Priority Date FAQ

The priority date is one of the elements of the water right required on your notice of claim. The priority date is the basis upon which water is distributed in times of shortage. When there is not enough water to satisfy all existing water rights, then water is distributed first to those with the oldest priority date.

Generally, the priority date of a beneficial use right is the date the water was first put to beneficial use. This date is not necessarily when you acquired the property, or when you first made beneficial use. A previous owner could have established beneficial use, which you continued.

No. Small domestic and/or stockwater claims where quantity used is less than 13,000 gallons per day do not require evidence of the priority date.

A claim is a beneficial use claim if it is not based on a permit or license issued by IDWR or a decree issued by a court.

A beneficial use water right is established by putting the water to beneficial use, such as for irrigation, hydropower, commercial or industrial use.

Generally, the priority date of a beneficial use right is the date the water was first put to beneficial use. This date is not necessarily when you acquired the property, or when you first made beneficial use. A previous owner could have established beneficial use, which you continued. 'Posted notice' water rights are considered a type of beneficial use water right because they are not confirmed by a permit, license or decree. See the frequently asked question "What if I have a 'posted notice' water right?" for more information on posted notice water rights.

Some claimants are required to submit additional evidence of the priority date of the water right if:

The claim is based on beneficial use, and
The claim is not a small domestic and/or stockwater claim. Small domestic and/or stockwater uses are very specifically defined by statute, and proof is required for a beneficial use claim if the use claimed does not meet that definition.

Some evidence of the year of the priority date claimed is sufficient. Evidence of the month and day is not required, but should be included if available.

Documentation of the priority date can take many forms. Generally, the document will be sufficient if it shows water was used:

For the purpose(s) claimed,
In the year claimed as the priority date, and
On the land claimed as the place of use or by the owner of that land.

It is possible for a water right to have been established on one parcel of land and then transferred for use on another. In such cases, the evidence should show water was used on the original place of use or by the owner of the original place of use to meet the third part of the requirement.

Note: Proof of ownership of land by a title or warranty deed usually does not, by itself, constitute proof of a priority date since the priority is based on use of water.

Here are a few examples of what may constitute acceptable evidence:

Affidavits – a notarized statement of someone with personal knowledge of when beneficial use was first made. Personal knowledge means someone who observed the use, such as a neighbor or previous owner, not someone who was told of the use by someone else. Click here for a printable affidavit form.
For irrigation claims – crop reports, income tax documents showing income from sale of crops, or property tax documents showing property was historically taxed as irrigated agriculture
For ground water rights – the report of the well driller who drilled the well, if a report was filed with IDWR. Click here to search for a well log on file with IDWR.
Pump test records
Sales receipts for equipment of materials used in the water system
Records of the person or business who sold, installed or constructed the diversion works
Electric bills for electric powered diversion equipment
Homestead documents for water patents, patent documentation for mining claims or other documentation indicating use of water during the acquisition of government land. These may be of record at the county recorder’s office for the county in which the land is located. These should also be of record with the National Archives at www.archives.com
Aerial photography showing the property being used for the purpose claimed. This is most commonly used to provide proof of historic irrigation. Information on available aerial photography can be obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at the following website: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov

The list under the frequently asked question "What are some examples of acceptable evidence?" is only a sampling of available kinds of information. If you cannot furnish some proof such as the examples listed in the frequently asked question "What are some examples of acceptable evidence?", you may also submit your own testimony, in the form of an affidavit, which explains the basis for the year of priority claimed. The letter should include a statement of the claimant’s personal knowledge of the water use, but may also include information the claimant obtained from others. Click here for a printable affidavit form.

Statutory claims. In the late 1970s, legislation (Idaho Code 42-243) was enacted that required persons with beneficial use rights to register them with IDWR. These “claims” were declarations of the water users, and were not investigated or verified. The statutory claim may be evidence of beneficial use only as the date the statutory claim was filed, not as of the priority date claimed either in the statutory claim or the notice of claim filed in the SRBA or the NIA.
Posted Notices. See the frequently asked question "What if I have a 'posted notice' water right?" for more information on posted notice water rights.

IDWR will recommend the claim be disallowed to the court. If proof is submitted but it supports a priority date later than the year claimed, then a later year will be recommended.

There is a special category of beneficial use rights called posted notice rights, to which special rules apply. Prior to 1903, Idaho had a 'posted notice' statute which provided for, among other things, posting of a notice including specified information at the point of diversion, recording the notice at the county recorder’s office, and diversion and beneficial use within a reasonable time after posting. If the requirements were met, then the priority date was the date of posting the notice. These posted notice water rights are considered a type of beneficial use water right because they are not confirmed by a permit, license or decree.

The posted notice may be evidence of a priority date as of the date the notice was posted, but only if some evidence is also submitted showing completion of the appropriation within a reasonable time after posting of the notice.

You can submit evidence of priority in person or by mail to the following offices. If you’re coming in person, call ahead to make an appointment. If you do not have an appointment, we may be serving other claimants and unable to meet with you. Write the claim number on all documents submitted. You will receive your claim number on the Finalize and Submit page after all elements of the claim are entered. Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA) address:

        IDWR State Office
        Adjudication Bureau
        322 East Front Street
        Boise, ID 83720
        (208) 287-4800

        North Idaho Adjudication (NIA) address:
        IDWR Northern Regional Office
        Adjudication Bureau
        7600 Mineral Dr Suite 100
        Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815
        (208) 762-2800

You may contact us by e-mail, phone or in person. If you’re coming in person, call ahead to make an appointment. If you do not have an appointment, we may be serving other claimants and unable to meet with you.

By email : NIAHelp@idwr.idaho.gov

IDWR Office Location and Phone Numbers:

            
            State Office			(208) 287-4800	
            322 East Front Street
            Boise, ID  83720

            Northern Regional Office  	(208) 762-2800	
            7600 Mineral Dr Suite 100
            Coeur d’Alene, ID  83815

            Eastern Regional Office	(208) 525-7161
            900 N Skyline Dr Suite A
            Idaho Falls, ID  83402-1718

            Southern Regional Office	(208) 736-3033
            1341 Fillmore St Suite 200
            Twin Falls, ID  83301-3380

            Western Regional Office	(208) 334-2190
            2735 Airport Way
            Boise, ID  83705-5082

            Salmon Office			(208) 742-0658
            102 S Warpath
            Salmon, ID  83467-4435

Priority Date Frequently Asked Questions