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Treasurers · Module 1

Module 1: The Office of County Treasurer and Taking It On

What the Idaho Constitution and Idaho Code require of the person who holds or is about to take the office of county treasurer: qualifying, the oath and bond, staff, pay, vacancy, recall exposure and the first 90 days.

Last Updated: October 13, 2026 | Reading Time: 24 minutes | Idaho Const. art. XVIII, § 6; Idaho Code Title 31, Chapter 21

Where the Office Comes From

Nobody in your county created the office of treasurer. The Idaho Constitution did. Article XVIII, section 6 tells the Legislature to provide for the election of "a sheriff, a county assessor, a county coroner and a county treasurer, who is ex-officio public administrator, every four years in each of the several counties of the state."1 The same section adds that "No other county offices shall be established." Your commissioners set your budget. They cannot create a rival office, and nothing I found lets them abolish yours.2

Title 31, chapter 20 repeats the list, and the line about you is short.

"A county treasurer, who shall be ex officio public administrator and ex officio tax collector."

Idaho Code § 31-2001(5)3

Ex officio means you hold those two jobs because you hold the treasurer's office. You do not run for them separately. The tax collector job fills Module 2 and Module 3. The public administrator job, administering estates of county residents who die with nobody else to do it, has its own: Module 6. When you act in either role you sign in that role's name.4

Your day job sits in chapter 21 of Title 31. Section 31-2101 says you receive the county's money and keep it safely, file the auditor's certificates, keep your books so each fund shows up as its own account, and pay money out only on county warrants issued by the auditor. Money comes in on the auditor's certificate and leaves on the auditor's warrant. You and the auditor check each other by design.5 The Idaho Association of Counties calls you the county finance officer and the county investment officer.6

Liberty Perspective: A Constitutional Office Is Not a County Department

County handbooks often treat the treasurer as a department head who reports to the board. The Constitution does not. The Attorney General's 1986 opinion calls the county offices "independent of one another" and says the commissioners "are not above the other county officers." The commissioners hold real levers: your budget, your salary, the deputies they authorize, the sufficiency of your bond. Those are meant as a check and not as a chain of command.

Independence has a price. Section 6 demands "strict accountability" of county officers "for all public and municipal moneys which may be paid to them." You hold this office by delegation from the voters, and the duty to show your work goes with it.

One caution. Section 12 of the article lets a county vote in an optional form of government, which supersedes sections 5, 6 and 10. This module describes the default form. If your county chose another, learn what changed before you rely on anything here.7

Qualifying, Election, Term and Certificate

Who may hold the office

The treasurer's qualification statute is two sentences long.

"No person shall be elected to the office of county treasurer unless he has attained the age of twenty-one (21) years at the time of his election, is a citizen of the United States and shall have resided within the county one (1) year next preceding his election."

Idaho Code § 34-620(2)8

That is the whole list. I found no statute requiring a degree, a license, accounting coursework or prior experience. Section 59-101 makes qualified electors eligible for office, and a qualified elector is a registered citizen who is at least eighteen and has lived in the state and county for thirty days. My reading is that you need to be registered in your county too. The Constitution adds one bar: a felony conviction without restoration of citizenship rights, or confinement in prison.9

Liberty Perspective: The Law Tests Your Age and Address, Not Your Ability

The statute asks nothing about your ability to handle every tax dollar the county collects for its taxing districts. The only screen is the voters. That puts weight on candidates to learn the job before they file, and on voters to ask the question. After you win, the training burden falls on you, your association and your deputies. That is one reason this track exists.

Getting on the ballot, and the cycle

You file a declaration of candidacy with the county clerk and pay a $40 filing fee that goes into the county treasury. Primaries are held the third Tuesday of May, and the party nominees appear on the November ballot.10 Treasurers are elected "at the general election, 1974, and every four (4) years thereafter," which puts the treasurer seats on the ballot on November 3, 2026.11

Canvass and certificate

The board of county commissioners is the county board of canvassers and the clerk is its secretary. It must meet within nine days after the election, which in 2026 means by November 12. Each commissioner signs the canvass report. "Immediately after the general election canvass," the clerk issues a certificate of election to the candidate with the most votes, and that person is "considered duly elected to assume the duties of the office for the next ensuing term."12 Keep the certificate. You will want it when you take your oath and when the surety asks for proof of office.

When the term starts

The oath statute for county officers fixes the day: the second Monday of January after the general election. For the class elected in 2026, that is Monday, January 11, 2027.13 My reading is that you have no power to act as treasurer until you take the oath. The general oath statute says an officer must take and subscribe it "before ... he enters upon the duties of his office." Your predecessor's term runs to that day. Whatever the transition looks like on paper, the legal hand-off is a single Monday morning, and it falls in the middle of tax season.

Your Oath and Your Official Bond

The oath

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Idaho, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of (insert office) according to the best of my ability."

Idaho Code § 59-401

County officers other than the commissioners take it before the chairman of the board on the second Monday of January. If you cannot be there, any officer authorized to administer oaths may swear you in wherever you are. The certified oath is filed with the county recorder, and the clerk of the district court is ex officio recorder.14

The bond: amounts

You are bonded in three capacities, and Idaho Code § 31-2015 sets a rule for each.

  • Treasurer: "in double the probable amount of money that may at any time come into his hands as such treasurer, to be fixed by the board of county commissioners."
  • Tax collector: not less than $2,000 and not more than $50,000, fixed by the board.
  • Public administrator: $2,000.15

The measure for the treasurer's bond is the money that may come into your hands "at any time," not the average balance. For most treasurers the peak follows the December 20 and June 20 due dates. My reading is that the amount should track the peak. Ask the board how it computed the figure and when.

