1. a. Except as provided in paragraph “b”, upon application of a defendant or a prosecutor
in a criminal case, or upon the court’s own motion in a criminal case, the court shall enter
an order expunging the record of such criminal case if the court finds that the defendant has
established that all of the following have occurred, as applicable:
(1) The criminal case contains one or more criminal charges in which an acquittal was
entered for all criminal charges, or in which all criminal charges were otherwise dismissed.
(2) All court costs, fees, and other financial obligations ordered by the court or assessed
by the clerk of the district court have been paid.
(3) A minimum of one hundred eighty days have passed since entry of the judgment of
acquittal or of the order dismissing the case relating to all criminal charges, unless the court
finds good cause to waive this requirement for reasons including but not limited to the fact
that the defendant was the victim of identity theft or mistaken identity.
(4) The case was not dismissed due to the defendant being found not guilty by reason of
insanity.
(5) The defendant was not found incompetent to stand trial in the case.
b. The court shall not enter an order expunging the record of a criminal case under
paragraph “a” unless all the parties in the case have had time to object on the grounds that
one or more of the relevant conditions in paragraph “a” have not been established.
2. The record in a criminal case expunged under this section is a confidential record
exempt from public access under section 22.7 but shall be made available by the clerk of
the district court, upon request and without court order, to the defendant or to an agency or
person granted access to the deferred judgment docket under section 907.4, subsection 2.
3. This section does not apply to dismissals related to a deferred judgment under section
907.9.
4. This section applies to all public offenses, as defined under section 692.1.
5. The court shall advise the defendant of the provisions of this section upon either the
acquittal or the dismissal of all criminal charges in a case.
6. The supreme court may prescribe rules governing the procedures applicable to the
expungement of the record of a criminal case under this section.
7. This section shall apply to all relevant criminal cases that occurred prior to, on, or after
January 1, 2016.
2015 Acts, ch 83, §1, 2
C2016, §901C.1
2016 Acts, ch 1073, §182, 183, 188
C2017, §901C.2
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Notes of Decisions
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe, 927 N.W.2d 656 (Iowa 2019).
· cites it 84× “83, § 1 (codified at Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2016) (creating a limited statutory right to expunge certain criminal records); see also Sealed Appellant v.”
State of Iowa v. Brian Patrick Clemens, 903 N.W.2d 347 (Iowa 2017).
· cites it 26× “See Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2017). Doe maintained that this “case” had been dismissed and that the other statutory criteria for expungement had also been met.”
Paul J. Burroughs, Kenneth Burroughs, Terri Spinner, David Spinner, Sean Harvey, & Ty Harvey v. The City Of Davenport Zoning Bd. Of Adjustment, The City Of Davenport, Iowa, An Iowa Mun. Corp., & MZ Annie-Ru Daycare Ctr., An Iowa Ltd. Liab. Co., 912 N.W.2d 473 (Iowa 2018).
· cites it 4× “2009)), superseded by Iowa Code § 901C.2 on other grounds as stated in State v.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa Ct. App. 2020).
· cites it 38× “Section 901C.2 forms part of Title XVI of the Iowa Code, definitions for which are codified at section 801.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
· cites it 33× “Iowa Code § 901C.2. When the statute is considered as a whole, it is apparent the statute is concerned with only the singular case for which expungement is sought.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
· cites it 33× “Iowa Code § 901C.2. When the statute is considered as a whole, it is apparent the statute is concerned with only the singular case for which expungement is sought.”
State of Iowa v. John Doe (Iowa 2017).
· cites it 24× “See Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2017). Doe maintained that this “case” had been dismissed and that the other statutory criteria for expungement had also been met.”
J. Doe v. Iowa Dist. Court For Polk Cnty. (Iowa 2025).
· cites it 20× “Except as provided in paragraph “b”, upon application of a defendant or a prosecutor in a criminal case, or upon the court’s own motion in a criminal case, the court shall enter an order expunging the record of such criminal case if the court finds that the defendant has…”
State of Iowa v. John Doe, 919 N.W.2d 767 (Iowa Ct. App. 2018).
· cites it 10× “In October 2017, our supreme court decided Doe , in which the court interpreted the meaning of "criminal case," as used in Iowa Code section 901C.2 (2016)-the statute that controls the expungement of criminal charges.”
State of Iowa v. John Doe (Iowa 2020).
· cites it 6× “In 2019, Doe filed an application for expungement of the record in this case pursuant to Iowa Code section 901C.2 (2019). The district court denied Doe’s application for expungement on the ground Doe had court-ordered financial obligations in other cases.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
· cites it 4× “Doe filed an application for expungement of the record in each of the three separate cases pursuant to Iowa Code section 901C.2 (2019). The district court denied Doe’s applications for expungement on the ground Doe had “[m]onies owed in other matters.”
