Iowa Law & Rules

The Iowa Code contains all permanent laws that are passed by the Iowa General Assembly and signed by the Governor. The Iowa Administrative Code contains all administrative rules adopted by Iowa's state agencies. When a law is passed, the Iowa Administrative Code often needs to be updated to include the administrative rules adopted to effectively implement or administer that law. An example would be the passage of a bill by the General Assembly that allows voting at satellite voting stations. The bill is then signed into law by the Governor. The bill would contain amended sections of the Iowa Code. The Iowa Administrative Code would then also have to be amended to include administrative rules adopted by the State Commissioner of Elections (i.e., the Secretary of State) to prescribe how the law will be implemented by county commissioners of elections.

The Iowa Constitution is the written instrument embodying the fundamental principles of law of a state or nation, outlining the powers and duties of the government and guaranteeing certain rights to the people. Codified and original copies of the Iowa Constitution are published as part of the Iowa Code.

There are two principle legal publications that include Iowa statutory law, the Iowa Code, and the Iowa Acts. The Iowa Code contains all the general and permanent statutory laws of the State of Iowa. The updated, electronic version of the Iowa Code is published annually, in late autumn, on the General Assembly's website and is available as a download. The print version is published every two years prior to the start of a new General Assembly. The Iowa Acts is a compilation of all measures enacted by the General Assembly during a year, and sometimes referred to as Session Laws. The electronic and print versions are published every year in the autumn.

There are two principal legal publications that include Iowa administrative rules, the Iowa Administrative Code, and the Iowa Administrative Bulletin. The Iowa Administrative Code contains the adopted administrative rules of state agencies and is published in full on the General Assembly’s website. The Iowa Administrative Bulletin contains the text of all proposed and adopted changes to the Iowa Administrative Code and is published biweekly on the General Assembly’s website. A third legal publication is the Supplement to the Iowa Administrative Code, which is a compilation of replacement chapters to the Iowa Administrative Code based on recently adopted amendments, and is only published biweekly on the General Assembly’s website concurrently with the Iowa Administrative Bulletin.

The Iowa Court Rules contain rules of procedure, pleadings, practice, evidence, and the forms of process, writs, and notices for all proceedings in the state courts as prescribed by the Iowa Supreme Court. The updated, electronic version of the Iowa Court Rules is published throughout the year on the General Assembly's website.