The clause then offers a break. If a surety bond is given "as provided in section 41-2707," the bond "need not exceed twenty-five percent (25%)" of the probable amount, with a $10,000 floor. The cross-reference does not work. Section 41-2707 is a title insurance rate statute.16 Do not accept a reduced amount on the strength of that proviso until your prosecuting attorney tells you what it means.

Form, approval and who pays

The Surety Bond Act, Idaho Code § 59-801 and following, is the framework. A corporate surety authorized in Idaho issues the bond. The county may use a blanket bond or crime insurance instead when the premium is lower and the coverage carries the terms the Act requires. The governing body approves the bond, it is filed with the clerk, and it must be recorded in a book titled "Record of Official Bonds."17

The IACT summary says the county furnishes the bond. I found no statute saying who pays the premium, so confirm it with your commissioners and get the figure into the budget.18 The board must also review every county officer's bond at least twice a year. If a surety has died, left the state or become insolvent, the board summons you to show cause and can require a new bond within ten days.19 Put the review on the board's calendar.

Liberty Perspective: Bonds Written for Comfort

A bond can drift into routine: same form, same number, same cross-reference, renewed without anyone checking. The statute asks for a twice-yearly look at whether the sureties are sound, and the amount is the board's to fix against the money you actually handle. If the board cannot show you minutes of its last review, ask for one. A bond protects the public and you, and a stale one protects neither.

The bond binds you and your sureties for breaches "committed or suffered by the principal officer, his deputy, or clerk." Anyone injured by your default can sue on it, and defects in how it was written, approved or filed do not discharge the sureties.20 Your personal protection is § 31-2018. Officials "shall strictly account" for county money but are not personally liable for losses from disaster, theft or the criminal conduct of someone who is not a county official or employee, and the county indemnifies other losses "except those which are the result of negligence, gross negligence, or intentional conduct."21 The line between a loss that is not your fault and one that is will matter on the worst day of your term. Module 9 takes it up.

Practical Scenario: The Bond Nobody Read

Marcy Delgado is treasurer-elect of Lost Rail County, an invented county. On January 5 the clerk hands her a bond form already filled in for $400,000. She asks where the number came from. The clerk says it has been the same since 2011. Marcy checks the last two tax seasons. Between December 20 and the first January settlement, her predecessor's office held $11.6 million in collected but unsettled taxes.

She does not have to accept the figure. Section 31-2015(2) measures the bond by the money that may come into her hands at any time and gives the board the job of fixing it. Marcy can bring the settlement figures to the board before January 11, ask for a written computation, and ask for the amount to be reset and entered in the minutes. She should also ask for the premium line in the budget, the carrier's name and a copy of the bond.

Deputies, Staff, Pay, Hours and Location

Appointing deputies

The Constitution says the treasurer "shall be empowered by the county commissioners to appoint such deputies and clerical assistants as the business of their office may require," at "such compensation as may be fixed by the county commissioners." Section 31-3107 repeats it, and § 31-2003 adds that you may appoint as many deputies as are necessary "for the prompt and faithful discharge of the duties of [your] office."22

The sentence has two halves. You choose the people. The commissioners authorize the positions and fix the pay. Neither half cancels the other, and the Idaho Supreme Court has said so. In Dukes v. Board of County Commissioners (1910) the Boise County clerk asked for another deputy, the board refused, and the district court found the business of the office required one and ordered the board to authorize it. The Supreme Court affirmed.23 In Planting v. Board of County Commissioners (1973) the Court affirmed a ruling that the Ada County board abused its discretion when it cut the clerk's salary by $2,000 while the workload grew and the board wanted to show who was "boss."24 Neither case involved a treasurer, though both involved officers named in the same constitutional sentence.

The Attorney General's 1986 opinion draws the practical line. The commissioners set the salaries of other officers and their deputies. They may not directly control your deputies' work or set mandatory discipline or termination procedures for your office.25 It is a persuasive opinion from 1986, not a ruling, and your county may have a personnel policy you joined voluntarily. Find out which before you discipline anyone.

Record what you do. Appointments must be documented and filed with the county recorder. If you have more than one deputy, endorse one as senior deputy on the appointment. That single line decides who runs the office if you die or cannot serve. Your official name includes your deputies, so their mistakes are your mistakes.26

Salary, budget and fees

Your salary is a fixed annual amount paid monthly out of the county treasury. The commissioners set it "through the county budget process" for the fiscal year that starts October 1, and no salary may rise after the final budget without a board resolution in the minutes.27 So the salary and appropriation you carry into January 2027 were fixed this September on your predecessor's estimates. You inherit the budget. You do not write it, not this year.

You write the next one. The auditor, as budget officer, notifies each official by the first Monday in May, and your itemized estimate is due the third Monday in May, which is May 17 in 2027. At the September hearing "any taxpayer" may be heard and the board may call you to answer questions about your expenditures.28 Expect to be asked. Have the numbers.

Fees that come into your hands go into the county treasury on the board's schedule, with a sworn statement at least quarterly. Failing to pay over within ten days after the quarterly settlement is embezzlement of public funds.29 You are both the person who receives the money and the officer who must account for it. Nobody stands in between, so keep your own receipts clean.

Where you work and when

Treasurers "must have their offices at the county seat" and keep them open on the days and hours the board prescribes. If the board is silent, the default is 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except weekends and holidays.30 The board, not you, sets your public hours. If the lobby will be full on December 19 and the days before June 20, say so before the schedule is set.

Two rules govern absence. You cannot leave the state for more than twenty days without board consent. And an officer granted leave from the county "is required to appoint a deputy to act for him," or the statute declares the leave void and the office vacant.31 Nobody should test that last clause. Name the deputy in writing before you go.

