Iowa: Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements
The short answer
Since July 1, 2026, an Iowa personal representative has 120 days after qualification to file a verified or affirmed report and inventory with the clerk, unless the court grants longer. Filing is mandatory despite a will or waiver, and the report lists detailed decedent, representative, spouse, beneficiary or heir, real-estate, personal-property, and tax information with estimated values. Estate property generally need not be appraised unless the court orders it, while additional information or property must be reported in a supplementary inventory within 30 days after discovery.
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This is the general rule in Iowa. Ask about your specific facts and see which parts of current Iowa law apply, with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and administration type | District Court probate; mandatory report and inventory under Iowa Code §§ 633.361-.367, with § 633.361 deadline amended by 2026 Iowa Acts ch. 1074 |
|---|---|
| Who prepares, signs, and verifies | Personal representative files; report and inventory verified or affirmed under penalty of perjury (§ 633.361) |
| Deadline, trigger, and extension | 120 days after qualification since July 1, 2026; court may grant longer; Act states no separate applicability rule for § 633.361 amendment |
| Court filing or private delivery | File with clerk in every case despite will or heir/devisee waiver; estate cannot close before filing (§§ 633.361-.362) |
| Property scope, exclusions, and encumbrances | Known decedent property plus identity/family data; legal descriptions/estimates for Iowa and out-of-state realty; exempt and other personalty; tax items; no general encumbrance field (§ 633.361) |
| Valuation date and method | Estimated values for listed realty, exempt/other personalty, and tax items; §§ 633.361-.367 state no universal inventory valuation date or fair-market-value method |
| Appraiser requirement and qualifications | Generally no appraisal; required only by court order or legacy inheritance-tax rule for pre-2025 deaths; § 633.365 states no appraiser qualifications |
| Recipients, confidentiality, and access | Mandatory clerk filing; §§ 633.361-.367 state no inventory-specific copy recipient, service, sealing, confidentiality, redaction, or inspection rule |
| Correction, supplementation, and noncompliance | Additional information/property: supplementary inventory within 30 days after discovery; clerk/court enforcement; delinquency notice gives 60 days before judge report and removal exposure (§§ 633.32, .363-.364) |
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Requirements one by one
Current deadline and filing duty
Iowa Code § 633.361 now gives the personal representative 120 days after qualification to file the report and inventory with the clerk, unless the court grants longer. Iowa Acts chapter 1074 changed the former 90-day number, and Iowa Code § 3.7 made that amendment effective July 1, 2026. The act did not state a separate applicability rule for its § 633.361 amendment, so an estate whose qualification straddles the change should confirm its deadline with the court.
Filing cannot be waived. Iowa Code § 633.362 requires an inventory in every case despite will language or heir or devisee waiver and prevents closing before filing.
Verification and required information
The personal representative verifies or affirms the filing under penalty of perjury. Section 633.361 requires the decedent's name, age, residence, death date, and testacy status; representative and surviving-spouse names and addresses; beneficiary or heir details; after-born or after-adopted child information; and specified tax information.
The property schedules include legal descriptions and estimated values for all Iowa and out-of-state real estate, execution-exempt personal property, and all other personal property. The statute asks for estimated values but states no universal valuation date, fair-market-value method, or general encumbrance field.
Iowa Code §§ 633.366-.367 add two related rules. A surviving right of action the testator owned against the named executor is not discharged by the nomination and belongs in the inventory, and the completed inventory or appraisement is evidence but is not conclusive.
Appraisal and evidence
Under Iowa Code § 633.365, estate property generally need not be appraised. The remaining statutory routes are a court order or the legacy inheritance-tax rule for deaths before January 1, 2025. The section does not state appraiser qualifications. Other evidence may vary the inventory's or appraisement's effect.
Recipients, confidentiality, and access
Sections 633.361-.367 require filing with the clerk but do not state an inventory-specific copy recipient, service duty, sealing rule, confidentiality protection, redaction rule, or inspection right. Court filing alone should not be converted into a claim here that access is unrestricted.
What trips people up
The supplementary-inventory section is Iowa Code § 633.364, not § 633.362. When additional information or previously unmentioned property reaches the representative's knowledge, the representative must file a supplementary inventory within 30 days after discovery. The section does not separately say that every valuation disagreement is an “additional information” event.
Delinquency has both immediate and scheduled enforcement. Iowa Code § 633.363 directs the clerk to report a prompt-filing failure for whatever enforcement order is necessary. Under § 633.32, the clerk also sends delinquency notices on June 1 and December 1; failure to file within 60 days leads to a report to the presiding judge and exposure to removal.
Common questions
Is the deadline still 90 days?
No. Iowa Acts chapter 1074 amended Iowa Code § 633.361 to 120 days, effective July 1, 2026.
Can everyone named in the will waive the inventory?
No. Iowa Code § 633.362 makes filing mandatory despite the will or any heir or devisee waiver.
Does every asset require a professional appraisal?
No. Iowa Code § 633.365 generally dispenses with appraisal unless the court orders it or the legacy pre-2025 inheritance-tax provision applies.
Statutes and sources
- Iowa Code § 633.361, as amended — current 120-day filing and contents. “Within one hundred twenty days after qualification by the personal representative, unless a longer time is granted by the court,” the representative files the report and inventory. 2026 Iowa Acts chapter 1074; Iowa Code 2026 Chapter 633 (accessed August 10, 2026).
- Iowa Code §§ 633.362-.364 — mandatory filing, enforcement, and supplementation. Additional information or property requires a supplementary inventory within 30 days after discovery. Official Iowa Code (accessed August 10, 2026).
- Iowa Code §§ 633.365-.367 — appraisement, executor debts, and evidentiary effect. “Property belonging to the estate need not be appraised” except under the stated routes. Official Iowa Code (accessed August 10, 2026).
- Iowa Code § 633.32 — delinquency notices and removal exposure. The clerk's scheduled notice gives 60 days before the matter is reported to the presiding judge. Official Iowa Code (accessed August 10, 2026).
- Iowa Code § 3.7 — general effective date. Regular-session public acts take effect on the following July 1 unless another time is specified. Official Iowa Code (accessed August 10, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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