Sovereign Lands Permits

You are required to obtain federal, state, and local permits before doing any construction in the flood plain or work near a river or stream. Not every project requires submittal of a permit application. However, you can check if your project requires submission of a Flood Plain & Sovereign Lands Permit Application using PERMT. PERMT will walk you through steps to determine if a permit application is required.

• If a permit application is required, PERMT will automatically take you through the steps to log in, fill out a Flood Plain & Sovereign Lands Permit application, and submit that application to the Iowa DNR Flood Plains and Iowa DNR Sovereign Lands Programs for review.
• PERMT does not submit your Joint Application to county or city officials for local permitting, including local flood plain permitting. You are responsible for contacting local permitting officials and obtaining all required local permits prior to construction.
• The Iowa DNR will send out one response for both the Iowa DNR Flood Plain and Sovereign Lands programs.

Determine if You Should Submit a Joint Application for Your Project. You are required to obtain federal, state, and local permits before doing any construction in the flood plain or work near a river or stream. PERMT will walk you through steps to determine if an Iowa DNR permit application is required.

Your first steps will be to choose one or more project types; select your location using either a point, line or shape; and finally clicking “Get Results” to determine if you should submit a Joint Application.

If no Iowa DNR permit application submittal is required, PERMT will automatically take you through the steps to log in, fill out a Flood Plain and Sovereign Lands Permit application.

If a state permit application should be submitted, PERMT will automatically take you through the steps to log in, fill out a joint application, and submit that joint application to the Iowa DNR Flood Plains, Iowa DNR Sovereign Lands.

PERMT does not submit your Joint Application to county or city officials for local permitting, including local flood plain permitting. You are responsible for contacting local permitting officials and obtaining all required local permits prior to construction.

The Iowa DNR will send out one response for both the Iowa DNR Flood Plain and Sovereign Lands programs.

Fill out and Submit a Flood Plain & Sovereign Lands Permit Application for Permit Review. (Login Required) You are required to obtain federal, state, and local permits before doing any construction in the flood plain or work near a river or stream. PERMT will walk you through steps to determine if a permit application is required.

Your first steps will be to choose one or more project types; select your location using either a point, line or shape; and finally clicking “Get Results” to determine if you should submit an Application.

If a state permit application should be submitted, PERMT will automatically take you through the steps to log in, fill out a joint application, and submit that joint application to the Iowa DNR Flood Plain, and Iowa DNR Sovereign Lands Program for review.

PERMT does not submit your Joint Application to county or city officials for local permitting, including local flood plain permitting. You are responsible for contacting local permitting officials and obtaining all required local permits prior to construction.

The Iowa DNR will send out one response for both the Iowa DNR Flood Plain and Sovereign Lands programs.

Submit an Environmental Review Request (Login Required) 
PERMT will walk you through a process for creating an Account ID and Password. Once that is complete, you will be able to fill out the request form. You can electronically submit this form to the Iowa DNR following the completion of the request form.

Submit a Request for a Base Flood Elevation or other Flood Plain Parameters. (Login Required) PERMT will walk you through a process for creating an Account ID and Password. Once that is complete, you will be able to fill out the request form. You can electronically submit this form to the Iowa DNR following the completion of the request form.

Track the Iowa DNR Review Status of Your Joint Application(s). (Login Required)

Submit Additional Information for Your Joint Application. (Login Required)

Submit Notice of Completion on Construction for a Permitted Project. (Login Required)

Get a PDF copy of Iowa DNR Project Response Documents. (Login Required)

Update your Contact Information for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Officials. (Login Required) PERMT will require you to log in using the City/County Account ID and Password. Local NFIP Communities may update the contact information for the local flood plain manager, and other community officials.

Public Search. Search by location to find recent Flood Plain and Sovereign Land construction projects. No log in required.

• Sovereign Lands Assistance: 515-330-6432
• Flood Plain / Dam Safety Technical Assistance Help Line: 866-849‐0321
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District: Phone: 309-794‐5057 Email: IowaRegulatory@usace.army.mil

• PERMT results are based solely on user provided input, and are only valid when the system is correctly used. Incorrect use of this program to obtain an incorrect automated result of “no application is required” does not prevent potential enforcement action for a project.
• PERMT is subject to revision at any time.
• You are responsible for complying with all local, state and federal statutes, ordinances, rules and permit requirements applicable to the construction, operation and maintenance of your project.
• The results from PERMT only cover requirements for submitting a Flood Plain & Sovereign Lands Permit Application to Iowa DNR Flood Plain and Dam Safety Section and Iowa DNR Sovereign Lands Section. They do not include requirements for the US Army Corps of Engineers.
• If you have any questions or the results are unclear, please contact the Iowa Department of Natural Resources at 866-849-0321.