Liberty Perspective: The Board Holds the Purse and Not the Office

Most friction between a treasurer and a board comes down to money you do not control: positions, hours, pay, space, software. Boards sometimes use each of those to steer an elected office they cannot direct. The law gives them the money power and withholds the supervising power. When a staffing denial looks like a bargaining chip in an unrelated argument, Dukes and Planting point to a written record. Make the request in writing, state the workload with numbers, and keep the answer.

Vacancy, Removal and Recall Exposure

How the office becomes vacant

Section 59-901 lists nine ways an elected office becomes vacant before the term ends. Resignation, death, a felony conviction (or a public offense that violates the oath of office) and ceasing to live in the county are the ones to know. Others include "removal ... by lawful procedure" and a decision by "a competent tribunal" declaring the office vacant for abandonment, incapacity or absence of more than ninety days.32 A resignation goes in writing to the county board and takes effect when the board accepts it.

Who runs the office, and who fills the seat

Most treasurers never read the interim rule. When the office is vacant, "the senior deputy as designated in section 31-2006" assumes it, and if there is no deputy the commissioners assume it.33 Your party's county central committee then submits three names to the board within fifteen days, and the board appoints one within another fifteen. If it does not, the committee designates one. If the committee fails, the board appoints within five days. The appointee must meet the qualifications for election and serves until the next general election.34 A treasurer who plans to resign can give written notice with an effective date so the successor is lined up before the seat empties.

Removal and suspension

Chapter 41 of Title 19 lets a grand jury present a written accusation against a county officer for "wilful or corrupt misconduct in office." The prosecuting attorney serves it, a jury decides it, and a judgment of removal must state its causes. The officer may appeal but stays suspended until the judgment is reversed.35 Separately, § 31-2120 lets the commissioners suspend a treasurer, in their discretion, once an action for official misconduct has begun, and appoint someone to fill in. The Attorney General may also investigate allegations that an elected county officer violated state criminal law in an official capacity, and the local prosecutor keeps concurrent authority.36 An insufficient bond is its own road to a vacancy under § 59-806.

Recall

Treasurers are subject to recall. A petition filed with the county clerk needs signatures equal to 20 percent of the electors registered at the last general election at which you were elected. Circulation cannot begin until you have held office 90 days, and sponsors have 75 days after the clerk approves the form to collect signatures. Once the clerk certifies a sufficient petition you have five business days to resign. If you do not, the clerk orders a countywide special election. Recall takes a majority of the votes cast, and the yes votes must also equal or exceed the votes cast for the office at the last general election. You serve until the result is proclaimed.37 A petition states its reasons in 200 words or fewer, and if the question reaches the ballot you get 200 words of your own to justify your course in office. I found nothing in chapter 17 limiting the reasons to crimes. The 90-day shelter ends on the same day your first 90 days do.

Liberty Perspective: Recall Is a Citizen's Tool and Not an Insult

Officials sometimes treat a recall petition as a personal attack. The statute treats it as the voters' ordinary check between elections. A treasurer with a clean office has little to fear: monthly settlements filed on time, a report at every regular board meeting, bonds reviewed, a straight answer to every question about where the money is. Citizens who sign a petition are doing their part, the same part you do when you file your report.

Your First 90 Days

The statutes do not describe a transition between treasurers. I found two rules: on a treasurer's death the commissioners deliver the money, books and papers to the successor, and any officer is entitled to the former incumbent's books and papers, enforceable by petition.38 The rest is practice, built here around the dates the law sets.

The calendar is tight in 2027. January 11 is your oath day. It is also the tax collector's January settlement date with the auditor, because § 63-1201 moves the January and July settlements to the second Monday.39 You may be sworn in and asked to sign a settlement the same morning. Agree in advance that your predecessor settles through the last day of the old term and you settle from your first day.

Between the canvass and January 11

  • Get your certificate of election and confirm oath logistics with the board chairman and the recorder.
  • Ask the commissioners for the bond amounts in all three capacities, the carrier, the premium and the forms.
  • Ask your predecessor and the auditor for a written list of every bank account, investment account, safe, petty cash fund and cash drawer, with every person who can sign or log in.
  • Meet the deputies. Ask who holds the senior deputy endorsement and what each one knows that is written down nowhere.
  • Call the Idaho Association of County Treasurers about new treasurer training. It held one on April 25, 2023.40

January 11, 2027

  • Take the oath and file it.
  • Count the cash before anything else happens. Section 31-2123 gives the commissioners and the auditor the right to count the money in the treasury "whenever they may wish," and you may invite them to do it now with your predecessor. Count the drawers, the safe, undeposited checks and petty cash, then match bank balances and investment statements to the auditor's records, fund by fund. Everyone signs the sheet. It protects you against whatever happened before you arrived.
  • Settle the January accounts with the auditor as agreed.

By the end of January

  • Bank accounts and signature cards. The board designates depositories (the "supervising board" is the county's governing body), and the designation "shall continue in force until revoked," so the accounts will be there. The signers may be wrong. Remove your predecessor and departed staff from signature cards, online access and wire and ACH authority the same day. Section 31-2119 tells you to keep county money in your possession until it is disbursed according to law. Control of access is how you comply.41
  • Investments. Get a list of every holding, the board approval behind it and the maturity dates. If idle funds sit in the State Treasurer's Local Government Investment Pool, get the current statement and your login.
  • Tax rolls and software. Confirm you have the property and operating rolls delivered in November, the subsequent roll and any missed rolls. Find out who holds the license for the tax system, who has administrator rights and when the last backup ran.42
  • Delinquent files. Your predecessor entered first-half delinquencies by January 1 and interest has run since. Put every parcel in the tax deed pipeline, every pending notice, every redemption and every personal property delinquency in one list. Ask how the office handled the Sunday, December 20 due date. Idaho Code § 63-217(4) treats a tax payment as timely if made on the next business day when the due date falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday, and June 20, 2027 is also a Sunday.
  • Keys, combinations and alarm codes: change them.

