Iowa Court Rules (2026)
We publish 45 sets of the Iowa Court Rules, totaling 1223 rules. Iowa consolidates its rules into one numbered publication, and the chapter number is the rule number: civil procedure is the 1.xxx series, evidence the 5.xxx series, professional conduct 32:x.x. Federal instincts do not translate — summary judgment is Rule 1.981 and the Rule 12 equivalent is Rule 1.421 — and an Iowa case begins with a petition served by original notice rather than a summons, with the answer due 20 days after service. Coverage runs from civil, criminal, appellate, probate and juvenile procedure through evidence and electronic filing, and includes bar admission, the Rules of Professional Conduct, the Code of Judicial Conduct and the attorney and judicial discipline rules. Small claims are not here because Iowa places them in statute, at Iowa Code chapter 631, rather than in a rules chapter. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules.
Iowa Court Rules & Rules of Practice
How this jurisdiction's courts and rules are organized, written for lawyers new to it: the court system, every ruleset a litigator touches, and how a case actually moves. Last verified September 24, 2026. For informational purposes only.
- Court System Overview
- The Ruleset Map
- Civil Litigation Mechanics
- Criminal Practice Mechanics
- Evidence
- Appellate Mechanics
- Rules of Professional Conduct
- Attorney Discipline & Enforcement
- Newcomer Orientation Notes
- Sources & Verification
Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure
Chapter 1 of the Iowa Court Rules, governing civil actions in the Iowa district courts. Coverage runs from the operation of the rules and the parties to an action, through pleadings and motions, discovery, pretrial procedure, trial, judgment and post-trial motions, to the special proceedings for declaratory judgments, certiorari, injunctions, judicial review of agency action and subpoenas. The appendix of forms is listed by title.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Criminal Procedure
Chapter 2 of the Iowa Court Rules, rewritten in full effective July 1, 2023. Coverage runs from proceedings before the magistrate, the grand jury, indictments and informations, arraignment and plea, pretrial motions and discovery, through trial, verdict, judgment and sentencing, to post-conviction procedure, appeals and the simple misdemeanor rules. The chapter's forms are listed by title.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Appellate Procedure
Chapter 6 of the Iowa Court Rules, governing appeals to the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals. Coverage runs from case initiation, termination-of-parental-rights and child-in-need-of-assistance appeals, certified questions and other proceedings, through stays, filing and service, the record and transcripts, briefs and oral argument, to decisions, rehearing, further review and procedendo. Timelines and forms are listed by title.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Evidence
Chapter 5 of the Iowa Court Rules, numbered to mirror the Federal Rules of Evidence (Rule 5.401 is relevance, Rule 5.803 the hearsay exceptions). Coverage runs from scope and judicial notice, through presumptions, relevance, privileges, witnesses, opinions and expert testimony, hearsay and authentication, to the contents of writings and the rules' application.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Professional Conduct
Chapter 32 of the Iowa Court Rules, numbered 32:1.1 through 32:8.5 to track the ABA Model Rules. Coverage runs from the client-lawyer relationship (competence, fees, confidentiality, conflicts), through the lawyer as counselor and advocate, transactions with persons other than clients, law firms and associations, public service, and information about legal services, to maintaining the integrity of the profession. Each rule carries the court's official comment.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Electronic Procedure
Chapter 16 of the Iowa Court Rules, governing filing and service through the Iowa Judicial Branch electronic document management system (EDMS). Coverage runs from scope and definitions, through registration, the filing process, public access and personal privacy protection, to the rules for criminal cases and for the appellate courts.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Juvenile Procedure
Chapter 8 of the Iowa Court Rules, governing delinquency, child-in-need-of-assistance and termination proceedings in the Iowa juvenile courts. Coverage runs from motion practice, pretrial conferences and speedy hearing, through discovery, evidence and hearings, to the forms for judicial waiver of parental notification, emancipation, minor guardianships and the use of restraints.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Code of Judicial Conduct
Chapter 51 of the Iowa Court Rules, the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct, numbered 51:1.1 through 51:4.5 under four canons: upholding the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary; performing judicial duties impartially, competently and diligently; conducting personal and extrajudicial activities to minimize conflict with judicial office; and refraining from inconsistent political or campaign activity. Each rule carries the court's official comment.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission and Attorney Disciplinary Board
