License check · State of Idaho
How to Check a Plumber’s License in Idaho Before You Hire
A plumber working on someone else's home in Boise must be a State of Idaho registered and licensed contractor in that trade (City of Boise, read November 10, 2026), and the public lookup is the license search of the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) at dopl.idaho.gov/license-search. Ask for the plumbing contractor certificate number, search it, and confirm the record is a contractor credential, active and unexpired, under the same name as your quote.
Published November 10, 2026 · Figures and rules checked against the sources listed at the end of this page.
The check, in five steps
- Ask for the certificate number. Ask the plumber for their Idaho plumbing contractor certificate of competency number and the exact business name it is under. Idaho's plumbing rules expect that number to appear in a plumbing contractor's advertising, so a legitimate contractor has it to hand.
- Open the DOPL license search. Go to the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses license search page at dopl.idaho.gov/license-search and choose the search link on the plumbing row.
- Search by number or name. Search the certificate number first; it is the cleanest match. If you only have a name, try the business name and the owner's name, since a company can be listed under either.
- Check type, status and expiration. Confirm the record is a plumbing contractor credential, not only a journeyman or apprentice one, that the status is active, and that the expiration date has not passed.
- Match it to the person at your door. The name on the record should match the name on the quote and the invoice. If the quote comes from a different business name than the record, ask why before any work starts.
The search is on the State's site: dopl.idaho.gov/license-search. We describe what to verify and leave out click-by-click screens, because the State changes its search pages from time to time.
What the record should show
- A contractor credential. The business taking your money and pulling the permit should show up as a plumbing contractor, not only as an individual worker. If the record type is unclear, ask DOPL.
- Active status. Expired, suspended or revoked means stop and ask.
- An expiration date in the future.
- The same name as your paperwork. Business name or DBA on the record, quote and invoice should line up.
- Discipline, if any is listed. A past action is not automatically disqualifying, but it is a fair thing to ask about.
Why the number should be easy to get
Idaho's plumbing rules treat advertising as part of licensing. IDAPA 24.39.20.300.09 makes it a violation to advertise plumbing-contractor work without holding a current Idaho plumbing contractor certificate of competency, or to advertise without including the certificate number, and the rule lists newspaper, directory, flyer, telephone, television, radio, internet and door-to-door advertising. Section 300 sets the civil penalty at up to $1,000 for each count.
For a homeowner, the practical point is simple: a real plumbing contractor expects to be asked for the number and can give it in one breath. Hesitation is a signal.
About this site. Boise Elite Plumber is a referral service, not a plumbing contractor, and holds no Idaho plumbing contractor certificate. The independent contractor you are matched with holds their own. Check it.
The license is not the permit
The license is the State's, and it belongs to the plumber. The permit is for the job, and inside Boise city limits it comes from the City's Building Division. A licensed contractor pulls it as part of the work. See Boise plumbing permits for which jobs need one and what the City charges.
What this page does not state
- The licensing statute. We have not read it directly, so we do not quote or cite it.
- Experience, exam or insurance requirements for each credential. DOPL publishes those; we have not verified them and do not repeat secondhand versions.
- Exact search screens. Use the plumbing row on DOPL's license search page; the layout may differ from any description.
Sources and dates
Every figure and rule above names where it came from and the date it was read. If a source disagrees with a quote you receive, the quote wins: it reflects your house, your pipes and this week's demand. Prices are rechecked at least every six months.
- City of Boise Building Division, "Homeowner’s Guide to Residential Construction" — read November 10, 2026. Anyone other than the homeowner performing plumbing work must be a State of Idaho registered and licensed contractor in that trade; the City links to a licensed-contractor search.
- IDAPA 24.39.20, Rules Governing Plumbing, section 300 (Idaho Administrative Code, 2024 archive) — read November 10, 2026. Section 300.09, effective March 28, 2023: advertising rule and certificate-number requirement; section 300 civil penalty per count. Read through a document-fetch tool and cross-checked against a second published copy; not opened directly in a browser.
- Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, License Search (Plumbing Board: "Search for a License") — read November 10, 2026. Page listing confirmed; the search screens were not walked through, so the steps describe what to verify.