February through April 11

  • Deputies. I found no statute saying a former officer's appointments carry over, so my reading is that you reappoint everyone you want to keep, file each appointment with the recorder, and endorse your senior deputy.
  • Settlements and reports. The first Mondays are February 1, March 1 and April 5. File the sworn monthly statement each time and report at every regular board meeting. Each missed settlement or report costs $500, and the board "must institute suits."43
  • Public administrator files. Ask for the list of open estates and any property the county holds for decedents with no legal next of kin.
  • Introduce yourself to the prosecuting attorney in writing. The prosecutor must advise county officers on request in public matters.44
  • Mark April 11, the end of your first 90 days.

Practical Scenario: The Cash Count That Did Not Tie

Devin Okafor takes office as treasurer of Tamarack Flats County, another invented place. On January 11 he, the auditor and his predecessor count the vault. One fund is $6,184.77 short of the auditor's record. Everyone says it is probably a deposit in transit. The predecessor says to sign and clear it up later.

Devin should not sign a clean count sheet. He signs a sheet that lists the variance, the fund, the date and who was present, and asks the auditor to note the same. If it is a deposit in transit it clears in a day or two and the note cost nothing. If it turns out to be something else, the note shows the shortfall predates his oath. Section 31-2018 protects an official from some losses but not from losses that result from negligence. A signed clean count on a day he knew it did not tie is the kind of fact that turns a bad week into a bad term. He also tells his prosecuting attorney that day.

Roadmap: The Other Nine Modules

This module gets you into the chair. The rest of the track follows a tax year.

  1. Tax Collection: the rolls, notices, due dates, late charges and interest.
  2. Delinquency: delinquency entries, warrants of distraint, tax deeds and redemption.
  3. Custody and Investments: depositories, idle funds and your investment authority.
  4. Distribution and Accounting: settlement with the auditor, apportioning collections and your books.
  5. Public Administrator: estates of decedents with no one else to act, and property found on bodies.
  6. Working Relationships: the commissioners, auditor, assessor, prosecutor, taxing districts and deputies.
  7. Case Law: Idaho and federal decisions that shape what you may and may not do.
  8. Liability, Ethics and Records: personal exposure, conflicts of interest, public records and retention.
  9. Resources: forms, calendars, contacts and where to get help.

Related Organizations and Where to Get Help

Each URL below returned a live page when I checked it on October 13, 2026.

I looked for an Idaho appellate decision dealing only with a treasurer's qualification, oath or bond and found none. The authority here is the Constitution, the statutes, the two decisions above and the 1986 opinion. Module 8 collects the tax-side cases.

Practice Points for the Officeholder

Deadlines you carry

  • Oath: second Monday of January after your election, January 11, 2027. File it with the recorder. (§§ 59-404, 59-405)
  • Monthly settlement with the auditor under oath on the first Monday, and the tax collector's settlement on the first Monday except the second Monday of January and July. (§§ 31-2112, 63-1201)
  • A detailed report at every regular meeting of the board. $500 per neglect. (§§ 31-2113, 31-2114)
  • Annual settlement before the commissioners on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of October, October 5 in 2027. (§ 31-2112)
  • Budget estimate: third Monday in May. Budget hearing: concludes by the second Monday in September. (§§ 31-1602, 31-1605)
  • Tax due dates: December 20 and June 20. Delinquency entries by January 1 and July 1. (§§ 63-903, 63-907)
  • Fees to the county treasury on the board's schedule, with a sworn quarterly statement. Pay over within ten days after quarterly settlement. (§§ 31-3101, 31-3102)
  • Public records requests from residents: grant or deny within three working days, or tell the requester in writing you need up to ten working days. (§ 74-103(2))

Records you keep

  • A day book and ledger of every receipt and disbursement. (§ 59-1010)49
  • Separate accounts for each fund, one general cash account, and the auditor's certificate for every deposit. (§§ 31-2101, 31-2103)

What the board and your auditors will ask

  • Do the bank balances, investment statements and your books agree with the auditor's records, fund by fund?
  • Who can sign, who can log in, and when were the signature cards last reviewed?
  • When did the board last review your bond, and is the amount tied to your peak balance?
  • Does your accounting follow generally accepted accounting principles, and the State Controller's manual if the Controller has given notice? (§ 31-1509) County audits are required by § 67-450B once annual spending from all sources passes $300,000, and the report is filed with the Legislative Services Office within nine months after the audit period.50

Where officeholders get into trouble

  • Signing a clean cash count on a day the numbers did not tie.
  • Leaving a former deputy's name on a signature card or a login.
  • Skipping a board report because "nothing happened," or assuming the county handles the bond.
  • Lending or using county money, even briefly. (§ 31-2119)
  • Leaving the county on leave without appointing a deputy in writing. (§§ 31-2004, 31-2005)

Whom to call

  • Your prosecuting attorney, for legal advice on your duties. (§ 31-2604(3))
  • IACT, for how other treasurers handle the same question. IAC, for legislation. ICRMP, for coverage questions.
  • The State Tax Commission, for property tax rules. The State Treasurer, for the LGIP.
  • The Attorney General, where the prosecutor has a conflict. Section 31-2002 gives the Attorney General investigative authority over elected county officers.

Pictures, Numbers and Infographics

Each of Idaho's 44 counties elects a treasurer, who also serves as tax collector and public administrator. Those offices collect the property tax for every taxing district in the state, and a handful of numbers in the Idaho Code define who may hold the job and what it must post as security.

