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Jefferson County, Iowa Public Records

Find the right office in Jefferson County. Court cases, deeds and parcels, sheriff and jail records, vital records and county filings, each linked to the office that keeps them.

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Most requested Jefferson County records

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Showing 5 official sources

Official

County court

Iowa Federal Cases

Iowa has two federal trial courts, the Northern District at Cedar Rapids and Sioux City and the Southern District at Des Moines; their case files are searched through PACER.

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Official

Vital records

Iowa Death and Vital Records

Iowa HHS Vital Records issues certified birth, death and marriage records filed since July 1, 1880, by mail, in person or through VitalChek, for a fee per copy.

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Local record guide

About public records in Jefferson County

County profile

Jefferson County at a glance

State
Iowa
County seat
Fairfield
Population
15,663
Area
436 sq mi
Founded
1839
Cities and towns
4

Jefferson County offices and records

Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is responsible for law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of Jefferson County.

Police Departments. Law enforcement in Jefferson County is provided by both Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and municipal police departments. Other towns like Batavia and Libertyville may have smaller police forces or rely on the Sheriff's Office for assistance.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, located at 2001 West Burlington Avenue in Fairfield, Iowa 52556, is the primary law enforcement agency for unincorporated areas of Jefferson County. Jefferson County Jail, operated by the Sheriff's Office at the same location, houses inmates for Jefferson County and provides inmate lookup services. Iowa Code § 22.3 requires that public records be made available unless an exception applies. Response times and service levels vary depending on location within Jefferson County's 436 square miles.

Arrest Records. They are maintained by the arresting agency, primarily the County Sheriff's Office and municipal police departments.

Abandoned mine records

Old mine workings in Jefferson County

Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.

From the old mine records

What is on record in Jefferson County

Old mine sites
12
Past producers, now closed
12
Main minerals
crushed stone; construction sand and gravel; Clay
Holes drawn on the old survey maps
6
Shafts and tunnels
0
What they are
quarry, gravel pit
Maps surveyed
1965 to 1980

Is an old working under a property here?

The mine records hold 12 mine sites inside the county: 12 past producers, now closed; the old survey maps add 6 holes drawn inside the county, 0 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are crushed stone; construction sand and gravel; Clay.

A point in either file is a location, not a property line: the sheet shows the opening on the surface, not the rooms under it. The record that shows what runs under a parcel is the mine map. The OSMRE National Mine Map Repository holds scanned underground mine maps and answers requests for a named mine or an area. Coal was mined in Iowa from the 1840s to 1994.

Fairfield Maharishi Vedic Pleasant Plain Packwood Lockridge Batavia Libertyville N 10 miles
Jefferson County: the boundary from the Census Bureau, and one dot for each old mine or hole on record inside it. The purple dots come off the old survey maps and the darkest of those are shafts and tunnels; the red, green and orange ones are mine records. The small open circles with a name are the towns and the pale shapes around the edge are the neighbouring counties, both from the Census Bureau. Hover a dot for its name.
Iowa mine map and abandoned mine records
Named workings recorded in Jefferson County (5 shown, 13 unnamed on the map)

Jefferson County sits over the Western Region coal field and the coal there is medium and high volatile bituminous, worked underground in many places. The two federal files record a shaft, an adit or a deposit where one was drawn on a survey sheet or catalogued as a site; neither file carries the outline of the workings, so the counts above are not the measure of what was mined under this county. The record that shows it is the mine map, held by Iowa DNR Iowa Coal Mines map and linked below.

Iowa abandoned mine maps ranks every county and town in the state by the workings recorded inside it, names the office that holds the mine maps, and says what to do if the ground moves.

Disclaimer: The mine information here is for general information only. Old mine records can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and finding nothing here does not mean there is nothing there. Check with the mine map office named here before you rely on it, and have a qualified engineer look at any ground you are worried about. PublicRecordCenter.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of this information.

Labor Department file

Wage and hour cases in Jefferson County

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division closed 47 investigations in Jefferson County since fiscal 2005 and recorded $219,050 in back wages agreed for 267 workers. The county is the one the Census Bureau puts each employer's ZIP code in. Snapshot of April 22, 2026; a case here is a finding by the Division, not a court judgment.

