CHAPTER 9G
LAND OFFICE

  
     
9G.1  Records.
  The books and records of the land office shall be so kept as to show and preserve an accurate chain of title from the general government to the purchaser of each smallest subdivision of land; to preserve a permanent record, in books suitably indexed, of all correspondence with any of the departments of the general government in relation to state lands; and to preserve, by proper records, copies of the original lists furnished by the selecting agents of the state, and of all other papers in relation to such lands which are of permanent interest.
[R60, §92, 95; C73, §83; C97, §72; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §89; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.1]
C93, §9G.1
2022 Acts, ch 1032, §2

     
9G.2  Separate grants.
  Separate tract books shall be kept for the university lands, the saline lands, the half-million acre grant, the sixteenth sections, the swamplands, and such other lands as the state now owns or may hereafter own, so that each description of state lands shall be kept separate from all others, and each set of tract books shall be a complete record of all the lands to which they relate.
[R60, §94; C73, §84; C97, §73; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §90; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.2]
C93, §9G.2

     
9G.3  Tract books.
  Said tract books shall be ruled in a manner similar to those used in the United States land offices, so as to record each tract by its smallest legal subdivisions, its section, township, and range, to whom sold, and when, the price per acre, to whom patented, and when.
[R60, §93; C73, §85; C97, §74; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §91; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.3]
C93, §9G.3

     
9G.4  Land office — how kept — certified copies.
  The land office shall be kept open during business hours. The documents and records in the land office shall be subject to inspection by parties having an interest in the documents and records. Certified copies of a document or record in the land office, signed by the secretary, with the seal of office attached, shall be deemed presumptive evidence of the facts to which they relate. Upon request, certified copies of documents or records shall be furnished by the secretary for a reasonable fee.
[R60, §101; C73, §86; C97, §75; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §92; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.4]
C93, §9G.4
2023 Acts, ch 66, §2
Section amended

     
9G.5  Patents.
  Patents for lands shall issue from the land office, shall be signed by the governor and recorded by the secretary; and each patent shall contain therein a marginal certificate of the book and page on which it is recorded, which certificate shall be signed by the secretary, and all patents shall be delivered free of charge.
[R60, §97; C73, §87; C97, §76; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §93; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.5]
C93, §9G.5

  
     
9G.6  When patents issued.
  1.  Patents shall not be issued for any lands belonging to the state, except upon the certificate of the person or officer specially charged with the custody of the patents, setting forth the appraised value per acre, the name of the person to whom sold, the date of sale, the price per acre, the amount paid, the name of the person making final payment, and the name of the person who is entitled to the patent. If a person is entitled to a patent due to an assignment from the original purchaser, the certificate shall set forth fully the assignment and shall be filed and preserved in the land office.
  2.  Whenever the governor is satisfied that the purchase price has been paid by the person to whom the sale has been made and that a patent has not been issued to the purchaser, a patent shall be issued, signed by the governor and secretary of state and recorded by the secretary of state. The passage of seventy-five years from the date of sale without issuance of a patent shall be conclusive proof that the purchase price has been paid.
[R60, §98, 99; C73, §88; C97, §77; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §94; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.6]
C93, §9G.6
2020 Acts, ch 1062, §94; 2021 Acts, ch 80, §2; 2022 Acts, ch 1032, §3

     
9G.7  Corrections.
  The secretary of state is authorized and required to correct all clerical errors of the secretary’s office in name of grantee and description of tract of land conveyed by the state, found upon the records of such office. The secretary shall attach an official certificate to each conveyance so corrected, giving the reasons therefor; record the same with the record of the original conveyance, and make the necessary corrections in the tract and plat books of the secretary’s office. Such corrections, when made in accordance with this section, shall have the force and effect of a deed originally correct, subject to prior rights accrued without notice.
[C73, §89; C97, §78; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §95; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.7]
C93, §9G.7
2009 Acts, ch 41, §8

     
9G.8  Maps — field notes — records — papers.
  The secretary of state shall receive and safely keep in the secretary’s office, as public records, any field notes, maps, records, or other papers relating to the public survey of this state, whenever turned over to the state in pursuance of law; the United States at all times to have free access thereto for the purpose of taking extracts therefrom or making copies thereof.
[C73, §90; C97, §79; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §96; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.8]
C93, §9G.8

     
9G.9  Color of title relinquished.
  Whenever the governor is satisfied by the commissioner of the general land office that the title to any lands which may have been certified to the state under any of the several grants is inferior to the rights of any valid interfering pre-emptor or claimant, the governor is authorized and required to release by deed of relinquishment such color of title to the United States, to the end that the requirements of the interior department may be complied with, and that such tract or tracts of land may be patented by the general government to the legal claimants.
[C73, §91; C97, §80; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §97; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.9]
C93, §9G.9