Chapter 34 of the Iowa Court Rules, establishing the Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission and the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board and stating the general disciplinary rules both bodies apply: jurisdiction, the forms of discipline, confidentiality, reinstatement, administrative suspension for failure to comply with continuing education, registration and client security obligations, and the rules for trust account overdraft notification.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Judicial Administration
How the Iowa judiciary runs itself, 41 rules. Rule 22.1 is the foundation: the supreme court, by and through the chief justice, exercises supervisory and administrative control over every trial court in the state and over its judges and personnel. From there: the recall and transfer of judges, the selection and the duties and powers of chief judges (22.3 to 22.5), court and trial sessions, case assignment and district scheduling (22.6 to 22.8), change of venue to another judicial district (22.9), the practice of law by judges (22.11), senior judges and service by retired judges (22.12, 22.13), and judicial vacation and medical leave (22.14, 22.37). A block of rules covers judicial ethics and money — reimbursable travel, transportation, lodging and meals (22.17 to 22.21), gifts (22.22), honoraria (22.23), interests in public contracts (22.24), services against the state (22.25), personal disclosure (22.26) and nepotism (22.33). Also here: transcript rates (22.28), marriage fees received by a judicial officer (22.29), juror compensation (22.31), the annual school of instruction for magistrates (22.32), the staffing and public business hours of clerks' offices (22.39, 22.40), and treatment courts (22.41). Rule 22.38 is reserved and shown as such.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules for Admission to the Bar
Chapter 31 of the Iowa Court Rules, governing admission to practice law in Iowa: the board of law examiners, required examinations, admission by examination and on motion, character and fitness, the oath, temporary and pro hac vice practice, law student practice, foreign legal consultants and the annual registration and fees of Iowa lawyers.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules for Involuntary Hospitalization of Mentally Ill Persons
The procedure for an involuntary commitment on grounds of serious mental impairment, 32 rules. It begins at Rule 12.1, where any person may obtain an application from any district court clerk in any county, and runs through notice to the respondent and its waiver (12.3, 12.4), the attorney's conference with the respondent and the examination and physician's reports (12.6, 12.12, 12.13), probable cause (12.14), where the hearing is held and the respondent's rights explained before it (12.15 to 12.17), the respondent's presence and the electronic recording of the hearing (12.19, 12.20), evaluation and treatment and the reports that follow (12.22 to 12.25), emergency detention with a magistrate's approval (12.27, 12.28), appointment of counsel (12.29), the chemotherapy procedure (12.30) and the outpatient treatment plan (12.31). Rule 12.36 lists the chapter's fifteen forms, from the application alleging serious mental impairment to the notice of appointment of a mental health advocate; the forms are published as images, so their captions are given and the documents are not reproduced.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules for Involuntary Commitment or Treatment of Persons with Substance Use Disorders
The companion to chapter 12 and closely parallel to it, 31 rules, for a commitment on the grounds of a substance use disorder. Rule 13.1 again lets any person obtain the application from any district court clerk; the chapter then tracks notice, the attorney's conference and the physician's report, probable cause to injure (13.14), the hearing's location and recording, the respondent's rights, evaluation and treatment and the evaluation report, emergency detention, appointed counsel and the chemotherapy procedure. Rule 13.12 is the report of a substance use disorder evaluation and Rule 13.35 lists the chapter's fourteen forms by caption; the form documents are images and are not reproduced.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Procedure of the Iowa Commission on Judicial Qualifications
Chapter 52 of the Iowa Court Rules, the rules of procedure of the Iowa Commission on Judicial Qualifications, which investigates complaints against Iowa judicial officers: authorization and scope, definitions, officers and staff, meetings, complaints and their screening, investigations, charges and formal proceedings, hearings, dispositions and recommendations to the Iowa Supreme Court, and confidentiality.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Child Support Guidelines
Iowa's child support guidelines, sixteen rules. Rule 9.1 records that the supreme court prescribed them under the federal Family Support Act of 1988 and Iowa Code section 598.21B, and Rule 9.4 makes them a rebuttable presumption. The substance is here: Rule 9.5 what counts as income, Rule 9.6 the guidelines method for computing taxes, Rule 9.7 and 9.8 the qualified additional dependent deduction, Rule 9.9 the extraordinary visitation credit, Rule 9.11 when a court may vary from the guidelines, Rule 9.12 the medical support order, Rule 9.13 court review of a stipulation, and Rule 9.14 the method of calculation. Rule 9.26 is the Iowa Schedule of Basic Support Obligations, which the Legislature publishes as fourteen pages of images; the schedule itself cannot be reproduced, so that rule carries its title and its amendment history only.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission Rules of Procedure
