Forms  

Forms are used in many legal situations to help guide people through gathering the right information for a particular situation, as well as to offer sample language that may address the situation. There are forms to use in court, forms to create legal documents such as wills or to create a business, and even forms to fill out when you rent an apartment.  

Using Forms 

While forms can be helpful, make sure you pay close attention to the information the form asks for and how your particular situation may differ from the situation the form was created for. If you are not careful, you may use the wrong form or enter the wrong information in the form.

Before using a form, consider the source of the form, the purpose of the form, how recent the form is, and whether the form is specific to Iowa law (for Iowa issues) or federal law (for federal issues). 

The Iowa Attorney General’s office gives some guidance about using online forms here. 

Finding Forms 

Many Iowa-specific forms are also available online for free: 

• The Iowa Judicial Branch supplies a variety of forms on its website. 

• The Judicial Branch also offers interactive court forms, which use a question-and-answer format to gather information to complete official court forms. The interviews include helpful information in plain language, and instructions on how to print, sign, and file completed forms with the court.  Users can save their answers and complete the interview at a later time. 

• Iowa Legal Aid supplies access to many forms for free in its self-help section. 

• The Iowa State Bar Association, an organization for legal professionals in the state of Iowa, supplies free forms on its website in addition to other legal information. 

Many court forms are also available from the Clerk of Court of the court you may be dealing with, or you may go to the website for that court.   

If you find a library near you that has the Gale Iowa Legal Forms online, you may be able to use them at that location. Gale provides Iowa-specific forms for both business owners and those with court-related legal tasks.

The Nolo company supplies form sets on a paid, subscription basis. Note that many of these forms are not specific to Iowa law, so use caution when selecting a form.  

Federal courts have district-specific forms, meaning the formatting or language may be different than in a similar form from another federal district. The forms for federal courts with jurisdiction over federal cases in Iowa are:  

• Northern District of Iowa    

• If your federal case is in Cedar Rapids, IA or Sioux City, IA, you will need forms from this district. 

• Southern District of Iowa   

• If your federal case is in Des Moines, IA, Davenport, IA, or Council Bluffs, IA, you will need forms from this district. 

• Bankruptcy/Northern District of Iowa    

• If your federal bankruptcy case is in Cedar Rapids, IA or Sioux City, IA, you will need forms from this district. 

• Bankruptcy/Southern District of Iowa   

• If your federal bankruptcy case is in Des Moines, IA, Davenport, IA, or Council Bluffs, IA, you will need forms from this district. 

• 8th Circuit Court of Appeals   

• If you have appealed or are appealing your case to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, you will need forms from this circuit. 

• United States Supreme Court    

• If you have or are filing to have your case reviewed by the United States Supreme Court, you will need forms from the Supreme Court. 

For more federal forms, please click here. 

Some law libraries have a variety of formbooks, which are books that collect many forms together in one book or a set of books. In Iowa, many law libraries have the Iowa Practice Series set, which has useful forms.