Iowa Code » Chapter 380 — CITY LEGISLATION
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 380.8 (2026)

Code of ordinances published

✓ Iowa Code 2026 (laws through the 2025 session)
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1. a. A city shall compile a code of ordinances containing all of the city ordinances in effect, except grade ordinances, bond ordinances, zoning map ordinances, ordinances vacating streets and alleys, and ordinances containing legal descriptions of urban revitalization areas and urban renewal areas.

b. A city may maintain a code of ordinances either by compiling at least annually a supplement to the code of ordinances consisting of all new ordinances and amendments to ordinances which became effective during the previous year and adopting the supplement by resolution or by adding at least annually new ordinances and amendments to ordinances to the code of ordinances itself.

c. A city which does not maintain the city code of ordinances as provided in paragraph “b” shall compile a code of ordinances at least once every five years.

2. a. If a proposed code of ordinances contains only existing ordinances without change in substance, the council may adopt the code by ordinance.

b. If a proposed code of ordinances contains a new ordinance or an amendment to existing ordinances, the council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed code before adoption. The clerk shall publish notice of the hearing as provided in section 362.3. Copies of the proposed code of ordinances must be available at the city clerk’s office and the notice must so state. Within thirty days after the hearing, the council may adopt the proposed code of ordinances. A new ordinance or an amendment to an existing ordinance becomes effective upon publication of the ordinance adopting the code of ordinances unless a subsequent effective date is provided within an ordinance. If the council substantially amends the proposed code of ordinances after the hearing, notice and hearing must be repeated before the code may be adopted.

3. A code of ordinances compiled and maintained at least annually, or compiled at least once every five years, is presumptive evidence of the passage, publication, and content of the\n\nTue Dec 09 22:13:29 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 380 (18, 0) §380.8, CITY LEGISLATION 4\n\nordinances codified therein as of the date of the clerk’s certification of the ordinance adopting the code or supplement. [R60, §1133; C73, §492; C97, §686, 687; C24, 27, 31, 35, §5720, 5721, 5721-a1; C39, §5720, 5721, 5721.1; C46, 50, §366.7 – 366.9; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.7; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.8] 97 Acts, ch 168, §9 Referred to in §331.302, 622.62 \n

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: State of Iowa v. Michael Scheffert, 910 N.W.2d 577 (Iowa 2018).
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State of Iowa v. Michael Scheffert, 910 N.W.2d 577 (Iowa 2018). · cites it 4× “The printed copies of a city code and of supplements to it which are purported or proved to have been compiled pursuant to section 380.8 shall be admitted in the courts of this state as presumptive evidence of the ordinances contained therein.”
City of Cedar Rapids v. Cach, 299 N.W.2d 656 (Iowa 1980). · cites it 12× “62(1), The Code 1977, modified the general rule by requiring a court to take judicial notice of ordinances if certain criteria were met: The printed copies of a city code and of supplements to it which are purported or proved to have been compiled pursuant to section 380.8 shall…”
Cohen v. Iowa Dist. Court for Des Moines Cnty., 508 N.W.2d 78 (Iowa Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 8× “The printed copies of a city code and of supplements to it which are purported or proved to have been compiled pursuant to section 380.8 shall be admitted in the courts of this state as presumptive evidence of the ordinances contained therein.”
State of Iowa v. Terry Joseph Schmitz, 29 N.W.3d 640 (Iowa Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 4× “Whether subsection 1 or 2 applies depends upon whether the city code and supplements thereto have been compiled pursuant to section 380.8. If it is established that such compilation has taken place, the courts of this state are to take judicial notice of the ordinances contained…”
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