Chapter 36 of the Iowa Court Rules, the procedural rules of the Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission for attorney disciplinary hearings: the docket, service, answers and defaults, discovery and subpoenas, the division and hearing, evidence and the burden of proof, the commission's report and recommendation, and review by the Iowa Supreme Court. Each rule carries the court's comment on its 2016 renumbering.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board Rules of Procedure
Chapter 35 of the Iowa Court Rules, the procedural rules of the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board: complaints and their form and filing, screening and investigation, the board's meetings and dispositions, private admonitions, public reprimands, the filing of formal complaints with the Grievance Commission, and the board's forms. Each rule carries the court's comment on its 2016 renumbering.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Client Security Commission
Eighteen rules creating and empowering the Client Security Commission and the Clients' Security Trust Fund of the Bar of Iowa, out of which a client harmed by a lawyer's dishonesty may be reimbursed. Rule 39.5 is the annual disciplinary fee every Iowa lawyer pays and Rule 39.6 the fund assessments; Rule 39.7 the exemption and retirement, Rule 39.8 enforcement, and Rule 39.9 claims against the fund. Rules 39.10 to 39.12 cover investigations, audits and the annual questionnaire, Rule 39.13 attorneys acting as fiduciaries, and Rules 39.14 and 39.15 reinstatement from exemption or suspension and its denial. Also here: attorneys practising in Iowa under the multijurisdictional practice rule (39.16), the collection of court costs and other fees (39.17), and the requirement that a lawyer designate someone to act on death or disability (39.18).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Probate Procedure
Chapter 7 of the Iowa Court Rules, governing procedure in probate before the Iowa district courts: removal orders, fees, district court probate rules, referees and their reports, delinquent filings, interlocutory reports, and the required filings and forms for adult guardianships and conservatorships.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Remote Procedure
Fifteen rules in six divisions, governing every remote and hybrid court proceeding in Iowa unless another rule or a statute provides otherwise. Rule 15.102 sets an in-person proceeding presumption, Rule 15.301 the requirements a remote proceeding must meet, and Rule 15.302 the motion by which a party asks for a remote, hybrid or in-person appearance. Separate divisions then take each case type: criminal proceedings, including a defendant's request to be excused from a remote appearance and the defendant's attorney's in-person attendance (15.401 to 15.405); juvenile proceedings, including delinquency adjudication (15.501 to 15.503); and family law proceedings (15.601, 15.602). Each division closes with how the court is to weigh a rule 15.302 motion in that kind of case.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Lawyer Trust Account Commission Grant Criteria and Guidelines
How the interest on lawyers' pooled trust accounts is granted out, sixteen rules. Rule 44.1 explains the IOLTA program: the commission was created by the supreme court to receive interest on lawyers' pooled trust accounts, which hold client funds too small in amount or held too briefly to earn net interest for the client. Rule 44.2 is the statement of purpose, Rule 44.3 the grant criteria and Rule 44.4 who may apply; the rest govern the mechanics — rejection of applications (44.5), ownership of applications (44.6), grantee costs (44.7), inquiry (44.8), copies and signature (44.9), prime grantee responsibility (44.10), access to books and records (44.11), contract terms (44.12), the project completion date (44.13), additional grant requests (44.14) and the application procedures (44.15). Rule 44.21 lists the grant application forms.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Forms for Self-Represented Litigants
Nine rules covering the court forms a person without a lawyer must use. Rule 17.1 is the requirement itself: a self-represented person in an action this chapter covers must use these forms, which are available on the Iowa Judicial Branch website, and an attorney may use them but need not. The rest group the forms by subject — relief from domestic abuse (17.10), elder abuse (17.20) and sexual abuse (17.30); suspension of child and medical support in CINA cases (17.50); dissolution of marriage with no minor or dependent adult children (17.100) and with dependent children (17.200); modification of child support (17.300); and custody and visitation for unmarried parents (17.400). The form documents are published as images and are not reproduced; each rule's own text is, and the forms it lists are named.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Continuing Legal Education for Lawyers
