Health Care Employment Agencies

During the 2022 legislative session, the 89th Iowa General Assembly passed new legislation (House File 2521) requiring health care employment agencies that provide direct care to staff to certain health care facilities in Iowa to register with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA) and pay an annual fee. 

The department's administrative rules (Iowa Administrative Code 481-55) for the newly-created Iowa Code 135Q have been finalized. These new rules implementing House File 2521 went into effect on Jan. 4, 2023.

Health care employment agency registration is good for one year. Agencies will have to register every year they are in operation in Iowa.

How do agencies register with DIAL?

The easiest way to register is via the online form.

However, health care employment agencies can also register by fax (515.281.5022) or mail. If registering by fax or mail (see address below), please include the following information on your company letterhead:

• All agency office locations operating in Iowa, including physical address with city, state, and ZIP code (Please note the staffing agency office doesn't have to be located in Iowa. Any office location that provides staff for Iowa health care facilities must register.);
• Owner information, including names, mailing address (with city, state and ZIP code), contact person's name (if owner is a business or entity and not a person), phone number, and email address;
• Managing entity information (if applicable), including names, mailing address  (with city, state and ZIP code), contact person's name (if owner is a business or entity and not a person), phone number, and email address.

How much does registration cost?

Registration is $500 for each health care employment agency office location operating in Iowa. If you register via the online form, please include the submission number with your check when you mail it to DIA. If you register via fax, please include the date you sent your fax when you mail your check.

Please mail your check to:

Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing
Health & Safety Division/HCEA Registration
6200 Park Avenue, Suite 100
Des Moines, Iowa 50321

Registered, not "licensed"

Health care employment agencies are registering only with DIAL. This is not a license. Agencies will not receive a registration document or certificate. DIAL will send an email confirmation to the agency contact once the registration form has been completed and the $500 fee has been paid. The individual listed as the contact person in the submitted form will receive this confirmation. If the person who was listed as the contact hasn't received the email, please have them check their spam folder. If the email cannot be located, please contact us. You can do that via the online contact form or by calling 515.281.4115.

Check to see if an agency is registered

Anyone can check the registration status of a health care employment agency in the Health Facilities Division online database. In the "Entity Search" box, choose "Health Care Employment Agency" as the type of facility, and then click "Search." The search results default to 10 results, but you can change the number of results shown at the top of the record list.

Get Help

• Instructions for logging into Health Facilities Database 
• Instructions for quarterly reports
• Template for report