runs. The clerk's election duties have their own module: Elections and the County Clerk.

Clerk of the District Court

The constitutional office is clerk of the district court, and Title 1, chapter 10 of Idaho Code governs it.¹⁰ Section 1-1001 says the clerk "must perform such duties as are prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure and in the Penal Code, and such duties as may be required of him by the rules and practice of the court." The commissioners don't write those duties. The Legislature and the court do. The district judge approves the clerk's bond and may raise it, and under § 1-1003 the clerk is liable on that bond to anyone injured by a wrongful act or an omission of duty.¹⁰ Clerks and their deputies may not practice law or partner with a lawyer.¹⁰

For a citizen watching the county, this hat is mostly about money and files. The clerk collects the filing fees and surcharges set in Title 31, chapter 32. A civil case costs $175 to file in district court and $120 if it goes to the magistrate division, with listed exceptions.¹¹ Fees the clerk collects go to the county treasurer "at the same time and in the same manner as other fees," and a $10 surcharge on every civil case supports the county court facilities fund, or the district court fund where no facilities fund exists.¹¹ A reporter can check those numbers against what reaches the treasurer.

Records in court files are exempt from the Public Records Act when Idaho Supreme Court rules prohibit disclosure, but only to the extent those rules provide confidentiality.¹² A request that reaches a court file should say which kind of record it wants. The clerk then decides what the rules close.

Clerk of the Board and Keeper of the Minutes

Idaho Code § 31-707 is short: "The county auditor is ex officio clerk of the board of commissioners. The records must be signed by the chairman and the clerk."¹³ Section 31-708 lists the duties. The first three matter most to anyone checking the board:

"1. Record all the proceedings of the board.

2. Make full entries of all their resolutions and decisions on all questions concerning the raising of money for, and the allowance of accounts against, the county.

3. Record the vote of each member on any question upon which there is a division, or at the request of any member present."

Idaho Code § 31-708(1) to (3)

The rest of the list covers signing the orders and warrants the board directs, recording the treasurer's reports, filing every account the board acts on, keeping franchise petitions, and recording every order that levies a tax.¹³ Section 31-709 tells the board to keep "permanently and indefinitely" its minute records, allowance records, road records, franchise records, warrant records (kept by the auditor), ordinance records and resolution records.¹³

Section 31-710 ties the board to open government. Notice of meetings follows the open meeting law in Title 74, chapter 2. All meetings "must be public," and "the books, records, and accounts must be kept at the office of the clerk, open at all times for public inspection, free of charge."¹⁴ That last clause needs no request letter. You walk in and ask to see the book.

The open meeting law sets a floor for the minutes. The body must provide for written minutes of every meeting. A transcript or recording isn't required unless another law says so. Minutes must be available "within a reasonable time," and must show who was present, every motion, resolution, order or ordinance proposed and what happened to it, and the results of all votes, with each member's vote by name on a member's request. Executive session minutes cite the specific statutory subsection and give enough detail to identify the purpose and topic.¹⁵ An action taken at a meeting that breaks the chapter is null and void, and a suit to void it has to start within 30 days.¹⁵ The Idaho Open Meeting Law module, Conducting Public Meetings and the course lesson Minutes, Votes and the Right to Record cover the rest.

The Auditor: Claims, Warrants and Payment Approval

The auditor sits in the middle of every payment the county makes. Idaho Code § 31-2301 states the job:

"The auditor must draw warrants on the county treasurer in favor of all persons entitled thereto, in payment of all claims and demands chargeable against the county which have been legally examined, allowed and ordered paid by the board of commissioners."

Idaho Code § 31-2301

A claim travels a set path before money moves.