Postcard view of the Bannock County Court House in Pocatello, Idaho, about 1910
The Bannock County Court House in Pocatello on a postcard from about 1910. The building went up in 1902 and was replaced in the 1950s. In that era the county's elected officers, the treasurer among them, worked out of the courthouse at the county seat. Credit: unknown photographer, Alaska, Western Canada and United States Collection, University of Washington Libraries. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

By the numbers

  • 44: county governments in Idaho in 2022, one elected treasurer for each. The same count lists 1,168 local governments in all. U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments, 2022
  • $2.286 billion: property tax levies the State Tax Commission approved for 2025, $88 million or 4% more than 2024. Idaho State Tax Commission, Annual Report, 2025
  • $682,355,670: the 2025 levy for county government itself, up 5.5% from $646,508,834 in 2024. City levies were slightly larger, at $705,015,268. Idaho State Tax Commission, Annual Report, 2025
  • 21 years: minimum age to be elected treasurer, along with U.S. citizenship and one year of residence in the county. The filing fee is $40. Idaho Code 34-620
  • $2,000 to $50,000: the range for the tax collector bond, fixed by the board. The treasurer's own bond is double the probable money on hand, or as little as 25% of it with a surety bond, but never under $10,000. Idaho Code 31-2015
  • 20%: share of the county's registered electors whose signatures put a county officer's recall on the ballot. Idaho Code 34-1702(3)
  • $300,000: annual spending above which a county must have a full audit every year. Idaho Code 67-450B
Idaho property tax levies, all taxing districts Billions of dollars approved each tax year $1.931B 2020 $2.113B 2021 $2.182B 2022 $2.162B 2023 $2.198B 2024 $2.286B 2025
Total property tax levies approved for all Idaho taxing districts. The Tax Commission notes that the 2020 total is net of GPSGI tax relief. Source: Tax Commission Annual Reports, 2020; 2021; 2022; 2023; 2024; 2025.
One officer, three bonds Treasurer Double the probable money on hand, set by the board. With a surety bond, 25% of that is enough, but never under $10,000 Tax collector $2,000 to $50,000, set by the board Public administrator At least $2,000 (with two sureties)
The bond amounts the Idaho Code sets for each capacity. Source: Idaho Code 31-2015 and Idaho Code 14-101.

Sources & Further Reading

Primary Sources

  • Idaho Const. art. XVIII, §§ 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12; art. VI, §§ 2 and 3
  • Idaho Code Title 31, chapter 20 (§§ 31-2001 to 31-2018) and chapter 21 (§§ 31-2101 to 31-2127)
  • Idaho Code Title 31, chapters 16 and 31; Title 59, chapters 4, 8, 9 and 10; Title 19, chapter 41
  • Idaho Code §§ 34-402, 34-601, 34-620, 34-1205 to 34-1210, chapter 17 of Title 34 (recall), and §§ 57-127, 57-128, 63-811, 63-903, 63-907, 63-1001, 63-1201, 63-1202, 67-450B, 74-102 and 74-103
  • Dukes v. Board of County Commissioners, 17 Idaho 736, 107 P. 491 (1910)
  • Planting v. Board of County Commissioners, 95 Idaho 484, 511 P.2d 301 (1973)

Agency Guidance

Related Training Modules

Knowledge Check

Test your understanding of the office, the oath, the bond and the first weeks. No scores are saved: this is for your own review.

1. You won the November 3, 2026 general election for county treasurer. By statute, when and before whom do you take the oath, and where is it filed?

2. Which statement about the treasurer's official bond is correct under Idaho Code § 31-2015?

3. The commissioners refuse to authorize a second deputy for your office although the workload plainly requires one. What does Idaho law say?

4. The treasurer dies in office in the middle of the term. Who assumes the office right away, and how is the vacancy filled?

