Certificate of Service — Iowa

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

State of Iowa

COURT CAPTION

IN THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR [____________________] COUNTY

________________________________________,
                              Plaintiff,

v.                                              Case No.: [____________________]
                                                Judge: [________________________]
________________________________________,
                              Defendant.

(For appellate matters use Iowa Appellate rules; for small claims use Magistrate
Court caption; for probate matters substitute the applicable probate caption)

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, [________________________________], hereby certify that pursuant to Iowa R. Civ.
P. 1.442 and Iowa Court Rules Chapter 16, on [__/__/____], I served a true and
correct copy of the following document(s):

Document(s) Served:

1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]
   (add rows as needed)

upon all parties or their counsel of record as identified below, by the method(s)
indicated.

SECTION I — PARTIES / COUNSEL SERVED

Party / Counsel No. 1

Method of Service (check all that apply):

☐ EDMS Electronic Service (Iowa R. Elec. P. Chapter 16) — Filed and served
through the Iowa Electronic Document Management System (EDMS); service is
automatic upon acceptance for all registered EDMS participants.

• EDMS Submission / Confirmation No.: [________________________________]
• Date/Time of EDMS Acceptance: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• For registered EDMS users, no separate certificate of service is required
  for documents filed through EDMS; the system's notification constitutes
  service. However, a certificate must be filed for any document served outside
  EDMS (Iowa R. Elec. P. 16.316).

☐ Electronic Mail (Email) — Per Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.442(1)(e) — Served by
email with written consent of the receiving party filed pursuant to Iowa Ct.
R. 16.316.

• Email address(es) served: [________________________________]
• Date/Time Transmitted: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• ☐ Written consent on file; date of consent: [__/__/____]
• ☐ Delivery confirmation obtained

☐ Personal Delivery (Hand Delivery)

• Person who received delivery: [________________________________]
• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• Location: [________________________________]

☐ U.S. First-Class Mail, Postage Prepaid

• Mailed from: [________________________________], Iowa
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]
• Note: Under Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.447, 3 additional days are added to any
  response period when service is made by U.S. Mail.

☐ Certified Mail / Return Receipt Requested

• USPS Tracking No.: [________________________________]
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]

☐ Commercial Delivery (Overnight Carrier)

• Carrier: [________________________________]
• Tracking No.: [________________________________]
• Date Tendered to Carrier: [__/__/____]

☐ Other (describe): [________________________________]

Party / Counsel No. 2

Method of Service (check all that apply):

☐ EDMS Electronic Service

• EDMS Confirmation No.: [________________________________]
• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Electronic Mail (Email)

• Email address(es) served: [________________________________]
• Date/Time Transmitted: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Personal Delivery

• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________]
• Location: [________________________________]

☐ U.S. First-Class Mail

• Mailed from: [________________________________], Iowa
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]

☐ Certified Mail

• USPS Tracking No.: [________________________________]

☐ Commercial Delivery

• Carrier: [________________] Tracking No.: [________________]

☐ Other: [________________________________]

(Duplicate Party / Counsel block as needed for additional parties)

SECTION II — MULTIPLE-PARTY SERVICE TABLE

(Use when serving three or more parties; attach continuation sheets if needed)

SECTION III — NON-EDMS / SELF-REPRESENTED PARTY SERVICE

Parties who are not registered EDMS users (including most self-represented
litigants) will not receive auto-service through EDMS. Manual service is
required, and a certificate of service must be filed pursuant to Iowa R. Elec.
P. 16.316.

