Storm contractor rules in Iowa: construction contractor registration, door-to-door sales and consumer fraud penalties
Iowa registers construction contractors under chapter 91C of the Iowa Code, with a US$2,000 floor, and regulates door-to-door sales under chapter 555A, with a three-business-day cancellation right. This page restates those chapters and the consumer fraud section 714.16 as the Legislature publishes them in Iowa Code 2026, read on October 9, 2026.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The wider picture is on the storm contractor rules page. Every row is statute text. None of the sections names tree work or storms, and no official page on an Iowa price gouging rule was read for this page on October 9, 2026.
The sections in one table
| Section | What it says |
|---|---|
| 91C.1, contractor | A person who engages in the business of construction, as the term is defined in the Iowa administrative code for purposes of the employment security law. A person who earns less than US$2,000 annually, or who works on the person's own property, is not a contractor under the chapter |
| 91C.2, registration | A contractor doing business in the state registers with the director of the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. Conditions include workers' compensation coverage or a statement that none is required, and an employer account number from the Department of Workforce Development. An out-of-state contractor files a surety bond of US$25,000 or a statement that it is prequalified with the Department of Transportation |
| 91C.4, fee, and 91C.1(3), exemption | The director sets the registration fee, which may not exceed US$50 per year. A self-employed contractor who pays no more than US$2,000 a year to employ others and does not work with other contractors in the same phases is exempt from the fees |
| 91C.8, penalties | For not being registered, an administrative penalty of not more than US$500 for a first violation and not more than US$5,000 for each later violation, after a written citation that the contractor has 15 working days to contest |
| 555A.1, door-to-door sale | A sale of consumer goods or services of US$25 or more where the seller personally solicits and the buyer's agreement is made away from the seller's place of business, including after the buyer's invitation. Excluded: a sale where the buyer started the contact and needs the work for a bona fide immediate personal emergency and gave a handwritten, signed, dated statement waiving cancellation, and a visit the buyer asked for to repair or maintain the buyer's personal property |
| 555A.2 to 555A.4 | The seller gives a completed contract or receipt with a boldface three-day cancellation statement and a detachable Notice of Cancellation, tells the buyer orally of the right, and may not misrepresent it. The seller refunds within ten business days of a valid notice |
| 555A.5 and 555A.6 | Cancellation, or failure to give the buyer a copy of the contract, voids the related note or evidence of indebtedness. A violation is a simple misdemeanor and is also a violation of section 714.16, subsection 2, paragraph a |
| 714.16(2)(a), consumer fraud | Unfair practice, deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, or hiding a material fact with intent that others rely on it, in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise, including services, is an unlawful practice whether or not anyone was misled |
| 714.16(7), civil penalty | The Attorney General may ask the court to impose a civil penalty of up to US$40,000 per violation, and not more than US$5,000 for each day of intentional violation of an injunction |
What registration involves
Iowa's chapter 91C registers contractors and makes their registration numbers public records. The text read holds no examination requirement. The definition borrows its meaning of construction from the administrative code, which this page does not restate, so whether tree work counts is a question for the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. The US$2,000 annual earnings floor and the own-property exclusion are in the statute text.
Door-to-door sales and storm work
Chapter 555A makes a violation a simple misdemeanor and ties it to the consumer fraud section, so the Attorney General's civil penalty applies. The emergency exclusion has three parts in the text: the buyer started the contact, the work meets an immediate personal emergency, and the buyer wrote and signed a waiver. How a storm-damaged tree fits is a question for the Iowa Attorney General. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work. The scam warnings that attorneys general issue after storms are on the storm tree scams page.