5. A recall petition is filed against you in your second month in office. Which is correct under chapter 17 of Title 34?

Reference Materials

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Footnotes

  1. Idaho Const. art. XVIII, § 6 (text), read in full October 13, 2026. The section also says the Legislature provides for the election of commissioners biennially and of the sheriff, assessor, coroner and treasurer every four years, "commencing with the general election in 1986."
  2. Idaho Attorney General Opinion No. 86-10 (August 21, 1986), issued to the Ada County Assessor (PDF). It adopts a December 12, 1979 guideline. The opinion treats the county offices as "independent of one another" and cites Meller v. Board of Commissioners, 4 Idaho 44, 35 P. 712 (1894), for the rule that commissioners may not create new offices. Attorney General opinions persuade. They do not bind a court. The opinion is forty years old, and I did not find a later opinion that revisits it.
  3. Idaho Code § 31-2001(5) (text) lists "a county treasurer, who shall be ex officio public administrator and ex officio tax collector." Section 31-2102(1) and (2) assign the tax collection duties to Title 63 and the estate duties to chapter 1 of Title 14 (text).
  4. Idaho Code § 59-1008 (text): an officer who discharges ex officio the duties of another office signs and attests "in the name of the office the duties of which he discharges."
  5. Idaho Code § 31-2101(1) through (6) (text), amended 2021, ch. 89; § 31-2103 (no money into the treasury without the auditor's certificate, electronic transfers excepted if followed by documentation); § 31-2104 (receipt to the payer, deposited with the auditor).
  6. Idaho Association of Counties, Roles and Responsibilities slides (PDF, posted December 2022), which describe the treasurer as county finance officer, county investment officer, tax collector and ex officio public administrator.
  7. Idaho Const. art. XVIII, § 12 (text) lets the Legislature offer optional forms of county government, which supersede sections 5, 6 and 10 of the article once voters adopt one. The Idaho Association of County Treasurers page says the treasurer is elected every four years "unless an optional form of county government is adopted pursuant to Title 31, Chapters 52 through 58" (IACT page). I did not check whether any county has adopted one. Ask your clerk.
  8. Idaho Code § 34-620(2) (text), amended 1996, ch. 28. Idaho Code § 59-101 makes every qualified elector eligible to hold office "except as otherwise provided by the Constitution." Idaho Code § 34-402 defines a qualified elector as a citizen, eighteen years old, who has resided in the state and county for thirty days and is registered. See also Idaho Const. art. VI, § 2.
  9. Idaho Const. art. VI, § 3 (text): no person may "hold any civil office who has, at any place, been convicted of a felony, and who has not been restored to the rights of citizenship," or who is confined in prison on a conviction. Idaho Code § 59-901(1)(e) and (h) (text) make the office vacant if the incumbent stops living in the county or is convicted of a felony or of a public offense involving a violation of the oath of office.
  10. Idaho Code § 34-620(3) and (4): the declaration of candidacy goes to the county clerk with a $40 filing fee deposited in the county treasury. Idaho Code § 34-601(1) and (2) (text): primary on the third Tuesday of May, general election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, every two years. Idaho Code § 34-1208 (text) has the clerk issue certificates of nomination to party candidates after the primary canvass. The 2026 dates are calendar computations from those rules.
  11. Idaho Code § 34-620(1): "At the general election, 1974, and every four (4) years thereafter, a county treasurer shall be elected in every county." Counting forward by fours puts 2022 and then 2026 on the cycle. November 3, 2026 is the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November (calendar computation).
  12. Idaho Code § 34-1205 (text) (board of canvassers meets "within nine (9) days after an election"; amended through 2025, ch. 113); § 34-1207 (canvass report signed by each commissioner); § 34-1209 (text) (certificate of election issued "immediately after the general election canvass"); § 34-1210 (tie decided by coin toss within two days after the canvass).
  13. Idaho Code § 59-404 (text), amended 2017, ch. 192. I did not find a separate section that declares the first day of a county officer's term. Reading § 59-404 with the four-year cycle in § 34-620, the second Monday of January after the election (January 11, 2027, by calendar computation) is the day the new term starts in practice. That is an inference, and your prosecuting attorney can confirm it.
  14. Idaho Code § 59-401 (text) (form of oath, to be taken "before any officer elected or appointed ... enters upon the duties of his office"); § 59-402 (ten or fifteen day default, which applies only "whenever a different time is not prescribed by law"); § 59-403 (any officer authorized to administer oaths); § 59-405 (county officers file the certified oath with the county recorder); § 31-2011 (every county officer may administer and certify oaths).
  15. Idaho Code § 31-2015(2), (7) and (10) (text), amended 2022, ch. 111. The county commissioners fix the treasurer's bond and the tax collector's bond. The public administrator's bond is $2,000 in the text. Idaho Code § 31-2016 says that where the amount "is not fixed by law the amount must be fixed by the board of commissioners."
  16. Idaho Code § 41-2707 (text) sits in Title 41, chapter 27, Title Insurance, and deals with filing title insurance rates and hearings before the Director of the Department of Insurance. I found nothing in it about official bonds. The cross-reference in § 31-2015(2) looks stale. I could not determine from the statutes what the 25 percent alternative now refers to.
  17. Idaho Code § 59-801 (short title, "Surety Bond Act"); § 59-802(4) and (7) (crime insurance counts as equivalent only if the insurer stipulates that it covers the terms and responsibilities of public officials; a surety bond is issued by a corporate surety authorized in Idaho "in an amount fixed by the administrator or governing body of a political subdivision"); § 59-804(1), (2) and (4); § 59-805; § 59-812 (§ 59-804). Section 59-812 says official bonds are "joint and several, and made payable to the state of Idaho," while § 59-804(1) says payable "to the state or appropriate political subdivision." Read both and ask what your bond form says.
  18. The statutes I read do not say who pays the premium for a county officer's bond. The Surety Bond Act has the governing body fix the amount and approve the form (§ 59-802(7), § 59-804(4)), and Idaho Code § 59-803(3), which puts premiums in the budget of the employing agency, covers state employees only. The Idaho Association of County Treasurers page states: "The county treasurer is separately bonded for each of the separate responsibilities of the office (31-2015). Such bond is furnished by the county." (IACT page). Treat that as practice, confirm it in your county, and put it in the minutes.
