By Kjel Jones, independent excavation & dirt-work researcher for Island Park · licensed Idaho real estate agent, LPT Realty

Published 2026-09-16

The county’s driveway application, line by line: who signs, what to bring, and the fee it prints twice.

The form itself, and what it is for

A new driveway onto a county road in Fremont County starts with a four-page application. The county publishes it through its DocumentCenter — “Application — Driveway/Road Permit,” processed at 125 Bridge St in St. Anthony — and its four pages each do a different job: the application face, a two-page county checklist of everything the approach must satisfy, a road-supervisor page, and a plot sketch. Every detail on this page is read from the form itself, retrieved 11 September 2026. Walked through in order, it tells you exactly what to have in hand before you walk in.

One thing to know up front, because it shapes every other answer on this page: who files the application is separate from what it requires. The county requires the permit either way; whether you or your excavator prepares it is a bid conversation.

The identity fields: three things to have before you walk in

The face of the application asks for three identifiers before it asks anything else:

If your building permit is still in progress, note its status rather than leaving the field blank — the form is asking for the connection, and an honest “pending” beats a blank.

The fee, printed twice on one form

Here is the part of the form that genuinely cannot be made up. The application face prints a fee line reading “Fee: … $50.00” — and further down, in a different context, prints “($25 fee per application)”. Both figures, same form, no reconciliation between them.

This page will not pick one for you, because the county’s own document does not. Treat the fee as a question with a $25–$50 range until you have the current number in hand: ask before you write a check, and note that the form itself prints no phone number anywhere on its four pages. Ask before you budget: (208) 932-1140.

Who signs: your signature, then two county signatures

The form carries three signature zones, and the two county blocks are the structure that surprises people:

Dual county review is the headline: your approach is not complete when you sign it. It is complete when both county offices have signed, which is why starting the application early costs nothing and starting it late costs the season.

The checklist: what the county will hold the approach to

Page two of the form is the county’s own summary of the Development Code requirements an approach must satisfy, each item cited to its code section:

• Safe exit geometry — driveways other than single-family ones must let vehicles exit without backing into the road (Appendix C 1.09.010)
• The single-access rule — where one access serves more than one non-farm structure, its length may not exceed 440 feet (Appendix B 1.10.030)
• Width and slope for a single-family driveway — a minimum 10-foot width, a 5-foot curb radius where it meets the county road, and an approach grade no steeper than 12% (Appendix C 1.09.060)
• Arterial access minimized — approaches onto arterial roads are sited and designed to keep access points as few as possible (Appendix C 1.09.020)
• Drainage in the right-of-way — a ditch of at least 24-inch depth along the property line, seeded per the local NRCS recommendation (Appendix B 1.13.020), the rules behind which this site covers on the drainage page
• The culvert row — minimum 12-inch diameter, minimum 30-foot length, corrugated steel, aluminum or concrete, at least 12 inches of cover (Appendix B 1.13.040 & Appendix C 1.09.070) — the published numbers and what they mean are laid out on the culvert-sizing page
• A sight-obstruction question — the checklist asks whether the clear vision triangle is free of obstructions like vegetation, fences, and parked cars

The spacing rows, and the honest wrinkle in them

The checklist’s seventh item prints intersection distances, and this is where the form deserves careful reading. It summarizes Appendix B 1.10.020 this way:

The wrinkle: the code section the form cites, quoted directly, reads more strictly than the form’s summary. This site’s page on approach spacing prints Appendix B 1.10.020’s own rule — approaches at least 125 feet from any intersection on a local road, 155 on a collector, 200 on an arterial — while the form’s checklist splits its rows between driveways and roads and arrives at smaller figures for driveways. Two county documents, citing the same section, printing different distances. The safe course is the one that satisfies both readings: measure the driveway-side distances on the form, check the rule text, and let the county settle which applies to your frontage before you commit the access location. Road type itself is decided by the current ITD Functional Classification System Map, the form says — and an access onto a state highway is not this form at all, but an ITD permit under the state’s own rules.

