Iowa earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Higher bar to forfeit in limited cases: Weak conviction provision falls short of criminal forfeiture. It applies only if an owner contests forfeiture, putting the burden on owners to engage in a costly legal battle and making it easy for the government to forfeit without conviction. It does not require conviction of the owner, only of any person, and does not apply to property valued above $5,000. Once the conviction provision is satisfied, property must be linked to the crime by clear and convincing evidence.
Innocent Owner Burden
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects Iowa’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Iowa?*
*This process is only for property worth less than $5,000. Property worth more has no conviction provision, and absent a claim, prosecutors must petition the court for a default judgment.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $111 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Iowa Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $1,830,645 | $725,201 | $11,000 | $2,566,846 |
| 2001 | $1,586,684 | $385,477 | $2,000 | $1,974,161 |
| 2002 | $2,132,665 | $454,855 | $4,000 | $2,591,520 |
| 2003 | $2,022,894 | $3,606,690 | $161,000 | $5,790,584 |
| 2004 | $2,211,940 | $3,429,906 | $5,000 | $5,646,846 |
| 2005 | $2,466,726 | $1,497,974 | $91,000 | $4,055,700 |
| 2006 | $3,910,228 | $2,261,349 | $111,000 | $6,282,577 |
| 2007 | $2,617,157 | $1,770,877 | $0 | $4,388,034 |
| 2008 | $2,551,467 | $1,577,120 | $20,000 | $4,148,587 |
| 2009 | $2,097,891 | $8,598,692 | $4,000 | $10,700,583 |
| 2010 | $1,653,044 | $3,775,561 | $118,000 | $5,546,605 |
| 2011 | $5,425,344 | $4,101,795 | $232,000 | $9,759,139 |
| 2012 | $3,247,836 | $1,834,790 | $1,220,000 | $6,302,626 |
| 2013 | $3,318,503 | $2,481,399 | $543,000 | $6,342,902 |
| 2014 | $4,276,751 | $1,529,016 | $782,000 | $6,587,767 |
| 2015 | $4,046,701 | $1,870,722 | $86,000 | $6,003,423 |
| 2016 | $3,134,819 | $413,565 | $128,000 | $3,676,384 |
| 2017 | $2,078,084 | $463,866 | $51,000 | $2,592,950 |
| 2018 | $1,814,946 | $1,024,532 | $17,000 | $2,856,478 |
| 2019 | $1,938,666 | $846,601 | $73,000 | $2,858,267 |
| 2020 | $1,370,103 | $580,893 | $7,000 | $1,957,996 |
| 2021 | $1,519,558 | $415,381 | $42,000 | $1,976,939 |
| 2022 | $2,405,117 | $1,134,599 | $10,000 | $3,549,716 |
| 2023 | $1,575,159 | $1,393,442 | $23,000 | $2,991,601 |
| Totals | $61,232,928 | $46,174,303 | $3,741,000 | $111,148,231 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Iowa does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Iowa agencies have generated nearly $50 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 93 Iowa agencies, or an estimated 24% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Iowa Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$1,213
From 2019 to 2023, half of Iowa’s currency forfeitures were worth less than $1,213 per case.
Property Types
From 2019 to 2023, more than 90% of Iowa’s forfeitures were solely of currency.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
Iowa does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
CStatewide Forfeiture Reports
FPenalties for Failure to File a Report
FAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
AAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
BFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
FFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Forfeiture case data for 2019–2023 were downloaded from the state’s data portal. Data for earlier years were obtained via public records requests to the state attorney general and download from the state’s data portal. Revenues for 2019–2023 represent the value of currency and real property forfeited in a fiscal year, while those for earlier years use a very similar methodology. Vehicles are not consistently valued and thus not included in our totals, making them underestimates. Data for 2019 reported in the third edition of Policing for Profit have been updated to reflect additional forfeitures added to the state’s data portal. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Weak conviction provision does not require conviction of an owner, but only “a conviction” of any person—and only for forfeitures of property worth less than $5,000 and only when a claim is filed. After the conviction provision is satisfied, prosecutors must show that the property is subject to forfeiture by clear and convincing evidence.
Iowa Code Ann. §§ 809A.1(4), .12A(1), .13(7).
Innocent owner burden: Government.
Iowa Code Ann. §§ 809A.12(7), .13(7).
Financial incentive: 100%.
Iowa Code Ann. § 809A.17.
Process: Iowa Code §§ 809A.1 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.302 (service of complaint).