Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure

In Iowa, the summons is called an original notice. The rules for serving it are in the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, mainly rules 1.302 to 1.315. Iowa doesn't license process servers.

Anyone who isn't a party or a party's attorney can serve an original notice. Returns by private servers must be sworn by affidavit or certified under Iowa Code section 622.1.

Disclaimer: Laws change, and this page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Check the current rules on the Iowa Legislature court rules page or ask an attorney before relying on it.

Iowa process servers

• Become a process server in Iowa
• Hire a process server in Iowa

Quick facts: process serving in Iowa

• Who can serve: Any person who is neither a party nor the attorney for a party (Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.302(4)).
• Licensing: Iowa has no license or registration for process servers.
• Deadline to serve: Within 90 days after the petition is filed, or the court must dismiss that defendant or set another time or method, unless you show good cause (Rule 1.302(5)).
• Substituted service: Leave the notice at the person's home with someone 18 or older who lives there (Rule 1.305(1)).
• Proof of service: A private server proves service by affidavit stating the time, manner and place, and who was served (Rule 1.308).
• Time to respond: 20 days after service in most cases (Rule 1.303(1)).

Process-serving software: ServeManager

ServeManager is process-serving software used by agencies across Iowa. It tracks every attempt with date, time, GPS and photos, and generates returns of service from the job.

Register for ServeManager

Do you need a license to serve process in Iowa?

No. Iowa has no statewide license, registration or certification for process servers. Under Rule 1.302(4), any person who isn't a party or a party's attorney can serve an original notice. A party, their agent or their attorney can still take a signed acknowledgment of service and handle any required mailing.

If you serve as a private server, your fees and mileage can be taxed as costs, up to the amounts allowed for sheriffs under Iowa Code § 331.655 (Rule 1.308(1)).

For a step-by-step guide, see Become a Process Server in Iowa.

How to serve an original notice in Iowa

A copy of the petition is attached to the original notice, except in service by publication (Rule 1.302(1)).

Personal service: Rule 1.305(1)

The server delivers a copy of the original notice and petition directly to the person.

Acknowledgment of service: Rule 1.305(1)

The person can sign and date an acknowledgment of service endorsed on the notice instead.

Abode service: Rule 1.305(1)

The server can leave the papers at the person's dwelling house or usual place of abode with anyone 18 or older who lives there.

If the home is in a rooming house, hotel, club or apartment building, the papers must be left with a member of the person's family, or with the manager, clerk, proprietor or custodian.

The papers can also be left with the person's spouse somewhere other than the home, if there's probable cause to believe the spouse lives at the person's home.

Minors and incompetent persons: Rule 1.305(2) and (3)

Special rules apply, generally requiring service on a conservator or guardian. Check the rule before serving.

Service outside Iowa and by mail: Rule 1.306

Any defendant with enough contact with Iowa can be served outside the state by the same methods used in Iowa. If that isn't possible, the court can order another method consistent with due process (Rule 1.306). When mail is used under this rule, the answer date in the notice must be at least 60 days after mailing (Rule 1.303(5)).

Court-ordered service: Rule 1.305(14)

If none of the methods in the rule work, the court can order service in any manner consistent with due process.

Service by publication: Rules 1.310 to 1.315

Publication is allowed only in certain types of cases, such as property, foreclosure, quiet title and divorce cases, and only after an affidavit shows personal service can't be made in Iowa (Rule 1.310).

• The notice runs once a week for three weeks in a row in a newspaper in the county where the case was filed (Rule 1.313).
• A copy must be mailed to a known defendant's last known address at least 20 days before the answer date, unless an affidavit says no address could be found (Rule 1.311).
• The answer date must be at least 20 days after the last publication (Rule 1.303(4)).
• Actual personal service, in or out of Iowa, makes publication unnecessary (Rule 1.315).

See What is service by publication?

Serving businesses and other entities

Under Rule 1.305:

• Corporations, partnerships and associations (1.305(6)): Serve a present, acting or last known officer, a general or managing agent, an agent authorized to receive service, or a general partner. Registered agents are listed in the Iowa Secretary of State business search.
• Cities (1.305(8)): Serve the mayor or city clerk.
• Counties (1.305(9)): Serve the county auditor or the chair of the board of supervisors.
• School districts (1.305(10)): Serve the president or secretary.
• State of Iowa (1.305(11)): Serve as provided by the statute that allows the suit.
• Government boards, commissions and agencies (1.305(13)): Serve the presiding officer, clerk or secretary.

Serving a subpoena in Iowa

Anyone 18 or older who isn't a party can serve a subpoena by delivering a copy to the named person. If the subpoena requires attendance, the server must tender one day's attendance fee and mileage if the person asks for it. When proof is needed, the server files a statement with the date and manner of service and the names of the people served, certified under Iowa Code section 622.1 (Rule 1.1701(3)).

Proof of service: Rules 1.308 and 1.309

• Who signs: Sheriffs and deputies can make an unsworn return in their own or a neighboring county. Every other server proves service by affidavit (Rule 1.308(1)). Iowa Code § 622.1 allows a certification under penalty of perjury in place of a notarized affidavit.
• What it says: The time, manner and place of service, and the name of the person who got the papers. If they were left with someone other than the defendant, the return must state facts showing the rule was followed (Rule 1.308(2)).
• When: Promptly, and no later than the time the person served has to respond. A late return doesn't make the service invalid (Rule 1.308(4)).
• Mailing: Any required mailing is proved by affidavit with a copy of what was mailed (Rule 1.308(5)).

The court can allow a return to be amended unless it would unfairly harm the other side (Rule 1.309).

Hire an Iowa process server

Find process servers across the state in the Iowa process server directory.

More Iowa resources

• Become a Process Server in Iowa
• Courts in Iowa
• Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, chapter 1 (Iowa Legislature)

This page is a general overview of Iowa law, not legal advice. Laws change. Check the current rules or talk to an attorney about your case.