How to check a contractor's license (registration) in Iowa

What does an Iowa contractor need?

Sources: the $2,000 threshold, the $50 fee, the bond and the PMSB rule come from DIAL's contractor registration page and Iowa Code 91C.1, 91C.2 and 91C.4 (Iowa Code 2026). The search links come from DIAL's records page. All were read 20 October 2026.

What registration checks. DIAL's application checklist asks for a valid unemployment insurance account number, workers' compensation documents where they apply, and the fee. It has no exam and no experience requirement. A registration shows the firm is known to the state and has a UI account. It says nothing about whether the firm can build a deck. The out-of-state bond does not protect you either: it "guarantees that taxes, penalties, and other payments due to the State of Iowa" are paid, and "Only the State of Iowa and its agencies may collect on the bond" (DIAL).

What a PMSB contractor license checks. The firm must hold an active master license or employ a master for each discipline it works in. It also needs public liability insurance of at least $500,000 and a surety bond of at least $5,000 (DIAL, PMSB contractor license). That application also issues the DIAL contractor registration number, so a licensed plumber should turn up in both searches.

Who is exempt. People who earn less than $2,000 a year from construction, or work only on their own property, don't need to register (Iowa Code 91C.1). Some self-employed contractors can register free, but only if they don't work with or for other contractors in the same phases of construction, don't pay more than $2,000 a year to employ others, and aren't an LLC, corporation or partnership (DIAL). A free registration is still a registration, so the firm should still show up in the search.

How to look an Iowa contractor up, step by step

1. Ask for the contractor registration number. For electrical work, also ask for the electrical license number. For plumbing or HVAC work, ask for the PMSB license number.
2. Open the Labor Portal public search. Enter the number, or the business name exactly as it appears on the quote. If the full name finds nothing, search on its first word.
3. Open the record. Confirm that the name and address match the quote and that the registration hasn't expired. The fee is annual, so a record that expired last spring means the firm didn't renew.
4. If the address is outside Iowa, the firm needed the $25,000 bond, or Iowa DOT prequalification, to register. That bond pays the State's taxes, not you.
5. For electrical work, search the Electrical Examining Board by name. Check that the license is current and in the name of the person or firm on the quote.
6. For plumbing, HVAC or a water heater, search the PMSB public search for the firm's contractor license and the master license behind it.
7. If something doesn't match, call DIAL Contractor Registration on 515-242-5871 or PMSB contractor licensing on 515-281-6071 (numbers from DIAL).

Save a screenshot of each record with the date showing.

Penalties for not registering in Iowa

DIAL issues a citation for three things: not registering, registration information that is not "substantially complete and accurate", and an out-of-state contractor not filing its bond. The administrative penalty is "not more than five hundred dollars in the case of a first violation and not more than five thousand dollars for each violation in the case of a second or subsequent violation" (Iowa Code 91C.8). DIAL's page puts it as "a $500 citation for a first violation" and "up to $5,000" for a repeat. Penalties go to the State's general fund, not to the homeowner (91C.8), and an unregistered contractor cannot be awarded State work (91C.7).

Does Ames have its own contractor rules?

The City's contractor page asks only for the state's registration and licenses: "All contractors performing construction work in Ames must be registered with the Iowa Division of Labor", and without the appropriate state licensing, contractors "will not be allowed to secure permits or work within the City of Ames" (City of Ames). The page links separately to electrical and to plumbing and mechanical contractor information. (The Division of Labor's contractor work now sits with DIAL.)

So any firm on an Ames permit had to pass the city's check when the permit was issued. That's one more reason to have your contractor pull the permit in the firm's own name.

What the Ames file shows, and what it doesn't

HVAC and water-heater work is concentrated. The five busiest HVAC firms hold 72.7% of HVAC permits and the five busiest water-heater firms 73.8%; C and K Inc alone pulled 169 HVAC permits in the last 12 months. Remodels are the opposite: 58.3% of remodel firms have a single permit in three years. Those one-permit firms are the ones to look up, because a busy permit history tells you nothing about them.

The limit: we haven't joined Ames firms to Iowa's registration or board records, so our Ames pages show no license status. That's not a finding that any firm is unregistered. It means the check is yours to make, using the three searches above. Our Ames file also has no finished share, so we can't tell you how often these permits closed.

Red flags on an Iowa record

• No registration found under the name or number on the quote, or one that has expired.
• A plumbing or HVAC firm with a registration but no PMSB contractor license.
• An electrician or plumber whose name returns nothing in the board search, or a board license that has expired.
• An out-of-state address with no current registration.
• A name on the registration that differs from the one on the contract.
• A contractor in Ames who asks you to pull the permit in your own name.

See every Ames remodeler by their permit record →