Thirteen rules. Rule 41.1's purpose clause is blunt about the stakes: only by continuing their legal education throughout their period of the practice of law can attorneys fulfil their obligation competently to serve their clients, and failure to do so is grounds for disciplinary action by the supreme court. Rule 41.2 establishes the continuing legal education commission, Rule 41.3 the requirement itself, Rule 41.4 the annual fee and report, and Rule 41.5 the penalty for failing to satisfy it. Also here: confidentiality (41.6), inactive and retired practitioners (41.7, 41.13), the exemption for equivalent out-of-state attendance (41.9), reinstatement from suspension and its denial (41.10, 41.11), and the basic skills course requirement (41.12).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Organization and Procedures of Appellate Courts
How Iowa's two appellate courts are organised and how they dispose of cases, fifteen rules in three parts. The supreme court's own two rules provide that cases are ordinarily submitted en banc, with the chief justice able to provide for a smaller panel (21.1), and for the absence of the chief justice (21.2). The court of appeals' three cover its policy of disposing justly of a high volume of cases, sitting en banc or in panels, and panel composition. The ten appellate operating procedures then govern the allocation of proceedings between the courts (21.21), participation in and publication of opinions (21.22), correction of opinions (21.23), petitions for rehearing (21.24), opinions dealing with confidential material (21.25), memorandum opinions (21.26), the application to the supreme court for further review (21.27), posting opinions on the Internet (21.28), which version of an opinion controls (21.29), and petitions, applications, requests and motions (21.30).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Client Trust Account Rules
Eleven rules on the handling of client money — the practical companion to the professional conduct rules on safekeeping property. Rule 45.1 requires that funds a lawyer receives from clients or third persons for matters arising out of the practice of law in Iowa be deposited in one or more identifiable interest-bearing trust accounts at a financial institution with an Iowa branch. Rule 45.2 sets what a lawyer must do on receiving funds and the accounting and records required, Rule 45.3 the types of account and where they may be held, Rule 45.4 the pooled interest-bearing trust account, Rule 45.5 what an allowable monthly service charge is, and Rule 45.6 the lawyer's certification. Rules 45.7 to 45.10 then separate the fee arrangements a lawyer must not confuse — the advance fee and expense payments, the general retainer, the special retainer and the flat fee. Rule 45.11 requires the designation of successor signatories.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Code of Professional Conduct for Court Interpreters and Translators
The ethical standards for anyone interpreting or translating in an Iowa legal proceeding, in ten canons with the Preamble, Applicability, Definitions and Comments that frame them. The Code governs oral and sign language interpreters and translators in legal proceedings or in offices of the Judicial Branch, and reaches real-time court reporters providing language access to deaf or hearing-impaired persons who can read English. Canon 1 is the central obligation: an interpreter must render a complete and accurate interpretation by reproducing the closest natural equivalent of the source language, without altering, omitting or adding anything, and without explanation. The rest cover representation of qualifications, impartiality and conflicts of interest, professional integrity and demeanor, confidentiality, restriction of public comment, the scope of practice and the line between interpreting and giving legal advice, the duty to assess and report impediments to performance, the duty to report criminal convictions and ethical violations, and professional development. Each canon carries the court's official commentary.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Regulations of the Commission on Continuing Legal Education
Eleven regulations under chapter 41. Rule 42.1 defines an accredited program or activity as one meeting the standards in rule 42.3 that the commission has accredited; Rule 42.2 states the hour requirements, Rule 42.3 the standards for accreditation and Rule 42.4 how a program or activity is accredited. The rest cover hardships and extenuating circumstances (42.5), exemptions for and reinstatement of inactive practitioners (42.6, 42.7), the commission's staff and divisions (42.8, 42.9), hearings (42.10) and the notice of failure to comply (42.11).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of the Board of Examiners of Shorthand Reporters
Seventeen rules, adopted in conjunction with Iowa Code sections 602.3101 to 602.3302 and applying to all proceedings, functions and responsibilities of shorthand reporters and the board of examiners. They run from the board's organisation and meetings (46.3) through applications, examination, certification and fees (46.4 to 46.7), the continuing education requirement and the reports and penalties attached to it (46.8 to 46.11), and then discipline: disciplinary action and its causes (46.12, 46.13), contested case proceedings (46.14) and sanctions (46.15). Rules 46.16 and 46.17 cover military service and veteran reciprocity and certification by reciprocity.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Juvenile Court Services Directed Programs
