Moving to Iowa as a residential contractor: every state's rule

Iowa does not license residential building contractors. It registers them, and the registration is the only statewide credential a homebuilder or remodeler needs: there is no trade examination, no business-and-law examination, no experience or apprenticeship requirement, no financial statement and no named qualifying party anywhere in Iowa Code chapter 91C or in 481 Iowa Administrative Code chapter 465. Registration is with the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, which took the program over from Iowa Workforce Development in the 2023 state government reorganization. The duty is broad and the threshold is low: every individual and business performing construction work in Iowa must register if they earn at least $2,000 a year from construction, and only people who earn less than that, or who work solely on their own real estate, are outside the law. The same registration covers houses, apartments and commercial buildings alike, because Iowa draws no residential/commercial line and issues no classes, tiers or dollar limits - the definition of construction it borrows from the employment security rules expressly reaches single-family housing construction, building alterations, land subdivision and development, and general contractors of every kind. The registration belongs to the business rather than to a person, so a builder moving to Iowa registers the sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or LLC that will sign contracts, and each business with its own federal identification number registers separately. What Iowa asks for instead of qualifications is tax and workers' compensation compliance: an Iowa unemployment insurance employer account number, proof of workers' compensation coverage or a statement that none is required, a $50 annual fee, and - for any contractor whose principal place of business is outside Iowa - a $25,000 surety bond. Iowa does hold real competency licenses in the trades, through the Electrical Examining Board under chapter 103 and the Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board under chapter 105, and those are separate credentials with their own exams.