     
9G.10  Quitclaim deeds.
  Whenever the governor is satisfied by proper record evidence that any tract of land which may have been deeded by virtue of any donation or sale to the state is not the land intended to have been described, and that an error has been committed in making out the transfers, in order that such error may be corrected, the governor is authorized to quitclaim the same to the proper owner thereof, and to receive a deed or deeds for the lands intended to have been deeded to the state originally.
[C73, §92; C97, §81; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §98; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.10]
C93, §9G.10

     
9G.11  Lists of federal granted lands.
  In cases where lands have been granted to the state of Iowa by Act of Congress, and certified lists of lands inuring under the grant have been made to the state by the commissioner of the general land office, as required by Act of Congress, and such lands have been granted, by Act of the general assembly, to any person or company, and such person or company shall have complied with and fulfilled the conditions of the grant, the secretary of state is hereby authorized to prepare, on the application of such person or company, or on the application of a party claiming title to any land through such person or company, a list or lists of lands situated in each county inuring to such applicant, from the lists certified by the commissioner of the general land office, as aforesaid, which shall be signed by the governor of the state, and attested by the secretary of state, with the state seal, and then be certified to by the secretary to be true and correct copies of the lists made to this state, and deliver them to such applicant, who is hereby authorized to have them recorded in the proper county, and when so recorded they shall be notice to all persons the same as deeds now are, and shall be evidence of title in such grantee, or the grantee’s assigns, to the lands therein described, under the grant of Congress by which the lands were certified to the state, so far as the certified lists made by the commissioner aforesaid conferred title to the state; but where lands embraced in such lists are not of the character embraced by such Acts of Congress or the Acts of the general assembly of the state, and are not intended to be granted thereby, the lists, so far as these lands are concerned, shall be void; but lands in litigation shall not be included in such lists until the actions are determined and such lands adjudged to be the property of the company; nor shall the secretary include, in any of the lists so certified to the state, lands which have been adjudicated by the proper courts to belong to any other grant, or adjudicated to belong to any county or individual under the swampland grant, or any homestead or pre-emption settlement; nor shall said certificate so issued confer any right or title as against any person or company having any vested right, either legal or equitable, to any of the lands so certified.
[C73, §93; C97, §82; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §99; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.11]
C93, §9G.11

     
9G.12  Dubuque and Pacific Railroad lands.
  The secretary of state is hereby authorized upon the application of any person claiming title under the trust deeds executed by the Dubuque and Pacific Railroad Company, to secure its construction bonds, to any lands included in the list of lands certified to the state of Iowa, by the commissioner of the general land office and approved by the secretary of the interior, as selected to satisfy the grant made to the state of Iowa, by Act of Congress approved May 15, 1856, 11 Stat. 9, in aid of the construction of a railroad from Dubuque to Sioux City; to certify said land as inuring to the grantees of the said Dubuque and Pacific Railroad Company, which certificate shall be signed by the governor, and attested by the secretary of state, with the seal of the state, and deliver the same to such applicant who is hereby authorized to have said certificate recorded in the county in which the land so certified is situated, and when so recorded, shall be notice to all persons the same as deeds now are, and shall be evidence of the title from the state of Iowa to any person deriving title to said land under the Dubuque and Pacific Railroad Company, to the land therein described under the grant of Congress by which the land was certified to the state so far as the certified lists made by the commissioner aforesaid, conferred title to the state, but where lands embraced in such lists are not of the character embraced by such Acts of Congress or the Acts of the general assembly of the state, and are not intended to be granted thereby, the lists so far as these lands are concerned, shall be void; nor shall the secretary include, in any of the lists so certified to the state, lands which have been adjudicated by the proper courts to belong to any other grant, or adjudicated to belong to any county or individual under the swampland grant, or any homestead or preemption settlement; nor shall said certificate so issued confer any right or title as against any person or company having any vested right, either legal or equitable, to any of the lands so certified.
[C39, §99.1; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.12]
C93, §9G.12
2006 Acts, ch 1010, §5

     
9G.13  University lands.
  The secretary of state is hereby authorized to issue patents for lands, the legal title to which is vested in the state university of Iowa, in cases wherein it is shown to the satisfaction of the governor and attorney general that such lands have been in fact sold by the authority of the state and paid for, and that the certificates of purchase have been lost or destroyed.
[C97, §83; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §100; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.13]
C93, §9G.13

     
9G.14  Effect of patents.
  The patents thus issued shall inure to the benefit of the original purchaser and the original purchaser’s grantees only, and a clause to this effect shall be inserted in the patent.
[C97, §84; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §101; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §10.14]
C93, §9G.14