Renewal Update (5/2/2024): The applications for renewal have been online since Tuesday, April 30. Paper letters will be sent out via USPS mail during the first week of May. You may renew online now by visiting the DNR Operator Certification (Op Cert) application and selecting "Pay for Certificate/Renewal Fees/Retest Fees." Please note that the DNR has just moved into a new building as of May 1, 2024, and the mail will be questionable for a few months, so renewing online is your safest bet; you can pay using a credit card OR an electronic check.
Effective immediately, the DNR will discontinue the issuance of paper certificates; wallet cards; and renewal labels traditionally sent out after initial certification, upgrades, or renewals for Drinking Water Treatment Operators; Drinking Water Distribution Operators; Wastewater Treatment Operators; Private Well Contractors; and Onsite Septic Systems Time of Transfer Inspectors. Instead, certificates will now have the option to view and print their certificates directly from our DNR OpCert Web page that serves as the dynamic and official record accessible 24/7 to both the public and regulators. A simple click of a button next to each certificates information will generate a printable PDF of their current certificate, reflecting any adjustments in grade or expiration dates upon payment of certification or renewal fees. Any changes to certification status are reflected immediately on our online database reducing the likelihood of lost or delayed paperwork. The instant a renewal is paid online, their new certificate with an expiration date of 6.30.2026 is created and can be seen by pressing the PRINT button next to their list of certifications.
Information About Well Contractor Certification
In Iowa, all work that meets the definition of "well services" as found in Iowa law and Iowa Administrative Code must be performed by an Iowa DNR Certified Well Contractor, or by the land owner.
The goal of the Iowa DNR Well Contractor Certification program is to help ensure the groundwater professionals you hire meet minimum levels of work experience and knowledge. This experience and knowledge requirement means that the individual performing the work understands what basic protections are required by law and rule, and how their work impacts the safety of the drinking water supplies used by citizens, communities, and industry.
If the land owner hires anyone to perform the well services, the individual must be an Iowa DNR Certified Well Contractor and the certified contractor must be on-site at all times any well service is taking place.
If a land owner performs their own well services, the owner must physically perform the work themselves - they cannot hire, pay or barter with another individual or non-certified company to perform the actual well service. Landowners must follow the same well laws and rules that certified professional well contractor follow.
The term "well services" includes but is not limited to:
- All well construction, reconstruction, renovation and rehabilitation of both private and public water supply wells - including irrigation wells,
- All water well test holes and test wells, installation of dewatering wells, and all wells needed for groundwater monitoring and observation,
- Installation of vertical or horizontal ground heat exchange (GHEX)loop borehole systems,
- And installation and repair of all well pumping and distribution systems - including but not limited to pressure tanks and pressure switches,
- Plugging of all types of water wells.
For additional information regarding the definition of "well services" along with the other well program definitions found in the Iowa well rules, please see the Private Well Program
definitions document.