1. a. Proceedings for the involuntary commitment or treatment of a person with
a substance use disorder to a facility pursuant to this chapter or for the involuntary
hospitalization of a person pursuant to chapter 229 may be commenced by any interested
person by filing a verified application with the clerk of a district court.
b. If the verified application was filed in a district court of a county where the respondent
is not located and does not reside, the court shall transfer jurisdiction of the case to the district
court of the county where the respondent is presently located or which is the respondent’s
place of residence.
c. The clerk, or the clerk’s designee, shall assist an applicant in completing the verified
application.
2. The application shall:
a. State the applicant’s belief that the respondent is a person who presents a danger to
self or others and lacks judgmental capacity due to either of the following:
(1) A substance use disorder as defined in section 125.2.
(2) A serious mental impairment as defined in section 229.1.
b. State facts in support of each belief described in paragraph “a”.
c. Be accompanied by one or more of the following:
(1) A written statement of a licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and
surgeon or mental health professional in support of the application.
(2) One or more supporting affidavits corroborating the application.
(3) Corroborative information obtained and reduced to writing by the clerk or the clerk’s\n\nTue Dec 09 22:27:37 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 125 (65, 2)
§125.75, SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS 12\n\ndesignee, but only when circumstances make it infeasible to obtain, or when the clerk
considers it appropriate to supplement, the information under either subparagraph (1) or (2).
3. Prior to the filing of an application pursuant to this section, the clerk or the clerk’s
designee shall inform the interested person referred to in subsection 1 about the option of
requesting a preapplication screening assessment pursuant to section 125.74.
4. The supreme court shall prescribe rules and establish forms as necessary to carry out
the provisions of this section.
[C75, 77, §125.19(1, 2); C79, 81, §229.51; 82 Acts, ch 1212, §3]
90 Acts, ch 1085, §13; 2011 Acts, ch 121, §42, 43, 62; 2013 Acts, ch 130, §37; 2017 Acts, ch
34, §5; 2018 Acts, ch 1026, §41; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §113, 114; 2025 Acts, ch 95, §1
Referred to in §125.2, 125.44, 125.74, 125.75A, 125.77, 125.78, 125.79, 125.85, 125.91, 229.21, 331.910
Summary of involuntary commitment procedures available from clerk; see §229.45
Subsection 1 amended
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
20
cases (
5 in the last 5 years), 1992–2025 · leading case:
In re T.S., 705 N.W.2d 498 (Iowa 2005).
In re T.S., 705 N.W.2d 498 (Iowa 2005).
· cites it 7× “Iowa Code § 125.75 . The Code further provides if the applicant is not the county attorney, the applicant may apply for the appointment of counsel if he or she is financially unable to pay an attorney to assist in the application.”
Embassy Tower Care, Inc. v. Tweedy, 516 N.W.2d 831 (Iowa 1994).
· cites it 2× “In May 1991, after overdosing on medication, she was committed to Embassy pursuant to a court order authorized by Iowa Code section 125.75 (1991). She resisted placement at the facility, and thereafter refused to pay for the care she received.”
In the Interest of R.P., 606 N.W.2d 15 (Iowa 2000).
· cites it 5× “See Iowa Code § 125.75 . The respondent’s sister, Mary Schumacher, furnished an affidavit in support of the application.”
In re the Alleged Substance Abuse of E.J.H., 493 N.W.2d 841 (Iowa 1992).
· cites it 2× “On February 19, 1991, respondent’s husband and sister filed an application under Iowa Code section 125.75 for respondent’s involuntary commitment.”
In Re Ts, 705 N.W.2d 498 (Iowa 2005).
· cites it 7× “Iowa Code § 125.75 . The Code further provides if the applicant is not the county attorney, the applicant may apply for the appointment of counsel if he or she is financially unable to pay an attorney to assist in the application.”
In Re Sp, 719 N.W.2d 535 (Iowa 2006).
· cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 125.75 . Upon the filing of the application, the clerk of court dockets the case and immediately notifies a district court judge, a district associate judge, or magistrate who is admitted to the practice of law.”
In the Matter of R.K. (Iowa Ct. App. 2024).
· cites it 6× “” See Iowa Code § 125.75 (2)(a). A “presumption in favor of the respondent exists,” which requires termination of the proceedings if clear and 2 A “substance use disorder” is defined as a “diagnosable substance use disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria…”
In Re Rp, 606 N.W.2d 15 (Iowa 2000).
· cites it 5× “See Iowa Code § 125.75 . The respondent's sister, Mary Schumacher, furnished an affidavit in support of the application.”
— Iowa Code § 125.75(1) — 1 case
In the Matter of R.K. (Iowa Ct. App. 2024).
“” See Iowa Code § 125.75 (2)(a). A “presumption in favor of the respondent exists,” which requires termination of the proceedings if clear and 2 A “substance use disorder” is defined as a “diagnosable substance use disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.