Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 22.2 (2026)

Right to examine public records — exceptions

✓ current as of July 2026
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1. Every person shall have the right to examine and copy a public record and to publish or otherwise disseminate a public record or the information contained in a public record. Unless otherwise provided for by law, the right to examine a public record shall include the right to examine a public record without charge while the public record is in the physical possession of the custodian of the public record. The right to copy a public record shall include the right to make photographs or photographic copies while the public record is in the possession of the custodian of the public record. All rights under this section are in addition to the right to obtain a certified copy of a public record under section 622.46.

2. A government body shall not prevent the examination or copying of a public record by contracting with a nongovernment body to perform any of its duties or functions.

3. If feasible, the custodian of a public record may provide for the electronic examination and copying of a public record in lieu of requiring in-person examination and copying of a public record. This subsection does not apply to searches of all indexes, general and specific, of public records relating to documents, instruments, and muniments of title, for the purpose of performing title searches, real property searches, or creating real property abstracts.

4. However, notwithstanding subsections 1 and 2, a government body is not required to permit access to or use of the following:

a. A geographic computer database by any person except upon terms and conditions acceptable to the governing body. The governing body shall establish reasonable rates and procedures for the retrieval of specified records, which are not confidential records, stored in the database upon the request of any person.

b. Data processing software developed by the government body or developed by a nongovernment body and used by a government body pursuant to a contractual relationship with the nongovernment body, as provided in section 22.3A. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §68A.2] 84 Acts, ch 1185, §2 C85, §22.2 89 Acts, ch 189, §1; 96 Acts, ch 1099, §14; 98 Acts, ch 1224, §17; 2015 Acts, ch 42, §1; 2020 Acts, ch 1103, §32, 51 Referred to in §8A.106, 8A.341, 22.14, 68B.32A, 331.608, 357A.11A, 388.9, 388.9A, 459.304, 459A.208, 502.809, 904.602 \n

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 56 cases (17 in the last 5 years), 1982–2026 · leading case: Gannon v. Bd. of Regents, 692 N.W.2d 31 (Iowa 2005).
Gannon v. Bd. of Regents, 692 N.W.2d 31 (Iowa 2005). · cites it 40× “” See Iowa Code § 22.2 (1). Thus, to determine whether the public has inspection rights under the Iowa Freedom of Information Act, we must begin with the statutory definition of “public records.”
Press-Citizen Co., Inc. v. Univ. of Iowa, 817 N.W.2d 480 (Iowa 2012). · cites it 19× “2010); Iowa Code §§ 22.2 , .7, .9 (2007). In October 2007, two University of Iowa football players were accused of sexually assaulting another student in a campus dorm room.”
KMEG Television, Inc. v. Iowa State Bd. of Regents, 440 N.W.2d 382 (Iowa 1989). · cites it 14× “Iowa Code § 22.2 (2). When read in harmony with preceding subsection 22.”
Am. Civil Liberties Union Found. of Iowa, Inc. v. Records Custodian, Atl. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 818 N.W.2d 231 (Iowa 2012). · cites it 8× “2d 666, 669 (Iowa 1992); see also Iowa Code § 22.2 . In deciding which records are public, the general assembly created and fixed the limitations on disclosure.”
Holding v. Franklin Cnty. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment, 565 N.W.2d 318 (Iowa 1997). · cites it 8× “…of public records does not alter the statutory mandate that they be available to the public for examination. See Iowa Code §§ 22.2 , 22.4.”
United States Ex Rel. Hixson v. Health Mgmt. Sys., Inc., 657 F. Supp. 2d 1039 (S.D. Iowa 2009). · cites it 8× “In particular, Relators know that Defendants filed and withdrew *1045 Medicaid liens in cases brought by Brooke Wilkins and Xander Leonard because Relators made a public records request for such information under Iowa Code § 22.2 , Iowa’s equivalent of the Freedom of Information…”
Horsfield Materials, Inc. v. City of Dyersville, 834 N.W.2d 444 (Iowa 2013). · cites it 2× “That Act provides that “[e]very person shall have the right to examine and copy a public record and to publish or otherwise disseminate a public record or the information contained in a public record.”
East Stroudsburg Univ. Found. v. Off. of Open Records, 995 A.2d 496 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2010). · cites it 2× “In determining whether Gannon was allowed access to the ISU Foundation's records, the Iowa Supreme Court relied on Iowa Code § 22.2 (2) which provided: "A government body shall not prevent the examination or copying of a public record by contracting with a nongovernment body to…”
Des Moines Register & Tribune Co. v. Dwyer, 542 N.W.2d 491 (Iowa 1996). · cites it 4× “" Iowa Code § 22.2 (1). The legislature chose to define the term "public records" broadly.”
Upon the Petition of Kent D. Langholz, 887 N.W.2d 770 (Iowa 2016). · cites it 2× “” Iowa Code § 22.2 (1). However, it also states “[t]he following records shall be kept confidential, unless ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records, or by another person duly authorized to release such information.”
Rathmann v. Bd. of Directors of the Davenport Cmty. Sch. Dist., 580 N.W.2d 773 (Iowa 1998). · cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 22.2 (1)'. The definition of public records includes records retained by a school district.”
Rushton v. Dep't of Corr., 2019 IL 124552 (Ill. 2019). “at 39 (quoting Iowa Code § 22.2 (2) (2001)). The East Stroudsburg University Foundation court explained that both its statute’s “directly relates” requirement and Iowa’s provision that public bodies may not avoid disclosure responsibilities by contracting with third parties to…”
— Iowa Code § 22.2(1) — 15 cases
Press-Citizen Co., Inc. v. Univ. of Iowa, 817 N.W.2d 480 (Iowa 2012). “2010); Iowa Code §§ 22.2 , .7, .9 (2007). In October 2007, two University of Iowa football players were accused of sexually assaulting another student in a campus dorm room.”
Gannon v. Bd. of Regents, 692 N.W.2d 31 (Iowa 2005). “” See Iowa Code § 22.2 (1). Thus, to determine whether the public has inspection rights under the Iowa Freedom of Information Act, we must begin with the statutory definition of “public records.”
KMEG Television, Inc. v. Iowa State Bd. of Regents, 440 N.W.2d 382 (Iowa 1989). “Iowa Code § 22.2 (2). When read in harmony with preceding subsection 22.”
— Iowa Code § 22.2(2) — 6 cases
Gannon v. Bd. of Regents, 692 N.W.2d 31 (Iowa 2005). “” See Iowa Code § 22.2 (1). Thus, to determine whether the public has inspection rights under the Iowa Freedom of Information Act, we must begin with the statutory definition of “public records.”
KMEG Television, Inc. v. Iowa State Bd. of Regents, 440 N.W.2d 382 (Iowa 1989). “Iowa Code § 22.2 (2). When read in harmony with preceding subsection 22.”
— Iowa Code § 22.2(4) — 2 cases
— Iowa Code § 22.2(4)(a) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 22.2(c) — 1 case
Martin v. Peoples Mut. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 319 N.W.2d 220 (Iowa 1982).
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.