Car Registration

Registration gives you documentation that you have paid the necessary fees to operate your vehicle on Idaho roads. If you are an Idaho resident or business, you have an Idaho driver's license, and you own your vehicle, then you are required by the state to register your vehicle, whether it's a passenger car, motorhome, motorcycle, ATV, boat, or a recreational vehicle trailer.

However, before you can register it, you must title it in Idaho first. The title is a document that shows legal ownership and displays the owner's name and address as well as any lien holder (such as a bank or credit union) financing the vehicle. Keep in mind that you can apply for registration right after you turn in the required titling documents to a county assessor's motor vehicle office.

Who is an Idaho Resident?

The state considers you a resident if you have made Idaho your home continuously for at least the last 90 days, and if you are not a full-time student who can claim residency in another state. In both cases, you can declare residency before the 90-day mark, even if you are a student who is a resident of another state.

If you have recently moved to Idaho, you must register and title your vehicle within 90 days of your arrival.

Fees

The fees listed below are approximate. Call (208) 334-8663 or (208) 334-8649 to verify exact fees at the time you wish to title and register your vehicle.

• Passenger cars: $24-$46 (vehicle age and your county of residence will cause this figure to vary)

• Motorcycles and ATVs: $15.25 (Ada county residents must pay $19.25)

• Boats (up to 12 feet): $13 (add $3 per foot for additional length)

• ATVs and off-road motorcycles: $10

Ada County residents registering their vehicles must pay an additional $10 to $20 for the Ada County Highway District Fee.

Motorhome and RV trailers must don recreational vehicle stickers ($8.50 for the first $1,000 of market value, $5 for each additional $1,000). The state prorates these stickers on a quarterly basis the first time you register your RV or motorhome.

Which Vehicles Must be Registered

The complete list of which vehicles must be titled and registered includes passenger cars, trucks (such as utility, commercial, motor homes), motorcycles, recreational trailers, utility and boat trailers weighing 2,000 pounds or more (unladen weight), construction or wrecking cranes (registered as commercial vehicles), drilling rigs (registered as commercial vehicles), all-terrain and off-road vehicles also registered for highway use if operated on highways (registered through the Idaho Division of Parks and Recreation), and snowmobiles (also registered through the Idaho Division of Parks and Recreation).

You must register utility trailers under 2,000 pounds, but you can skip the titling process.

Those that do not need to be registered include construction equipment other than cranes, wheel-mounted equipment (including air compressors, wood chippers, tar buckets, tow dollies, portable toilet trailers, combines, discs, and hay balers), bicycles, golf carts, self-propelled wheelchairs, invalid tricycles, and wheelchair conveyance units.

There are a few vehicles that may or may not require registration, depending on the circumstances for which you use them. Contact your county auto licensing office to be certain, if you own one or more of the following: mobile homes and manufactured homes, office trailers, concession stands, street sweepers, ATVs and off-road vehicles used exclusively for agricultural purposes, boats, or mopeds.

Aircraft registration is handled by the Idaho Transportation Department's Division of Aeronautics. Call (800) 426-4587 or (208) 334-8775 for more information.

Where to Register

If you are new in town, you will soon get to know your county assessor's office pretty well, as is the case with most Idaho residents. You can register your vehicle at any one of the state's county assessor motor vehicle offices. In order to register your vehicle in Idaho, you must also fulfill the titling requirements.

When

Within 30 days of purchasing your vehicle in Idaho, you must title it. Pushing it off until after that period will cost you a $20 late fee. If you purchased the vehicle in another state, you also have 30 days from the moment you brought it over state lines to title it. Procrastinate and you'll pay the $20 penalty fee.

How

You should fit under one of the four following scenarios if you are required to title and register your vehicle:

Vehicles Purchased from Idaho Dealers

The dealer should prepare and submit the documents necessary to get you a title in your name. Grab your copy of the dealer's title application paperwork and head to your local county assessor's office to register the vehicle.

Vehicles Purchased from Private Parties or Out-of-state Dealers

Take the previous owner's title documents to your county assessor's vehicle licensing office and complete the title application.

Vehicles Purchased from Private Parties or Out- of-state Dealers: Financed through an Idaho Financial Institution

The financial institution should take care of this for you by submitting and preparing the documents necessary to secure a title in your name and to show its lien on the vehicle.

Vehicles Purchased from Private Parties or Out-of-state Dealers: Financed through an Out-of-state Financial Institution

Typically, that institution will forward the necessary documents to your county assessor's vehicle licensing office. Once you confirm the paperwork has arrived, take a trip to the office, sign the title application, and apply for registration.

Liability Insurance

This final detail could hold you back from registering your vehicle. The law requires each and every driver, rider, anyone who will operate a motorized vehicle (registered or not) on Idaho roadways to carry liability insurance with the minimum coverage of:

• $25,000 for injury or death of one person

• $50,000 for injury or death of two or more people

• $15,000 for property damage

Upon vehicle registration, you will be asked to sign a statement certifying that your vehicle is and will be insured as required by Idaho Code, Sections 49-117(18) and 49-1229.

Nonoperational Vehicles

Idaho does not offer a special registration for vehicles that are nonoperable or placed in storage for an indefinite period of time.

Driving Privileges for Non-Citizens

If you're a currently licensed driver from another country, you may drive in Idaho for up to a year. College students, though, may continue using their foreign-issued license as long as they are currently attending a university in the state.

Be sure to always have your foreign-issued license with you when driving.

Idaho officials recommend that non-citizens obtain an International Driving Permit from their home country. The permit basically translates a foreign-issued license to make it understandable to U.S. officials. Carry the permit with you when driving.

If you become a resident of the state, you must apply for an Idaho driver's license within 30 days of your residency to retain your driving privileges.