• PLEASE NOTE: The Health Facilities Database and Direct Care Worker Registry website URL has changed. Please go to dia-hfd.iowa.gov if you are looking to check the status of a CNA on the Registry, access your CNA record, search for a health facility report, or log in to your entity or community college account. Please update your bookmarks accordingly. 

Types of complaints or abuse to report to DIA:

• Health Facilities and Adult Abuse. Complaint about an Iowa nursing home, assisted living facility, residential care facility, intermediate care facility, hospital, ambulatory surgical center, rural health clinic, or other facility regulated by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, a staff member of one of these facilities, and/or specific instances of dependent adult abuse in an Iowa health facility or program;
• Food Businesses, Hotel, or Consumable Hemp Business. Report a health or food code violation at an Iowa hotel, restaurant, bar, grocery or convenience store, food truck, or other food establishment, or a violation regarding consumable hemp products; or
• Administrative Law Judge. File a complaint about an administrative law judge who works for the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

Your name and personal information will be kept confidential to all but DIA staff who investigate your submission; our staff may need to contact you for additional information.

If you have any photos or video that support your complaint, please upload them below.

If you want to file a complaint please go back and choose the first option ("I would like to file a complaint, or report dependent abuse.")

Licenses, certifications, and registrations handled by DIA:

• Boarding home registration. Owners, operators, and managers of Iowa boarding homes.
• Consumable hemp registration. DIA began registering consumable hemp manufacturers and retailers on March 3, 2021. Consumable hemp is a product introduced into the human body by ingestion or absorption (e.g., food and food ingredients, chew or snuff, lotions and oils, dietary supplements, or drugs).
• Direct Care Worker Registry. The registry is for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs, sometimes referred to as Certified Nurse Aides) who work in long-term care facilities. 
• Food business or hotel license. Hotels and motels, bars, restaurants, farmer's markets, food processing plants and warehouses, mobile food trucks, vending machines, unattended food establishments, home bakeries, convenience and grocery stores, events, and temporary food establishments. The department also offers certificates of free sale.
• Health facility licenses and certificates. Residential care facilities, nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities for persons with intellectual disabilities, intermediate care facilities for persons with mental illness, hospices, psychiatric mental institutions for children, hospitals, assisted living programs and assisted living programs for people with dementia.
• Nursing home activity director certificate.
• Social or charitable gambling license. Games of skill or chance, raffles, bingo, social gambling, amusement concessions, and amusement devices. 

PLEASE DO NOT submit an electronic request that includes a birthdate, Social Security number, login ID or password, or any portion of personally-identifiable information (including the last four numbers of a Social Security number).

Complete the following only if you are wanting to schedule an inspection for a business that you own or manage. If you want to file a complaint about a food business, please go back and choose the first option ("I would like to file a complaint, or report dependent abuse.")

DIA's Administrative Hearings Division provides independent administrative law judges to make decisions regarding disputes primarily between private citizens and government agencies. The department strives to fairly and impartially decide cases, consistent with the law and in an efficient and professional manner.

Administrative Hearing Proceedings DIA Does Not Handle

If you are inquiring about unemployment insurance or an unemployment insurance appeal, you will need to visit the Iowa Workforce Development website. Information about first- and second-level appeals can be found on this website.

Appealing a Weapons Permit Decision

If you would like to appeal a weapons permit decision, find out how to do it on the Administrative Hearings page of the DIA website in the "Appealing Weapons Permit Decisions" drop-down.

PLEASE DO NOT submit an electronic request that includes a birthdate, Social Security number, login ID or password, or any portion of personally-identifiable information (including the last four numbers of a Social Security number).

Protecting the Personal Data of Direct Care Workers

Potential employers, verification companies, and other states' direct care worker registry staff will need to check the Direct Care Worker Registry in the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals database to verify the status of a direct care worker on the Iowa registry (CNA). Registry staff will not respond to inquiries individually. The CNA should be able to provide you with their Direct Care Worker Registry number, which you will be able to use to search the database. This registry number is the only unique identifying number that the State can publicly share or confirm. Registry staff WILL NOT search by the CNA's date of birth or any part of a Social Security number; please do not email this type of information to the Registry. 

Users can also search CNAs by first and last name, city, and county.

In addition to their registry number, the registry database will show the date the CNA was first added to the registry, their expiration date on the registry, and their status.

