Iowa car accident laws
Is Iowa a no-fault state? No. Iowa is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.
Iowa gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit (Iowa Code § 614.1(2)).
The legal minimum liability coverage in Iowa is $20,000 per injured person, $40,000 per crash and $15,000 for property (20/40/15).
If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but you recover nothing if your fault is greater than the combined fault of the defendants (more than 50%).
Quoted from Iowa statutes and official pages, checked October 2, 2026 · not legal advice
The rules in one table
| Rule | Iowa | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline to sue for an injury | Two years after the cause of action accrues | Iowa Code § 614.1(2) |
| Deadline for vehicle damage | Five years after the cause of action accrues (injuries to property) | Iowa Code § 614.1(4) |
| Deadline for a wrongful death claim | Two years; Iowa courts treat wrongful death as an injury-to-the-person action (the quoted text does not mention death or say the period runs from the date of death) | Iowa Code § 614.1(2) (applied to wrongful death by Iowa courts) |
| Claims against a government body | A claim against the State must be made in writing and filed with the director of the department of management within two years after the claim accrued; suits against cities and counties must be commenced within two years (Iowa Code 670.5). | Iowa Code § 669.13(1) (State Tort Claims Act) |
| Insurance system | at-fault | Triple-I, Background on: No-fault auto insurance |
| If you were partly at fault | modified comparative (51% bar). If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but you recover nothing if your fault is greater than the combined fault of the defendants (more than 50%). | Iowa Code § 668.3(1)(a) |
| Minimum liability coverage | $20,000 per person / $40,000 per crash / $15,000 property | Iowa Code § 321A.1(11) |
| Dog bites | strict liability. A dog owner is liable for all damages when the dog attacks or attempts to bite a person, unless the injured person was doing an unlawful act that directly contributed to the injury. | Iowa Code § 351.28 |
| Cap on pain-and-suffering damages | No general cap for injury cases | Iowa Code § 668.15A(2) |
Deadlines can be shorter or longer for minors, for injuries found later, and for claims against a government. A lawyer licensed in Iowa can tell you the date that applies to you.
Next steps after an Iowa crash
How to get an Iowa crash report ($4 for a copy of the officer's report (kept even if no report exists); $4 for a limited-information accident report; $5.50 per record for driver records).
Check your deadline and a rough claim range
A filing date and a rough value range for Iowa. Both take under a minute.
Questions
How long do you have to sue after a car accident in Iowa?
Two years for an injury claim (Iowa Code § 614.1(2)) and five years for vehicle damage. Shorter notice rules can apply to claims against a government.
Is Iowa a no-fault state?
No. Iowa is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault in Iowa?
Iowa follows modified comparative (51% bar). If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but you recover nothing if your fault is greater than the combined fault of the defendants (more than 50%).
What is the minimum car insurance in Iowa?
The legal minimum liability coverage in Iowa is $20,000 per injured person, $40,000 per crash and $15,000 for property (20/40/15).
Sources
- Deadline to sue for an injury (Iowa Code § 614.1(2)): www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/614.1.pdf
614.1 Period. Actions may be brought within the times limited as follows, respectively, after their causes accrue, and not afterwards, except when otherwise specially declared: [...] 2. Injuries to person or reputation — relative rights — statute penalty. Those founded on injuries to the person or reputation, including injuries to relative rights, whether based on contract or tort, or for a statute penalty, within two years.
- Deadline for vehicle damage (Iowa Code § 614.1(4)): www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/614.1.pdf
614.1 Period. Actions may be brought within the times limited as follows, respectively, after their causes accrue, and not afterwards, except when otherwise specially declared: [...] 4. Unwritten contracts — injuries to property — fraud — other actions. Those founded on unwritten contracts, those brought for injuries to property, or for relief on the ground of fraud in cases heretofore solely cognizable in a court of chancery, and all other actions not otherwise provided for in this respect, within five years
- Deadline for a wrongful death claim (Iowa Code § 614.1(2) (applied to wrongful death by Iowa courts)): www.iowacourts.gov/moduledocuments/embed/22085/3219_C78DE39C93707.pdf
The court concluded a claim for wrongful death does not accrue until the child’s death, so the applicable two-year limitation period begins to run at the child’s death.
- Claims against a government body (Iowa Code § 669.13(1) (State Tort Claims Act)): www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/669.13.pdf
669.13 Limitation of actions. 1. Except as provided in section 614.8, a claim or suit otherwise permitted under this chapter shall be forever barred, unless within two years after the claim accrued, the claim is made in writing and filed with the director of the department of management under this chapter.
- Insurance system (Triple-I, Background on: No-fault auto insurance): www.iii.org/article/background-on-no-fault-auto-insurance
Twelve states and Puerto Rico have no-fault auto insurance laws. Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania have verbal thresholds. The other seven states—Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota and Utah—use a monetary threshold. Three states have a "choice" no-fault law. In New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, motorists may reject the lawsuit threshold and retain the right to sue for any auto-related injury.
- If you were partly at fault (Iowa Code § 668.3(1)(a)): www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/668.pdf
668.3 Comparative fault — effect — payment method. 1. a. Contributory fault shall not bar recovery in an action by a claimant to recover damages for fault resulting in death or in injury to person or property unless the claimant bears a greater percentage of fault than the combined percentage of fault attributed to the defendants, third-party defendants and persons who have been released pursuant to section 668.7, but any damages allowed shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of fault attributable to the claimant.
- Minimum liability coverage (Iowa Code § 321A.1(11)): www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/321A.1.pdf
11. "Proof of financial responsibility" means proof of ability to respond in damages for liability, on account of accidents occurring subsequent to the effective date of the proof, arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle, in the amount of twenty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident, and, subject to the limit for one person, the amount of forty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and the amount of fifteen thousand dollars because of injury to or destructi…
- Dog bites (Iowa Code § 351.28): www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/351.28.pdf
351.28 Liability for damages. The owner of a dog shall be liable to an injured party for all damages done by the dog, when the dog is caught in the action of worrying, maiming, or killing a domestic animal, or the dog is attacking or attempting to bite a person, except when the party damaged is doing an unlawful act, directly contributing to the injury.
- Cap on pain-and-suffering damages (Iowa Code § 668.15A(2)): www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/668.pdf
2. The total amount recoverable per plaintiff against the owner or operator of a commercial motor vehicle for noneconomic damages for personal injury or death in a civil action involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle requiring a commercial driver's license, whether in tort or otherwise, is five million dollars.
Read October 2, 2026. Laws and fees change; the linked page is the authority.