Iowa – Expungement

What is Expungement?

Iowa offers expungement of adult criminal records. Expungement removes your criminal record from publicly available online sources. When a record is expunged in Iowa, it means that the record is separate and held in a secure database that is not available for public access. Under Iowa’s expungement laws, your record should not be available to the public once it has been expunged. The records can be made available with a court order.

Expungement in Iowa is very complex, and new rules were passed in 2019. Whether you can expunge a record is controlled by the type or "class" of the offense.

Who is Eligible for Expungement?

You are eligible to have your arrest record expunged if you were acquitted or the charges were dismissed and more than 180 days have passed.

You are eligible to have certain convictions for consumption of alcohol or intoxication in public places expunged two years after the date of conviction, so long as you have had no other convictions, other than traffic violations or simple misdemeanor traffic violations, during those two years.

In general, you are eligible to have a conviction record expunged if you were convicted of a misdemeanor conviction, more than eight years have passed since the date of conviction, and you meet other eligibility requirements. You must not have any pending criminal charges and must not have been granted two or more deferred judgments to be eligible.

You are not eligible to expunge the following types of records:

Consumption or intoxication in public places under section 123.46;
Underage purchase or consumption of alcoholic beverages under section 123.47(3);
Dependent adult abuse under section 235B.20;
Operating a vehicle without a valid license or registration under sections 321.218, 321A.32, or 321J.21;
Operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol under section 321J.2;
Sex offenses as defined in section 692A.101;
Involuntary manslaughter under section 707.5;
Assault under section 708.2(3);
Domestic assault under section 708.2A;
Harassment under section 708.7;
Stalking under section 708.11;
Removal of an officer’s communication or control device under section 708.12;
Trespass under section 716.8(3) or (4);
Bestiality under section 717C;
Obstructing justice under section 719;
Interference with judicial process under section 720;
Misconduct in office under section 721.2;
Misuse of public records under section 721.10;
Riot under section 723.1;
Weapons under section 724;
Protection of the family and dependent persons under section 726;
Obscenity under section 728;
Sexually predatory offenses under 901A; or
Convictions comparable to those listed in 49 CFR 383.51(b) or 49 CFR 383.51(e).

What Effect Does Expungement Have?

Once the court grants your expungement, you may respond to any inquiry as though the conviction did not occur. The conviction is removed from the criminal history data files maintained by the Iowa Department of Public Safety. However, the conviction may still be used for various law enforcement purposes and are available with a court order.

Arrest or conviction records that have been expunged may still be available for use in future felony proceedings.

Once your record is expunged, in most cases you can legally deny being arrested or convicted.

When Can I Apply for Expungement?

You can apply to an expungement of a conviction relating to public intoxication or consumption two years after your date of conviction. To be eligible, you must not have any other convictions during those two years other than traffic violations or simple misdemeanor traffic violations.

You can apply for an expungement of an eligible misdemeanor conviction only after eight years have passed since your conviction date, and you have paid all fines, fees, and restitution associated with the conviction. You may only have one misdemeanor conviction expunged. However, you can expunge all records relating to more than one misdemeanor offense if they all arose from the same transaction or occurrence.

You cannot expunge the following types of records:

Consumption or intoxication in public places under section 123.46;
Underage purchase or consumption of alcoholic beverages under section 123.47(3);
Dependent adult abuse under section 235B.20;
Operating a vehicle without a valid license or registration under sections 321.218, 321A.32, or 321J.21;
Operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol under section 321J.2;
Sex offenses as defined in section 692A.101;
Involuntary manslaughter under section 707.5;
Assault under section 708.2(3);
Domestic assault under section 708.2A;
Harassment under section 708.7;
Stalking under section 708.11;
Removal of an officer’s communication or control device under section 708.12;
Trespass under section 716.8(3) or (4);
Bestiality under section 717C;
Obstructing justice under section 719;
Interference with judicial process under section 720;
Misconduct in office under section 721.2;
Misuse of public records under section 721.10;
Riot under section 723.1;
Weapons under section 724;
Protection of the family and dependent persons under section 726;
Obscenity under section 728;
Sexually predatory offenses under 901A; or
Convictions comparable to those listed in 49 CFR 383.51(b) or 49 CFR 383.51(e).

You are not eligible to petition for an expungement if your criminal record includes two or more deferred judgments.

How Do I Apply for Expungement?

Here are the three steps to apply for expungement:

Locate your criminal record from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Complete the “Application to Expunge Court Record” form. To access the form, visit the Iowa Courts website here: Application to Expunge Court Record.
Submit the form to the court in which you were convicted. For a list of courts, visit the Iowa Judicial Branch website here: Court Directory.

More Information About Expungement

For more information about expungement, contact the court in which you were convicted. For a list of courts, visit the Iowa Judicial Branch website here: Court Directory

Search Filters: