Iowa tanning laws for salon owners

Iowa at a glance

Minimum age for UV tanning

Iowa sets no minimum age for indoor tanning. Neither Iowa Code chapter 136D nor 481 IAC chapter 496 contains an age limit for customers; the only age rule is that operators must be at least 16 (481 IAC 496.5(9)(e)). House File 524, a 2025-2026 bill that would have required a parent's written consent for anyone under 18, did not become law. Source 8

Parental consent for minors

No parental consent is required by state law. House File 524 would have added Iowa Code 136D.5, requiring a parent or guardian to give written consent in person before anyone under 18 tans. It passed the House on March 17, 2025 and the Senate, with an amendment, on April 6, 2026, but the House refused to concur on April 8, 2026 and the bill history shows no later action. Source 5

Spray tan age rule

No spray-tan age. Chapter 136D covers equipment that emits radiation between 200 and 400 nanometers (Iowa Code 136D.2(4)), and the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing states that its tanning rules do not regulate spray tanning or red light therapy units. Source 3

State license or registration

Each tanning facility needs a permit from the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), displayed in an open public area and renewed annually (Iowa Code 136D.6). The application and renewal fee is $5, a late permit fee adds $25 a month, and permits cannot be transferred on a change of ownership (481 IAC 496.4). Source 2

Inspections

Facilities are inspected annually at the permit holder's cost: $33 per tanning device, up to $330 per facility, paid to DIAL or to the local board of health that inspects under contract. Inspectors review how devices are run and maintained, records, training documents and operator competency (481 IAC 496.4(7)). Source 2

Operator training

Every operator completes a DIAL-approved training program with competency testing before running a tanning device, owners and managers must pass a certification exam, and training and testing are repeated every five years. Proof of training is kept at the facility, and operators must be at least 16 (481 IAC 496.5(9)). A trained operator must be present, within hearing distance, whenever a device is in use (481 IAC 496.5(8)(a)). Source 2

Time between sessions

No fixed number of hours is set. The operator must limit each consumer to the maximum exposure frequency and session length recommended by the device manufacturer (481 IAC 496.5(8)(i)), and "unlimited" packages may not be advertised unless the manufacturer's frequency limits are included (481 IAC 496.5(8)(k)). Source 2

Written warning statement

Before the first exposure and annually after that, each consumer reads the information in Appendices 1 to 3 of 481 IAC chapter 496 (photosensitizing agents, skin types and health effects) and signs a statement that they have read and understood it. The same information is posted in each tanning room (481 IAC 496.5(1)(c)). Source 2

Records and retention

Keep a record of each consumer's total number of visits, tanning times, exposure length in minutes, the time and date of each exposure, and any injury or illness from a tanning device (481 IAC 496.5(8)(c)). Records are kept at the facility for at least two years, and electronic records must be retrievable as a printed copy (481 IAC 496.5(8)(h)). Source 2

Injury reporting

A tanning injury that needs a physician's care is reported to the department in writing within five working days of the injury or of the operator learning of it, with the person's name, the facility, the nature of the injury and the treating provider. An injury not needing a physician is noted in the consumer's file (481 IAC 496.5(8)(d)). Source 2

Protective eyewear

Eyewear must meet 21 CFR 1040.20(c)(4), may not be reused by another consumer or altered, and the operator must verify each consumer has it (by asking to see it or keeping disposable eyewear in the room with a sign) and must not let anyone tan without it (481 IAC 496.5(7)). Source 2

Replacement lamps

Defective or burned-out lamps or filters are replaced with the type named on the device label or with lamps or filters that are "equivalent" under 21 CFR 1040.20, and working lamps are replaced at the frequency or after the use the manufacturer recommends (481 IAC 496.5(8)(e) and (f)). Source 2

Timers

Each device needs a timer that meets 21 CFR 1040.20(c) and remote timing, so consumers cannot control their own exposure time; token timers may not be issued beyond the manufacturer's maximum exposure time (481 IAC 496.5(3)). No timer test interval is set. Source 2