Iowa: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Jul 2026·Laws as cited·Not in the Sep 2026 verification pass
Public recordIA LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Iowa chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified more recently than this matrix.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Iowa?
#stove-installLICENSE- Credential
- THE PLAINS' STRONGEST STOVE CAPTURE — the Hearth Systems Specialty License reaches SOLID FUEL by its own scope text (task question answered: NOT gas-only): DIAL scope verbatim — 'a sublicense under an HVAC license to perform work in the installation of gas burning and solid fuel appliances that offer a decorative view of the flames, from the connector pipe to the shutoff valve located within 3 feet of the appliance. This sublicense is further allowed to perform work in the venting systems, log lighters, gas log sets, fireplace inserts, and freestanding stoves' — wood/pellet stoves and inserts are named; the capture is statutory because 'HVAC' in Iowa Code § 105.2(7) is bare-word 'heating' with no duct/distribution qualifier (fetched — broader than the OK/NC distribution-scoped definitions), so a solid-fuel heating appliance install is licensed HVAC-discipline work: hearth sublicense OR full HVAC journeyperson/master; NFI certification is the required competency gate (no state exam — NFI-in-law, per Pass 1); firm layer: PMSB Contractor License with master of record + $500k state-verified GL + $5k consumer bond + 91C registration (§ 105.18(2)(d), per Pass 4); 'routine maintenance' carve-out (§ 105.2(17)) covers repair of existing systems in which no changes in original design are made — NOT new installs; homeowner exemption = own homestead-credit residence only (§ 105.11(3)); municipal trade licensing preempted (§ 105.17); permits local — Iowa has NO mandatory statewide residential code (State Building Code applies to state-funded projects + jurisdictions adopting it, Iowa Code 103A.12; building-code rules recodified 661 IAC → 481 IAC eff. 11/26/25 supplement; current-edition pin UNVERIFIED)
- Issuing body
- Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board (DIAL)
- Statute
- Iowa Code §§ 105.2(7), 105.2(17), 105.18(3) (hearth sublicense, per Pass 1), 105.18(2)(d), 105.11(3), 105.17, 105.27 (unlicensed practice); Iowa Code § 103A.12 (code adoption)
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- y (via mandatory NFI certification — no separate state trade exam)
- Local overlay
- y — permits/inspections only (city trade licensing preempted by § 105.17); Des Moines/Cedar Rapids permit desks
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-22
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Iowa?
#gas-fireplace-serviceLICENSE- Credential
- Hearth Systems Specialty License (a special/restricted sublicense of the HVAC discipline, Iowa Code § 105.18(3)(b)) — Iowa is one of the few states with a NAMED hearth license: it covers "installation of gas burning and solid fuel appliances that offer a decorative view of the flames, from the connector pipe to the shutoff valve located within 3 feet of the appliance" plus "venting systems, log lighters, gas log sets, fireplace inserts, and freestanding stoves" (DIAL hearth page); requires National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification in lieu of a state exam. Alternative full lanes: HVAC-refrigeration or mechanical journeyperson/master license ("HVAC" includes all NG/LP gas lines associated with any HVAC component, § 105.2(7)); fuel gas piping is also inside the "plumbing" definition (§ 105.2(15)). The BUSINESS additionally needs a PMSB Contractor License (§ 105.18(2)(d): master of record + $500k insurance + $5k bond + 91C registration). Individuals: master/journeyperson structure with apprentice (USDOL-registered program) and unlicensed helper tier (§ 105.11(7)). Homeowner exemption: own principal residence only, existing dwelling qualifying for homestead credit (§ 105.11(3)); NO small-town exemption exists in ch. 105. Unlicensed practice draws civil penalties (§ 105.27; 481 IAC 434.5)
- Issuing body
- Iowa Plumbing & Mechanical Systems Board (PMSB) under Iowa Dept. of Inspections Appeals & Licensing (DIAL)
- Statute
- Iowa Code §§ 105.2, 105.10, 105.11, 105.17, 105.18, 105.19, 105.27; Iowa Code ch. 91C (registration layer)
- Dollar threshold
- none for ch. 105 licensure (any compensated gas work triggers it); $2,000/yr threshold applies only to the separate 91C registration
- Exam
- yes — state journeyperson/master exams per § 105.18(2)(b)-(c) for full HVAC/plumbing lanes; the hearth specialty license substitutes NFI certification (board-approved provider) for the state exam
- Local overlay
- Local trade LICENSING is PREEMPTED — § 105.17 voided all municipal plumbing/mechanical licensing July 1 2009; cities (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids) retain only permit and inspection fees (§ 105.17(2)), so expect city mechanical/gas permits but no city license
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
Gas log installation: is a credential required in Iowa?
