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Register Your Dock Online
Through our online portal, you can:
- Apply for a new permit
- Modify an existing permit
- Transfer a permit to your account
- Renew an expired or expiring permit
- Pay annual hoist fees
You'll need to create an account to get started, and use our portal to complete your registration.
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Docks & Structures on Public Waters
Any fees owed to the department shall be paid in full prior to the installation of any portion of a dock and before a boat is placed in a hoist or slip. See Chapter 16 of Iowa's Administrative Rule 571, Docks and Other Structures on Public Waters, for additional information.
All docks, hoists, buoys, etc. placed on public waters* must be permitted** and signed.
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*Docks on the Mississippi River, Federal reservoirs and other jurisdictional waters of the Corps of Engineers are permitted through the USACE.
Under an agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources any boat dock application on jurisdictional waters of the Corp of Engineers shall be processed by the ACOE.
The jurisdictional waters of the ACOE in Iowa are defined as the Mississippi River, the Missouri River, the Des Moines River from the mouth to Fort Dodge, the first three miles from the mouth of the Iowa River and all Federal reservoirs and impoundments.
Docks on the Missouri River are permitted by the Omaha District of the ACOE.
Contact: John Moeschen at 402-896-0896.
Docks on the Mississippi River, the Des Moines River from the mouth to Fort Dodge, the first three miles from the mouth of the Iowa River and all Federal reservoirs and impoundments are permitted by the Rock Island District of the ACOE. The application can be downloaded below or may be obtained by calling 309-794-5376.
**Docks on a Dock Management Area (DMA) are permitted through a Dock Assignment and Permit (542-1355) application with the Iowa DNR Park Bureau. DMA applications may be mailed to the Park Office where the DMA is located. For more please review the Summary of Dock Management Area Rules information sheet.
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