☐ The following party is a Non-EDMS User or self-represented and was served
by conventional means:

• Party Name: [________________________________]
• Last Known Address: [________________________________]
• City, State, Zip: [________________________________]

• Method of Service:
  ☐ U.S. First-Class Mail — Date Mailed: [__/__/____]
  ☐ Hand Delivery — Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________]
  ☐ Certified Mail — Tracking No.: [________________________________]
  ☐ Email (with written consent) — Date: [__/__/____]

• Notes: [________________________________]

SECTION IV — NON-PARTY SERVICE

(For service on non-parties such as guardians ad litem, expert witnesses, or
others required to receive copies by court order)

☐ The following non-party was served pursuant to [court order dated [__/__/____]
/ applicable rule]:

• Non-Party Name: [________________________________]
• Role: [________________________________]
• Address / Email: [________________________________]
• Method of Service: [________________________________]
• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

SECTION V — EDMS SYSTEM NOTES

Mandatory E-Filing in Iowa: Electronic filing in Iowa court cases is
mandatory for attorneys unless otherwise required or authorized by the Iowa
Rules of Electronic Procedure (Chapter 16). EDMS has been operational
statewide since 2015.

Auto-Service through EDMS: When a document is accepted through EDMS, the
system automatically notifies all registered service contacts. For such
documents, no separate certificate of service need be filed for the EDMS-served
parties. A certificate IS required for any party not served through EDMS.

Iowa R. Elec. P. 16.316: A certificate of service must be filed for all
documents NOT served through EDMS. The certificate must state the date of
service, the method of service, and the names and addresses of persons served.

Iowa R. Elec. P. 16.315: Attorneys have an ongoing duty to update their
email address with the court whenever it changes. Failure to maintain a current
email address in EDMS may result in failure of service.

SECTION VI — TIME COMPUTATION / MAIL RULE

Under Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.447, when a party must act within a prescribed period
after service, and service is made by U.S. Mail, three (3) additional calendar
days are added to the prescribed period. This addition does not apply to EDMS
electronic service or other electronic service.

Example: A 20-day response period triggered by mail service becomes
23 days from the date of mailing.

If the final day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline
extends to the next court day.

DECLARATION

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing Certificate of Service is
true and correct.

Date: [__/__/____]

_____________________________________________
[________________________________]
Iowa Bar No.: [____________________]
[________________________________] (Firm Name)
[________________________________] (Street Address)
[________________________________] (City, State, Zip)
Telephone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Facsimile:  ([____]) [____]-[________]
Email:      [________________________________]
Attorney for [________________________________]

PRACTITIONER NOTES

1. EDMS — When Certificate of Service Is Required. Iowa R. Elec. P. 16.316
requires a certificate of service only for documents served outside EDMS.
Documents filed through EDMS and automatically served on registered participants
do not require a separate written certificate. However, including one as a best
practice protects against claims of non-service.

2. Email Address Maintenance. Iowa R. Elec. P. 16.315 imposes a continuing
obligation on attorneys to keep their EDMS email address current. When serving
opposing counsel by email outside EDMS, verify the email address is current by
checking recent filings or the Iowa State Bar Association directory.

3. Three-Day Mail Addition. Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.447 adds 3 days for mail
service. Calendar all response deadlines accordingly and check for weekend/
holiday adjustments.

4. Guardian Ad Litem / Non-Party Service. For cases involving a guardian ad
litem, special administrator, or other court-appointed non-party, confirm the
required method of service and document it separately in this certificate.

5. Small Claims / Magistrate Division. Small claims matters in Iowa have
simplified procedures. Confirm whether electronic filing and service apply to
your specific small claims case, as some Magistrate Court divisions may operate
differently.

6. Probate Division. For probate matters, Iowa R. Prob. P. may impose
additional service requirements on interested parties. Document all service to
beneficiaries, creditors, and interested persons separately.

7. Retain EDMS Submissions. Maintain copies of EDMS submission IDs and
system-generated notifications for the duration of the case and any appeal.

Sources and References

• Iowa Court Rules Chapter 16: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ACO/CourtRulesChapter/16.pdf
• Iowa Judicial Branch EDMS FAQ: https://www.iowacourts.gov/faq/electronic-filing-edms
• Iowa eFile User Guide: https://www.iowacourts.gov/efile/efile-resources/efile-user-guide
• Iowa Courts Electronic Filing Help: https://www.iowacourts.state.ia.us/Efile/manual/fiCourtrules.htm