Iowa FOIA procedures
| Iowa FOIA procedures |
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| FOIA laws in Iowa |
| Freedom of Information Act |
| Court cases with an impact on state FOIA |
| FOIA procedures by state |
Each state has laws governing public access to governmental records. These laws are sometimes known as open records laws, public records laws, or FOIA laws after the federal Freedom of Information Act. These FOIA laws define the procedures that people can use to obtain access to these records.
This article describes FOIA procedures in Iowa as of May 2025. On this page you will find:
- How to request public records
- Who may request public records
- Fees associated with public records requests
- Required response times for requests
- Exemptions to public records requests
How to request public records in Iowa
The Iowa Open Records Law, found in Iowa Code Chapter 22, says that public records requests may be made in writing, over the phone, or electronically to the custodian of the records in question. According to Section 22.3:[1]
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The examination and copying of public records shall be done under the supervision of the lawful custodian of the records or the custodian’s authorized designee. The lawful custodian shall not require the physical presence of a person requesting or receiving a copy of a public record and shall fulfill requests for a copy of a public record received in writing, by telephone, or by electronic means.[2] |
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Purpose and use
The law does not require a statement of purpose and does not place any restrictions on the use of records.
Who may request public records?
Anyone may request public records in Iowa. According to Iowa Code Section 22.2:[3]
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Every person shall have the right to examine and copy a public record and to publish or otherwise disseminate a public record or the information contained in a public record. Unless otherwise provided for by law, the right to examine a public record shall include the right to examine a public record without charge while the public record is in the physical possession of the custodian of the public record. The right to copy a public record shall include the right to make photographs or photographic copies while the public record is in the possession of the custodian of the public record.[2] |
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Iowa is among 42 states that do not require individuals requesting public records to be state residents.
Fees
- See also: How much do public records cost?
Iowa law allows fees to be charged to cover the cost of responding to a public records request. According to the Iowa Code Section 22.3:[1]
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The lawful custodian may charge a reasonable fee for the services of the lawful custodian or the custodian’s authorized designee in supervising the examination and copying of the records. If copy equipment is available at the office of the lawful custodian of any public records, the lawful custodian shall provide any person a reasonable number of copies of any public record in the custody of the office upon the payment of a fee. The fee for the copying service as determined by the lawful custodian shall not exceed the actual cost of providing the service. Actual costs shall include only those reasonable expenses directly attributable to supervising the examination of and making and providing copies of public records. Actual costs shall not include charges for ordinary expenses or costs such as employment benefits, depreciation, maintenance, electricity, or insurance associated with the administration of the office of the lawful custodian. Costs for legal services should only be utilized for the redaction or review of legally protected confidential information. However, a county recorder shall not charge a fee for the examination and copying of public records necessary to complete and file claims for benefits with the Iowa department of veterans affairs or the United States department of veterans affairs. [2] |
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Iowa Code Section 22.3A governs access to data processing software. Procedures for charging fees for retrieval of public records stored electronically are outlined in that section.
Response time
- See also: Request response times by state
Iowa Code Section 22.8 says, "A reasonable delay [to determine whether a confidential record should be available for inspection and copying] shall not exceed twenty calendar days and ordinarily should not exceed ten business days."[4] According to the Iowa Public Information Board:[5]
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Chapter 22 is silent as to the time for response to a records request. The time to locate a record can vary considerably depending on the specificity of the request, the number of potentially responsive documents, the age of the documents, the location of the documents, and whether documents are stored electronically. The large number of variable factors affecting response time makes it very difficult, and probably unwise, to establish any hard and fast objective standards. The statute was adopted more than forty years ago. Today’s electronic records environment adds to the complexity of this issue. The only specific response time standard established by the statute addresses a good-faith reasonable delay incurred in order to determine whether a confidential document should be released. Iowa Code subsection 22.8(4)(d) states that a reasonable good-faith delay is not a violation of Chapter 22 if the purpose of the delay is: “d. To determine whether a confidential record should be available for inspection and copying to the person requesting the right to do so. A reasonable delay for this purpose shall not exceed twenty calendar days and ordinarily should not exceed ten business days.” While the Code states a delay under Iowa Code subsection 22.8(4)(d) shall not exceed twenty calendar days, the Iowa Supreme Court does not view this as an absolute deadline: “Based on our review of section 22.8(4)(d), we believe it is not intended to impose an absolute twenty-day deadline on a government entity to find and produce requested public records, no matter how voluminous the request. Rather, it imposes an outside deadline for the government entity to determine ‘whether a confidential record should be available for inspection and copying to the person requesting the right to do so.’ We do not think we should extrapolate section 22.8(4)(d)’s twenty-day deadline to other contexts, when the legislature chose not even to include that deadline in other portions of section 22.8(4).” Horsfield Materials, Inc. v. City of Dyersville, 834 N.W.2d 444, 461 (Iowa 2013). According to an Iowa Attorney General Sunshine Advisory Opinion from August 2005, “Delay is never justified simply for the convenience of the governmental body, but delay will not violate the law if it is in good faith or reasonable.” The Court in Horsfield also lists several considerations for determining if a delay is reasonable: “Under this interpretation, practical considerations can enter into the time required for responding to an open records request, including “the size or nature of the request.” But the records must be provided promptly, unless the size or nature of the request makes that infeasible” Horsfield Materials, Inc. v. City of Dyersville, 834 N.W.2d 444, 461 (Iowa 2013).[2] |
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As of May 2025, 11 states had no mandated response time. Of the 39 states with response time limits, 12 allow agencies to extend response times in certain cases, while 27 allow no exceptions. Eight states required responses in three days or fewer, 11 in five days or fewer, 13 in 10 days or fewer, and seven in 20 days or fewer.
Exemptions
Exemptions to the Iowa Open Records Law are outlined in Iowa Code Section 22.7. Moreover, according to Section 22.8, "The district court may grant an injunction restraining the examination, including copying, of a specific public record or a narrowly drawn class of public records" if the court finds that "the examination would clearly not be in the public interest" and that "the examination would substantially and irreparably injure any person or persons."[4]
See also
External links
- Iowa Code
- State Archives of Iowa
- Iowa Open Records - Information & Public Record Requests
- Iowa Public Information Board - Advisory Opinions
- Iowa Public Information Board - Sample Records Request Letter
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Iowa Legislature, "Iowa Code 2025, Chapter 22" accessed May 7, 2025 (Sec. 22.3)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Iowa Legislature, "Iowa Code 2025, Chapter 22" accessed May 7, 2025 (Sec. 22.2)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Iowa Legislature, "Iowa Code 2025, Chapter 22," accessed May 7, 2025 (Sec. 22.8)
- ↑ Iowa Public Information Board, "22AO:0004 Timeliness of responding to record requests," accessed May 7, 2025
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