Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 321J.3 (2026)

Substance use disorder evaluation or treatment — rules

✓ current as of July 2026

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1. a. In addition to orders issued pursuant to section 321J.2, subsections 3, 4, and 5, and section 321J.17, the court shall order any defendant convicted under section 321J.2 to follow the recommendations proposed in the substance use disorder evaluation for appropriate substance use disorder treatment for the defendant. Court-ordered substance use disorder treatment is subject to the periodic reporting requirements of section 125.86.

b. If a defendant is committed by the court to a substance use disorder treatment facility, the administrator of the facility shall report to the court when it is determined that the defendant has received the maximum benefit of treatment at the facility and the defendant shall be released from the facility. The time for which the defendant is committed for treatment shall be credited against the defendant’s sentence.

c. The court may prescribe the length of time for the evaluation and treatment or it may request that the community college or other approved provider conducting the course for drinking drivers which the person is ordered to attend or the treatment program to which the person is committed immediately report to the court when the person has received maximum benefit from the course for drinking drivers or treatment program or has recovered from the person’s addiction, dependency, or tendency to chronically use alcohol or drugs.

d. Upon successfully completing a course for drinking drivers or an ordered substance use disorder treatment program, a court may place the person on probation for six months \n Tue Dec 09 22:15:57 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 321J (48, 3) 7 OPERATING WHILE INTOXICATED, §321J.4\n\nand as a condition of probation, the person shall attend a program providing posttreatment services relating to substance use disorder as approved by the court.

e. A person committed under this section who does not possess sufficient income or estate to make payment of the costs of the treatment in whole or in part shall be considered a state patient and the costs of treatment shall be paid as provided in section 125.44.

f. A defendant who fails to carry out the order of the court shall be confined in the county jail for twenty days in addition to any other imprisonment ordered by the court or may be ordered to perform unpaid community service work, and shall be placed on probation for one year with a violation of this probation punishable as contempt of court.

g. In addition to any other condition of probation, the person shall attend a program providing substance use disorder prevention services or posttreatment services related to substance use disorder as ordered by the court. The person shall report to the person’s probation officer as ordered concerning proof of attendance at the treatment program or posttreatment program ordered by the court. Failure to attend or complete the program shall be considered a violation of probation and is punishable as contempt of court.

2. a. Upon a second or subsequent offense in violation of section 321J.2, the court upon hearing may commit the defendant for inpatient treatment of alcoholism or drug addiction or dependency to any hospital, institution, or community correctional facility in Iowa providing such treatment. The time for which the defendant is committed for treatment shall be credited against the defendant’s sentence.

b. The court may prescribe the length of time for the evaluation and treatment or it may request that the hospital to which the person is committed immediately report to the court when the person has received maximum benefit from the program of the hospital or institution or has recovered from the person’s addiction, dependency, or tendency to chronically use alcohol or drugs.

c. A person committed under this section who does not possess sufficient income or estate to make payment of the costs of the treatment in whole or in part shall be considered a state patient and the costs of treatment shall be paid as provided in section 125.44.

3. The state department of transportation, in cooperation with the judicial branch, shall adopt rules, pursuant to the procedure in section 125.33, regarding the assignment of persons ordered under section 321J.17 to submit to substance use disorder evaluation and treatment. The rules shall be applicable only to persons other than those committed to the custody of the director of the department of corrections under section 321J.2. The rules shall be consistent with the practices and procedures of the judicial branch in sentencing persons to substance use disorder evaluation and treatment under section 321J.2. The rules shall include the requirement that the treatment programs utilized by a person pursuant to an order of the department of transportation meet the licensure standards of the department of health and human services for substance use disorder treatment programs under chapter 125. The rules shall also include provisions for payment of costs by the offenders, including insurance reimbursement on behalf of offenders, or other forms of funding, and shall also address reporting requirements of the facility, consistent with the provisions of sections 125.84 and 125.86. The department of transportation shall be entitled to treatment information contained in reports to the department of transportation, notwithstanding any provision of chapter 125 that would restrict department access to treatment information and records. 86 Acts, ch 1220, §3; 87 Acts, ch 118, §5; 90 Acts, ch 1251, §34; 90 Acts, ch 1253, §120; 97 Acts, ch 177, §6, 7; 98 Acts, ch 1047, §28; 2006 Acts, ch 1010, §91; 2010 Acts, ch 1124, §2, 9; 2011 Acts, ch 20, §15; 2022 Acts, ch 1021, §79; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1071 Referred to in §125.44, 321.213, 321J.2 \n

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 11 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1988–2022 · leading case: State v. Ludley, 465 N.W.2d 912 (Iowa Ct. App. 1990).

