5 Important New Idaho Laws That Were Just Approved in 2026

Idaho’s 2026 legislative session began on January 12, 2026. As of March 4, the House has introduced 330 bills and the Senate has introduced 142. Only a handful of these have made it to Governor Brad Little’s desk. Here are five laws that have been passed, signed and are scheduled to go into effect this summer.

Idaho Will Do Away With License Plate Registration Stickers

If you’re like us, you’ve taken advantage of how easy it is to renew your Idaho license plates online. But when the stickers showed up in the mail, you threw them in a pile of mail and forgot to put them on. You don’t think about it until you get on the freeway and start praying that you don’t get pulled over. After July 1, 2026, those stickers won’t matter. 

READ MORE: 8 Idaho Laws That Began in January 2026 That You May Have Missed

Governor Little signed House Bill 533 into law on March 2. Under the new law, Idaho will stop using registration stickers. Your vehicle’s registration card will be sufficient proof that your registration is current. If you’re pulled over in a traffic stop, police can verify your vehicle’s registration by using their in-car computer systems. 

The law will NOT change registration fees, renewal deadlines or your license plate number. By eliminating the production and distribution costs of the stickers, lawmakers estimate this will save the state $300,000. 

State Department of Education Helps Schools Crack Down on Bullying

If we were betting people, we’d put down a significant wager on whether you remember your high school bully’s name or not. State lawmakers would like to help schools provide more support for students going through it. Under House Bill 515, schools must provide their staff with ongoing professional development to help them prevent, identify and respond to bullying situations. Under the law, which is set to go into effect on July 1, 2026, the State Board of Education will set the training requirements. 

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HB515 also requires schools to inform both the victim and accused student’s parents if a bullying incident leads to suspension.

The new law will require all school districts to report bullying incidents to the Idaho State Department of Education yearly. Schools must clearly detail how students, staff or parents can report bullying and to whom those reports should be made. 

No More Bulk Lottery Ticket Purchases in Idaho

A few days ago, we told you that someone in Idaho was holding a $417K jackpot ticket for the Idaho Cash draw game. Shortly after, Janean Haber from Nampa came forward with the winning ticket. It was one of the largest jackpots in the game’s history, but the game hit a record jackpot of $877,800 last year. It was won by what the Idaho Lottery calls an “out-of-state syndicate.” 

READ MORE: Idaho Lottery Confirms Huge Idaho Cash Jackpot Winner

HB504, which goes into effect on July 1, 2026 bans anyone from buying more than $5,000 worth of lottery tickets within a 24-hour period. It also applies to groups of people organizing purchases across multiple transactions or locations. 

The lottery would have the authority to look into suspicious buying patterns and deny prizes if a winning ticket was part of a bulk purchase. Any retailer who allowed one of these purchases could be penalized and could lose their Idaho Lottery authorization. 

Idaho Makes It Easier for Cosmetology Students To Jump Into the Workforce

House Bill 514 affects anyone training to become a barber, barber-stylist, cosmetologist, esthetician, nail technician or electrologist. Under the new law, those students will be allowed to take their licensing exam after completing 80% of their training hours. The whole goal is to help them get into the workforce as soon as they graduate as long as they meet all the other requirements like being at least 16.5 years old. The new law goes into effect on July 1, 2026. 

Idaho Tweaks Who’s In Charge Of Inspecting and Approving Landfills

House Bill 555 mainly affects companies proposing landfills or waste facilities, state environmental regulators and local governments reviewing those projects. This one won’t immediately change anything for everyday Idaho citizens. 

As things stand now, public health districts handle inspections and rules for landfills, but after July 1, 2026, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality becomes the big boss. The new law also includes some new fees for landfill inspections and how many tons of trash the landfill receives. Those fees go into a fund to pay experts who keep Idaho’s landfills safe.