1. The board "must not hear or consider any claim" unless it comes with a receipt or documentation listing all items, certified by the authorized county official that the amount is justly due or the services were rendered. No claim is paid if presented more than a year after the bill was generated.¹⁶
2. The board rejects what isn't a proper county charge. If a claim is proper but too high, it may allow part.¹⁶
3. The clerk gives the board a list of every bill allowed, with the payee, the amount and the fund. The board reviews and certifies it. The treasurer "must pay no warrant that does not correspond with said list."¹⁶
4. The auditor draws the warrant, which must "distinctly specify the liability for which they are drawn, and when it accrued."¹⁷ Warrants come in numbered series by year, a new series starts on the first day of October, and the auditor registers each one when issued.¹⁷
5. Warrants payable on demand are signed by both the auditor and the treasurer. A warrant drawn on an underfunded fund is registered and paid in order of registration.¹⁸

The board also may not allow the account of a county officer who is neglecting a legal duty or is liable on a bond.¹⁹ It may not move money between funds except where the law allows, and then only by resolution entered in its records, with certified copies filed with the auditor and the treasurer.¹⁹ The statute leaves the warrant format to the board after it consults the treasurer and the auditor.¹⁸ The sequence stays the same: bill, allowance, list, warrant, payment.

The Budget Officer: Preparing the County Budget

The auditor is also the county's budget officer. Idaho Code § 31-1602 has the auditor compile a preliminary budget for the commissioners and, after adoption, see "that the provisions thereof are complied with."²⁰ The fiscal year starts October 1.²⁰ The auditor prepares. The commissioners decide.

For the budget that takes effect October 1, 2027, the statute's calendar works out as follows.²¹

• May 3, 2027 (first Monday in May): written notice goes to every county official, elected or appointed, to file estimates.
• May 17, 2027 (third Monday): each office files an itemized estimate of non-tax revenue and expected spending, set against the two prior fiscal years and the current year through the second Monday of April. An official who misses the deadline pays $10 to $50, deducted from the next salary warrant, and the budget officer writes the missing estimate.²⁰
• August 2, 2027 (first Monday in August): the suggested budget goes to the commissioners, who may alter it and agree on tentative appropriations for each office.²²
• By the third week of August: a published notice shows anticipated tax and other revenue and the amount proposed for each office beside its spending in the two prior years.
• September 7, 2027 (the Tuesday after the first Monday in September, at the latest): the budget hearing, which may run day to day but must end by September 13, 2027.²³

The final budget can't exceed the tentative budget, and it can't raise more property tax than the notice advertised. The board adopts it by resolution entered in the minutes. Levies come later, inside the limits of Title 63, chapter 8.²³ The levy math and the three percent cap are covered in Budgets, Taxation and Fiscal Duty and the course The Budget Cycle.

After adoption the budget binds. The adopted amounts are the county's appropriations, and every official and employee is limited to them. A salary can't go up without a board resolution in the minutes.²⁴ The board may set aside a general reserve of up to five percent of the current expense budget and draw on it for an unforeseen contingency only by unanimous vote.²³ Emergency spending needs a unanimous resolution that states the facts and goes into the minutes.²⁴

The budget officer reports back. On or before the last day of January, April, July and October, the auditor gives the board a statement of spending against each appropriation and must call its attention to "any possible deficit or excessive expenditure by any officer or employee."²⁵ Section 31-1701 requires an annual audit, and § 67-450B requires a full audit each year when expenditures exceed $300,000, filed with the Legislative Services Office within nine months.²⁶

The Recorder: Deeds, Instruments and Fees

The recorder has custody of "all books, records, maps and papers deposited in his office" and may keep them in an approved electronic storage system.²⁸ Idaho Code § 31-2402 lists what the recorder records on payment of the fee: deeds, grants, transfers and mortgages of real estate, releases, powers of attorney to convey land, acknowledged leases, judgment transcripts that affect title, marriage certificates, wills admitted to probate, official bonds, mechanics' liens, attachments, notices of pending actions affecting real estate, death certificates, and "such other writings as are required or permitted by law to be recorded."²⁹

Timing matters because priority matters. The recorder must endorse each instrument with the year, month, day, hour and minute it arrived and record it "without delay" in the order received.³⁰ Each instrument gets a consecutive number, and "priority of number shall be prima facie evidence of priority of filing." The recorder keeps a public reception book and grantor and grantee indexes, or an electronic system that does the same.³⁰ Neglect exposes the recorder to damages from anyone harmed, plus $50 to the county for each failure to record as directed.³¹