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State v. Ludley, 465 N.W.2d 912 (Iowa Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 12× “-281(2)(c) (1983) which is virtually identical to section 321J.3 (1989). In Moyer , our supreme court found that, pursuant to this section, it is mandatory that the district court order a presentence substance abuse evaluation.”

State v. Squires, 545 N.W.2d 557 (Iowa 1996). · cites it 6× “” Similarly, Iowa Code section 321J.3(1) provides: If the defendant is charged with a second or subsequent [OWI] offense the court shall order the defendant, on conviction, to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and the court shall order the defendant to follow the…”

State v. Glenn, 431 N.W.2d 193 (Iowa Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code § 321J.3(1). But the purpose of the evaluation is equally important to defendants like Glenn with a record of offenses involving alcohol.”

State v. Breese, 581 N.W.2d 631 (Iowa 1998). · cites it 6× “Pursuant to Iowa Code section 321J.3, where a defendant is convicted of a second or subsequent OWI offense, the district court is required to order the preparation of a substance abuse evaluation prior to sentencing.”

State v. Weber, 545 N.W.2d 317 (Iowa 1996). · cites it 4× “One exception to this rule occurs when the court receives the substantial equivalent of a substance abuse evaluation ordered pursuant to section 321J.3(1). See State v. Ludley, 465 N.”

State v. Johnson, 569 N.W.2d 603 (Iowa 1997). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code § 321J.3. 1 We have recognized two exceptions to this requirement: (1) when the court receives the substantial equivalent of a substance abuse evaluation; and (2) when the public interest in securing an evaluation has been fully served.”

State of Iowa v. Robert Ritchie (Iowa Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 10× “See Iowa Code § 321J.3(1)(a) (providing “the court shall order any defendant convicted under section 321J.”

State of Iowa v. Timothy Alvin Newton (Iowa Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 4× “Pursuant to Iowa Code section 321J.3, where a defendant is convicted of a second or subsequent OWI offense, the district court is required to order the preparation of a substance abuse evaluation prior to sentencing.”

State of Iowa v. Matthew Paul Smith (Iowa Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “2(7)(a) provides, in the context of a person convicted of an OWI offense: “The court shall order the person to follow the recommendations proposed in the substance abuse evaluation as provided in section 321J.3.” (Emphasis added.) Similarly, Iowa Code section 321J.”

State of Iowa v. McKinley Dudley, Jr. (Iowa Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 2× “Dudley requested that he be granted probation and substance-abuse treatment pursuant to Iowa Code section 321J.3(2)(a) or 321J.24. At the sentencing hearing in November, the district court sentenced Dudley to fifteen years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of three years.”

State of Iowa v. Jacob Douglas Fesko (Iowa Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “The public’s interest is better served by proceeding with sentencing despite the defendant’s non-compliance: While neither exception appears directly applicable here, we find the public interest exception embraces the circumstances of this case where the court did order the…”

— Iowa Code § 321J.3(1) — 4 cases

State v. Squires, 545 N.W.2d 557 (Iowa 1996). “” Similarly, Iowa Code section 321J.3(1) provides: If the defendant is charged with a second or subsequent [OWI] offense the court shall order the defendant, on conviction, to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and the court shall order the defendant to follow the…”

State v. Ludley, 465 N.W.2d 912 (Iowa Ct. App. 1990). “-281(2)(c) (1983) which is virtually identical to section 321J.3 (1989). In Moyer , our supreme court found that, pursuant to this section, it is mandatory that the district court order a presentence substance abuse evaluation.”

State v. Glenn, 431 N.W.2d 193 (Iowa Ct. App. 1988). “Iowa Code § 321J.3(1). But the purpose of the evaluation is equally important to defendants like Glenn with a record of offenses involving alcohol.”

State v. Weber, 545 N.W.2d 317 (Iowa 1996). “One exception to this rule occurs when the court receives the substantial equivalent of a substance abuse evaluation ordered pursuant to section 321J.3(1). See State v. Ludley, 465 N.”

— Iowa Code § 321J.3(1)(a) — 2 cases

State of Iowa v. Robert Ritchie (Iowa Ct. App. 2021). “See Iowa Code § 321J.3(1)(a) (providing “the court shall order any defendant convicted under section 321J.”

State of Iowa v. Matthew Paul Smith (Iowa Ct. App. 2015). “2(7)(a) provides, in the context of a person convicted of an OWI offense: “The court shall order the person to follow the recommendations proposed in the substance abuse evaluation as provided in section 321J.3.” (Emphasis added.) Similarly, Iowa Code section 321J.”

— Iowa Code § 321J.3(2)(a) — 1 case

State of Iowa v. McKinley Dudley, Jr. (Iowa Ct. App. 2022). “Dudley requested that he be granted probation and substance-abuse treatment pursuant to Iowa Code section 321J.3(2)(a) or 321J.24. At the sentencing hearing in November, the district court sentenced Dudley to fifteen years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of three years.”

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.