Staffing agency license in Idaho: repealed in 1982, with PEO and farm labor rules left

Idaho does not license employment or staffing agencies. The Idaho Code still has a placeholder for Chapter 3 of Title 44, "Private Employment Agencies," but it is marked repealed, and the compiler's notes to the official code say its three sections, covering a license, a bond and a penalty, were repealed in 1982. What Idaho does regulate is narrower: professional employer organizations must meet statutory standards (but do not register), farm labor contractors need a Department of Labor license and bond, and since July 1, 2026 a new background check law reaches workers placed in many health care and care settings.

This page covers the repeal, what applies by business model, PEO standards, workers' compensation for temps, health care placements, farm labor contracting and the employer accounts every Idaho staffing firm needs. For other states, see employment agency license requirements.

The 1982 repeal

The Legislature's Title 44, Chapter 3 page lists the chapter as "Private Employment Agencies [Repealed]" with no sections left. The compiler's notes in the annotated Idaho Code explain that sections 44-301 to 44-303, titled "Private employment agencies, License, Bond, Penalty," dated from a 1901 act and were repealed by S.L. 1982, ch. 33, § 1. I could not find the 1982 session law itself online, so the year rests on those notes.

Nothing replaced the chapter, and the Legislature's bill indexes for 2023 to 2026 show no bill to bring back agency licensing. What that means in practice:

• No state license, bond or fee schedule filing for direct hire, contingency or retained search, or temporary staffing, whoever pays the fee.
• Vendor forms. If a client's onboarding packet asks for an Idaho employment agency license number, answer that Idaho has no such license and that the former chapter was repealed in 1982.
• Candidate-paid fees have no Idaho fee cap. They fall under the general Idaho Consumer Protection Act, Idaho Code 48-601 et seq., which bans deceptive practices in selling services (48-603). Under 48-608, a buyer who loses money to a prohibited practice can recover actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater. Put any job-seeker fee in writing and make sure every job you advertise exists.

What applies, by business model

PEOs: recognition, not registration

The Idaho Professional Employer Recognition Act, Idaho Code 44-2401 to 44-2407, dates from 1994 and has no registration, license, fee or issuing agency. Section 44-2403 defines a professional employer arrangement as an ongoing rather than temporary arrangement in which the professional employer assigns workers to a client and employer duties are shared. It expressly excludes temporary employees, defined in 44-2403(7) as workers hired by an organization and assigned to a third party to supplement its workforce for absences, skill shortages, seasonal workloads and special projects. A normal staffing firm is therefore outside the act.

To be recognized under 44-2405, a professional employer must:

• have a written contract with each client stating the services and each party's duties, with the PEO reserving a right of direction and control, handling payroll taxes and benefits from its own accounts, and keeping authority to hire, fire, discipline and reassign;
• give written notice of the relationship to assigned workers and the public, which may be a conspicuous posting at the client's worksite;
• keep a separate bank account in Idaho for wage, tax and benefit money received from clients, and pay those amounts promptly from it.

The standards matter for unemployment insurance: Idaho Code 72-1349B allows a transfer of a client's experience rating only to a PEO that fully complies with chapter 24, on a joint application, and makes the client jointly and severally liable for unpaid contributions on its assigned workers.

Workers' compensation for temps

Idaho Code 72-103, added in 1997, deals directly with temporary and professional employers. Section 72-102 defines a "temporary employer" by reference to the PEO act's temporary employee definition, and a "work site employer" as the client where the worker is placed. Under 72-103:

• As long as either party has workers' compensation coverage for the injured worker, the client keeps the employer's immunity from suit, and the staffing firm does too if it exercised enough control to be the employer and insured accordingly.
• The parties may decide in writing which of them secures coverage under 72-301.
• If they do not decide, the obligation stays with the temporary or professional employer.

Put the choice in your client agreement rather than relying on the default. See how to start a staffing agency for where this fits in your setup.

Health care placements: background checks, not registration

I found no Idaho statute requiring health care or nurse staffing agencies to register, be licensed or report as of October 2026, and no 2023 to 2026 bill on the subject in the Legislature's bill indexes. The relevant new law is House Bill 494, signed on March 27, 2026 as Session Law chapter 220 and effective July 1, 2026. It added a background check chapter to Title 56, which the Legislature publishes as chapter 27 (sections 56-2701 to 56-2707) because of a numbering conflict.