All books, maps, charts, surveys and papers in the recorder's office "may be inspected without charge" during office hours, and the recorder may provide public access terminals.³² The office must be at the county seat and open on the days and hours the commissioners prescribe.³²

Fees come from § 31-3205, paid by the party asking for the service. A few figures: $10 for the first page of an ordinary instrument and $3 for each added page; $15 to record a deed; $45 for a trust deed or mortgage; $25 for a power of attorney; $1 a page for a copy.³³ The recorder may require payment first, and an officer who takes an illegal fee owes the payer three times the amount.³³ Every officer whose fees are set in Title 31 must post a table of them within a month of taking office.³³

The recorder also issues marriage licenses. Under § 32-403 the recorder issues the license on payment of the fee when the parties are legally competent to marry, taking affidavits if the recorder doesn't know that personally, and applicants under 18 are sent to the consent rules in § 32-202.³⁴ The fee is $11 under § 31-3205, and the recorder must record the signed return within one month or forfeit $100.³⁴

County Records: What Must Be Kept and Who May Destroy It

Idaho Code § 31-871 sorts county records into three classes. Permanent records include proceedings of the governing body, ordinances, resolutions, the bond and warrant registers, budget records, the general ledger, and records affecting title to real property or liens. Semipermanent records include claims, contracts, canceled checks, warrants, vouchers and financial records. Temporary records include ordinary correspondence and cash receipts subject to audit. The minimums: permanent records "not less than ten (10) years," semipermanent records not less than five years after the matter is complete, temporary records not less than two years.³⁵

Nothing is destroyed on the clerk's say-so. Records can be destroyed "only by resolution of the board of county commissioners after regular audit and upon the advice of the prosecuting attorney," and the resolution must "list, in detail, records to be destroyed." Section 31-871A lets a county keep records on photographic or digital media that reproduce the document accurately and prevent alteration, and treats them as originals.³⁵

Public Records Requests: Deadlines, Fees and Exemptions

The Public Records Act is Title 74, chapter 1. A county is a "local agency," and a public record is "any writing containing information relating to the conduct or administration of the public's business prepared, owned, used or retained" by the agency, in any physical form.³⁶ Personal notes an official makes solely for his own use are excluded while they are not shared. The starting point:

"Every person has a right to examine and take a copy of any public record of this state and there is a presumption that all public records in Idaho are open at all reasonable times for inspection except as otherwise expressly provided by statute."

Idaho Code § 74-102(1)

How to Ask

Send the request to the designated custodian and say plainly that it is a public records request. An agency has "no obligation" to answer one that doesn't meet those two requirements.³⁷ The agency may also require a writing that describes the records and gives a date range, plus your name, mailing address, email, phone number and a sworn statement of whether you are an Idaho resident, meaning domiciled in Idaho continuously for at least 30 days. The custodian may not ask why you want the records.³⁸ Every agency must designate a custodian, and one with a website must post the custodian's name and contact information.³⁷

Deadlines

• Idaho residents: grant or deny within three working days of receipt. If more time is needed, the agency must say so in writing and produce the records no later than ten working days after the request.
• Nonresidents not employed by a resident: 21 days, extendable to no later than 35 days.
• No answer: silence in the time allowed is a deemed denial.
• Denial: must be in writing from the person legally responsible for the agency or a designee, and must say whether the agency's attorney reviewed the request, cite the statutory authority, and state the right to appeal and the time limits.³⁷

The nonresident time and fee rules came from House Bill 253 in the 2025 session, signed April 4, 2025, effective July 1, 2025.³⁹ The Attorney General's public records page links the office's manual.⁴⁰

