Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 229.24 (2026)

Records of involuntary hospitalization proceeding to be confidential

✓ current as of July 2026

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1. All papers and records pertaining to any involuntary hospitalization or application pursuant to section 229.6 of any person under this chapter, whether part of the permanent record of the court or of a file in the department, are subject to inspection only upon an order of the court for good cause shown.

2. If authorized in writing by a person who has been the subject of any proceeding or report under sections 229.6 through 229.13 or section 229.22, or by the parent or guardian of that person, information regarding that person which is confidential under subsection 1 may be released to any designated person.

3. If all or part of the costs associated with hospitalization of an individual under this chapter are chargeable to an administrative services organization, the clerk of the district court shall provide to an administrative services organization the following information pertaining to the individual which would be confidential under subsection 1:

a. Administrative information, as defined in section 228.1.

b. An evaluation order under this chapter and the location of the individual’s placement under the order.

c. A hospitalization or placement order under this chapter and the location of the individual’s placement under the order.

d. The date, location, and disposition of any hearing concerning the individual held under this chapter.

e. Any payment source available for the costs of the individual’s care.

4. This section shall not prohibit any of the following:

a. A hospital from complying with the requirements of this chapter and of chapter 230 relative to financial responsibility for the cost of care and treatment provided a patient in that hospital or from properly billing any responsible relative or third-party payer for such care or treatment.

b. A court or the department of public safety from forwarding to the federal bureau of investigation information that a person has been disqualified from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving a firearm pursuant to section 724.31. [C77, 79, 81, §229.24] 83 Acts, ch 96, §157, 159; 95 Acts, ch 120, §3; 96 Acts, ch 1183, §22; 2002 Acts, ch 1146, §4; 2004 Acts, ch 1090, §8; 2010 Acts, ch 1031, §362; 2010 Acts, ch 1178, §1, 2, 19; 2012 Acts, ch 1120, §102, 130; 2013 Acts, ch 130, §52; 2015 Acts, ch 69, §67; 2021 Acts, ch 80, §124; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §527; 2024 Acts, ch 1161, §88, 137 Referred to in §228.6 2024 amendment to subsection 3, unnumbered paragraph 1 effective July 1, 2025; 2024 Acts, ch 1161, §137 Subsection 3, unnumbered paragraph 1 amended\n\n 229.25 Medical records to be confidential — exceptions.

1. a. The records maintained by a hospital or other facility relating to the examination,\n\nTue Dec 09 22:21:30 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 229 (47, 1) 23 HOSPITALIZATION OF PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS, §229.27\n\ncustody, care and treatment of any person in that hospital or facility pursuant to this chapter shall be confidential, except that the chief medical officer shall release appropriate information under any of the following circumstances:

(1) The information is requested by a licensed physician or mental health professional, attorney, or advocate who provides the chief medical officer with a written waiver signed by the person about whom the information is sought.

(2) The information is sought by a court order.

(3) The person who is hospitalized or that person’s guardian, if the person is a minor or is not legally competent to do so, signs an informed consent to release information. Each signed consent shall designate specifically the person or agency to whom the information is to be sent, and the information may be sent only to that person or agency.

b. Such records may be released by the chief medical officer when requested for the purpose of research into the causes, incidence, nature and treatment of mental illness, however information shall not be provided in a way that discloses patients’ names or which otherwise discloses any patient’s identity.

2. When the chief medical officer deems it to be in the best interest of the patient and the patient’s next of kin to do so, the chief medical officer may release appropriate information during a consultation which the hospital or facility shall arrange with the next of kin of a voluntary or involuntary patient, if requested by the patient’s next of kin. [C77, 79, 81, §229.25; 82 Acts, ch 1135, §1] 89 Acts, ch 275, §7; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §263; 2017 Acts, ch 34, §18 Referred to in §228.6, 229.19 \n

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases, 1985–2014 · leading case: In the Matter of B.B., Alleged to Be Seriously Mentally Impaired, B.B., 826 N.W.2d 425 (Iowa 2013).

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In the Matter of B.B., Alleged to Be Seriously Mentally Impaired, B.B., 826 N.W.2d 425 (Iowa 2013). · cites it 4× “See Iowa Code § 229.24 (2011). 10 However, when a person already has a prior commitment order on his or her record, I think it is not unreasonable to insist that he or she demonstrate some concrete harm arising from the expired order he or she is trying to appeal.”

In the Interest of A.M., Minor Child. Heather Thomas, Subpoenaed Witness, 856 N.W.2d 365 (Iowa 2014). · cites it 2× “6(1), which provides: A mental health professional or an employee of or agent for a mental health facility may disclose mental health information if and to the extent necessary, to meet the requirements of section 229.24, 229.25, 230.20, 230.2 1, 230.”

Johnson v. Charles City Cmty. Schs. Bd. of Educ., 368 N.W.2d 74 (Iowa 1985). · cites it 4× “There is no requirement that religious organizations claiming an exemption under section 229.24 must first seek equivalent instruction by certified teachers outside the public school system.”

In re T.C.F., 400 N.W.2d 544 (Iowa 1987). · cites it 5× “” The “records” referred to by the doctor were of a prior involuntary hospitalization proceeding, and the respondent contends that the doctor’s use of them violated the statutory confidentiality accorded to them.”

Matter of TCF, 400 N.W.2d 544 (Iowa 1987). · cites it 5× “" The "records" referred to by the doctor were of a prior involuntary hospitalization proceeding, and the respondent contends that the doctor's use of them violated the statutory confidentiality accorded to them.”

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.