• Who. Section 56-2704 subjects "employees, contractors, agents, or volunteers" with direct access to children, elderly or vulnerable adults to a check if they work for listed providers, including skilled nursing facilities, residential care or assisted living facilities, home health agencies, personal assistance agencies and developmental disabilities agencies. A nurse or aide you place at one of those clients is a contractor or agent of it.
• How. A fingerprint-based check run by the Department of Health and Welfare through the Idaho State Police and the FBI, with registry and exclusion list checks.
• Cost. The applicant pays a nonrefundable fee set by rule. The department's current rule, IDAPA 16.05.06, sets the fingerprint check fee at up to $70.
• Effect. A clearance is not a finding of suitability for employment (56-2706), but an employer that reasonably relies on it is immune from liability for that decision (56-2707).

Decide with each facility client who submits the application and who pays, and do not start a worker before the clearance arrives.

Farm labor contractors need a license

The one Idaho license that reaches labor supply firms is in Idaho Code 44-1601 to 44-1618. A farm labor contractor is anyone who, for pay, recruits, solicits, hires, employs, furnishes or transports migrant or seasonal agricultural workers. The definition of agriculture excludes forestry, lumbering and logging.

• License. Issued by the Idaho Department of Labor's wage and hour section for the calendar year, expiring December 31. The department's licensing information sheet lists a $250 annual fee, matching the $250 application and renewal fees in 44-1605 and 44-1606.
• Bond. A surety bond of $10,000 for up to 20 employees or $30,000 for more than 20, or an equal cash deposit (44-1604).
• Insurance. Auto and workers' compensation certificates naming the department as certificate holder, with 30 days' cancellation notice (44-1603).
• Worker disclosures. A written statement at recruitment of pay, terms, housing and transport costs, the surety's name and the worker's rights (44-1607).
• Penalties. Acting without a license is a misdemeanor with a fine up to $1,000, up to 60 days in jail or both (44-1616). Workers can sue for treble damages or $1,000 per violation (44-1613), and a grower that knowingly uses an unlicensed contractor is jointly liable for unpaid wages (44-1611).

Other Idaho rules worth knowing

• Noncompetes for your own recruiters. Idaho Code 44-2701 to 44-2704 enforce reasonable noncompetes only for "key employees" and key independent contractors, with a rebuttable presumption that 18 months or less is a reasonable term.
• E-Verify. Idaho has no E-Verify mandate for private employers; see E-Verify requirements in Idaho.
• Employer accounts. Unemployment insurance with the Idaho Department of Labor, workers' compensation under Title 72, withholding with the State Tax Commission, and any city business license.

Idaho's neighbors differ: Washington licenses employment agencies but exempts temporary service contractors (see staffing agency license in Washington), Oregon bonds agencies that charge job seekers (see staffing agency license in Oregon), and Utah leaves agency licensing to cities and counties (see staffing agency license in Utah).

An Idaho checklist

IDAHO CHECK — [date] — owner: [name]

Model:
  [ ] Direct hire / search / temp: no state agency license
      (Title 44, ch. 3 repealed, S.L. 1982, ch. 33)
  [ ] Any job-seeker fee: written terms; Consumer Protection
      Act applies (48-601 et seq.)
  [ ] Co-employment of client workforce: meet 44-2405
      (written contract, worker notice, Idaho trust account)
  [ ] Farmworkers for a fee: IDOL license ($250/yr), bond
      $10,000 (20 or fewer employees) or $30,000

Workers' comp:
  [ ] Client contract says in writing who secures coverage
      (default: staffing firm, 72-103)

Health care / care settings (from July 1, 2026):
  [ ] DHW fingerprint check cleared before start (56-2704)
  [ ] Agreed with client who applies and who pays

Employer accounts:
  IDOL UI account; workers' comp; withholding; local license [ ]
Next review: [date]

Re-check after each legislative session, since Idaho regulates staffing through scattered provisions rather than one licensing act, and a new health care or labor bill could change that quickly.