Idaho License Plate Reader Laws

Status at a glance

What the law covers

Idaho Code § 49-1432 was added by Senate Bill 1180 in 2025. The bill was signed April 4, 2025, became Session Law Chapter 316, and took effect July 1, 2025. The official statute page shows no later amendment.

The section applies to an “agency,” meaning “the state of Idaho, any political subdivision of the state of Idaho, or any agency thereof” (§ 49-1432(1)(a)). An automated license plate reader is “a device that passively records license plates of vehicles on a roadway or any similar device” (§ 49-1432(1)(b)). The statute regulates government agencies. It doesn’t regulate privately owned cameras, and it doesn’t say whether an agency’s use of data from private cameras is covered. See private and HOA cameras.

Permitted police uses

An agency may use ALPRs and their data “for law enforcement purposes, traffic flow analysis purposes, or both” (§ 49-1432(2)). For law enforcement use, two limits apply:

• “The device and its data shall not be used for any purpose other than the investigation of felony or misdemeanor crimes or traffic accidents or to search for missing or endangered persons” (§ 49-1432(2)(a)).
• “The device and its data shall not be used to enforce traffic infractions other than those associated with a traffic accident” (§ 49-1432(2)(b)).

Outside what the section allows, the data “shall not be used for any non-law enforcement purpose, including but not limited to personal use, political activity, or surveillance unrelated to the purposes described in subsection (2)(a) of this section” (§ 49-1432(4)).

Access, training and audits

• Access. Access is limited to an agency’s authorized personnel, and agencies must use access controls “to ensure that only individuals with appropriate clearance are able to retrieve automated license plate reader data” (§ 49-1432(3)).
• Training. Each agency must train all authorized users on “data privacy, legal compliance, and ethical use” (§ 49-1432(6)).
• Logging. “All access to and queries of automated license plate reader data shall be logged in a secure audit system to include user identity, date, time, and the purpose of access” (§ 49-1432(7)).
• Audits. “Agencies shall conduct semiannual audits of automated license plate reader data access logs to detect and address any unauthorized or suspicious activity” (§ 49-1432(8)).

The required log fields, especially the purpose of access, can show whether a search fit the uses allowed by subsection (2)(a). See ALPR audit logs and search records.

Misuse

“A person who misuses automated license plate reader data pursuant to subsection (4) of this section shall be subject to discipline, administrative penalties, and criminal prosecution, if applicable” (§ 49-1432(5)). The statute doesn’t say whether evidence obtained in violation of the section is excluded in a criminal case.

What the statute doesn’t address

Section 49-1432 is short. It doesn’t set rules on:

• how long ALPR data may be kept;
• sharing data with other agencies, including out-of-state or federal agencies;
• stops based on an alert; or
• whether ALPR data is a public record.

On these points, agency policy and other law fill the gap. See ALPR data retention and sharing.

An example: Idaho Falls’ procedure

The Idaho Falls Police Department’s Supplemental Procedure 127 covers its use of Flock Safety systems. It is one agency’s procedure, not state law, and other Idaho agencies may differ. It states that “Idaho code 49-1432 specifies the requirements for the use of ALPR devices” and provides:

• Retention. “The Flock safety system standard retention policy is 30 days.” The procedure says “a 30-day retention provides enough information to facilitate an investigative lead,” and that officers should preserve records needed for their cases or as evidence.
• Alerts. “All alerts generated by Flock should not be considered probable cause or reasonable suspicion by itself for a traffic stop.”
• Plates on hot lists. Plates are entered only “when they are needed to investigate traffic accidents, misdemeanor crimes, felony crimes, or any missing/ endangered person case.”
• Searches. Each search records an offense type, a case number if one exists, and a reason chosen from a set list: traffic accident, misdemeanor or felony with the corresponding Idaho Code section, missing person, or endangered person.

The 30-day figure describes the vendor’s standard setting as adopted by this department. It isn’t a statewide rule.

What this can mean in an Idaho case

• What purpose does the access log record for the search, and is it one of the uses in § 49-1432(2)(a)?
• Was ALPR data used to enforce a traffic infraction not associated with a traffic accident (§ 49-1432(2)(b))?
• Did the conduct happen on or after July 1, 2025, when the section took effect?
• What do the agency’s semiannual audits show?
• How long does the agency keep data, and was the relevant data preserved? See requesting ALPR records in discovery.
• For a stop on an alert, what independent basis did the officer have?