Case-law access map · checked November 7, 2026
Iowa: where to read court opinions for free
Free and searchable from 1839 to today (CourtListener from 1857; Caselaw Access Project to 2019).
Appeals courts: free and searchable from 1839 to today (CourtListener from 1917; Caselaw Access Project to 2019).
As we read the highest court's own website and the free indexes on November 7, 2026. CourtListener's years come from its public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026). The table has each court and source.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing.
Courts and sources
Each line is one court read from one source. Years are the span that source lists; “inferred” means taken from a description of the site, not from the site itself. A site that refused our automated check may still open in a browser.
| Court | Level | Source | Years | Text search | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Supreme Court | Highest court | iowacourts.gov | from 1998 | Not checked | Opened in our check |
| Supreme Court of Iowa | Highest court | CourtListener evidence | 1857–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check51,579 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Jun 30, 2026; 1,371 with approximate dates. |
| Court of Appeals of Iowa | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1917–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check22,762 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 23, 2026. |
| Iowa Court of Appeals | Appeals | iowacourts.gov | from 2006 | Not checked | Opened in our check |
| Iowa - all reported decisions in CAP reporters | Other | Caselaw Access Project (Harvard) evidence | 1839–2019 | No | Opened in our check |
| Iowa - state appellate and supreme courts (published opinions) | Other | Google Scholar | from 1950 | Yes | Opened in our check |
Where else to look
- CourtListener: Lists 2 Iowa courts.
- Caselaw Access Project (Harvard): Holds published opinions from 1839 to 2019.
- Google Scholar: Its help page says its case law covers state appellate and supreme courts since 1950.
- iowacourts.gov: Official court website.
- Justia: Also publishes opinions; we did not check it state by state.
Known gaps
- We could not confirm that opinion text can be searched on Iowa Supreme Court's website.
- The Caselaw Access Project holds published opinions only through 2019.
- Our survey lists no free statewide source of trial-court opinions for this state.
Corpus
Corpus holds the statutes, not the opinions
For the law itself, Corpus searches Iowa statutes, and each result cites its section and links the source.
Data: Corpus Open (open source). CourtListener bulk data (public domain), snapshot Sep 30, 2026.
Read by Corpus on November 7, 2026. Sites change; check the court’s own website before relying on a line.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing. Corpus is not a law firm.