Idaho

For Idaho, payment bond threshold is any contract equal to or greater than fifty thousand dollars; bond amount is In an amount to be fixed by the contracting body, but in no event less than eighty-five percent of the contract amount; claim deadline is No such suit shall be commenced after the expiration of one year from the date on which the claimant performed the last of the labor or furnished or supplied the last of the material or equipment for which such suit is brought; preliminary notice required is must give written notice to the contractor within 90 days from the date on which such claimant performed the last of the labor or furnished or supplied the last of the material or equipment for which such claim is made; statutory citation is Idaho Statutes, Title 54, §§ 54-5203, 54-5217, 54-1902, 54-1925 to 1929, verified against its source on 2026-08-17.

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What the source says

IDAHO Who May Claim: Before any contract equal to or greater than fifty thousand dollars for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public building or public work or improvement in the State of Idaho, a person shall furnish to the State of Idaho, or to such county, city, town, municipal corporation, township, school district, public educational institution, or other political subdivision, public authority, or public instrumentality, or to such officer, board, commission, institution, or agency thereof, a payment bond which shall become binding upon the award of the contract to such person, who is hereinafter designated as “contractor.” (Idaho Code § 54-1926.) Every claimant who has furnished labor or material or rented, leased, or otherwise supplied equipment used in the prosecution of the work provided for in such contract in respect of which a payment bond is furnished, and who has not been paid in full therefor before the expiration of a period of 90 days after the day on which the last of the labor was done or performed by him or material or equipment was furnished or supplied by him for which such claim is made, shall have the right to sue on such payment bond. (Idaho Code § 54-1927.) However, it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business or act in the capacity of a public works contractor within this state without first obtaining and having a license issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter by the administrator of the division of building safety, unless that person is specifically exempted. (Idaho Code § 54-1902.) Idaho Contractor Registration Act: All contractors must register with the Idaho Contractors Board. The term “contractor” is broadly defined and includes anyone engaged in construction and anyone who hires those engaged in construction, though it does not include suppliers. (Idaho Code § 54-5203.) It is unlawful for a person to engage in business as a contractor in Idaho without holding a current registration. Also, if not exempt, an unregistered contractor is precluded from bringing or maintaining any action for the collection of compensation. (Idaho Code § 54-5217(2); ParkWest Homes, LLC v. Barnson (“ParkWest I”) , 149 Idaho 603, 608 (Idaho 2010); reaffirned ParkWest Homes, LLC v. Barnson(“ParkWest II”) , 154 Idaho 678 (2013).) A contract for work subject to the Act is illegal and cannot be enforced if the contractor is unregistered when the contract is executed. ( AED, Inc. v. KDC Invs., LLC , 155 Idaho 159, 167-68 (Idaho 2013).) Amount of Bond: In an amount to be fixed by the contracting body, but in no event less than eighty-five percent of the contract amount. (Idaho Code § 54-1926.) Labor and Material Covered: Construction, alteration, or repair of any public building or public work or improvement in the State of Idaho or any political subdivision, public authority, or public instrumentality thereof, including the renting or leasing of equipment. (Idaho Code § 54-1926.) Notice Required: No notice is required by a person having a contractual relationship, express or implied, with the principal contractor. Any person having a direct contractual relationship with a subcontractor, but no contractual relationship, express or implied, with the principal contractor, must give written notice to the contractor within 90 days from the date on which such claimant performed the last of the labor or furnished or supplied the last of the material or equipment for which such claim is made, stating with substantial accuracy the amount claimed and the name of the person to whom the material was furnished or supplied or for whom the labor was done or performed. Each notice shall be served by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, in an envelope addressed to the contractor at any place he maintains an office or conducts his business or at his residence. (Idaho Code § 54-1927.) Limit on Contract Retainage: Public bodies requiring a performance bond or payment bond in excess of fifty percent of the total contract amount shall not be authorized to withhold from the contractor or subcontractor any amount exceeding five percent of the total amount payable as retainage. Further, the public body shall release to the contractor any retainage for those portions of the project accepted by the contracting public body and the contractors as complete within thirty days after such acceptance. Contractors who utilize subcontractors to perform a portion of the contract work with a public body, shall not be authorized to withhold from the subcontractor any amount exceeding five percent of the total amount payable to the subcontractor as retainage. The contractor shall remit the retainage to the subcontractor within thirty days after completion of the subcontract. (Idaho Code § 54-1926 (3).) Time for Suit: No such suit shall be commenced after the expiration of one year from the date on which the claimant performed the last of the labor or furnished or supplied the last of the material or equipment for which such suit is brought, except that if the claimant is a subcontractor of the contractor, no such suit shall be commenced after the expiration of one year from the date on which final payment under the subcontract became due. Every suit instituted on the such payment bond shall be brought in an appropriate court in any county in which the contract was to be performed. (Idaho Code § 54-1927.) In any action brought upon either the payment or construction bonds, or against the public body failing to obtain the delivery of the payment bond, the prevailing party, upon each separate cause of action, shall recover a reasonable attorney’s fee to be taxed as costs. (Idaho Code § 54-1929.) Contracts Excluded: No statutory provision excluding certain contracts. Penalty for Failure to Take Bond: Any public body who fails or neglects to obtain the required payment bond shall, upon demand, itself make prompt payment to all persons who have supplied materials or performed labor in the prosecution of the work under the contract, and any such creditor has a direct right of action upon his account against such public body in any court having jurisdiction in any county in which the contract was to be performed and executed, which action must be commenced within one year after the furnishing of materials or labor. (Idaho Code § 54-1928.) Statutory Citation: Idaho Statutes, Title 54, §§ 54-5203, 54-5217, 54-1902, 54-1925 to 1929.

— fullertonlaw.com, retrieved 2026-08-17

Source

• fullertonlaw.comhttps://fullertonlaw.com/50-state-summary-payment-bond-law

Last verified against source: 2026-08-17. Due for re-check by 2027-08-17. This page as Markdown · OKF bundle · full dataset as JSON.