Iowa Code » Chapter 229 — HOSPITALIZATION OF PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 229.44 (2026)

Venue

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section IA-LEGlegis.iowa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

1. Venue for hospitalization proceedings shall be in the county where the respondent is found, unless the matter is transferred pursuant to Iowa court rule 12.15 for the involuntary hospitalization of persons with mental illness, in which case venue shall be in the county where the matter is transferred for hearing.

2. After an order is entered pursuant to section 229.13 or 229.14, the court may transfer proceedings to the court of any county having venue at any further stage in the proceeding as follows:

a. When it appears that the best interests of the respondent or the convenience of the parties will be served by a transfer, the court may transfer the case to the court of the county of the respondent’s residence.

b. When it appears that the best interests of the respondent or the convenience of the parties will be served by a transfer, the court may transfer the case to the court of the county where the respondent is found.

3. If a proceeding is transferred, the court shall contact the court in the county which is to be the recipient of the transfer before entering the order to transfer the case. The court shall then transfer the case by ordering a transfer of the matter to the recipient county, by ordering a continuance of the matter in the transferring county, and by forwarding to the clerk of the receiving court a certified copy of all papers filed, together with the order of transfer. The referee of the receiving court may accept the filings of the transferring court or may direct the filing of a new application and may hear the case anew. 92 Acts, ch 1165, §7; 96 Acts, ch 1079, §9; 96 Acts, ch 1129, §113 \n

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 2017–2017 · leading case: In the Matter of M.A., Alleged to Be Seriously Mentally Impaired, M.A., 895 N.W.2d 477 (Iowa Ct. App. 2017).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
In the Matter of M.A., Alleged to Be Seriously Mentally Impaired, M.A., 895 N.W.2d 477 (Iowa Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 9× “Iowa Code § 229.44 (1). But the location where the respondent is found presumes the application was filed in either the county where the respondent lived or where he was found at the time the proceedings were commenced.”
— Iowa Code § 229.44(1) — 1 case
In the Matter of M.A., Alleged to Be Seriously Mentally Impaired, M.A., 895 N.W.2d 477 (Iowa Ct. App. 2017). “Iowa Code § 229.44 (1). But the location where the respondent is found presumes the application was filed in either the county where the respondent lived or where he was found at the time the proceedings were commenced.”
— Iowa Code § 229.44(2) — 1 case
In the Matter of M.A., Alleged to Be Seriously Mentally Impaired, M.A., 895 N.W.2d 477 (Iowa Ct. App. 2017). “Iowa Code § 229.44 (1). But the location where the respondent is found presumes the application was filed in either the county where the respondent lived or where he was found at the time the proceedings were commenced.”
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.