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Office: Custer County Sheriff’s Office – 130 S. 9th Street, Challis, ID 83226 | (208) 879-2232 | P.O. Box 344; Sheriff appointed April 2024.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Custer County is genuinely Idaho’s fifth-least populous county (4,275 residents as of 2020).
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-93 serves Challis, the county seat and largest city; other towns include Mackay, Stanley, and Clayton.
Notes: Custer County was established January 8, 1881, named for the General Custer gold mine, where gold was discovered five years earlier. Custer County is home to Mount Borah, Idaho’s highest peak at 12,662 feet. The county relies primarily on ranching, mining, and tourism.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Custer County Courthouse – Challis, ID.
Notes: Custer County holds genuinely rich frontier mining history. The ghost town of Custer, founded in 1879 by gold speculators and supported by the Lucky Boy and Black mines, reached a peak population of 600 in 1896 before becoming a ghost town by 1910; it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and is preserved by the Friends of Custer Museum. Nearby Bayhorse, a National Register-listed silver-mining ghost town founded in 1877, produced $300,000 worth of silver in 1882 alone (roughly $10 million in today’s dollars) after expanding its smelting operations. Both ghost towns are preserved within Land of the Yankee Fork State Park (521 acres, created 1990), which also includes an interpretive center, museum, and gold-panning station near Challis; Challis Hot Springs joined the park in 2022. Challis itself suffered significant damage in the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake, which irreparably damaged and led to the demolition of the town’s 1922 high school and collapsed the historic 1881 Challis Cold Storage building, originally built for Idaho Governor George L. Shoup.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Custer County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via custercountyidaho.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Challis Public Library (Challis) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Land of the Yankee Fork State Park (featuring the Custer and Bayhorse ghost towns, National Register of Historic Places), Mount Borah (Idaho’s highest peak), and the Challis National Forest are the county’s premier heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine, rich frontier mining-boom history preserved at the Custer and Bayhorse ghost towns is among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Custer County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via custercountyidaho.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via custercountyidaho.org; Custer County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Custer County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via custercountyidaho.org.
NOTES: Custer County is the nineteenth county completed in Idaho’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, rich frontier mining-boom history preserved at the Custer and Bayhorse ghost towns is among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Custer County County
Custer County is Idaho’s Frank Church Wilderness and Borah Peak county – the largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48 centered on the Salmon River of No Return and Idaho’s highest summit with its visible 1983 earthquake fault scarp define a county of extraordinary wild character where Challis serves the surrounding ranching and recreation communities.
Challis (the county seat, population ~1,000) is Custer County’s governmental hub on US 93, a central Idaho mountain community whose Salmon River canyon access, Frank Church Wilderness gateway, Borah Peak approach, and silver mining heritage anchor its identity as a gateway to Idaho’s wildest terrain.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Custer County Assessor at 801 Blue Grouse Lane, Challis, ID 83226, phone 208-879-2360. ID assessed at market value.
Courts & Legal
Custer County District Court at 801 Blue Grouse Lane, Challis, ID 83226, phone 208-879-2360, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK / ADMINISTRATOR
101 Court Ave., Challis, ID 83226
(208) 879-2360
CLERK OF COURT (Records, Marriage Licenses)
101 Court Ave., Challis, ID 83226
(208) 879-2360
ELECTIONS / CLERK
101 Court Ave., Challis, ID 83226
(208) 879-2360
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Custer County Magistrate Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Custer County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Custer County Magistrate Court 801 Main Street, P.O. Box 385, Challis, ID 83226
Custer County is a large, sparsely populated county in central Idaho, home to some of the tallest mountains in the state, including the Salmon River Mountains.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Idaho has adopted the Uniform Probate Code (Idaho Code Title 15). Idaho is also a community property state. Idaho recognizes four main paths:
Small Estate Affidavit – a non-court process for estates with a total value of $100,000 or less (excluding liens and encumbrances) and no real property. Available 30 days after death. No court filing required (Idaho Code § 15-3-1201).
Summary Administration – available when the value of all the decedent’s property is less than the homestead allowance, exempt property, and last-illness medical expenses combined, or when a surviving spouse is sole beneficiary (Idaho Code §§ 15-3-1203, 15-3-1205).
Informal Probate – the most common track for uncontested estates, handled through the court registrar.
Formal Probate – court-supervised proceedings required when disputes arise or the will is contested.
Step 2: filing
For informal probate with a will, file an Application for Informal Probate of Will and Appointment of Personal Representative with the Magistrate Division.
For formal probate, file a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Personal Representative (or the equivalent for intestate estates).
Idaho does not have a statutory fee schedule for attorneys or personal representatives – fees must be reasonable given the services rendered and complexity.
If formal or informal probate is needed
Determine whether small estate affidavit, summary administration, or full probate applies.
File the appropriate application or petition with the Custer County Magistrate Court.
Under informal proceedings, the registrar reviews the application without a hearing. Under formal proceedings, a judge holds a hearing.
The personal representative accepts the appointment and may need to post a bond.
Once appointed, the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. Obtain several certified copies.
Publish notice to creditors as required.
Mail notice to all heirs, beneficiaries, and interested parties.
Marshal assets, obtain an EIN, open an estate account, pay valid debts and expenses, and prepare any required inventory.
Distribute remaining assets per the will or Idaho’s intestacy statutes, then close the estate.
What it costs
Idaho does not impose its own state estate or inheritance tax.
Idaho does not have a statutory fee schedule for attorneys or personal representatives.
Court filing fees and publication costs are separate – confirm current amounts with the Custer County Magistrate Court.
Probate in Idaho typically takes 6-12 months for uncontested estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
101 Court Ave., Challis, ID 83226
(208) 879-2232
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / CLERK
101 Court Ave., Challis, ID 83226
(208) 879-2360
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Idaho Dept of Health & Welfare — East
(208) 528-5700
Idaho Medicaid
(800) 926-2588
Custer County Hospital
(208) 879-5301
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Central District Health / North Central Public Health District (serving Custer County) – confirm current contact via custercountyidaho.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Challis
Population: 4,200
Area: 4,926 sq mi (one of Idaho's largest counties)
Established: 1881
Public Records
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