Iowa State Characteristics of Licensure Law

The information below is collected from state licensure boards or regulatory agencies responsible for regulating the professions of SLP and/or AUD. It is intended for informational use only, and should not be construed as legal advice.

Contact the state's licensure board or regulatory agency for exact licensure, certification, or registration requirements in your jurisdiction.

Initial Licensure Requirements

• Master's degree or equivalent from an accredited school with a major in speech pathology or audiology
• Completion of 300 hour supervised clinical training
• Completion of not less than 9 months clinical experience under the supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist or audiologist following the receipt of the master's degree
• Passage of a national examination

Exemptions

1. Physicians and their employees/supervisees
2. Hearing aid dealers or fitters
3. Students properly identified as speech-language pathology or audiology trainees
4. Audiometric testing administered pursuant to OSHA
5. Non-professional aides who perform their services under the supervision of a speech-language pathologist or audiologist and meet the qualifications established by the Board
6. Public school employees certified by the department of education as speech or hearing clinicians

Reciprocity

• The Board may waive the examination requirement for persons licensed in another state if they have successfully passed an examination to receive that license and if the Board deems the two examinations to be essentially equivalent.
• The Board may waive the examination requirement for CCC holders.

Interim Practice/Temporary Licensure

• Clinical fellows shall obtain a temporary 1-year clinical license; this shall be issued only upon evidence that the applicant will be supervised by an Iowa licensed speech-language pathologist or audiologist.
• Nonresidents may apply to the Board for a temporary permit to practice speech-language pathology or audiology for a period not to exceed 3 months; the individual must submit documents to support the need for such a permit and documents to show that the applicant has substantially the same qualifications as required for the regular license.

Continuing Ed. Requirement for Licensure Renewal

Licensees must complete 30 clock hours or 3 Continuing Education Units per biennial renewal cycle.

Hearing Aid Dispensing

Audiologists who dispense hearing aids must obtain a HAD license.

Support Personnel

An assistant is a person who works under the supervision of an Iowa-licensed speech-language pathologist or audiologist, does not meet the requirements to be licensed as such, and meets the minimum requirements:

1. SLP Assistant I: Works with an individual for whom significant improvement is expected within a reasonable amount of time; must be 18 and have a high school diploma or equivalent, completion of a 3 semester-hour course in introductory speech and language pathology for speech pathology assistants, and 15 hours of instruction in the specific tasks that the assistant will be performing or a training period of 75 clock hours on instruction and practicum experience.
2. SLP Assistant II: Works with an individual for whom maintenance of present level of communication is the goal, or for whom, based on the history and diagnosis, only slow improvement is expected; must be 18 and have a high school diploma or equivalent, completion of a 3 semester-hour course in introductory speech and language pathology for speech pathology assistants, and 15 hours of instruction in the specific tasks that the assistant will be performing or a training period of 75 clock hours on instruction and practicum experience.
3. Audiology Assistant I: Is more broadly trained and may be given a variety of duties depending upon the individual's training; must be 18 and have a high school diploma or equivalent, completion of a 3 semester-hour course in introductory audiology for audiology assistants and 15 hours of instruction in the specific tasks that the assistant will be performing or a training period of 75 clock hours on instruction and practicum experience.
4. Audiology Assistant II: Is trained specifically for a single task for screening; must be 18 and have a high school diploma or equivalent and 15 clock hours of instruction and practicum in the specific tasks the assistant will be performing.
    -  The supervising licensee must submit the names of assistants to the Board.
    -  For level 1 speech pathology assistants and level 1 audiology, there must be direct on-site observation for a minimum of 20% of the assistant's direct patient care.
    -  There must be 10% direct on-site supervision for level 2 speech pathology assistants.
    -  For level 2 audiology assistants, there must be 10% supervision with at least half of that time being direct on-site observation.

Note

• The abbreviation SLP or SP stands for Speech Language Pathology or Pathologist, as appropriate, the abbreviation AUD stands for Audiology or Audiologist, as appropriate, and the abbreviation HAD stands for Hearing Aid Dealer.
• All jurisdictions require applicants to achieve a passing score on a national exam, and all but Nevada, North Dakota, and Virginia require applicants to complete a post graduate professional experience requirement.
• The term "clinical fellow," used throughout, means a person completing the post graduate professional experience requirement.

Questions concerning data contained in this document can be addressed by calling 800-498-2071 and asking to speak to someone on the State Policy Team.