Open Records in Idaho

Government records in Idaho fall under the Idaho Public Records Act. Although electronic records are not mentioned explicitly, it is a very broad law that addresses public records “regardless of physical form or characteristics”.

How Idaho Defines a Public Record
The Idaho Public Records Act states that “public record includes, but is not limited to, any writing containing information relating to the conduct or administration of the public’s business prepared, owned, used or retained by any state agency, independent public body corporate and politic or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.”

Social Media Guidance Documents
Although there aren’t official documents offering guidance in terms of website/social media/enterprise collaboration content and the Idaho Public Records Act, the Office of the Attorney General released the Idaho Public Record Law Manual in 2018. In this document, it states:

“To date, email (electronic mail) and text messaging have not been separately addressed by the Legislature. Email and texts are considered public records and are subject to the same laws as any other public record.”

This strongly suggests that website/social media/enterprise collaboration content would also be subject to these laws.

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