Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 441.38 (2026)

Appeal to district court from local board of review

✓ current as of July 2026
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1. Appeals may be taken from the action of the local board of review with reference to protests of assessment, to the district court of the county in which the board holds its sessions within twenty days after the board’s adjournment or May 31, whichever date is later. For appeals taken from the local board of review directly to district court, new grounds in addition to those set out in the protest to the local board of review, as provided in section 441.37, may be pleaded. For appeals taken from the local board of review directly to district court, additional evidence to sustain those grounds set out in the protest to the local board of review may be introduced. The assessor shall have the same right to appeal and in the same manner as an individual taxpayer, public body, or other public officer as provided in section 441.42. Appeals shall be taken by filing a written notice of appeal with the clerk of district court. Filing of the written notice of appeal shall preserve all rights of appeal of the appellant. 2. Notice of appeal shall be served as an original notice on the chairperson, presiding officer, or clerk of the board of review after the filing of notice under subsection 1 with the clerk of district court. 3. The court shall hear the appeal in equity and determine anew all questions arising before the board of review that relate to the liability of the property to assessment or the amount of the assessment. The court shall consider all of the evidence and there shall be no presumption as to the correctness of the valuation or assessment appealed from. The court’s decision shall be certified by the clerk of the court to the county auditor and the assessor, who shall correct the assessment books accordingly. [R60, §738; C73, §827, 831; C97, §1367, 1373; S13, §1373; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §7126, 7133; C46, §441.20; C50, 54, 58, §405.24, 441.27, 442.6; C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §441.38] 87 Acts, ch 198, §8; 90 Acts, ch 1192, §1; 2005 Acts, ch 140, §59; 2005 Acts, ch 150, §129; 2006 Acts, ch 1158, §63; 2008 Acts, ch 1191, §76; 2017 Acts, ch 151, §18, 29 Referred to in §428.4, 441.35, 441.37A, 443.11, 602.8102(61) Manner of service, R.C.P. 1.302 – 1.315\n\n 441.38A Notice to school district. Repealed by 2017 Acts, ch 151, §26, 29. See §441.39(2).

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 79 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1963–2026 · leading case: Superior/ideal v. Oskaloosa Bd. of Rev., 419 N.W.2d 405 (Iowa 1988).
Superior/ideal v. Oskaloosa Bd. of Rev., 419 N.W.2d 405 (Iowa 1988). · cites it 54× “Pursuant to Iowa Code section 441.38 (1985), Superior/Ideal, Inc.”
BHC Co. v. Bd. of Review of Cedar Rapids, 351 N.W.2d 523 (Iowa 1984). · cites it 17× “The district court ruled that plaintiff made a good faith and diligent effort to serve the proper official, as required by Iowa Code section 441.38 (1981), but was "unavoidably unable to do so .”
Cowles Commc'ns, Inc. v. Bd. of Review of Polk Cnty., 266 N.W.2d 626 (Iowa 1978). · cites it 16× “, was then in Alaska and would not return within the 20 days within which appeals from such action must be taken pursuant to section 441.38, The Code, 1975. Cowles pointed out Charles Colby, Jr.”
James Naumann Vs. Iowa Prop. Assessment Appeal Bd., 791 N.W.2d 258 (Iowa 2010). · cites it 7× “Iowa Code § 441.38 (1) (2007). However, the statute has since been amended to provide "no new evidence .”
Resthaven Cemetery Ass'n v. Bd. of Review of Polk Cnty., 249 N.W.2d 618 (Iowa 1977). · cites it 16× “Still dissatisfied, plaintiff sought to avail itself of the appellate jurisdiction of the district court pursuant to section 441.38, The Code, 1973. The notice of appeal required by that section was prepared and served upon Everett Sather, chairman of defendant Board within the…”
Burnam v. Bd. of Review, 501 N.W.2d 553 (Iowa 1993). · cites it 14× “Iowa Code § 441.38 . Such an appeal is considered taken by “filing a written notice of appeal with the clerk of district court.”
Montgomery Ward Dev. Corp. ex rel. Ad Valorem Tax, Inc. v. Cedar Rapids Bd. of Review, 488 N.W.2d 436 (Iowa 1992). · cites it 20× “However, “[n]o new grounds in addition to those set out in the protest to the board of review as provided in section 441.”
Waterloo Civic Ctr. Hotel Co. v. Bd. of Review, 451 N.W.2d 489 (Iowa 1990). · cites it 12× “Iowa Code § 441.38 (Supp.1987). 2 . In Wade Farms, it was recognized that the inapplicability of the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure for purposes of determining the time in which a special statutory appeal has been perfected had been established 30 years earlier in Mazzoli v.”
Econ. Forms Corp. v. Potts, 259 N.W.2d 787 (Iowa 1977). · cites it 4× “Defendant appeared specially, alleging the appeal was untimely under § 441.38, The Code, and the trial court sustained the special appearance.”
Atrium Vill., Inc. v. Bd. of Review, 417 N.W.2d 70 (Iowa 1987). · cites it 4× “The county assessor denied Atrium's application for exemption from property taxes pursuant to Iowa Code section 427.”
Heritage Cablevision v. Bd. of Review of the Mason City, 457 N.W.2d 594 (Iowa 1990). · cites it 4× “In the plaintiff’s appeal of the assessment pursuant to Iowa Code section 441.38 (1989), the district court reduced the aggregate assessment as confirmed by the boards of review from $3,168,519 to $1,611,449.”
Avery v. Peterson, 243 N.W.2d 630 (Iowa 1976). · cites it 4× “2d 814 , 818 that appeals under section 441.38 from a protest hearing before the Board of Review under section 441.”
— Iowa Code § 441.38(1) — 6 cases
Soifer v. Floyd Cnty. Bd. of Review, 759 N.W.2d 775 (Iowa 2009).
James Naumann Vs. Iowa Prop. Assessment Appeal Bd., 791 N.W.2d 258 (Iowa 2010). “Iowa Code § 441.38 (1) (2007). However, the statute has since been amended to provide "no new evidence .”
— Iowa Code § 441.38(2) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 441.38(3) — 2 cases
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