Start with the state licence
Iowa Administrative Code 567 chapter 68 requires commercial septic tank cleaners to obtain a DNR licence. The rule has a limited exception for owners cleaning their own tanks; it does not exempt a business you hire. County boards of health enforce the rules, and disposal plans and inspections also apply. Ask your county Environmental Health office about local requirements rather than treating a roster entry as permission for every job or disposal method.
Verification steps
- Ask for the business name and its DNR licence number.
- Open the Iowa DNR septic tank cleaning page and download the current list of licensed septic tank cleaners.
- Match the licence number, business name and phone.
- Check the roster's own date. Ours is August 19, 2026; a newer one may have been posted since.
- Confirm the business pumps household tanks at your address, then get a written quote.
What the roster does not say
There is no expiration date on it, so a licence number tells you the business was licensed when the roster was produced — not that it still is. The roster is also a snapshot the DNR re-publishes periodically rather than a live database, which is why the date matters more than usual.
Reading the county column
The DNR sorts the roster by county, so the county on a card comes from the state, not from us. It is where the DNR files the licence, not a promise to serve a particular address. Two annotations appear in that column and both are carried onto the cards:
- (OUT OF STATE) — 20 businesses are listed under an Iowa county with an address in another state. Several are simply across a river.
- A second county in brackets — the DNR files the licence under one county while the business address sits in another.
One licensee is filed under its own out-of-state county entirely; it appears on this roster but cannot be placed on an Iowa county page, so it is counted and not published.
What we publish
203 of the 223 licences on the roster, across 84 counties. We hold 19 clearly portable-toilet, restroom, outhouse or grease-first names that never say septic or septage. Excavating, plumbing and drainage firms hold this licence too, so published businesses whose name does not say septic carry a note asking you to confirm household work first.
Start with the Iowa county directory, then check the licence number on the DNR's current roster.