Rule 16.201 Definitions

The following terms, as used in this chapter, are defined as follows:

16.201(1) Confidential. “Confidential” means court files, documents, or information excluded from public access by federal or state law or administrative rule, court rule, court order, or case law.

16.201(2) Court-generated document. “Court-generated document” means a document that is created and signed by court personnel, including judges, magistrates, court administrators, clerks of court and any designees of each.

16.201(3) Court record. “Court record” means for all cases the electronic files maintained in EDMS, filings the clerk of court maintains in paper form when permitted by these rules, and exhibits and other materials filed with or delivered to the court that the clerk maintains.

16.201(4) Document. “Document” means an instrument on which is recorded, by means of letters, figures, or marks, the original, official, or legal form of something, which may be used in evidence. A document is any physical embodiment of information or ideas, which may be in electronic or paper form.

16.201(5) EDMS. “EDMS” means the electronic document management system, the Iowa Judicial Branch electronic filing and case management system.

16.201(6) Electronic. “Electronic” means technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.

16.201(7) Electronic cover sheet. “Electronic cover sheet” means the information that registered filers type into EDMS when they create a new case or electronically file or present documents to the court. The cover sheet enables EDMS to correctly route the filing.

16.201(8) Electronic filing. “Electronic filing” means the EDMS receipt of a document submitted to EDMS for filing. The posting of “received,” “awaiting approval,” or “filed” status in the filer’s EDMS account serves as confirmation that EDMS has received the filer’s submission.

16.201(9) Electronic presentation. “Electronic presentation” means the process by which a party or filer may electronically deliver a document to the court for review or other court action. A document is not filed when electronically presented to the court through EDMS.

16.201(10) Electronic record. “Electronic record” means a record, file, or document created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means.

16.201(11) Electronic service. “Electronic service” means the EDMS electronic posting of a notice of electronic filing or presentation into the registered parties’ or attorneys’ EDMS accounts, along with a link to the document presented or filed. Although a courtesy copy of the notice of electronic filing or service may be sent by email, service is considered complete when the notice is electronically posted to the user’s EDMS account. The registered party may view and download the presented or filed document. See rule 16.315(1)(f) (electronic service of documents).

16.201(12) File stamp. “File stamp” means in the district court the date, time, and county information that is affixed at the top of the first page of a document when it is filed in EDMS. “File stamp” means in the appellate courts the date of filing with the clerk of the supreme court affixed along the left margin of a document’s first page when it is filed in EDMS.

16.201(13) Filing agent. “Filing agent” means an officer, employee, or nonattorney representative of an entity—such as a partnership, association, corporation, or tribe—or representative of an individual property owner in a landlord-tenant matter, who is authorized by Iowa law to appear on behalf of that entity or individual property owner because of the nature of the proceeding. See rule 16.201(34) (definition of “self-represented”).

16.201(14) Governmental agency. “Governmental agency” means an executive, legislative, or judicial agency, department, board, commission, authority, institution, or instrumentality of the federal government, the state, or a county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, including a court-approved nonprofit designee of such governmental agency.

16.201(15) Hyperlink. “Hyperlink” means an electronic connection or reference to another place in the document or other cited authority which, when selected, shows the portion of the document or the cited authority to which the hyperlink refers.

16.201(16) In camera. “In camera” means in the judge’s chambers, or in private, out of public view.

16.201(17) Information. “Information” means documents, text, images, sounds, codes, computer programs, software, databases, or the like.

16.201(18) Judicial branch. “Judicial branch” means the Iowa Judicial Branch of government and all courts, judicial officers, clerks of court, and offices of the courts of the State of Iowa.

16.201(19) Jurisdictional deadline. “Jurisdictional deadline” means a deadline set by rule or statute that the court may not extend or change.

16.201(20) Nonelectronic filing. “Nonelectronic filing” means a process by which a paper document or other nonelectronic item is filed with the court and retained in nonelectronic form. See rule 16.313 (nonelectronic filings). “Nonelectronic filing” means, for parties with an exception from the electronic filing registration requirement, submitting a paper document to the clerk for scanning and electronic filing. See rule 16.303 (submission of paper documents).

16.201(21) Nonregistered filer. “Nonregistered filer” means a party who has received an exception from the Iowa Judicial Branch electronic registration requirement and is authorized to submit nonelectronic documents in a case. See rule 16.302(2) (exceptions from electronic filing requirements).

16.201(22) Notice of case association. “Notice of case association” means an electronic submission by a party or filing agent to obtain access to the case and receive notifications of filings after the party or filing agent has registered in EDMS.

16.201(23) Notice of electronic filing or presentation. “Notice of electronic filing or presentation” means the notice EDMS generates when a document is electronically filed or electronically presented to the court. The notice of electronic filing or presentation indicates the official file-stamp date and time of the electronic filing of the document in local time for the State of Iowa. See rule 16.307 (electronic file stamp). When a document or proposed document is electronically filed or presented to the court, EDMS will post a notice of electronic filing or presentation to the EDMS account of all parties who are registered filers in the case. Such parties may view and download the document or proposed document by logging in to their accounts.