Fees

For a resident, no fee may be charged for the first two hours of labor or the first 100 pages of paper copies, but the statute carves out "fees that are authorized or prescribed under other provisions of Idaho law." That carve-out is where the recorder's $1 per page under § 31-3205 comes in. Past the free allowance an agency may recover actual labor and copying cost, with labor billed at the pay rate of the lowest-paid employee necessary and qualified to do the work. Statements must be itemized and lump sums are barred. A resident can ask for a full waiver by showing all three of these: the records will likely contribute significantly to public understanding of government operations; the request is not primarily in the requester's individual interest; and the examination won't happen if fees are charged because the requester lacks the money.³⁸

Exemptions as Written Now

Three exemptions matter most to county work. Records exempt under another federal or state law stay closed to the extent that law provides. Personnel records are closed except for a public official's employment history, classification, pay grade and step, longevity, gross salary and salary history (including bonuses, severance packages and other compensation), reimbursed vouchered and unvouchered expenses, status, workplace and employing agency. Performance evaluations, grievances and home addresses need the employee's written consent.⁴¹ And an agency's cost estimate for a public project is exempt only until it is disclosed, bids are opened or the contract is awarded.⁴¹ A record with both open and closed material must be split, and the agency can't refuse the open part because it sits beside the closed part.⁴¹

Appeals

A denial can be challenged only in district court in the county where the records are, by a petition filed within 180 calendar days of the date the denial notice was mailed. The court must award reasonable costs and fees to the prevailing party where the request or the refusal was "frivolously pursued." A public official who deliberately and in bad faith refuses a legitimate request faces a civil penalty up to $1,000.⁴²

How the Clerk Checks the Commissioners and the Treasurer

The county's money system runs on separated hands. The board decides what to spend. The auditor records the decision and issues the order. The treasurer holds the cash and pays only on that order. Each office owes duties to the other two, and the clerk's side of them is the subject here.

On the commissioners

• No warrant issues without a claim "legally examined, allowed and ordered paid" by the board (§ 31-2301).
• The auditor can't issue a warrant, and the board can't approve a claim, past a budget appropriation, except by court order or in an emergency. Violators are personally liable along with their sureties (§ 31-1607).
• Money moves between funds only by board resolution entered in its records, with certified copies on file with the auditor and the treasurer (§ 31-1508).
• The clerk records every proceeding and every resolution on money matters (§ 31-708).

On the treasurer

• The treasurer disburses county money only on county warrants issued by the auditor, based on board orders or other legal authority (§ 31-2101(6)).
• On the first Monday of each month the treasurer settles accounts with the auditor, by sworn statement of money received, its sources, payments and balance on hand, and turns in redeemed warrants against the auditor's receipt (§ 31-2112).
• The auditor keeps accounts current with the treasurer and charges the treasurer with each receipt filed (§§ 31-2303, 31-2304).
• The treasurer must let the commissioners and the auditor examine the books and count the money in the treasury "whenever they may wish" (§ 31-2123).
• The treasurer reports to the board at every regular meeting. One who skips a required settlement or report forfeits $500 for each failure, and the board "must institute suits" to collect it (§§ 31-2113, 31-2114).⁴³
• Once a year, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of October, the treasurer makes a full settlement with the auditor "in the presence of the commissioners" (§ 31-2112).

The treasurer's side of this relationship is in The Role of the County Treasurer. The levy and tax roll that feed the treasurer begin with the assessor: The Role of the County Assessor.

Who checks the clerk

The clerk's own accounts get four outside looks. The board audits the quarterly fee statements. The independent audit under § 67-450B covers the county's financial statements. The prosecutor brings the over-appropriation suits. And under § 31-2002 the Attorney General may investigate an allegation of a state criminal law violation by an elected county officer acting in an official capacity, with subpoena power,, then close the matter, suggest training or keep it as special prosecutor. A county prosecutor can still investigate too.⁴⁴ The fifth check is the voter, covered in the elections module. For the commissioners' side, see The Role of the County Commissioner, Authority and Powers and Ethics, Conduct and Conflicts of Interest.

Reporting Angles

Every item below is named in a statute you can cite. Address requests to the custodian, label them as public records requests under Idaho Code §§ 74-102 and 74-103, and give a date range.

