How to fill out Idaho 3404

One sheet that does two jobs, and only a licensed Idaho dealer can sign it: this form is to be completed by a licensed Idaho dealer to determine the retail value of the vehicle and to perform a vehicle identification number inspection. The value it produces is not academic. In the bonded-title route it decides the size of the surety bond, which Idaho sets at one and a half times the appraised value and holds for three years. In the conditional-title route it decides the tax, where there is no bill of sale to work from. And the word retail is doing work in that sentence - the form asks for the appraised retail value of the vehicle and prints not trade or wholesale value beside it.

Written against 3404 (Rev 10/23), issued under Idaho Code 49-523. The appraised value on this sheet is the number the rest of the process multiplies. Get it wrong on the high side and the surety bond costs more than it needs to; get it wrong on the low side and the county may work the tax from a clean NADA figure instead. It is worth asking the dealer which guide they used and on what mileage, because both go on the form.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 3404 from the itd.idaho.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our 3404 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   Find a licensed Idaho dealer

   ITD publishes a list of active Idaho dealers, and the form needs a dealer number on it.

   Watch out: Ask whether they will do the VIN inspection at the same time. The conditional-title procedure expressly allows it, and it saves a county visit.

2. 2
   The buyer fills this in

   Have them read the VIN off the vehicle

   Seventeen boxes, one character each.

   Watch out: Same comb as the inspection certification. If it does not match your paperwork, that is a finding, not a formality.

3. 3
   The buyer fills this in

   The odometer line

   Whole miles, or one of the four status boxes.

   Watch out: Exempt is the right box on anything model year 2010 or older, and it is what makes an old vehicle's appraisal straightforward.

4. 4
   The buyer fills this in

   The appraised retail value

   Retail, not trade, not wholesale - the exclusion is printed inside the label.

   Watch out: This is the number the bond is calculated from at one and a half times. Ask what it is before the dealer writes it down.

5. 5
   The buyer fills this in

   Value Determined By

   NADA, Kelley, or another named source.

   Watch out: A named guide is what makes the figure defensible to a county deputy. Ask which edition and which mileage they used.

6. 6
   The buyer fills this in

   Dealer signs under penalty of perjury

   Printed name, title, signature, date, dealership name, dealer number and address.

   Watch out: Check the dealer number is filled in. It is the box that turns a piece of paper into an appraisal Idaho will accept.

7. 7
   You fill this in

   Take it into the process it belongs to

   The bonded-title packet, or the conditional-title file, along with the indemnifying affidavit and the records.

   Watch out: It is one document among six or seven. The Bonded Title Application Instructions list the whole packet, and turning up short means starting the queue again.

What gets this one rejected

• •An appraisal by anybody who is not a licensed Idaho dealer. The form's first line restricts it, and the dealer number box is how it is checked.
• •A trade or wholesale figure. The label rules them both out by name - it wants the appraised retail value.
• •A value with no method beside it. Value Determined By is a required part of the answer, not a footnote.
• •An inspection that did not happen. The certification is that the vehicle has been physically inspected, sworn under penalty of perjury.
• •Using it as an ownership document. Like ITD 3403, it establishes facts about a vehicle and nothing about who owns it.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •It can replace ITD 3403 entirely. The conditional-title procedure: the VIN inspection may also be completed by the Idaho dealer at this time using this form, which saves a separate trip to a county counter.
• •The bond is one and a half times this number. The Bonded Title Application Instructions: the bond required is for one and a half times the appraised value of the vehicle, and must remain in effect for three years.

Every line here was read off 3404 (Rev 10/23) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Idaho Transportation Department, Division of Motor Vehicles pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Idaho seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Idaho involves.