Open Records

Iowa’s public records law is the Iowa Open Records Law, found at Iowa Code Chapter 22 – one of Iowa’s two “sunshine laws” alongside Chapter 21 (open meetings). It’s designed to keep government transparent and accountable, giving every person the right to examine, copy, and disseminate public records unless a specific exception applies.

Who can request records

Any person may request records – Iowa is among the majority of states that don’t require requester residency. Agencies may not require requesters to identify themselves or state their purpose.

What’s covered

“Public records” means all records, in any form, belonging to the state or any county, city, governing body, or board/commission/branch/council of any of those – a broad definition. Whether something counts as a public record depends on the nature of the document, not where it’s stored – a public official’s personal records on a government device can still be exempt if unrelated to official business.

How to request

Requests can be made in person, in writing, by telephone, or electronically to the lawful custodian of the records. Iowa Code doesn’t allow agencies to force a specific request method, though it does allow reasonable conditions that don’t prevent requesters from exercising their rights.

Response timeline

Chapter 22 does NOT set a specific mandatory response deadline for most requests. The only time limit in the statute applies to a “good-faith, reasonable delay” for determining whether a record is confidential before release – this delay should not exceed 20 calendar days and ordinarily should not exceed 10 business days (Iowa Code § 22.8(4)(d)). In practice, many agencies use 10 business days as their working target, but there’s no hard statutory deadline for a straightforward, non-confidential request. There’s also no set point at which a non-response counts as an official denial.

Fees

– Fees must be based on actual, direct costs – printing costs and the hourly rates of employees involved in responding, but not indirect costs like electricity or general overhead. – Fees can include the cost of legal services, but only for the limited purpose of reviewing or redacting legally protected confidential information – not for the initial search itself. – For electronic records that don’t require formatting, editing, or compiling, the charge can’t exceed the reasonable cost of accessing that record. – Agencies must, if asked, explain and justify how a fee was calculated. – Records must be available for examination during customary office hours; if an agency has fewer than 30 hours of office hours per week, records must still be accessible from 9am-noon and 1-4pm Monday-Friday.

Exemptions

Chapter 22.7 lists confidential record categories, including trade secrets, criminal identification files (though arrest records and criminal history data themselves remain public), certain crisis-intervention details, and other statutorily protected categories.

If your request is denied

A requester can pursue court enforcement through mandamus or injunction, or file a complaint with the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), which has jurisdiction over Chapters 21, 22, and 23. If a court finds an agency improperly denied a request, it can order release of the records plus a fine – $100 to $500 for an ordinary violation, or $1,000 to $2,500 if the denial was knowing and improper – and the agency or custodian found liable must also pay the requester’s attorney’s fees. An employee found to have previously violated the chapter can face an order for removal from office or position. Note: a provision that once made knowingly denying a request a misdemeanor was repealed in 2011, so criminal penalties no longer apply.

A note on terminology

Iowa’s law is officially the “Iowa Open Records Law” (Chapter 22) – the same basic type of law that other states call a “Freedom of Information Act,” “FOIA Laws” (South Carolina), or “Public Records Laws” (Tennessee).