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 DIA?
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 and Appeals
Health Facilities Division
Lucas State Office Building, 3rd Floor
321 East 12th St.
Des Moines, Iowa 50309-0083
Registered, not "licensed"
Health care employment agencies are registering only with DIA. This is not a license. Agencies will not receive a registration document or certificate. DIA 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 (PDF)
- Instructions for quarterly reports (PDF)
- Template for report (Excel)
In addition to registration, each health care employment agency is required to:
- Adhere to all requirements under Iowa Code Section 135Q.2(2);
- Submit quarterly reports to DIA;
- Verify that its employees comply with all applicable state and federal requirements;
- Maintain documentation regarding each agency worker's compliance with minimum licensing, certification, training, health requirements, and continuing education standards as described in Iowa Administrative Code 481-55.3(1);
- Report to the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry completed work assignments of the agency worker (if the worker is a certified nurse aide, or CNA) sufficient to maintain an active status on the registry, per state and federal requirements.
Please note this is not an all-inclusive list of requirements. For additional details, please see Iowa Administrative Code 481-55.
In accordance with Rule 55.5(3), the first quarterly report expected by DIA should contain data required by that rule for the period from Jan. 1, 2023, through March 31, 2023, and shall be submitted no later than April 15, 2023.
- First quarter reports (Jan. 1-March 31) are due annually no later than April 15;
- Second quarter reports (April 1-June 30) are due annually no later than July 15;
- Third quarter reports (July 1-Sept. 30) are due annually no later than Oct. 15;
- Fourth quarter reports (Oct. 1-Dec. 31) are due annually no later than Jan. 15.
Each health care employment agency is required to report the hours worked in long-term care facilities by certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in their employ. They can do this in the Health Facilities database. The person listed as the contact in the registration for the company will need to log in using that email address to report these hours.
Please note that a CNA cannot report their own hours to the registry, nor can the CNA provide a letter verifying employment from the employment agency to DIA directly.
Please visit the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry page on the DIA website for additional registry information.