#gas-log-installLICENSE- Credential
- Two distinct lanes split by fuel. NATURAL GAS log sets: Hearth Systems Specialty License (explicitly lists "log lighters, gas log sets" — DIAL hearth page) or full HVAC/mechanical license, same PMSB contractor-license wrapper. PROPANE (LP) log sets: a genuine separate LP lane — Iowa Code § 105.11(5) EXEMPTS from all of ch. 105 "a person who is qualified pursuant to administrative rules relating to the storage and handling of liquefied petroleum gases while engaged in installing, servicing, testing, replacing, or maintaining propane gas utilization equipment, or gas piping systems of which the equipment is a part"; the qualification regime is State Fire Marshal rule 661 IAC 226.4(2) (Iowa Code ch. 101): instructor-led training + proctored written qualification assessment + hands-on skills assessment against NFPA 54 (2018) / NFPA 58 (2017), refresher every 3 years, documentation held by the employer (CETP-style) — training records, NOT a state-issued license number, so it is NOT registry-checkable. Rural LP-tank Iowa therefore has a fully legal no-PMSB-license path for propane log sets
- Issuing body
- PMSB/DIAL (NG lane); Iowa State Fire Marshal, Dept. of Public Safety (LP qualification rules, 661 IAC ch. 226)
- Statute
- Iowa Code § 105.11(5); Iowa Code ch. 101; 661 IAC 226.4; Iowa Code § 105.18(3)(b)
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- NG lane: NFI certification (hearth specialty) or state exam (full license); LP lane: proctored written + hands-on assessment per 661 IAC 226.4(2) — employer-documented, no state exam
- Local overlay
- Same as gas-fireplace-service: § 105.17 preemption of local licensing; local permits/inspections survive; LP installations >2,000 gal individual / >4,000 gal aggregate water capacity need fire-marshal plan approval (661 IAC 226.1 amending NFPA 58 § 4.3.1) — irrelevant to residential log sets
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
What insurance does Iowa require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- license
- Liability minimum
- $500,000 public liability insurance, mandatory for the PMSB CONTRACTOR license — statutory hook is Iowa Code § 105.19(1) ("evidence of a public liability insurance policy... in an amount determined sufficient by the board by rule"); the $500,000 amount is set by board rule and confirmed on the DIAL contractor-license page. STATE-VERIFIED, not attested: § 105.19(3) requires the COI ON FILE with the board naming DIAL/Bureau of Environmental Health & Contractor as certificate holder, with a 10-days-written-notice-to-the-board cancellation clause; sole proprietors must hold it personally, entities at entity level covering all ch. 105 work. NOTE: the 91C registration layer itself has NO liability-insurance requirement — a chimney sweep who is merely 91C-registered carries zero state-required liability coverage
- Bond
- THREE separate instruments — never conflate: (1) PMSB contractor SURETY BOND, minimum $5,000 (§ 105.19; amount by board rule, on DIAL page) — a CONSUMER bond: DIAL requires the obligee be the contractor's customers ("licensee's Iowa customers" / "Person(s) injured by Principal's breach of construction contract"), it guarantees contract performance, 10-day cancellation notice to board; (2) 91C OUT-OF-STATE contractor bond, $25,000 (Iowa Code § 91C.2(3)) — purely a TAX bond: § 91C.7(3) conditions release on "payment of all taxes, including contributions due under the unemployment compensation insurance system" — it protects the STATE treasury, never a homeowner (surety-site marketing that calls it consumer protection is wrong); waived if DOT-prequalified (§ 314.1); (3) in-state 91C registrants post NO bond at all. Debunk: SEO claims of a general "Iowa contractor bond" for in-state firms are false — only PMSB/electrical-type license bonds and the out-of-state 91C bond exist
- Guaranty fund
- NONE — Iowa has no contractor guaranty/recovery fund. Verified absence: nothing in ch. 91C, ch. 105, or ch. 103A creates one, and no state fund surfaced in searches; the "Residential Contractor's Guaranty Fund" ($25k/$150k) that search engines return is the MASSACHUSETTS HIC fund (M.G.L. c. 142A), not Iowa. The $5,000 PMSB customer bond is the only quasi-fund instrument, and only against licensed gas-side contractors
- Workers' comp threshold
- Effectively 1 employee — ch. 85 has NO numeric employee threshold; it applies to all employers subject to enumerated exclusions in Iowa Code § 85.1: domestic/casual employees earning under $1,500 from that employer in the prior 12 months (§ 85.1(1)-(2)), agricultural employers under $2,500 prior-year payroll with family carve-outs (§ 85.1(3)), ch. 410/411 police/fire (§ 85.1(4)). § 87.1 requires insurance or self-insurance relief (§ 87.11). Owner mechanics: proprietors, LLC members, LL partners, and partners are EXCLUDED by default and may opt IN by purchasing a policy specifically including them (§ 85.1A); if not electing, they file a signed nonelection witnessed by two disinterested individuals, filed with the workers' compensation commissioner; up to 4 corporate officers (pres/VP/sec/treas, non-family-farm) may REJECT coverage via § 87.22 written rejection attached to the policy or filed with the commissioner — the filed nonelection/rejection IS the checkable artifact, and rejection coerced as a condition of employment is unenforceable. Registration tie-in: 91C.2(1) requires WC-compliance evidence ANNUALLY at registration (COI listing DIAL as certificate holder, Certificate of Relief from the Iowa Insurance Division if self-insured, or a statement that coverage is not required) and the INSURER must notify the director of cancellation; the PMSB contractor-license application also demands WC proof + UI number (§ 105.18(2)(d)(1), DIAL page)
- How to verify
- PMSB license lookup (AUTOMATED): https://dphregprograms.iowa.gov/PublicPortal/Iowa/IDPH/publicSearch/publicSearch.jsp ; 91C registration lookup: iowacontractor.gov ; WC coverage: Iowa's FREE public verification tool searchable by business name or FEIN at https://www.iowaworkcomp.gov/employers-workers-compensation-insurance-coverage-verification (see also https://dial.iowa.gov/hearings/workers-comp/compliance/reporting/verification and NCCI POC for regulators); Division of WC phone check 515-281-5387
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
- GOVlegis.iowa.gov/docs/code/105.19.pdfGOVdial.iowa.gov/licenses/building/plumbing-…GOVlegis.iowa.gov/docs/code/91C.2.pdfGOVlegis.iowa.gov/docs/code/91C.7.pdfGOVlegis.iowa.gov/docs/code/85.1.pdfREFlaw.justia.com/codes/iowa/title-iii/chapte…GOVlegis.iowa.gov/docs/code/87.22.pdfGOViowaworkcomp.gov/employers-workers-compensat…
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Iowa?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.