16.201(24) Party. “Party” means a person or entity by or against whom a case or part of a case is brought, including a plaintiff, petitioner, defendant, third-party defendant, or respondent. “Party” also includes a court-approved intervenor, or any other person or entity defined as a party to a case by a statute, rule, or court order. When a party appears, the clerk of court will index that party to the case, providing case access and receipt of notifications. When one or more attorneys have entered an appearance on a party’s behalf, references in these rules to service upon or filings by a party mean service upon or filings by that attorney or those attorneys. When a rule or statute requires a criminal defendant to be served with a document, service on the defendant must be made personally or electronically.

16.201(25) Proposed document. “Proposed document” means a document electronically presented to the court for review or other court action. A proposed document, other than a proposed exhibit, is not filed until the court takes action on it. See rule 16.412(2) (electronic submission of proposed exhibits).

16.201(26) Protected information. “Protected information” means the types of information referenced in rule 16.602.

16.201(27) Public. “Public” refers to court files, documents, or information that is not confidential or protected.

16.201(28) Public access terminal. “Public access terminal” means a computer located in a courthouse through which the public may view, print, and electronically file documents.

16.201(29) Redact. “Redact” means to delete, white out, black out, or otherwise hide text or images on a copy of an original document. The original document becomes confidential and the redacted version becomes the public version of the document.

16.201(30) Registered filer. “Registered filer” means a person or entity that has registered with EDMS and uses a login and password to file documents electronically in the Iowa court system. In cases in which the registered filer is a party and has entered an appearance or filed an answer, filed a notice of case association, or filed an appearance as a court-approved intervenor, the registered filer will electronically serve and receive notice of most filed or presented documents. A registered filer, other than a registered specialized nonparty filer, can also electronically view and download files. See rules 16.304 (registration, logins, and passwords) and 16.315 (service of documents subsequent to original notice). But see rule 16.314(3) (service of original notices).

16.201(31) Remote access. “Remote access” means the ability to electronically search, view, copy, or download electronic court documents without visiting a courthouse. Remote access to documents is available to registered filers and specialized nonparty users. The status of the registered filer or specialized nonparty user determines the filer’s or user’s level of remote access to restricted access documents. See rule 16.502 (access to electronic court files).

16.201(32) Restricted access. “Restricted access” means a case, docket entry, or document, including physical or digital exhibits, which the court has placed at a nonpublic security level or that EDMS has automatically placed at a nonpublic security level based on federal or state law or by court rule or administrative rule. See rule 16.405 (restricting access to filings).

16.201(33) Scanned document. “Scanned document” means an electronic version of a paper document created by scanning the document.

16.201(34) Self-represented. “Self-represented” means persons or parties who represent themselves without the assistance of an attorney. An entity such as a partnership, association, corporation, or tribe, or an individual property owner in a landlord-tenant matter, may be self- represented when otherwise authorized by law to be represented by an officer, employee, or nonattorney representative. See, e.g., Iowa Code § 631.14(1), (2)(a); In re N.N.E., 752 N.W.2d 1, 12-13 (Iowa 2008). Except where this chapter specifically indicates otherwise, “attorney” includes self-represented litigants. See rule 16.201(13) (definition of “filing agent”).

16.201(35) Signature. “Signature” means, for the purpose of electronically filing a document in EDMS, one of three formats.

a. For a registered filer electronically filing a document, “signature”means the registered filer’s login and password, accompanied by one of the following approved signature representations and a block of identifying information as described in rule 16.305(4) (signature block):

1. “Digitized signature” means an electronically applied, accurate, and unaltered image of a person’s handwritten signature.

2. “Electronic signature” means an electronic symbol, either “/s/” or “/efiler’s name/,” that a person has executed or adopted with the intent to sign the document.

3. “Nonelectronic signature” means a handwritten signature applied to an original document that is then scanned and electronically filed.

b. For a nonregistered filer or party signing a document, or for a registered filer signing a document that another filer will electronically file, “signature” means the filer’s or party’s name affixed to the document as a digitized or nonelectronic signature, along with a block of identifying information as described in rule 16.305(4).

16.201(36) Specialized nonparty filer. “Specialized nonparty filer” means a filer who may file documents in multiple cases without being a party, such as a bail bond agent or a service provider. See rule 16.304(1)(b)(3) (specialized nonparty filer registration).

16.201(37) Specialized nonparty user. “Specialized nonparty user” means a nonparty other than an attorney registered to electronically view and download information from electronic files that are not confidential or protected. A specialized nonparty user may view or download documents in multiple cases and may have access to restricted information. A qualified abstractor is a specialized nonparty user who may have access to birth dates and names of children. A court interpreter on Iowa’s roster of court interpreters is a specialized nonparty user but does not have access to birth dates or names of children. See rules 16.304(1)(d) (requirements for specialized nonparty user registration) and 16.502(2) (abstractor remote access).