This webpage was developed to assist Clerks of District Court and attorneys by making updated legal reporting forms available for downloading, as well as instructions for submitting the forms to the Clerks of Court and the state vital records office. Please note that the process for submitting the forms has not changed, only the method of obtaining and completing the reporting forms.
Please open the following Introduction link for more information about downloading and using the forms and obtaining paper supplies.
- Reporting Forms & Affidavits
- Completing the .pdf field-fillable documents
Iowa Code
- Chapter 144 - Vital Statistics
- Chapter 595 - Marriage
Administrative Rules
- Chapter 95 - VR General Administration
- Chapter 96 - Birth Registration
- Chapter 97 - Death Registration & Disposition
- Chapter 98 - Marriage Registration
- Chapter 99 - VR Modifications
- Chapter 100 - VR Registries & Reports
Please follow the instructions in the document links under the Introduction above for ordering supplies of the special registration paper and downloading, completing, and printing the form.
When through a field-fillable form, use the space bar to affect a check mark in a checkbox.
Dates must be entered as MM/DD/YYYY and will convert to the literal when the user forward. For example, 04/21/2015 will convert to April 21, 2015. OR, the date can be spelled out when data entering.
HF855 was signed into law on May 19, 2021. This new legislation allows an adult adoptee to apply for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption. If the adult adoptee is deceased, an entitled family may apply for the record.
The field-fillable version of the Abstract of Court Determination of Paternity is now available to download, complete in the .pdf file, and print onto the special registration security paper. If also printing the Instructions on side 2 of the form, ensure that the vital records seal lands in the lower left corner so it does not obscure any text.
Do not complete the form while logged into the website. The form is meant to download onto your own computer drive and complete it from there. User rights have been enabled, so you should be able to save partially-completed forms. However, this feature also enables digital signatures -- BUT DO NOT USE ANY SIGNATURE FEATURE as this will restrict you from making any further changes to the form.
All Abstracts of Court Determination of Paternity must be submitted on this official form printed on the special security registration paper provided by the Bureau of Vital Records.
Dates must be entered as MM/DD/YYYY and will convert to the literal when the user forward. For example, 04/21/2015 will convert to April 21, 2015. OR, the date can be spelled out when data entering.
All official forms are to be printed on plain bond paper. DO NOT LINK this document, or this portal, to your own website or any other webpage, which then makes it available to Google users and results in the form being submitted to the State improperly.
Dates must be entered as MM/DD/YYYY and will convert to the literal when the user forward. For example, 04/21/2015 will convert to April 21, 2015. OR, the date can be spelled out when data entering.
The Judicial Branch and the Bureau of Statistics and Vital Records have approved the following Petition and Court-Order forms to amend birth, death, and marriage records when the parties do not meet the criteria for the normal amendment process. Normal amendments to a vital record are corrections of minor typographical errors.
Parties should have contacted the Bureau for guidance to see if they qualify for processing a correction or amendment prior to moving forward with petitioning the courts for a Court-Ordered Amendment.
Major changes require court orders to modify the record and include but are not limited to modifications that could potentially change a person's identity, original registration information omitted by the party, and insufficient evidentiary documentation.
All forms submitted to the Bureau of Statistics and Vital Records must be printed on the special registration paper -- on the "white" side -- as described in the documents under the Introduction at the top of this webpage. The paper is available from the Bureau at no cost, as described under the Introduction. The forms are .pdf field-fillable, but should first be downloaded before attempting to complete the fields electronically, otherwise download to print and complete the forms by typewriter or legibly by hand.
All properly granted Court-Ordered Amends must be accompanied by the appropriate fees, any previously-issued certified copies for exchange, and any appropriate supporting documentation.
A certified copy of the court order must also be presented to the state vital records office in addition to completed forms and affidavits. Follow the instructions detailed in the Administrative Code (aka Rules).
Forms must be printed on the special registration paper, with side one of the form printed on the white side of the paper. The special registration paper can be obtained from the state vital records office at no charge.