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Court Records

Iowa Court Records

How Iowa's courts are organized, where their records are kept and how to search them.

Iowa has a fully unified, state-funded trial court called the district court, which hears every kind of case in all 99 counties. All of those courts use the same electronic filing and case management system, so case information can be searched statewide for free.

Iowa's clerks of district court are state employees, and every county has one, so getting copies works much the same way anywhere in the state.

How Iowa's courts are organized

The Iowa Judicial Branch has two appellate courts and a single trial court staffed by different kinds of judges.

Iowa Supreme Court

Seven justices hear appeals and transfer many of them to the Court of Appeals. The court also supervises the trial courts and the legal profession.

Iowa Court of Appeals

Hears the appeals transferred to it by the Supreme Court.

District Court

The single trial court, organized into eight judicial districts. District judges, district associate judges, associate juvenile and probate judges and magistrates hear civil, criminal, family, juvenile, probate, traffic and small claims cases.

Searching Iowa court records online

Start with Iowa Courts Online, then register for document access if you need the filings.

Getting records from the clerk's office

Each county's clerk of district court keeps the official records for all cases filed in that county. Public computer terminals at the clerk's office let you view documents in public cases for free, and clerks provide copies and certified copies for a fee.

Because Iowa moved to electronic filing around 2015 and later, older cases may exist only on paper or microfilm and require a request to the clerk.

What is public, and what is not

Most Iowa court records are public, but juvenile, adoption, mental health, substance abuse commitment and some family records are confidential. Iowa court rules require filers to omit or redact personal identifiers.

Iowa law requires the court system to remove from public view the records of criminal cases that were dismissed or ended in acquittal, after a waiting period. Some misdemeanor convictions can also be expunged after eight years if the person meets the conditions. A deferred judgment, once completed, is removed from the public record.

Older and archived records

Older Iowa court records may be held by the clerk of court in the county where the case was filed, often on microfilm. Historical court records, including territorial and early county records, are held by the State Historical Society of Iowa.

Criminal history and background records

A court file tells you what happened in one case in one court. A criminal history record (often called a rap sheet) pulls together arrests, charges and outcomes reported from across the state, so it is a different product kept by a different agency.

Iowa's Division of Criminal Investigation keeps the state's criminal history records. Iowa criminal history is generally public, so anyone can request a record for a fee.

Federal court records in Iowa

Federal cases, including federal crimes, bankruptcies, and lawsuits over federal law or between citizens of different states, are not filed in Iowa's state courts. Iowa is divided into 2 federal judicial districts, and each has its own clerk's office:

Federal case files are searched through PACER, the federal judiciary's records system. PACER charges a small fee per page, but you pay nothing if your charges stay under the quarterly fee-waiver threshold, court opinions are free, and every federal courthouse has public terminals you can use at no cost. Many PACER documents have also been copied into the free RECAP Archive on CourtListener. Appeals from Iowa's federal courts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Tips for a faster search

  • Iowa case numbers usually start with a county number and a case type, such as FECR for felony criminal or SCSC for small claims.
  • Iowa Courts Online removes dismissed and acquitted criminal cases after a period of time, so an older case may not show up.
  • Use a public terminal at any clerk's office to view documents in public cases from anywhere in Iowa.
  • Have the full names of the parties, the county and a rough date range ready. A case number is the fastest way in if you have one.
  • Online indexes are not the official record. If a decision depends on it, get a copy (or a certified copy) from the clerk's office that holds the file.

Legal help and law libraries

Clerks and law librarians can explain how to find a record, but they cannot give legal advice. These organizations can point you in the right direction:

This guide is general information about public records, not legal advice. Court websites, fees and rules change, so confirm details with the court before you rely on them. Civics-Online.org is not affiliated with any court or government agency.