STATE LICENSE
RequiredIowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Boar…
Iowa Code § 105.10 bars anyone from operating as a contractor or installing or repairing plumbing without a license from the Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board (PMSB), now housed in DIAL. A plumbing business must employ a licensed master who is actively in charge of the work at all times; a sole proprietor must personally be a licensed master. Journeypersons need four years of U.S. Department of Labor–registered apprenticeship plus an exam; masters need a prior journeyperson or master license plus the master exam (§ 105.18).
The PMSB contractor license doubles as chapter 91C contractor registration through one combined application. It requires workers' compensation and unemployment insurance compliance, a permanent place of business, public liability insurance (DIAL lists a $500,000 minimum), and a surety bond (DIAL lists $5,000). All PMSB licenses run on a shared three-year period — currently July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2029 — and chapter 105 preempts every local plumbing license.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
Licensing is exclusively state. Iowa Code § 105.17 voids all local plumbing and mechanical licensing (effective July 1, 2009) and bars cities from preventing a state licensee from doing licensed work; local governments keep permit fees and inspections (§ 105.17(2)).
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Iowa county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of October 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
The PMSB contractor license and the chapter 91C contractor registration are collected together — plumbing contractors don't file a separate DIAL registration.
A combined license costs the sum of the separate license fees reduced by 30 percent (§ 105.9(5)(b)); DIAL applies the discount to multiple master, contractor, or journeyperson licenses bought the same day.
PMSB licenses expire June 30 but DIAL treats them as valid through August 31; renewals after August 1 owe a $60 late fee, after September 1 $100 and you may not work.
A practical sequence for a new plumbing contractor in Iowa. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
The board may impose a civil penalty on anyone violating chapter 105; each day of a continued violation is a separate offense.
Fraudulently claiming to be licensed, or fraudulently listing or displaying a license number, in advertising.
Anyone engaging in a licensed business or profession without the license may be restrained by injunction.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on October 2026.
Pending verification: The $500,000 liability and $5,000 bond minimums come from DIAL's PMSB page; § 105.19 delegates the amounts to board rule, which we did not retrieve as text · Whether the PMSB rules require more than the statutory minimum of 8 CE hours per term for plumbing licensees · DIAL's PMSB contractor page still shows a 2023–2026 prorated fee table and 2017/2020 renewal examples; the fee and period figures here come from DIAL's separate licensing-period page (July 1, 2026–June 30, 2029)
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.