Citizenship and Immigration Status Verification for Professional Licenses

Update for July 2026

Governor Reynolds' Executive Order 15 (Oct. 25, 2025) and Senate File 2218 (signed on June 2, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026) mandates that executive branch agencies (including DIAL) use the federal SAVE system to verify United States citizenship and immigration status prior to issuing a professional license.

A conflicting federal court ruling on June 22, 2026, resulted in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) temporarily disabling upgraded features of the SAVE system, making it impossible for Iowa to process licensee data.

A federal court order from the Northern District of Florida on July 7, 2026, then forced DHS to immediately restore those features so Iowa and other specified states could resume statutorily mandated verifications. DIAL regained access to the federal data necessary for professional licensing verification on July 14 and immediately resumed vetting applications according to Executive Order 15 and SF 2218 requirements.

DIAL using SAVE System for Status Verification for Professional Licenses

In accordance with 8 U.S.C.A. § 1621 and Executive Order 15 (Oct. 8, 2025), any individual granted an Iowa professional license must be a U.S. citizen, have lawful presence in the U.S., or meet an exception found in 8 U.S.C.A. § 1621(c)(2).

Your personal information that the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing is collecting as part of this application may be used to verify your citizenship and immigration status through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) verification service. You are not required to provide your personal information for this purpose; however, failure to do so will prevent further processing of your application, pursuant to Executive Order 15.

Information submitted through SAVE is retained by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and may be shared with law enforcement if fraudulent documentation is identified, in accordance with federal law.

Posted Feb. 13, 2026