The road-supervisor page: call before any work

Page three is short and blunt:

“Please call road supervisor before any work is done to be sure the following have been addressed”

— Fremont County driveway application, page 3 of 4. Retrieved 11 September 2026

What follows the instruction is a blank line for the supervisor’s name and number, and three yes/no boxes: is the site triangle clear, is drainage addressed properly, is a culvert required. The form prints the instruction but leaves the number blank, which tells you the county expects the call to happen through its offices at permit time — one more reason the (208) 932-1140 line above exists.

The plot sketch: eleven things to put on paper

The last page asks for a sketch of the site, and the form lists what it wants to see on it:

• A north arrow, and all county roads
• Existing and proposed buildings
• Utility lines, fences, and trees
• Canals, culverts, and ditches
• The nearest intersections, and the adjacent neighbors’ driveways on both sides

None of that requires a draftsman — it requires walking the frontage with a tape and a pencil. Twenty minutes of sketching answers questions that otherwise surface one at a time across four weeks of permit review, and the spacing rows above are measured straight off this sketch.

Filing it, start to signature

1. Gather the three identifiers the face asks for: Building Permit number, Parcel ID, parcel address.
2. Walk the frontage and draw the plot sketch — the form’s eleven features, including the neighbors’ driveways both sides.
3. Check your plan against the checklist rows — width, grade, drainage, culvert, spacing — before anyone prices pipe.
4. Settle the fee question by asking which printed figure is current: the form shows both $50.00 and $25 per application.
5. Sign the applicant certification, then submit for the two county signatures — Road and Bridge, and Planning and Zoning.
6. Call the road supervisor before any work is done, as the form itself instructs, and confirm the three yes/no boxes.
7. With signatures in hand and the checklist satisfied, the approach is ready to build — (208) 932-1140.

Common questions

What is the fee for a Fremont County driveway permit?

The application itself prints two figures — a fee line reading $50.00, and a separate line reading $25 fee per application — with nothing on the form reconciling them. Neither figure should be treated as the current number on its own; ask before you budget.

Where do I get the driveway application?

From the county's DocumentCenter — the Application for a Driveway/Road Permit, processed at 125 Bridge St, St. Anthony. It is four pages: the application face, a two-page code checklist, a road-supervisor page, and a plot-sketch page.

Who has to sign the driveway application?

Three parties: the applicant's own certification signature, a County Road and Bridge Representative, and the Planning and Zoning Administrator. The two county signatures are what make the permit complete — it is not finished when you sign it.

Why does the form want my Building Permit number?

The approach is reviewed as part of the project it serves — the Building Permit number ties the driveway file to the building file. If the building permit is still pending, say so on the form rather than leaving the field blank.

What is the Parcel ID field for?

It identifies the exact property the access will serve, so the county reviews the correct frontage for spacing, drainage, and the checklist items.

Can my excavator file the driveway application for me?

The county requires the permit either way; who prepares and files it is a bid question. This site has a separate page on who should pull the driveway permit and how to settle it in writing before dig day.

What driveway spacing does the application checklist print?

For driveways: at least 10 feet from an adjacent access point, 20 feet from an intersection on a local road, and 60 feet on a collector — with road-side figures of 50, 125, and 125–200 feet. Note the code section it cites reads more strictly than the form's summary, so confirm which applies with the county.

What if my driveway meets a state highway instead of a county road?

Then this is not the form. Access to state highways, US-20 included, is permitted by the Idaho Transportation Department under the state's own rules — the application says so in its own checklist.

What does the checklist require for the culvert?

A minimum 12-inch diameter, a minimum 30-foot length, corrugated steel, aluminum or concrete, covered by at least 12 inches of material — the published culvert minimums this site lays out on the culvert-sizing page.

When can work start on the approach?

The form's own instruction: please call the road supervisor before any work is done, to be sure the sight, drainage, and culvert questions are addressed — and the permit needs both county signatures first.