  19. Idaho Code § 59-806 (text) (board reviews bond sufficiency "not less than twice yearly"; summons of three to ten days; new bond within ten days; certification to the prosecuting attorney and the district court if the bond stays insufficient; vacancy if no new bond within five days of a court finding); § 59-809 (bonds recorded in a book titled "Record of Official Bonds"); § 59-811 (the officer holding the bonds gives certified copies on demand).
  20. Idaho Code § 59-813 (bond binds principal and sureties for breaches "committed or suffered by the principal officer, his deputy, or clerk"); § 59-815 (anyone injured by the officer's wrongful act or default may sue on the bond in his own name); § 59-817 (defects in the bond, its approval or its filing do not discharge officer or sureties); § 31-2010 (penalties and forfeitures for nonperformance attach to the official bond).
  21. Idaho Code § 31-2018 (text) (officials "shall strictly account" but are not personally liable for losses from disaster, theft, robbery or criminal conduct of someone who is not a county official or employee; the county indemnifies "except those which are the result of negligence, gross negligence, or intentional conduct by the public official or employee"). Added 1988, ch. 4. Module 9 covers the details.
  22. Idaho Const. art. XVIII, § 6 (deputies and clerical assistants "as the business of their office may require," compensation "fixed by the county commissioners"); Idaho Code § 31-3107 (text), amended 2025, ch. 96; § 31-2003 (every county officer except a commissioner "may appoint as many deputies as may be necessary for the prompt and faithful discharge of the duties of his office").
  23. Dukes v. Board of County Commissioners, 17 Idaho 736, 107 P. 491 (Idaho 1910) (Caselaw Access Project). Decided February 24, 1910. The clerk of the district court asked the Boise County board for another deputy. The board refused. The trial court found the business of the office required one and ordered the board to authorize the appointment. The Supreme Court affirmed on the judgment roll. The case involved the clerk. Section 31-3107 and art. XVIII, § 6 name the treasurer in the same sentence as the clerk.
  24. Planting v. Board of County Commissioners, 95 Idaho 484, 511 P.2d 301 (Idaho 1973) (Caselaw Access Project). Decided June 27, 1973. The Ada County board cut the clerk's salary from $12,500 to $10,500. The trial court found abuse of discretion, citing a heavier workload and the board's wish to show the clerk who was "boss." The Supreme Court affirmed, while repeating its long-standing warning that courts should not interfere with salary decisions absent abuse of discretion. The salary statute has since been amended (§ 31-3106 now runs through the county budget process), and I did not find a later decision applying Planting to a treasurer.
  25. AG Op. 86-10, conclusion (1): commissioners "may not directly control the work activities of deputies and assistants of other officers, nor may they establish mandatory grievance or termination procedures for other offices," but they "set the salaries of other officers and their deputies and assistants." The opinion also says an advisory countywide personnel system is permissible and that officers may join a commissioner-created system voluntarily, citing Holloway v. Palmer, 105 Idaho 220, 668 P.2d 96 (1983), which I did not independently read.
  26. Idaho Code § 31-2007 (appointments of deputies and subordinate officers "must be documented and filed in the office of the county recorder"); § 31-2006 (with more than one deputy, designate a senior deputy "by indorsement upon his appointment"); § 31-2008 (your official name, wherever a law imposes duties or liabilities, includes your deputies); § 59-813 (bond covers deputies' breaches).
  27. Idaho Const. art. XVIII, § 7 (fixed annual salaries "paid monthly out of the county treasury"); Idaho Code § 31-3106 (commissioners "through the county budget process ... fix the annual salaries of the several county officers as of and from October 1 for the next ensuing year"); § 31-1601 (county fiscal year begins October 1); § 31-1606(1) (appropriations limit every official's spending, and "no salary may be increased during the ensuing year after the final budget is adopted without resolution of the board of county commissioners").
  28. Idaho Code § 31-1602(2) and (3) (the auditor, as budget officer, notifies each official in writing on or before the first Monday in May, and you file an itemized estimate on or before the third Monday in May, which is May 17 in 2027; the form shows the two preceding fiscal years, the current year to the second Monday of April, and your estimate); § 31-1602(6) (penalty for failing to furnish estimates); § 31-1605 (hearing concludes by the second Monday in September; "any taxpayer" may examine an officer about expenditures).
  29. Idaho Const. art. XVIII, §§ 7 and 9; Idaho Code § 31-3101 (text) (actual and necessary expenses are a charge on the county, certified by receipts; fees go into the county treasury on the schedule the commissioners set; a sworn statement of fees received at least quarterly); § 31-3102 (failure to pay over within ten days after the quarterly settlement is embezzlement of public funds).
  30. Idaho Code § 31-2009 (text) (treasurers "must have their offices at the county seat, and keep them open ... on such days and during such hours as the boards of county commissioners may prescribe"); § 59-1007 (text) (unless otherwise provided by law, open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and mandatory unpaid leave closure days).
  31. Idaho Code § 31-2013 (no absence from the state for more than twenty days without board consent, with an exception for armed forces and civilian war work); § 31-2004 (an officer granted leave of absence from the county "is required to appoint a deputy to act for him"); § 31-2005 (if the officer fails to appoint, "the act granting such leave of absence is null and void and the office vacant, and the vacancy must be filled by the board of county commissioners"). I found no decision applying § 31-2005.
  32. Idaho Code § 59-901(1)(a) through (i) (text), amended 2012, ch. 209. Subsection (1)(d) requires a decision of "a competent tribunal" and a period "in excess of ninety (90) days." Idaho Code § 59-902(4) (resignations by county officers go in writing to the county board and do not take effect until accepted).
  33. Idaho Code § 59-915(1) (text) (the office of "treasurer" is assumed "by the senior deputy as designated in section 31-2006"; if no deputy is available "the board of county commissioners shall assume the office"); § 31-2006; § 31-2121 (on a treasurer's death, the commissioners deliver "all official moneys, books, accounts, papers and documents" to the successor).
  34. Idaho Code § 59-906(1) and (2) (text), amended 1991, ch. 81; § 59-905; § 59-913 (appointments "in writing" and continuing "until a successor is selected and qualified"); § 59-914 (an appointee serves for the term designated in the order of appointment, subject to § 59-904).
  35. Idaho Code §§ 19-4101 (accusation by the grand jury "for wilful or corrupt misconduct in office"), 19-4103 (the prosecuting attorney serves the accusation unless he is the accused), 19-4110 (jury trial), 19-4112 (judgment of removal must be entered on the minutes with causes assigned), 19-4113 (appeal to the Supreme Court; the officer is suspended until the judgment is reversed and the office is filled as a vacancy meanwhile) (chapter 41).
