Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals

Restaurant, bar, and hotel licensing

DIAL regulates food businesses like restaurants, bars (including those that only serve beverages), cafeterias, catering operations, mobile food trucks, farmers markets, temporary events, vending machines, grocery and convenience stores, home food processing establishments, and food processing plants and warehouses. DIAL also regulates hotels, motels, and inns (including bed-and-breakfast inns).

Food and hotel license info

Complaints

Submit a complaint for DIAL to review about:

Restaurants, bars, grocery stores, home bakeries, etc.
Hotels, motels, or bed-and-breakfast inns
Nursing homes, assisted living programs, hospitals, etc.
Dependent adult abuse
Social or charitable gambling violation
Administrative law judges who work for DIAL

File a complaint or report

Direct Care Worker Registry

In Iowa, only certified nursing assistants (CNAs), also referred to as nurse's aides, are placed on the Direct Care Worker Registry. Find out how to be added to the registry, how to transfer to the Iowa registry, how to transfer to another state registry, how to stay active on the registry, how to update your own information in the registry, and more.

Registry information

Social & charitable gambling

DIAL regulates games of skill or chance, raffles, bingo, social gambling and amusement devices in Iowa. Qualified organizations may obtain a gambling license to conduct fund-raising activities benefiting educational, civic, public, charitable, patriotic, or religious purposes. License holders may also login here to file a gambling report for 2021.

Gambling license details

Consumable hemp

As part of the State government realignment and effective July 1, 2023, DIA will no longer handle registration for consumable hemp retailers and manufacturers. The program will be overseen by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. During the transition period between June 26 and July 5, 2023, registration will not be available for new or existing consumable hemp retailers and manufacturers. Click the link below to read more.

More about consumable hemp

Records

Records requests can be made by filling out DIA's online form, by phone (515.281.7102), fax (515.242.6863), or mail, or in person at DIA's main office in the Lucas State Office Building, 321 E. 12th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. Some records you can access online via DIA's online databases, such as health facility reports (nursing homes, assisted living, etc.) and certified nursing assistant status on the Iowa Direct Care Registry, as well as hotel, restaurant, and other food business inspections.

Request other records or reports

State government reorganization

On July 1, 2023, multiple programs across four agencies became part of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA) as a new organizational structure for state government went into effect. DIA became the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL). Government departments and agencies that provide related services or have similar business functions are aligning to better serve Iowans. Our goal is to meet your needs more efficiently and effectively through better coordination as one team.

Find out more about the changes coming to DIA

DIAL Press Releases

If you would like to receive press releases issued by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, please click the link below.

Health care employment agency registration

The 89th Iowa General Assembly passed new legislation (House File 2521) during the 2022 session requiring health care employment agencies that provide direct care staff to certain health care facilities in Iowa to register with DIAL and pay an annual registration fee. The department's administrative rules (Iowa Administrative Code 481-55) for the newly-created Iowa Code 135Q have been finalized and the new rules implementing HF2521 went into effect beginning Jan. 4, 2023.

The second report for HCEAs for second quarter 2023 (April 1-June 30, 2023) is due by July 15. HCEAs are able to submit this information by logging in to their account in the Health Facilities database. Additional information, templates, and guides can be found by clicking the link below.

DIA becomes DIAL!