Public records to request

• Minutes, allowance records, warrant records, resolutions and ordinances (§ 31-709), plus the list of allowed bills for each meeting (§ 31-1502).
• The estimates every office filed in May (§ 31-1602), the suggested budget, the published tentative-budget notice and the adopted budget resolution.
• The quarterly budget-officer statements due the last day of January, April, July and October (§ 31-1611).
• The treasurer's monthly sworn settlement statements and the October annual settlement (§ 31-2112), and the treasurer's reports to the board (§ 31-2113).
• Each officer's quarterly sworn statement of fees and expenses (Idaho Constitution, art. XVIII, § 7).
• Official bonds, which the recorder records and indexes (§§ 31-2402(1)(d), 31-2404(15)).
• Fund transfer resolutions (§ 31-1508), emergency resolutions (§ 31-1608) and any records-destruction resolution (§ 31-871).
• Reimbursed expense vouchers and salary history for officials, which § 74-106(1) makes public.
• The most recent independent audit (§ 31-1701; § 67-450B), also filed with the Legislative Services Office.

Meetings and dates to watch

The board's regular meeting, which defaults to the second Monday of each month unless an ordinance sets more (§ 31-710). The tentative-budget meeting in early August and the hearing in early September. The treasurer's annual settlement in October.

Numbers worth comparing

Spending against appropriation by office, from the quarterly statements. Fees the recorder and the clerk of the district court collected against what reached the treasurer. The general reserve against its five percent ceiling. The time between a request and the response, against three working days. What the county billed for records, against the two free hours and the 100 free pages. The treasurer settlements on file, against the twelve the statute expects.

Questions to put to the officeholder

• Who is the designated records custodian, and where is that posted (§ 74-119)?
• Do the minutes name each member's vote on divided questions (§ 31-708(3))?
• What warrant type has the board chosen, and who signs (§§ 31-1510, 31-1511)?
• Has the $10 to $50 penalty ever been applied to an office that missed the May estimate deadline (§ 31-1602)?
• When did the board last adopt a records-destruction resolution, and what did it list (§ 31-871)?

Sources & Further Reading

Primary Sources

• Idaho Constitution, art. XVIII, § 6 (County officers)
• Idaho Constitution, art. XVIII, §§ 7 to 9 (Salaries, fees and liability for fees)
• Idaho Constitution, art. XVIII, § 12 (Optional forms of county government)
• Idaho Constitution, art. V, § 16 (Clerks of district courts)
• Idaho Code Title 1, chapter 10 (Clerk of the District Court)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 7, §§ 31-707 to 31-710 (Board of County Commissioners: clerk of the board, duties, records, meetings)
• Idaho Code §§ 31-871 and 31-871A (Classification, retention and destruction of county records)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 15 (County finances and claims against the county)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 16 (County Budget Law)
• Idaho Code § 31-1701 (Audit of county finances) and § 67-450B (Independent audits of local governmental entities)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 20 (County Officers in General)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 21 (County Treasurer and Tax Collector), §§ 31-2101, 31-2112 to 31-2114, 31-2122, 31-2123
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 23 (County Auditor)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 24 (Recorder)
• Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 32 (Fees), §§ 31-3201, 31-3201A, 31-3205, 31-3211, 31-3214, 31-3218
• Idaho Code Title 32, chapter 4 (Marriage licenses, certificates and records)
• Idaho Code Title 74, chapter 1 (Public Records Act)
• Idaho Code Title 74, chapter 2 (Open Meetings Law), §§ 74-205 and 74-208

Agency Guidance

• Idaho Office of the Attorney General, Public Records (links the Public Records Law Manual)
• Idaho Legislative Services Office, Local Government Registry/Audits
• Idaho Association of Counties

Related Training Modules

• The Role of the County Commissioner
• Authority & Powers of the County Commissioner
• Module 6: Budgets, Taxation & Fiscal Duty
• Module 5: Ethics, Conduct & Conflicts of Interest
• Idaho Open Meeting Law: A Complete Guide
• Conducting Public Meetings
• The Role of the County Treasurer
• The Role of the County Assessor
• Elections and the County Clerk
• Constitutional Boundaries: Idaho & U.S.
• Idaho Resources & Organizations