  36. Idaho Code § 31-2120 (text) (once "an action based upon official misconduct is commenced," the commissioners "may, in their discretion, suspend him from office until such suit is determined"); § 31-2002 (text) (the Attorney General may investigate allegations of state criminal law violations by an elected county officer acting in an official capacity, amended 2025, ch. 296, and the county prosecutor keeps concurrent authority).
  37. Idaho Code § 34-1701(2)(a) (treasurer is subject to recall); § 34-1702(3) (petition filed with the county clerk, signed by registered electors equal to 20 percent of the electors registered at the last general election held in the county for county officers at which the officer was elected); § 34-1703(3) (reasons stated in no more than 200 words); § 34-1708 (the recall ballot prints the demanders' reasons and the officer's justification, each in not more than 200 words); § 34-1704 (seventy-five days to perfect the petition after approval as to form); § 34-1707(2) (five business days to resign after the clerk's notice); § 34-1709 (you keep serving until the result is proclaimed); § 34-1712(3) (a majority of those voting, and the yes votes must at least equal the votes cast for the office at the last general election); § 34-1713(1) and (2) (text).
  38. Idaho Code § 31-2123 (the treasurer "must permit the county commissioners and auditor to examine his books and count the money in the treasury whenever they may wish"); § 31-2122 (books, accounts and vouchers are "at all times subject to the inspection and examination of the board of commissioners and grand jury"); § 59-1001 (an officer is "entitled to the possession of all books and papers pertaining to his office, or in the custody of a former incumbent"); § 59-1002 (petition to compel delivery if a former incumbent refuses). The cash count procedure itself is practice, not statute.
  39. Idaho Code § 63-1201 (text) (tax collector settles with the auditor on the first Monday of each month "except the second Monday of January and July"), and § 63-1202 (auditor's monthly transmittals), both amended by H.B. 594, 2026 Session Laws ch. 20, effective July 1, 2026 (bill page). I did not compare the old and new text, so I cannot say which parts of the January and July language the bill added. Section 31-2112 still says the treasurer settles with the auditor on the first Monday of each month, so ask the auditor which date the county uses in January.
  40. IACT mission statement and role summary: idcounties.org/idaho-association-of-county-treasurers, which also links to bylaws, committee assignments, a district map and the 2027 annual conference dates (listed as August 2-6, 2027). The association's New Treasurer Training of April 25, 2023 in Boise is described in this IAC article. I did not find a posted date for a post-2026 session. Ask.
  41. Idaho Code § 57-127 (text) (treasurer keeps public moneys on deposit in designated depositories; investment of idle funds "with the approval of the supervising board"); § 57-106 (the "supervising board" is "the official governing body of a depositing unit"); § 57-105 (public moneys include money in the hands of the tax collector or public administrator); § 57-128 (text) (the supervising board designates depositories, and the designation "shall continue in force until revoked"); § 31-2119 (keep county money "in his own possession until disbursed according to law," and do not lend it or let anyone use it); § 31-2127 (investment authority, added 2023, ch. 19).
  42. Idaho Code § 63-811(1)-(3) (auditor delivers the property rolls to the collector on or before the first Monday of November, the subsequent roll after the first Monday of December, and the missed roll in the year after assessment); § 63-903(1), (3) and (4) (December 20 and June 20; late charges and interest assessed on any shortfall); § 63-907 (delinquent first-half taxes entered by January 1, second-half by July 1); § 63-1001 (interest of one percent per month "calculated from January 1 following the year the tax lien attached"). December 20, 2026 and June 20, 2027 both fall on Sundays. Section 63-903 as published has no weekend rule.
  43. Idaho Code § 31-2112 (text) (monthly settlement on the first Monday under a sworn statement; annual settlement "the first Tuesday after the first Monday of October, in the presence of the commissioners"; uncollected sums reported for five years); § 31-2113 (detailed report "at every regular meeting of the board of commissioners"); § 31-2114 ($500 forfeit per neglect, and "the board of commissioners must institute suits"). The 2027 annual settlement date is October 5 (calendar computation).
  44. Idaho Code § 31-2604(3) (text) (the prosecuting attorney must "give advice to the board of county commissioners, and other public officers of his county, when requested in all public matters arising in the conduct of the public business entrusted to the care of such officers").
  45. Idaho State Tax Commission, property tax and county guides; IDAPA 35.01.03, Property Tax Administrative Rules (PDF), which state that the rules "clarify administrative aspects of property tax law." The April 2023 IACT article above notes Tax Commission staff briefed new treasurers on H.B. 292 and the support the Commission offers.
  46. ICRMP, icrmp.org. The Idaho Association of Counties page describes ICRMP as created in 1985 by Idaho local governments as "a stable, homegrown source of property and casualty insurance and risk management services" (IAC page). I did not confirm what ICRMP covers for county officer bonds or crime losses. Ask your county's coverage contact.
  47. Idaho State Treasurer, Local Government Investment Pool. The page describes the pool as "a safe liquid vehicle for investing idle funds" and warns that an investment in it "is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency" and that "it is possible to lose money."
  48. Office of Legislative Audits, Legislative Services Office: legislature.idaho.gov/lso/audit. State Controller: sco.idaho.gov. Attorney General: ag.idaho.gov. Each returned a live page October 13, 2026; I did not review program details beyond the statutes cited above.
  49. Idaho Code § 59-1010 (text) (officers who receive public money for safekeeping must keep "a day book and ledger"; failure is punishable by a fine up to $300, up to six months in the county jail, or both). Idaho Code § 74-102 and § 74-103(2) (text) (grant or deny a resident's public records request within three working days, or within ten working days if you notify the requester in writing that you need longer). I did not verify a statutory retention period for treasurer records.
  50. Idaho Code § 31-1509 (county accounting systems must meet generally accepted accounting principles and, on notice from the State Controller, the uniform accounting manual under § 67-1075); § 31-2101(4); § 67-450B (text) (independent audits by written contract; full annual audit once annual expenditures from all sources exceed $300,000; report filed with the Legislative Services Office within nine months after the audit period).