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Iowa Recovery Houses & Sober Living: Resources & Directory

Find recovery house and sober living resources in Iowa: the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) recovery housing protocol, National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) certification, zoning and fair housing protections, and help for residents and families in all 99 counties.

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Iowa recovery house rules at a glance

Certifying agency
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS), working with the Missouri Coalition of Recovery Support Providers (MCRSP), Missouri's NARR affiliate
State license
None. Iowa has no recovery housing statute
Certification
National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) certification, required only for Iowa HHS reimbursement
Funding eligibility
Iowa HHS-funded houses complete a checklist (Form 470-0025), including allowing all FDA-approved medications

Step by step

How to open a recovery house or sober living home in Iowa

Iowa has no state license for recovery houses. If an Iowa recovery house wants reimbursement from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS), it needs National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) certification and must complete the funding eligibility checklist: check local zoning, set up the house apart from any clinical provider, write policies that allow all FDA-approved medications, operate for at least three months, and get certified.

The steps most new operators follow to open a recovery house in Iowa, in order. Each one links to the official form or rule behind it.

  1. 1

    Decide whether you'll seek Iowa HHS certification

    State requirement

    Certification is needed only to access Iowa HHS reimbursement for recovery housing. A house that won't seek that funding can operate without it.

  2. 2

    Check city or county zoning

    Local requirement

    Call your city or county zoning office before you sign a lease. The Fair Housing Act protects people in recovery from discriminatory land-use decisions.

  3. 3

    Choose and set up the house

    State requirement

    Iowa HHS looks for a house in a conventional residential neighborhood with access to transportation, work, and services, that looks like its neighbors, has an open shared floor plan with some personal space, is easy to oversee, and is well kept. It can't be at the same address as a clinical treatment provider.

  4. 4

    Write policies that meet the eligibility checklist

    State requirement

    Let residents choose their own clinical provider, allow all FDA-approved medications for substance use disorders and mental health conditions, offer faith-based alternatives if your program is faith-based, and accept residents with a history of substance misuse.

  5. 5

    Operate for at least three months

    State requirement

    The funding eligibility checklist asks whether you've operated as a recovery house for at least three months, so plan for a period without Iowa HHS reimbursement.

  6. 6

    Get NARR certification through MCRSP

    State requirement

    Iowa HHS currently recognizes temporary certification from the Missouri Coalition of Recovery Support Providers (MCRSP). Contact the Iowa HHS Recovery Housing Helpdesk at [email protected] for the current process.

  7. 7

    Complete the funding eligibility checklist

    State requirement

    Submit Iowa HHS's Recovery Housing Funding Eligibility Checklist (Form 470-0025) to show you meet each criterion for Iowa HHS-funded recovery housing.

Startup checklist

  • Decide whether you'll seek Iowa HHS reimbursement
  • Call your city or county zoning office
  • Pick a house in a residential neighborhood, apart from any clinical provider
  • Set up shared living space and personal space for residents
  • Write a medication policy that allows all FDA-approved medications
  • Let residents choose their own clinical provider
  • Plan to operate at least three months before applying for funding
  • Email the Iowa HHS Recovery Housing Helpdesk about certification
  • Complete Form 470-0025, the funding eligibility checklist

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