Issues and Advocacy Courses

• Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds
• Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth
• Idaho Property Taxes in Depth

Footnotes

1. Idaho Const. art. V, § 16: a clerk of the district court for each county is elected by the qualified voters, in the manner prescribed for election of legislators, and holds office four years.
2. Idaho Const. art. XVIII, § 6: "The clerk of the district court shall be ex-officio auditor and recorder." The same section orders strict accountability of county officers "for all fees which may be collected by them, and for all public and municipal moneys which may be paid to them, or officially come into their possession."
3. Title 31, chapter 21 is "County Treasurer and Tax Collector" (§§ 31-2101 and following). The auditor is chapter 23 ("County Auditor") and the recorder is chapter 24 ("Recorder"). Older training material that cites chapter 21 for the clerk has the wrong chapter. Chapter table: Title 31 index.
4. Idaho Const. art. XVIII, § 6: the "auditor and recorder and clerk of the district court shall be empowered by the county commissioners to appoint such deputies and clerical assistants as the business of their office may require," with compensation "fixed by the county commissioners." Idaho Code § 31-2003 (appointment of deputies) is the statutory counterpart.
5. Idaho Const. art. XVIII, § 7 (salaries, quarterly turn-over of excess fees, sworn statement filed with the clerk of the board, audit by the board "as other accounts") and § 9 (failure to pay excess fees into the treasury within ten days after the quarterly settlement is a felony graded as embezzlement of public funds).
6. Idaho Code § 31-2015(4) and (5). Clerk of the district court: $5,000 penal sum, two sufficient sureties approved by the judge of the district, and the judge may increase the penalty. Recorder: not less than $5,000 nor more than $20,000, fixed by the board, covering duties as recorder, auditor and clerk of the board. Last amended 2022 (ch. 111).
7. Idaho Code § 31-2017 (personal and bond liability for warrants or approved bills in excess of the levies) and Idaho Code § 31-2018 (officials "shall strictly account for all public moneys"; no personal liability for disaster loss or theft by someone outside county government; county indemnity except for negligence, gross negligence or intentional conduct). See also Idaho Code § 31-2010.
8. Idaho Const. art. XVIII, § 12: an adopted optional form supersedes sections 5, 6 and 10 of article XVIII and sections 16 and 18 of article V. Title 31, chapters 50 to 58 are titled, in order, Optional Forms General Provisions; Study Commission; Commission-Executive Form; Commission-Manager; Three-Member Board with Changes in Other County Offices; Five-Member Board; Seven-Member Board; Consolidation of Offices Among Counties; and Charter Form. This module did not review those chapters.
9. Idaho Code § 31-2309: the bonds of the recorder and auditor are filed by the district judge in the district court, "and a copy thereof duly recorded by the county recorder." Idaho Code § 31-2402(1)(d) lists official bonds among the instruments the recorder records.
10. Idaho Code Title 1, chapter 10: Idaho Code § 1-1001 (duties), Idaho Code § 1-1002, Idaho Code § 1-1003 (liability on the bond for wrongful act or omission). Under Idaho Code § 31-2015(4) the judge of the district approves the clerk's bond and may increase it. Idaho Code § 31-2014 bars clerks of courts and their deputies from practicing law or having a lawyer as partner.
11. Idaho Code § 31-3201A(1): $175 district court civil filing fee, $120 for cases assigned to the magistrate division, with listed exceptions (small claims follow § 1-2303). Idaho Code § 31-3201(2) and (3): fees go to the county treasurer "at the same time and in the same manner as other fees"; a $10 surcharge on each civil case supports the county court facilities fund, or the district court fund if none exists. Fee amounts change by session law, so check current text.