Investigations closed
47
Back wages agreed
$219,050
Workers due back wages
267
Civil money penalties
$13,376
Employers on the record
46
EmployerCityCasesBack wagesWorkers
Iowa Wind and Solar, LLCFairfield1$61,82520
Schaus-Vorhies Contracting, Inc.Fairfield1$39,26119
Midwest Ambulance Service Of IOWA, INC.Fairfield2$37,131119
Sunnybrook Holding Company, LLCFairfield1$18,85730
La Hacienda de Marijo, Inc.Fairfield1$17,8754
The Nelson Company, Inc.Fairfield1$12,0348
Sky Factory, L.C.Fairfield1$11,13123
Sunnybrook Home Care, Inc.Fairfield1$5,1409
Aramark CorporationFairfield1$4,38012
Granneman Investments, IncFairfield4$4,04620
Drish Construction, Inc.Fairfield1$4,00922
Natel, Inc.Fairfield1$3,6094
Vintage Power Wagons, Inc.Fairfield1$3,46710
Kavanaugh Trucking LLC.Fairfield1$3,2123
Seasonal LLCFairfield1$2,5002
Amrita Aromatherapy, Inc.Fairfield1$1,9462
TrafFix Devices, Inc.Fairfield1$1,8302
Sunnybrook Assisted Living, IncFairfield1$1,8251
Sunnybrook Homecare LLCFairfield1$1,6371
Southeast Iowa Area Detention Service AgencyFairfield2$1,63610
Industrial Patterns & ToolingFairfield1$1,2834
Fairfield Tire & Service, Inc.Fairfield1$5083
Seminar Crowds, Inc.Fairfield1$3843
Graf & Company, Inc.Fairfield1$3102
Arandas Inc.Fairfield1$2682

The 25 employers with the most back wages agreed, of 46 on the Jefferson County record; 13 employers have a page of their own and open from the table, the rest show their whole record here. The 21 more with smaller records are on the Iowa wage theft records page, whose search answers for every employer in the state.

Straight answers

Jefferson County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where can I find mugshots or booking photos in Jefferson County, Iowa?

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office or a city police department in Jefferson County. Ask that agency for its record.

How do I get a criminal background check in Jefferson County, Iowa?

The Iowa criminal history record comes from the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation. Name based request by mail, fax, email or in person with first name, last name and exact date of birth; the online request site is down for an upgrade and phone requests are not taken. Fee: $15 per last name.

How can I look up sex offenders in Jefferson County, Iowa?

Search the Iowa Sex Offender Registry, or every state at once on the National Sex Offender Public Website run by the U.S. Department of Justice.

How do I register to vote in Jefferson County, Iowa?

Register with the county auditor or through the Iowa Secretary of State. You can also register online with the state online registration. Pre registration closes 15 days before the election; you may also register and vote on election day at the polling place for your address with proof of identity and residence.

How do I look up property records in Jefferson County, Iowa?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Jefferson County are kept by the Jefferson County recorder. Property values are set by the local assessor, and tax bills come from the county treasurer. Source: official state page.

How do I get a birth or death certificate in Jefferson County, Iowa?

Certified birth and death certificates for Iowa come from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Statistics. County Recorders can issue certified copies of all Iowa births from 1986 to the present and of deaths and marriages from 1954 to the present; earlier records come from the county where the event occurred. By mail or in person at Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Statistics, Lucas State Office Building, 1st Floor, 321 E. 12th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0075, at a County Recorder, or online through VitalChek, the only authorized third party vendor. Fee: $20.00 for each certified copy.

How do I find business license records in Jefferson County, Iowa?

Business entity filings are searched with the Iowa Secretary of State. Iowa does not have a general business license; licensing depends on the nature of the business or occupation.

Same county

Cities, towns and neighboring counties

Use the city page when a record was created by a municipal police department or city office; use the county page for courts, deeds, vital records and jail custody.