Iowa, court records
Search Iowa district court cases statewide in Iowa Courts Online Search, run by the Iowa Judicial Branch. Federal cases are in PACER.
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Every card below goes to the government office responsible for that record. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
Vital records
Iowa Judicial Branch divorce page: free interactive court forms for a petition, a response and a financial affidavit, with or without minor children.
Open official site Iowa Divorce and Family LawCourt records
Iowa district courts: one in every county, with general jurisdiction over civil, criminal, juvenile and probate cases.
Open official site Iowa District CourtsCourt records
Iowa juvenile court, a specialized part of the district court for child in need of assistance cases, termination of parental rights and other cases about children.
Open official site Iowa Juvenile CourtCourt records
Iowa Court of Appeals at the Judicial Branch Building, 1111 East Court Avenue, Des Moines. Clerk of Court (515) 348-4700.
Open official site Iowa Court of AppealsCourt records
Iowa Supreme Court at the Judicial Branch Building, 1111 East Court Avenue, Des Moines. Clerk of Court (515) 348-4700.
Open official site Iowa Supreme CourtCourt records
Home of the Iowa Judicial Branch, with a courthouse finder for every county, court forms and online court services.
Open official site Iowa Judicial BranchCourt records
Free official Iowa Judicial Branch court forms to fill in, print, save and download, with no registration or password.
Open official site Iowa court formsCourt records
Statewide Iowa Courts Online Search of district court case information, run by the Iowa Judicial Branch.
Open official site Iowa Courts Online SearchCourt records
Iowa Judicial Branch guide to protective orders under Iowa Code chapter 236: what counts as domestic abuse and how to ask the court for protection.
Open official site Protect Yourself from Domestic AbuseCourt records
Federal district, bankruptcy and appeals court records online. A PACER account is needed; documents cost $0.10 per page, capped at $3 per document.
Open official site PACER, federal court recordsCourt records
Find the federal district, bankruptcy and appeals courts that serve any location, or look up a federal court by name.
Open official site U.S. Courts, Federal Court FinderGuide
Iowa Courts Online Search is the Iowa Judicial Branch's statewide search of district court case information. There is one district court in every county, and it hears civil, criminal, juvenile and probate cases.
Court forms are free on the Judicial Branch site, and the courthouse finder gives each county's clerk of court.
Guide
Iowa dissolution cases are district court cases, and the clerk of the district court in the filing county keeps them on a separate dissolution docket under Iowa Code 598.26(3). Until the decree is entered the record is closed to everyone but the court, its officers, child support services and the parties, under 598.26(1). After the decree the file is public, including the sworn Financial Affidavit required by 598.13, unless a party moves to seal; the court must seal a financial statement or interrogatory answer when the motion is unopposed, may seal other material in its discretion, and may never seal an order, decree or judgment.
Iowa Courts Online Search shows the dissolution docket, parties, filings and dispositions free of charge, with no documents; those are read on the courthouse public access terminal and copied through the clerk. The Iowa asset search page explains what the financial affidavit and the decree reveal.
Record guide
At a glance
More Iowa records on this site: Iowa public records, Free Background Checks.
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
State court records are usually free to view at the courthouse and often free online, with per-page fees for certified copies. PACER charges $0.10 per page (capped at $3.00 per document), waived under $30 per quarter.
No. A sealed case is hidden from the public docket index by court order. Its existence may still be confirmable by number, but documents are not accessible.
Civil cases involve disputes between parties (contracts, torts, family). Criminal cases are brought by the government. Both are indexed by the same court clerks but tracked in separate sub-dockets.
Not in one search. PACER covers all federal courts. Most states have a statewide judiciary portal that covers their state courts, but a few require per-county lookups. This page links to Iowa's official portal.
All states
Every state page lists that state's official court record sources, each opened and verified.