Individuals selling cemetery merchandise, funeral merchandise or funeral services must, with some specific exceptions, be licensed by the Iowa Insurance Division.  The Iowa Insurance Division’s Regulated Industries Unit utilizes an online filing portal system for both licensing and annual reporting. 

New Applicants

If you are applying for a new preneed seller license or a preneed sales agent license please complete the next steps in the following order:

  1. Create an Account: Contact the Iowa Insurance Division by sending an email to riu@iid.iowa.gov to request an account.  In the email for your request provide your legal name, home address, phone number, and personal email address.  Once your request has been processed an email will be sent to your personal email address, confirming an account has been created and containing instructions for accessing your account in the RIU Filing Portal.
  2. Complete a License Application: After accessing your account in the RIU Filing Portal you may begin applying for a license.  Preneed seller and sales agent license applications are completed entirely online through the RIU Filing Portal.  A part of the application process requires the Iowa Insurance Division obtain a criminal history on each applicant, so you must complete a Criminal History Record Check Request Form and upload the completed form on the submissions page of your application.  DO NOT SEND THE FORM TO THE DCI.

License Renewal

License renewal is now part of filing the annual report each year.

Continuing Education Resources

If you are a preneed sales agent requiring continuing education credits, you may find opportunities at the following:

The Iowa Insurance Division does not specifically recommend or endorse any of these organizations but you might find the list helpful as you are searching for educational opportunities.

Annual Reporting

Annual reporting is done through the filing portal system.  It is important that the CSV file used is formatted precisely as required and that it have all the required data.  If you have a large amount of sales to report, your annual report may require multiple CSV files. Contact the Iowa Insurance Division if you need an extension for filing your annual report.

Annual Reporting Instructions
Annual Reporting Checklists
Annual Reporting Excel Templates and Information
Annual Reporting Online Tutorials
  • Perpetual Care Cemeteries 

  • Preneed Sellers  

  • Preneed Sales Agents  

  • Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies