Moving between states / Idaho

Flag of OregonOregontoFlag of IdahoIdaho, Truck driver

Moving from Oregon to Idaho as a CDL holder

What a CDL holder licensed in Oregon has to do to work in Idaho, what the move does to your pay, and who in Idaho is hiring from out of state.

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Idaho resident you surrender the Oregon CDL at a Idaho driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Idaho. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Idaho leaves you roughly $978 a year more than Oregon does, because Idaho's rate is lower.

SalaryOregon state taxIdaho state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,772$2,120+$652
$60,000$4,158$3,180+$978
$90,000$6,237$4,770+$1,467

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. In Oregon: Portland metro adds local taxes on higher incomes. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Oregon to Idaho

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Oregon certificate stays on the Oregon State Board of Nursing, Certified Nursing Assistant registry; to work in Idaho you apply to the Idaho Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare) for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: Oregon to Idaho

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Oregon is not in the compact, so your Oregon licence is single-state. Apply to the Idaho board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Idaho is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

Electrician: Oregon to Idaho

Reciprocity likely. Idaho licenses electricians at state level through the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, Electrical Board, and Idaho reciprocates with most western states for journeymen who tested there and worked a year. Your Oregon licence comes from the Oregon Building Codes Division, Electrical and Elevator Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

No statewide program in Idaho pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Openings filed in Idaho

39 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Idaho employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Oregon to Idaho

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Idaho employers.

Plan my move to Idaho

Same move, by trade

CNA: Oregon to Idaho · RN or LPN: Oregon to Idaho · Electrician: Oregon to Idaho · All licences: Oregon to Idaho

From Oregon to the states next to Idaho

Washington (no state income tax) · Nevada (no state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax) · Wyoming (no state income tax) · Montana (progressive, top rate 5.9%)

To Idaho from the states next to Oregon

Washington · Nevada · California

Everything about working in Idaho · All moves between states · All 50 states

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