— Iowa Code § 901C.2(1) — 3 cases
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe, 927 N.W.2d 656 (Iowa 2019).
“83, § 1 (codified at Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2016) (creating a limited statutory right to expunge certain criminal records); see also Sealed Appellant v.”
J. Doe v. Iowa Dist. Court For Polk Cnty. (Iowa 2025).
“Except as provided in paragraph “b”, upon application of a defendant or a prosecutor in a criminal case, or upon the court’s own motion in a criminal case, the court shall enter an order expunging the record of such criminal case if the court finds that the defendant has…”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa Ct. App. 2020).
“Section 901C.2 forms part of Title XVI of the Iowa Code, definitions for which are codified at section 801.”
— Iowa Code § 901C.2(1)(a) — 6 cases
State of Iowa v. John Doe, 919 N.W.2d 767 (Iowa Ct. App. 2018).
“In October 2017, our supreme court decided Doe , in which the court interpreted the meaning of "criminal case," as used in Iowa Code section 901C.2 (2016)-the statute that controls the expungement of criminal charges.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
“Iowa Code § 901C.2. When the statute is considered as a whole, it is apparent the statute is concerned with only the singular case for which expungement is sought.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
“Iowa Code § 901C.2. When the statute is considered as a whole, it is apparent the statute is concerned with only the singular case for which expungement is sought.”
State of Iowa v. John Doe (Iowa 2017).
“See Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2017). Doe maintained that this “case” had been dismissed and that the other statutory criteria for expungement had also been met.”
— Iowa Code § 901C.2(1)(a)(1) — 7 cases
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa Ct. App. 2020).
“Section 901C.2 forms part of Title XVI of the Iowa Code, definitions for which are codified at section 801.”
State of Iowa v. John Doe (Iowa 2017).
“See Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2017). Doe maintained that this “case” had been dismissed and that the other statutory criteria for expungement had also been met.”
J. Doe v. Iowa Dist. Court For Polk Cnty. (Iowa 2025).
“Except as provided in paragraph “b”, upon application of a defendant or a prosecutor in a criminal case, or upon the court’s own motion in a criminal case, the court shall enter an order expunging the record of such criminal case if the court finds that the defendant has…”
— Iowa Code § 901C.2(1)(a)(2) — 6 cases
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe, 927 N.W.2d 656 (Iowa 2019).
“83, § 1 (codified at Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2016) (creating a limited statutory right to expunge certain criminal records); see also Sealed Appellant v.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
“Iowa Code § 901C.2. When the statute is considered as a whole, it is apparent the statute is concerned with only the singular case for which expungement is sought.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
“Iowa Code § 901C.2. When the statute is considered as a whole, it is apparent the statute is concerned with only the singular case for which expungement is sought.”
State of Iowa v. John Doe (Iowa 2020).
“In 2019, Doe filed an application for expungement of the record in this case pursuant to Iowa Code section 901C.2 (2019). The district court denied Doe’s application for expungement on the ground Doe had court-ordered financial obligations in other cases.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
“Doe filed an application for expungement of the record in each of the three separate cases pursuant to Iowa Code section 901C.2 (2019). The district court denied Doe’s applications for expungement on the ground Doe had “[m]onies owed in other matters.”
— Iowa Code § 901C.2(1)(a)(3) — 3 cases
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe, 927 N.W.2d 656 (Iowa 2019).
“83, § 1 (codified at Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2016) (creating a limited statutory right to expunge certain criminal records); see also Sealed Appellant v.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
“Iowa Code § 901C.2. When the statute is considered as a whole, it is apparent the statute is concerned with only the singular case for which expungement is sought.”
State of Iowa v. Jane Doe (Iowa 2020).
“Iowa Code § 901C.2. When the statute is considered as a whole, it is apparent the statute is concerned with only the singular case for which expungement is sought.”
— Iowa Code § 901C.2(l)(a) — 1 case
State of Iowa v. Brian Patrick Clemens, 903 N.W.2d 347 (Iowa 2017).
“See Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2017). Doe maintained that this “case” had been dismissed and that the other statutory criteria for expungement had also been met.”
— Iowa Code § 901C.2(l)(a)(l) — 1 case
State of Iowa v. Brian Patrick Clemens, 903 N.W.2d 347 (Iowa 2017).
“See Iowa Code § 901C.2 (2017). Doe maintained that this “case” had been dismissed and that the other statutory criteria for expungement had also been met.”
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