Public Records Requests

The Iowa Department of Public Health maintains vast amounts of records, reports and other information. While most of it is available to the public, some is considered confidential, including:

• Reportable disease information that could lead to the identification of an individual
• Personnel records (dates of employment and salary records are public)
• Individual case information related to an outbreak, unless proper authorization is received
• Vital records (birth, death, marriage) are confidential. For more information about authorized access to vital records, click here.

Public Records requests are handled promptly and usually free of charge:

• IDPH strives to fulfill all Public Records requests within 10 business days; however, some requests may take longer. In that case, the requester will be notified of the expected time frame for fulfillment.
• Most requests are provided free of charge, but some situations in which a fee may be incurred include:
  • The request requires a large amount of staff time or resources
  • The request involves emails that must be reviewed/redacted
  • The request requires data be obtained from a third-party vendor
  • The request results in a large number of printed paper copies

When a fee is required, the Iowa Dept. of Public Health fee schedule is as follows:

• Email review and redactions
  • Four hours at no charge; hourly wage applies thereafter (see below) at the rate of one minute per email
• Hard copy documents
  • First 50 pages at no charge; 10 cents per page thereafter
• Records retrieval
  • Four hours at no charge; hourly wage applies thereafter (see below)
• Hourly wage schedule for record retrieval and review
  • Clerical staff - $32.45 per hour
  • Professional staff - $65.09 per hour

If you are a researcher and are requesting Iowa-specific data, please visit the Iowa Public Health Data page. If you are seeking documents such as birth, death or marriage certificates, please visit the IDPH Vital Records page or call 515-281-4944.

To submit all other Public Records requests, click the button below.