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Independent directory. Not government. Not legal advice.

Idaho LEOSA qualification

What the state requires, who can administer it, and how to stay current.

REVIEWED 19 OCT 2026 M. Alvarez, Sgt. (ret.) TCOLE-certified firearms instructor
Flag of Idaho State of Idaho
NARRATIVE · 01

How qualification works in Idaho

Idaho POST has a real statewide active-duty standard (the POST Handgun Qualification Short Course, 85% minimum passing score), which is what LEOSA's own "active duty standard" language points retirees to. Worth a careful legal read, though: individual agencies also publish their own, less-demanding retiree-specific courses and self-label them as satisfying the LEOSA "state handgun qualification course" requirement — for example, the Ada County Sheriff's Office recommends a 15-round course (5-yard line only, 12 hits required) for retirees, explicitly described in its own document as "a 'state handgun qualification course' for qualifying retired law enforcement individuals under LEOSA." That framing is the agency's own, not a formal Idaho POST retiree-specific rule -- worth flagging whether an agency-run retiree course lighter than POST's own active-duty standard is the correct reading of LEOSA's statutory language.

NARRATIVE · 02

What to carry afterward

Agency photo ID From the agency you separated from.
Proficiency certificate Dated within the past 12 months.1
NARRATIVE · 03

Where LEOSA doesn't apply

Private property where the owner prohibits firearms.
State & local government property buildings, parks and installations that restrict firearms.
Federal facilities courthouses, federal buildings and military installations.
School zones under the Gun-Free School Zones Act, unless separately licensed by your state.
Commercial aircraft LEOSA does not change federal aviation rules.
SOURCES
  1. 18 U.S.C. § 926C(d), identification required to carry
  2. Idaho's primary source

Not legal advice. Confirm with Idaho's POST commission or your former agency.

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