12. Idaho Code § 74-104(1)(b): exempts "records contained in court files of judicial proceedings, the disclosure of which is prohibited by or under rules adopted by the Idaho supreme court, but only to the extent that confidentiality is provided under such rules." The exact court rules were not reviewed for this module.
13. Idaho Code § 31-707, Idaho Code § 31-708 (clerk duties 4 to 9: sign orders and warrants, record the treasurer's reports, file accounts acted upon, keep franchise petitions, record tax levy orders) and Idaho Code § 31-709 (records kept "permanently and indefinitely"; warrant records kept by the auditor). Idaho Code § 31-2001(2) matches § 31-707.
14. Idaho Code § 31-710(1), (3) and (4). Regular meetings are on the second Monday of each month unless the board provides for more frequent meetings by ordinance.
15. Idaho Code § 74-205(1) and (2) (minutes; votes by name "upon the request of a member") and Idaho Code § 74-208(1), (6) and (7) (action "null and void"; suit to void within 30 days; 14-day response and cure process). See the Open Meeting Law module.
16. Idaho Code § 31-1501 (documentation certified by the authorized county official; one-year presentment rule), Idaho Code § 31-1505 (reject improper claims; partial allowance) and Idaho Code § 31-1502 (list of bills allowed; treasurer pays no warrant that does not correspond).
17. Idaho Code § 31-2302 and Idaho Code § 31-2305 (numbered warrant series by year; new series "on the first day in October"; each warrant registered when issued). Idaho Code § 31-2301 is quoted above.
18. Idaho Code § 31-1511 (joint signature on demand warrants; registered warrants paid in order) and Idaho Code § 31-1510 (a warrant is an order drawn by the board; the board sets the type after consulting the treasurer and auditor).
19. Idaho Code § 31-1508 (no transfer between funds on the books of the auditor and treasurer without a board resolution entered in its records and certified copies filed with both offices; no preferred creditors) and Idaho Code § 31-1503 (no allowance of the account of an officer neglecting a legal duty or liable on a bond).
20. Idaho Code § 31-1602(1) to (7) (budget officer; written notice by the first Monday in May; estimates by the third Monday; $10 to $50 penalty; budget officer prepares a missing estimate) and Idaho Code § 31-1601 (fiscal year begins October 1).
21. Calculated from Idaho Code § 31-1602, Idaho Code § 31-1604 and Idaho Code § 31-1605. The first Monday in May 2027 is May 3 and the third Monday is May 17. The first Monday in August 2027 is August 2. The first Monday in September 2027 is September 6 (Labor Day), so the Tuesday after is September 7 and the second Monday is September 13. The statutes do not name calendar dates, and these dates were not checked against any county's own published calendar.
22. Idaho Code § 31-1604(1) and (2). Appropriations are made under the classifications "salaries" or "salaries and benefits" and "detail of other expenses," and may include "benefits" as a separate category. The notice must be published in a newspaper as prescribed in § 31-819, which this module did not review.
23. Idaho Code § 31-1605: hearing on or before the Tuesday following the first Monday in September, concluded by the second Monday; taxpayers heard on any part; officers may be called and examined by the board or any taxpayer; final budget no greater than the tentative budget or the advertised property tax, adopted by resolution entered in the minutes; levies within chapter 8, title 63 (not reviewed here); general reserve up to five percent, unanimous vote for a contingency draw, none for a fund authorized to make a special levy.
24. Idaho Code § 31-1606(1) (appropriations bind; salary increases need a resolution; road and bridge transfers by resolution) and Idaho Code § 31-1608 (emergency expenditures by unanimous resolution stating the facts and entered in the minutes).
25. Idaho Code § 31-1611.
26. Idaho Code § 31-1701 and Idaho Code § 67-450B: annual full audit when annual expenditures from all sources exceed $300,000 (biennial option between $200,000 and $300,000); independent auditors on written contract; one copy of each completed audit filed with the legislative services office within nine months after the end of the audit period. Section 67-450B was last amended in 2025 (ch. 71). Local government audits: Legislative Services Office, Local Government Registry/Audits.
