Staffing agency license in Indiana: repealed in 2023, health care staffing now registers

Indiana no longer licenses employment agencies. The private employment agency law in IC 25-16, which ran through the Department of Revenue, was repealed effective July 1, 2023. The same 2023 act created something new: an annual registration with the Indiana Department of Health for agencies that place temporary nurses, aides and other health care personnel in facilities. Professional employer organizations register with the Department of Insurance. Everyone else needs only ordinary business and employer registrations.

This page covers the repeal, the health care staffing registry and its limits on conversion fees, PEO registration and the employer accounts an Indiana staffing firm needs. For how Indiana compares with states that still license agencies, including its neighbor Illinois, see employment agency license requirements.

The 2023 repeal

The Indiana Code now shows Article 16 of Title 25 as "Repealed by P.L.149-2023, SEC.20" (2026 code, Title 25). P.L.149-2023 is House Enrolled Act 1461. The Department of Revenue's private employment agency page states: "Effective July 1, 2023, private employment agencies will no longer need to register or renew their license with DOR, while temporary healthcare service agencies will be required to apply for a license with the Indiana Department of Health."

The practical result as of October 2026:

A stray reference to "licensure of private employment agencies" still appears in IC 4-21.5-2-4, the administrative procedure statute. It refers to a license that no longer exists and creates no filing. I did not confirm whether the old Department of Revenue rules at 45 IAC 9 have been formally removed, but the statute they implemented is gone.

Temporary health care services agencies (IC 16-52)

This is the Indiana rule a staffing firm is most likely to trip over. Under IC 16-52, effective July 1, 2023, a temporary health care services agency is a person "engaged for hire in the business of providing or procuring temporary employment in health care facilities for health care personnel." Personnel include nurse aides, registered and licensed practical nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, qualified medication aides, home health aides and physician assistants; physicians are excluded. Facilities include hospitals, nursing and health facilities, home health agencies, hospices and ambulatory surgery centers, among others. The Department of Health's guidance reads "temporary" as employment with no set end date or expected to last under two years.

Registration and duties

• Annual registration with the Indiana Department of Health. The statute sets a fee of at least $150 a year, and the guidance lists $150. The application includes ownership information and a schedule of the fees the agency expects to charge; changes to that schedule are filed 30 days before they take effect. Registration is void if the agency is sold.
• Bond and insurance. A $10,000 dishonesty bond and workers' compensation coverage for each worker.
• Operations. Bill facilities within three months of service, keep records for five years, and check licenses and registries before referring a worker.
• Incident reporting. Serious incidents go to the Department of Health and the Attorney General within seven days.

Limits on conversion fees and recruiting

Under IC 16-52-3-1(b), the agency may not:

• "Restrict in any manner the employment opportunities of health care personnel";
• recruit on a facility's premises, or require its workers to recruit the facility's permanent staff; or
• collect any fee from an applicant before obtaining or securing an order for the employment.

The statute and guidance do not mention conversion fees by name, but the "restrict in any manner" wording is commonly read to bar conversion fees, buy-outs and non-competes that keep a nurse from joining a facility. If your Indiana health care contracts contain one, have counsel review it before renewal. The general mechanics of these clauses are in temp-to-perm conversion fee.

Penalties

The Department of Health may deny, revoke or suspend registration and impose civil penalties of up to $5,000 per incident, including for operating unregistered and for billing above the filed fee schedule. After a revocation the agency must wait five years to reapply. Complaints can also go to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.

Home care placement agencies

A separate law that predates the repeal, IC 22-1-5, applies to agencies that place home care workers with consumers. It requires written notices to the consumer and the worker explaining who the employer is, with civil penalties of up to $1,000 enforced by the Indiana Department of Labor. It does not apply to hospitals, health facilities or home health agencies.

PEO registration with the Department of Insurance

Under IC 27-16, anyone providing professional employer services, whatever the label ("staff leasing company," "employee leasing company," "administrative employer"), must register with the Indiana Department of Insurance. The provision of temporary help services is excluded.

• Fees. The statute caps the initial fee at $500, annual renewal at $250, and a limited registration at $250. I did not confirm the amounts set by rule.
• Financials. An audited GAAP statement dated within 180 days, or a reviewed statement for a firm with under 12 months of history. The PEO must keep positive working capital or post security equal to the shortfall plus $100,000.
• Renewal. Annually, within 180 days after the PEO's fiscal year end.
• Limited registration. For out-of-state PEOs licensed in a state the department treats as equivalent, with no Indiana office or solicitation and 50 or fewer Indiana covered employees.

Employer accounts every Indiana staffing firm needs

• Workers' compensation. Every employer is bound, with no headcount minimum; an employer is anyone "using the services of another for pay" (IC 22-3-6-1). That section also makes a lessor and a lessee of employees joint employers for workers' compensation purposes, which matters for exclusive remedy. Failing to insure is a Class A misdemeanor, and the Workers' Compensation Board may award up to double compensation.
• Unemployment insurance. Through the Department of Workforce Development. Liability is triggered by wages paid to even one individual (IC 22-4-7-1). I found no Indiana statute requiring temps to contact the agency for reassignment. PEOs choose PEO-level or client-level reporting under IC 22-4-6.5.
• Secretary of State and withholding. A foreign entity may not do business in Indiana until it registers with the Secretary of State (IC 23-0.5-5-2), and every employer withholds Indiana income tax. The setup order is in how to start a staffing agency.
• Day labor. Under IC 22-5-6, a person may not start day labor employment (work without a written agreement for more than three working days) without completing the federal I-9 attestation.
• E-Verify. Indiana's E-Verify rules changed recently; see E-Verify requirements in Indiana.

I found no Indiana farm labor contractor license or talent agency statute as of October 2026; federal farm labor contractor registration still applies.

An Indiana checklist

INDIANA CHECK — [date] — owner: [name]

Model:
  [ ] Employer-paid direct hire or search: no state license
  [ ] Candidate-paid fees: no license; contract reviewed by counsel
  [ ] Temp/contract (non-health care), we employ: employer accounts below
  [ ] Nurses, aides, PAs to facilities: IDOH registration (IC 16-52)
  [ ] Co-employment of client workforce: IDOI PEO registration (IC 27-16)

If health care staffing:
  Registration ($150/year) and fee schedule filed      [ ]
  $10,000 dishonesty bond; workers' comp               [ ]
  Conversion and non-compete clauses reviewed          [ ]

Employer accounts:
  Workers' comp from first employee                   [ ]
  DWD unemployment account                            [ ]
  Withholding; Secretary of State registration        [ ]
Next review: [date]