Anti-SLAPP Laws in Iowa

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Iowa's anti-SLAPP law is the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, Iowa Code ch. 652 (§§ 652.1–652.12), created by House File 472 (2025 Acts ch. 93) and applying to any civil action filed on or after July 1, 2025. Iowa had no prior anti-SLAPP statute; every section of the chapter is new law with no earlier version to compare against.

What speech or conduct is protected

The Act reaches a cause of action based on a communication in a legislative, executive, judicial, administrative, or other governmental proceeding; a communication on an issue under consideration or review by such a body; or the exercise of free speech, press, assembly/petition, or association rights on a matter of public concern. The "goods or services" term used later in the commercial-speech exemption specifically excludes creative, literary, musical, political, journalistic, and artistic work, so that kind of expression stays protected even near the edge of that exemption.

The special motion for expedited relief

File within 60 days of being served with the pleading that asserts the claim, or later on a showing of good cause. The court must hold a hearing within 60 days of the motion being filed — extended by up to 60 more days if the court allows limited discovery, or for other good cause — and must rule within 60 days after that hearing. Filing the motion automatically stays every other proceeding between the moving party and the responding party, including discovery and any pending hearing or motion. A party can still get limited discovery during the stay by showing specific information is necessary to resolve the motion and isn't otherwise reasonably available.

Burden of proof

The court considers the pleadings, the motion, any response, and whatever evidence would be admissible on a summary-judgment motion under Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.981. The court must dismiss with prejudice if the movant shows the Act applies, the responding party fails to show an exemption takes the claim back out of the Act's coverage, and either the responding party fails to make a prima facie case on every essential element of the claim, or the movant affirmatively shows the responding party failed to state a claim at all, or that there's no genuine issue of material fact and the movant wins as a matter of law.

Attorney's fees

An award of court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable litigation expenses is mandatory for a prevailing movant. The same mandatory award goes the other way — to the responding party — only if the court finds the motion was brought frivolously or filed solely to delay the case.

Right to appeal

Only the moving party — the defendant who filed the special motion — may appeal as a matter of right, and only from an order denying the motion in whole or in part. The appeal must be filed within 30 days of the order. Iowa's statute sets that 30-day deadline directly in its own text, rather than pointing to a separate appellate rule for the timing.

Exemptions

The Act doesn't apply to claims against a governmental unit or an official acting in an official capacity, or to a government enforcement action protecting against an imminent threat to public health or safety. It also doesn't apply to a claim against a person primarily engaged in selling or leasing goods or services, where the claim arises from a communication related to that sale or lease — but that exemption doesn't reach creative, political, journalistic, or artistic work, which is excluded from the "goods or services" definition in the first place.

What trips people up

The law only covers cases filed on or after July 1, 2025. If the lawsuit against you was filed before that date, Iowa's UPEPA doesn't apply at all — there's no earlier anti-SLAPP statute to fall back on either, since Iowa had none.

The appeal right runs only one way, and only from a denial, with its own 30-day clock. A losing plaintiff whose claim gets dismissed has no matching statutory right to an immediate appeal, and a losing defendant who misses the 30-day window loses the right entirely.

The stay covers more than just discovery. Filing the motion also stays other pending hearings or motions between the parties, not only fact discovery — don't assume unrelated motion practice can continue in the background while the special motion is pending.

Common questions

Is Iowa's anti-SLAPP law new? Yes — it only took effect for lawsuits filed on or after July 1, 2025. Iowa had no anti-SLAPP statute of any kind before this chapter, so there's no older Iowa case law interpreting a predecessor law.

If I lose my special motion, can I appeal right away? Yes, but only if you're the party who filed the motion, only if it was denied, and only if you file the appeal within 30 days of the order.

Does this cover a negative review I posted about a local business? It can, but check the commercial-speech exemption first: if the business is primarily engaged in selling or leasing the goods or services your review discusses, and your review is treated as a communication related to that sale, the exemption may take the claim back out of the Act's coverage.

Statutes and sources

• Iowa Code § 652.2 — coverage for government-proceeding communications and constitutional expression on a matter of public concern, plus the government-party and goods-or-services exemptions. Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/652.pdf (accessed 2026-08-20).
• Iowa Code § 652.3 — "Not later than sixty days after a party is served with a petition, crossclaim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or other pleading that asserts a cause of action to which this chapter applies, or at a later time on a showing of good cause, the party may file a special motion for expedited relief to dismiss the cause of action or part of the cause of action." Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/652.pdf (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Iowa Code § 652.4(1), (4) — "1... on the filing of a motion under section 652.3, all of the following apply: a. All other proceedings between the moving party and responding party, including discovery and a pending hearing or motion, are stayed... 4. During a stay under subsection 1, the court may allow limited discovery if a party shows that specific information is necessary to establish whether a party has satisfied or failed to satisfy a burden under section 652.7, subsection 1, and the information is not reasonably available unless discovery is allowed." Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/652.pdf (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Iowa Code § 652.5 — "1. The court shall hear a motion under section 652.3 not later than sixty days after filing of the motion, unless the court orders a later hearing for any of the following: a. To allow discovery under section 652.4, subsection 4. b. For other good cause." Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/652.pdf (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Iowa Code § 652.6 — "In ruling on a motion under section 652.3, the court shall consider the pleadings, the motion, any reply or response to the motion, and any evidence that could be considered in ruling on a motion for summary judgment under rule of civil procedure 1.981." Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/652.pdf (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Iowa Code § 652.7(1) — "[T]he court shall dismiss with prejudice a cause of action... if all of the following are true: a. The moving party establishes... that this chapter applies. b. The responding party fails to establish... that this chapter does not apply. c. Any of the following are true: (1) The responding party fails to establish a prima facie case as to each essential element of the cause of action. (2) The moving party establishes that any of the following: (a) The responding party failed to state a cause of action... (b) There is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/652.pdf (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Iowa Code § 652.8 — "The court shall rule on a motion under section 652.3 not later than sixty days after a hearing under section 652.5." Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/652.pdf (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Iowa Code § 652.9 — "A moving party may appeal as a matter of right from an order denying, in whole or in part, a motion under section 652.3. The appeal must be filed not later than thirty days after entry of the order." Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/652.pdf (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Iowa Code § 652.10 — "[T]he court shall award court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable litigation expenses related to the motion in the following circumstances: 1. To the moving party if the moving party prevails on the motion. 2. To the responding party if the responding party prevails on the motion and the court finds that the motion was frivolous or filed solely with intent to delay the proceeding." Source: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/652.pdf (accessed 2026-07-05).