27. Idaho Code § 31-1607. The section also provides that no expenditure program financed from a future bond issue may be incurred until the bonds are authorized and the proceeds are available.
28. Idaho Code § 31-2401.
29. Idaho Code § 31-2402(1)(a) to (o) and (2).
30. Idaho Code § 31-2410 (endorsement to the minute; record without delay in order received), Idaho Code § 31-2412 (consecutive numbers; priority of number is prima facie evidence of priority of filing), Idaho Code § 31-2413 (reception book open to inspection) and Idaho Code § 31-2404 (grantor and grantee indexes; electronic system allowed).
31. Idaho Code § 31-2415 (failure to record as directed in §§ 31-2412 to 31-2414: damages to the aggrieved party and $50 into the county current expense fund for each failure, recoverable on the recorder's bond) and Idaho Code § 31-2417 (liability for neglect, including untrue recording and failure to keep required indexes; subsection (2) bars liability for releasing recorded information on a request and payment of fees).
32. Idaho Code § 31-2419 and Idaho Code § 31-2009 (recorders' offices at the county seat, open "on such days and during such hours as the boards of county commissioners may prescribe").
33. Idaho Code § 31-3205(1)(a), (b) and (d); last amended 2022 (ch. 43). The amounts load beside each line on the legislature's page, and the pairing was confirmed in the page source. Also Idaho Code § 31-3211 (fees prepaid), Idaho Code § 31-3218 (illegal fees repaid at three times the amount) and Idaho Code § 31-3214 (fee table posted within one month of taking office; forfeit up to $20 a day). Check current text before quoting a fee.
34. Idaho Code § 32-403, Idaho Code § 32-401, Idaho Code § 32-407 (return recorded within one month or $100 forfeited) and Idaho Code § 32-408 (fee per § 31-3205; § 31-3205(1)(k) sets $11). Section 32-202 was not reviewed.
35. Idaho Code § 31-871(1) and (2) (classes, minimum retention, destruction only by resolution; subsection (2)(h) says the section controls "unless otherwise provided in Idaho Code or any applicable federal law") and Idaho Code § 31-871A (digital and photographic retention).
36. Idaho Code § 74-101(8), (13) and (15). Last amended 2025 (ch. 298).
37. Idaho Code § 74-103(1) to (5) (custodian; label; deadlines; deemed denial; denial notice contents), Idaho Code § 74-119 and Idaho Code § 74-102(16) (custodian designated and posted on the website).
38. Idaho Code § 74-102(4), (5) and (10) to (12), and Idaho Code § 74-101(15) (resident: domiciled in Idaho continuously for at least 30 days). Last amended 2025 (ch. 298).
39. 2025 House Bill 253, described on the legislature's bill page as amending existing law to provide additional time to respond to public records requests from nonresidents and to allow a different fee schedule for nonresident requests. The page shows the governor signed it April 4, 2025, as Session Law Chapter 298, effective July 1, 2025. The statute's history lines show chapter 298 amending §§ 74-101, 74-102 and 74-103.
40. Idaho Office of the Attorney General, Public Records. The page links a Public Records Law Manual. This module did not review the manual's text, so check the manual's edition date before relying on it.
41. Idaho Code § 74-106(1) (amended most recently in 2026, ch. 3), Idaho Code § 74-107(4) (cost estimates; amended 2026, ch. 91) and Idaho Code § 74-112 (separating exempt from nonexempt material). The Act's exemptions run from § 74-104 through § 74-111 and again in § 74-124.
42. Idaho Code § 74-115(1) and (2), Idaho Code § 74-116, Idaho Code § 74-117 and Idaho Code § 74-118.
43. Idaho Code § 31-2113 and Idaho Code § 31-2114. Related: Idaho Code § 31-2112 (monthly and annual settlements), Idaho Code § 31-2122 and Idaho Code § 31-2123 (inspection and counting), Idaho Code § 31-2303 and Idaho Code § 31-2304 (auditor's accounts with the treasurer). Treasurer duties are in the treasurer module.
44. Idaho Code § 31-2002(1) to (5), amended in 2025 (ch. 296).