Iowa background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

Iowa employers may run background checks, and Iowa adds no general consumer reporting law of its own, so the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act governs checks run through a screening company. As of October 2026, the Iowa rules that matter most are Iowa Code chapter 692, which lets anyone request a $15 state record check from the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) but hides old open arrests and completed deferred judgments unless the candidate signs a release; expungement of dismissed charges and some misdemeanors; mandatory record and abuse registry checks for health care employers, the staffing agencies that supply them, child care and schools; and a state law that stops cities and counties from adopting ban-the-box rules.

The federal steps (stand-alone disclosure, authorization, pre-adverse and adverse action notices) apply to every Iowa hire that uses a screening company and are covered in the FCRA background check process. This page covers what Iowa law adds, with each section of the Iowa Code linked. The wider state picture is on hiring employees in Iowa.

Does Iowa have its own background check law?

Not a general one. We found no Iowa statute that adds disclosure, consent or adverse action steps to the federal FCRA for employment screening, and Iowa is not among the states in our credit check laws guide. What Iowa does regulate is the state record itself: who may get it and what it shows (chapter 692), which court records are sealed (chapter 901C and the deferred judgment rules), and which employers must check before hiring. If you use a screening company, the federal steps carry the consent side; if you go to the DCI directly, the state rules below apply.

What does an Iowa DCI record check show?

The DCI keeps the state's criminal history repository. Under Iowa Code § 692.2, it may release criminal history data to "a person or public or private agency" on a written application that names a specific person by name and date of birth. Two kinds of record need the candidate's signed release before a private employer can see them:

• Old open arrests. Data "that does not contain any disposition data after eighteen months from the date of arrest" goes only to justice agencies, the person, or someone with a signed release.
• Completed deferred judgments. Once the court reports that probation after a deferred judgment was completed, the record goes only to the same three groups.

Every release must display the statement "An arrest without disposition is not an indication of guilt." Arrests that ended in acquittal or dismissal are dropped from the computerized history altogether under § 692.17, and most juvenile court records are confidential.

How to order one, and what it costs

The DCI's criminal history record check page says the fee is $15 per last name, requests go through its online portal or by mail, fax, email or in person with a request form and a billing form, and results usually take two to five business days. It also says "Iowa law does not require a release authorization to request a criminal history record check on another person." It is a check of Iowa records only. If a candidate asks the DCI for a certified copy of their own record because you asked in writing, § 692.2(6) puts the fee on the employer.

Reliance protection and the limit on sharing

Section 692.2(3) says a requester is not liable for damages for actions it "may reasonably take in reliance on the accuracy and completeness" of the DCI data if it believed the data in good faith, complied with chapter 692 and gave accurate identifying information. Section 692.2(4) adds that access to the data does not create a duty to check. Section 692.2(5) works the other way: a person other than the Department of Public Safety "shall not disseminate criminal history data maintained by the department" to anyone who is not a criminal or juvenile justice agency, except in the court situations listed in § 692.3, and § 692.7 makes willful communication outside the chapter an aggravated misdemeanor. We found no official guidance on how that applies to staffing agencies, so do not forward a DCI rap sheet to a client without advice; let the client request its own.

How far back can an Iowa background check go?

Iowa has no time-based lookback statute, so the federal FCRA sets the outer limit: arrests and other non-conviction items older than seven years may not be reported for jobs paying under $75,000 a year, and convictions have no time limit (15 U.S.C. § 1681c). The Iowa-specific limits come from the release rules above and from expungement, which removes records from public view regardless of age.

What happens to expunged records and deferred judgments in Iowa?

• Acquittals and dismissals. When every charge in a case ended in acquittal or dismissal, the court expunges the case on application once 180 days have passed and court costs are paid, unless the dismissal was for insanity or incompetency (§ 901C.2).
• Misdemeanors. A person may get a misdemeanor conviction expunged once in a lifetime if more than eight years have passed since the conviction, nothing is pending, and all fines and costs are paid. Many offenses are excluded, including OWI, sex offenses, domestic abuse assault, harassment, stalking and weapons offenses. The DCI must then remove the conviction from its files (§ 901C.3).
• Deferred judgments. After a successful deferred judgment, the court's record is expunged once financial obligations are paid (§ 907.9), and the deferred judgment docket is confidential (§ 907.4). The DCI keeps the entry, marked "discharged" and treated as a non-conviction, and releases it only with the person's signed release.