How juvenile court services programs are funded and run, sixteen rules in four divisions. Rule 70.101's definitions set the terms, including at risk — a child referred to juvenile court services for a delinquency violation, or exhibiting behaviour likely to result in such a referral. Division II covers the money: the appropriation and allocation of funds, the allocation of Title IV-E Prevention Service reimbursement funds, availability and transfer of funds, the administration of programs within each judicial district, billing and payment, record keeping, and the annual contract compliance review. Division III covers noncontracted and court-ordered services — juvenile court services' responsibilities, the application process and expenses. Division IV covers early intervention and follow-up programs and graduated sanctions services: service eligibility, reporting requirements, the contracted services referral process and supportive enhancements.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Court Interpreter and Translator Rules
Eighteen rules on language access in the Iowa courts. Rule 47.1's definitions are substantive — a certified deaf interpreter is an interpreter who is deaf and holds a CDI or provisional relay certificate from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Rule 47.2 sets the minimum qualifications of a court interpreter and Rule 47.3 how one is scheduled, appointed and selected; Rules 47.4 and 47.5 classify oral and sign language interpreters, and Rule 47.6 establishes the Iowa roster. Also here: application and test registration fees (47.8), the Language Access in the Courts Advisory Committee (47.9), the complaint and disciplinary process (47.10), the recording of proceedings (47.11), interpreter and translator compensation (47.12), written translations of court-related material (47.13), the interpretation of legally binding documents submitted to the court (47.14), application to administrative agency proceedings (47.15), administration (47.16) and immunity (47.17). Rule 47.7 is reserved and shown as such. The interpreters' own Code of Professional Conduct, which the Legislature publishes as chapter 48, is numbered by canon rather than by rule and is not yet included.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Time Standards for Case Processing
Five rules setting the times within which Iowa cases are expected to move, subject — as Rule 23.1 says — to the statutes and rules affecting the same proceedings. Rule 23.2 carries the trial scheduling time standards, Rule 23.3 the estate standards, Rule 23.4 the juvenile standards, and Rule 23.5 the forms for implementing them, including the notice of civil trial-setting conference and the trial scheduling and discovery plan.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Standards of Conduct for Mediators
Ten standards binding mediators who are Iowa-licensed lawyers, mediators in any court-approved mediation program, and mediators in any matter an Iowa court order or rule requires to be mediated — Rule 11.1 sets exactly that reach. The standards are self-determination (11.2), impartiality (11.3), conflicts of interest (11.4), competence (11.5), confidentiality (11.6), quality of the process (11.7), advertising and solicitation (11.8), fees and other charges (11.9), and advancement of mediation practice (11.10).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Electronic Search Warrant Procedure
Nine rules in four divisions, governing electronic search warrants in every Iowa county — Rule 14.101 states that scope. Division III covers the platform: law enforcement agency accounts (14.301), platform user accounts (14.302) and removal of an electronic search warrant package from the platform (14.303). Division IV is the procedure — the application (14.401), issuance (14.402), electronic return of service (14.403), and transfer of the completed package to the Electronic Document Management System (14.404).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Commission on the Unauthorized Practice of Law
Six rules. Rule 37.1 creates the Commission on the Unauthorized Practice of Law — seven lawyer members and two nonlawyer members — for the abatement of the unauthorized practice of law, and Rule 37.2 covers injunctions. The remaining four mark out conduct at the boundary: the unauthorized practice of nonadmitted lawyers (37.3), domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual abuse victim counselors (37.4), limited real estate practice (37.5), and Beneficial Ownership Information reporting under the federal Corporate Transparency Act (37.6).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules for Installment Payment Plans and Other Court Collection Activities
How a person pays off court debt, six rules, applying to all court debt as defined in Iowa Code section 602.8107(1). Rule 26.2 governs the installment payment plan itself, Rule 26.3 the judicial branch's debt collection procedures, Rule 26.4 community service, and Rule 26.5 supervised probation. Rule 26.6 is the form installment payment plan order.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules of Procedure of the Commission on the Unauthorized Practice of Law
