How to Get Dealer Plates in Idaho (and Where They Can't Go)

What dealer plates cost

Current plate prices are printed on the order form the investigator gives you at inspection (ITD 3635 for dealer plates, ITD 3169 for loaner plates) — ITD updates them without notice, so use the form's price.

Loaner plates are ordered on ITD 3169 and prorated to your license year. All your dealer plates renew with the license, in the same renewal payment.

Registration stickers were eliminated effective July 1, 2026; annual plate registration is still required.

The form notes that laden plate fees are not prorated and expire with the dealer license. Credit card payments carry a service fee. The form offers three plate styles: large (regular), small restricted-use, and small motorcycle.

When you order them

Plates come after the license. Form ITD 3170 says the Motor Vehicle Investigator provides the plate order forms at the inspection of your location. ITD 3635 asks for your dealer license number, so you cannot order before you have one.

Where a dealer plate may go

Idaho law lets a dealer move a plate from one vehicle to another during the calendar year it was issued for, as long as the vehicles are owned or operated by the dealer in the dealer's business. The law also allows:

• A prospective buyer to keep the vehicle with a dealer plate for no more than ninety-six hours, or to drive it with the dealer or a licensed salesman along.
• Personal use on a full-time basis by the dealer or a licensed full-time salesman personally. Family members and other people are excluded.
• Part-time salesmen to use a plate only to demonstrate a vehicle for sale, not for personal use.
• Other employees to use a plate when testing a vehicle or moving it in the dealer's business, including delivery and pickup.

Where a dealer plate may not go

The law lists the vehicles that cannot carry a dealer plate:

• Work or service vehicles not held in stock for sale.
• Leased or rented vehicles owned by the dealer.
• Vehicles that have been sold.
• Vehicles used for another business.
• Vehicles owned by a licensed wholesaler and used for personal use, including by the wholesaler's salesmen.
• A laden cargo vehicle, unless the dealer has complied with the laden plate rules.

Laden plates

A laden dealer plate lets a truck or tractor in your inventory haul vehicles that are also in your inventory: from a manufacturer to a dealer, between dealerships, to off-site locations in promotion of the business, to and from auctions, and to a temporary supplemental lot. The law caps laden plates at twenty-six thousand pounds combined gross vehicle weight and bars personal use of them.

Keep the record

If a plate is assigned for full-time personal use, the law requires a written record of the vehicles the plate is used on and the time each plate is used. That record is open to inspection by any peace officer or ITD employee.

Common questions

How much is an Idaho dealer plate?

Current plate prices are printed on the order form the investigator gives you at inspection (ITD 3635 for dealer plates, ITD 3169 for loaner plates) — ITD updates them without notice, so use the form's price.

Which form orders dealer plates?

Form ITD 3635, Application for Dealer Plate. The investigator provides plate order forms at your inspection. Loaner plates are ordered on ITD 3169 and prorated to your license year.

Can a customer take a car home on my dealer plate?

A prospective buyer may have the vehicle with a dealer plate for no more than ninety-six hours.

Can I put a dealer plate on my shop truck?

No. The law bars dealer plates on work or service vehicles that are not held in stock for sale.

Can my spouse drive a car on my dealer plate?

No. The personal-use exception covers the dealer or a licensed full-time salesman personally. Family members are excluded.