Expunged records become confidential records exempt from public access. Unlike Kansas or Kentucky, we found no Iowa statute that tells applicants they may deny an expunged record on a job application. An application that asks only about convictions avoids the question, since a discharged deferred judgment is not a conviction in the DCI's records.

When can Iowa employers ask about criminal history?

Iowa has no ban-the-box law for private employers, and local governments cannot add one: § 364.3(12) bars cities, and § 331.304 bars counties, from rules on "hiring practices" or other terms of employment that exceed or conflict with state or federal law. The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, effective immediately, but federal Title VII still governs how records are used, including its disparate impact provision (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k)). A job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case, Green v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it, and the nature of the job), remains a sound way to make and document a decision.

One Iowa rule goes the other way. Health care facilities covered by § 135C.33 must tell applicants about the record checks, get a signed acknowledgment, and put this question on the application: "Do you have a record of founded child or dependent adult abuse or have you ever been convicted of a crime other than a simple misdemeanor offense relating to motor vehicles and laws of the road under chapter 321 or equivalent provisions, in this state or any other state?" Hospitals have a similar required question under § 135B.34.

Which Iowa jobs require background checks?

• Health care facilities and providers. Before employment, a covered facility must request a DPS criminal history check and child and dependent adult abuse checks, or use the state's single contact repository (§ 135C.33). The rule extends to in-home and home health aide providers, hospices, home and community-based services waiver staff, elder group homes and assisted living programs that are state-regulated or state or federally funded, for employees who provide direct services. If a conviction turns up, the state's record check evaluation system decides whether it bars employment; for a few minor offenses, such as a first OWI, the employer may employ the person for up to 60 calendar days while the evaluation runs.
• Temporary staffing agencies. Section 135C.33(6) applies the same rules "to an employee of a temporary staffing agency that provides staffing" for a covered facility or provider if the employee provides direct services to consumers.
• Hospitals. The same check-and-evaluate process applies to hospital employees under § 135B.34.
• Child care. People considered for child care jobs with direct responsibility for or access to children are subject to state record checks and must provide fingerprints for a national FBI check (§ 237A.5).
• Schools. Before hiring, a school district or accredited nonpublic school must review the public Iowa court information system, the sex offender registry, and the child abuse and dependent adult abuse registries, then repeat the review at least every five years; part-time, substitute and contract employees are included (§ 279.69).

Covered health care employees who are convicted, or added to an abuse registry, after they apply must tell the employer within 48 hours, and the employer must verify the information within seven calendar days (§ 135C.33(8)).

Can Iowa employers check credit, salary history or references?

We found no Iowa statute limiting employment credit checks or salary history questions, and the preemption statutes keep cities and counties from adding them; see salary history ban states. A credit report from a screening company follows the federal FCRA steps. For references, § 91B.2 makes an employer that gives work-related information about a current or former employee, at the employee's request or a prospective employer's, immune from civil liability unless it acted unreasonably: violating a civil right, telling someone with no legitimate interest, or giving irrelevant information, with malice or without a good faith belief that it is true.

Iowa background check rules at a glance

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in Iowa?

1. Decide whether you need a release. A basic DCI check needs none, but add a signed release if you want open arrests over 18 months old or discharged deferred judgments, and remember the FCRA forms if a screening company runs the check.
2. Keep DCI results in-house. Do not pass a DCI record to a client without legal advice; § 692.2(5) limits redissemination.
3. Ask about convictions, not arrests or deferred judgments. A discharged deferred judgment is a non-conviction, and an arrest is "not an indication of guilt."
4. Run the health care checks before placement. If you supply direct-care staff to a covered facility or provider, § 135C.33(6) applies to you, including the required application question and signed acknowledgment.
5. Keep criminal history out of interviews and notes. If a candidate volunteers an arrest, do not follow up or record it. If you record or transcribe interviews, check Iowa recording consent rules and remove the passage from notes you share.
6. Put it in a policy. A background check policy that names the checks by role keeps practice consistent. Drug testing has its own statute, covered in Iowa drug testing laws, and agency licensing in staffing agency licensing in Iowa.