How the commission chapter 37 creates actually works, nine rules. Rule 38.1 states that the commission, as an official arm of the court, is charged under Iowa Court Rule 37.2 with considering and investigating matters pertaining to the unauthorized practice of law and seeking its prohibition. The rules then cover the commission's officers, meetings and quorum (38.3, 38.4), complaints to the commission (38.5), the investigation procedure (38.6) and the determination that follows it (38.7), confidentiality (38.8) and immunity (38.9).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Protective and No Contact Orders
The form protective and no contact orders Iowa courts are required to use, five rules in five divisions, one per kind of order. Rule 4.100 covers elder abuse protective orders under Iowa Code chapter 235F, Rule 4.200 domestic abuse civil protective orders, Rule 4.300 sexual abuse civil protective orders, Rule 4.400 civil protective orders in dissolution actions, and Rule 4.500 criminal no contact orders. Each rule states that courts must use the forms the supreme court has approved, and warns that a filed template order may not display every form option available to the court. The form documents themselves are published as images and are not reproduced here; each rule's own text and the form numbers it lists are.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Regulations of the Client Security Commission
The commission's own six regulations, sitting under chapter 39. Rule 40.1 defines the terms, including dishonest conduct, which it describes as wrongful acts committed by a lawyer against a person in the manner of defalcation or embezzlement. Rule 40.2 governs applications for reimbursement, Rule 40.3 how they are processed, Rule 40.4 subrogation once reimbursement is made, and Rules 40.5 and 40.6 the general purposes and provisions.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Court Records
Six rules on the records of the Iowa judicial branch — Rule 20.1 states the scope as their creation, storage, retention, duplication, reproduction, disposition, destruction and public access, and defines what a record of the judicial branch is. Rule 20.2 covers reports and transcripts of court proceedings, Rule 20.3 the records of the supreme court and court of appeals, Rules 20.4 and 20.5 the purging of case files and the lists that govern it, and Rule 20.6 records management.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Lawyer Trust Account Commission
Eight rules constituting the Lawyer Trust Account Commission: seven members, four of them Iowa bar members with their principal offices in the state and three of them Iowa residents who are not lawyers. The rules cover its powers and duties (43.2), its officers and director (43.3, 43.4), compensation and expenses (43.5), the disposition of funds on dissolution (43.6), supplemental rules (43.7), and the applicability of the Iowa Tort Claims Act (43.8).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Rules for Expanded News Media Coverage
Whether and how a courtroom may be broadcast, recorded or photographed, six rules. Rule 25.1 defines expanded news media coverage as broadcasting, recording, photographing and live electronic reporting of judicial proceedings by the news media in any medium. Rule 25.2 carries the general provisions, Rule 25.3 the procedure — including the objection a party or a witness may file — and Rule 25.4 the technical requirements. Rule 25.5 governs coverage of the supreme court and court of appeals. Rule 25.10 lists the chapter's four forms by caption: the news media coordinator's notice of request for trial and for appellate coverage, and the objections of a party and of a witness.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Guidelines for the Forfeiture and Restoration of a Bond
Four rules on the bond a court may require of a parent who has interfered with the other parent's access to a child, under Iowa Code section 598.21(8A). Rule 10.1 governs the cash bond itself, Rule 10.2 its return, Rule 10.3 the hearing, and Rule 10.4 forfeiture.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Office of Professional Regulation
Five rules creating the Office of Professional Regulation of the Supreme Court of Iowa and setting out who staffs it, beginning with an executive director appointed by the supreme court. Rule 49.2 covers board and commission budgets, Rule 49.3 the authority to allocate funds, Rule 49.4 fees for certificates, score transfers and copies, and Rule 49.5 file retention and destruction.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Standards for Professional Conduct
Five aspirational standards on how lawyers and judges should treat one another, distinct from the disciplinary rules in chapter 32. Rule 33.1 is the preamble: a lawyer's conduct should be characterised at all times by personal courtesy and professional integrity in the fullest sense of those terms. The rest state lawyers' duties to other counsel (33.2), lawyers' duties to the court (33.3), courts' duties to lawyers (33.4), and judges' duties to each other (33.5).
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseIowa Uniform Family Law Arbitration Rules
Four rules governing court proceedings that arise from a family law arbitration under the Iowa Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act, Iowa Code chapter 598A. Rule 71.1 sets that scope and provides that the Act controls over a conflicting rule. Rule 71.2 covers the proceedings in arbitration, Rule 71.3 what is required before the court enters a final order or decree, and Rule 71.10 lists the forms for uniform family law arbitration actions.
Updated 2026 Edition
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