If you would like to check possible abuse status, please contact the Iowa Department of Human Services, the department which manages the abuse registry in Iowa.

For Direct Care Workers

Certified Nursing Assistants on the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry will need to provide their Iowa DCW Registry number to potential employers or others who wish to check their status on the registry. The Department of Inspections and Appeals will NOT provide the status of any CNA on the Iowa registry using a CNA's date of birth or any part of their Social Security number. Please do not email this information to registry staff.

CNAs will be able to update their personal information (name, address, email) in the database. CNAs cannot update their work history; only their employers can report work status to the registry.

If a CNA has issues trying to log in to the registry, they may reset their password using the email associated with their account.

The following information is available on the DIA website. If you are looking for information on any of the following, please view the information and links on the DIA website before submitting this form. You may be able to find the information you need without waiting for a response. Please note: DIA does not have copies of CNA certificates on file; you will need to contact the college or entity where you took your CNA course for a copy of your certificate.

• How to find your Direct Care Worker Registry number
• How to find out your status as a CNA on the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry
• How to transfer as a CNA from Iowa's Direct Care Worker Registry to another state's registry
• How to transfer as a CNA from another state to Iowa's Direct Care Worker Registry
• Where to find the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry Application form
• How to complete the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry form
• Where you can take training to become a CNA in Iowa

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Records that are Available Without a Request

Many records are accessible online via DIA's online databases and do not require that you complete this form:

• Health facility reports (These include reports as a result of an investigation/complaint for a nursing home, assisted living facility, hospital, residential care facility, etc. This is the only publicly releasable information as a result of an investigation at a health facility. Reports are only posted/available after they are finalized.)
• Direct Care Worker Registry information for CNAs (To work in a long-term care facility/nursing home, CNAs must be active on the Direct Care Worker Registry. If you are a CNA and are looking for your DCW Registry number, how to access your information on the registry, or how to print your Registry card, please visit the How to Access the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry page on the DIA website. If you need a copy of your course completion certificate, you will need to contact the college or entity where you took the course.)
• List of Direct Care Workers (CNAs) in Iowa (A .csv file may be downloaded with a list of all records in the database - including expired, current, etc. Go to the search page to filter your results or go directly to the reports page on the database website for the same information. CNAs are the only direct care workers in Iowa that are required to be on the registry. Certified Medication Aides, or CMAs, are not tracked.)
• Routine restaurant and other food business inspections

Access to Direct Care Worker Registry Information by those Other than the DCW

Potential employers, verification companies, and other states' direct care worker registry staff will need to check the Direct Care Worker Registry in the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals database to verify the status of a direct care worker on the Iowa registry (CNA). Registry staff will not respond to inquiries individually. The CNA should be able to provide you with their Direct Care Worker Registry number, which you will be able to use to search the database. This registry number is the only unique identifying number that the State can publicly share or confirm. Registry staff WILL NOT search by the CNA's date of birth or any part of a Social Security number; please do not email this type of information to the Registry. 

Users can also search CNAs by first and last name, city, and county. In addition to their registry number, the registry database will show the date the CNA was first added to the registry, their expiration date on the registry, and their status.

If you would like to check possible abuse status, please contact the Iowa Department of Human Services, the department which manages the abuse registry in Iowa.

Administrative Hearings Records

If you are inquiring about records involving an administrative hearing handled by DIA, please contact the agency involved in the proceeding.

DIA is not the legal custodian of records generated as a result of a hearing (please see Iowa Code 10A.105(4)). If you are inquiring about an administrative hearing conducted by DIA in which you are/were a party, please go back to the beginining of this form and choose "I am inquiring about an administrative hearing, subpeona, or I have a general question for the Administrative Hearings Division."

Records Fulfillment

Your records request will normally be fulfilled within 10 business days. However, in some cases, these requests may take longer than usual. We will do our best to reply in a timely manner and will communicate with you about the reason for any possible delay. Thank you for your understanding.

If your request will take longer than three staff hours to fulfill, there may be a cost to you. If it is estimated that your request will incur a charge, we will communicate that to you prior to working on the request, including the estimated cost. We can work with you to try to narrow the scope of your request in order to eliminate the possibility of an incurred cost.

Records requests may also be made by phone, fax or mail, or in person.

Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals
321 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0083
T: 515.281.7102
F: 515.281.6863