Iowa Code » Chapter 903 — MISDEMEANORS
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 903.4 (2026)

Providing place of confinement

✓ current as of July 2026
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All persons sentenced to confinement for a period of one year or less shall be confined in a place to be furnished by the county where the conviction was had unless the person is presently committed to the custody of the director of the Iowa department of corrections, in which case the provisions of section 901.8 apply. All persons sentenced to confinement for a period of more than one year shall be committed to the custody of the director of the Iowa department of corrections to be confined in a place to be designated by the director and the cost of the confinement shall be borne by the state. The director may contract with local governmental units for the use of detention or correctional facilities maintained by the units for the confinement of such persons. [C79, 81, §903.4] 83 Acts, ch 96, §133, 159; 2001 Acts, ch 165, §6; 2003 Acts, ch 156, §13 Referred to in §331.381, 902.3

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 24 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1985–2025 · leading case: State v. Morris, 416 N.W.2d 688 (Iowa 1987).
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State v. Morris, 416 N.W.2d 688 (Iowa 1987). · cites it 8× “Iowa Code § 903.4 . Notwithstanding this legislative scheme, the State defends the district court’s imposition of two consecutive one-year county jail terms, citing the unique statutory treatment given third-time OWI offenders.”
State v. Patterson, 586 N.W.2d 83 (Iowa 1998). · cites it 12× “Iowa Code section 903.4 provides in pertinent part: All persons sentenced to confinement for a period of one year or less shall be confined in a place to be furnished by the county where the conviction was had_ All persons sentenced to confinement for a period of more than one…”
State v. Kapell, 510 N.W.2d 878 (Iowa 1994). · cites it 8× “Violation of Iowa Code Section 903.4. Kapell also claims that his sentence for driving while license suspended is illegal because it violates sections 901.”
State v. Millsap, 704 N.W.2d 426 (Iowa 2005). · cites it 2× “Noting that section 903.4 required that “any person sentenced to confinement for a period of more than one year shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections,” we held the court’s five-day sentence in the county jail was illegal because the defendant’s…”
In RE the Det. of Jonathan Edwin Stenzel Jonathan Edwin Stenzel, 827 N.W.2d 690 (Iowa 2013). · cites it 2× “We held that the defendant had been “sentenced to confinement for a period of more than one year,” for purposes of determining whether he should be held in county jail or turned over to the custody of the department of corrections under Iowa Code section 903.4 if his probation…”
State v. Mott, 731 N.W.2d 392 (Iowa 2007). · cites it 5× “” Mott’s assault conviction resulting in a sentence of confinement for a period of one year must, under section 903.4, be served in the county jail.”
State v. Horness, 600 N.W.2d 294 (Iowa 1999). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code § 903.4 (requiring any sentence over one year to be served in a state facility rather than the county jail).”
State of Iowa v. Patrick Ryan Nicoletto, 862 N.W.2d 621 (Iowa 2015). · cites it 4× “See Iowa Code § 903.4 . The duration of a sentence of confinement controls whether the defendant serves time in a prison or a jail: All persons sentenced to confinement for a period of one year or less shall be confined in a place to be furnished by the county where the…”
State v. Thomas, 520 N.W.2d 311 (Iowa Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code § 903.4 (1992). If the period of confinement exceeded one year, however, the trial court was required to commit the defendant to the State director of the Department of Corrections for an indeterminate term.”
State v. DeWitt, 426 N.W.2d 678 (Iowa Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 6× “The defendant’s final argument is that he is entitled to resentencing because the trial court was required by Iowa Code section 903.4 to sentence him to “be confined to a place to be furnished by the county” unless the defendant is in the custody of the Director of Adult…”
State v. Orte, 540 N.W.2d 435 (Iowa 1995). · cites it 6× “See Iowa Code § 903.4 . The district court could not alter this designation by refusing to issue the mit-timus.”
In the Interest of S.R., 548 N.W.2d 176 (Iowa Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “Section 903.4 concerns the confinement of misdemeanants for a period of one year or less; also, where confinement is for more than one year, custody is to the director of the Iowa Department of Corrections.”
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