How to request a delinquent tax list in Iowa

Every Iowa county keeps a list of properties with unpaid taxes, and it is a public record. Ask for it under the Iowa Open Records Law (Iowa Code ch. 22) with the free letter below, or pick your county for a letter already addressed to it.

Iowa at a glance

Who to ask
The county Treasurer.
The law
The Iowa Open Records Law (Iowa Code ch. 22).
Response time
Iowa's law sets no single number of days. Ask the office for a date.
Who can ask
Anyone can ask. You do not need to live in Iowa.
Cost
Offices can charge for copies or staff time on a large data pull. The letter asks for an itemized estimate first.

Iowa rules to know before you send it

Timing around the annual tax sale

The Iowa tax sale is held the third Monday of June each year (Iowa Code ch. 446). After the sale, an office can truthfully say the list is gone, so the letter asks for the list as the office keeps it today, including parcels sold at the annual tax sale that remain unredeemed (tax-sale certificates outstanding) as well as any parcels offered but not sold.

Your Iowa records request letter

Type the county name and your details. It updates as you type.

Your details stay in your browser. This page does not send anything to the county or to us.

Email subject: Public records request: delinquent property tax list, [County name], Iowa

November 7, 2026

[County name] Treasurer
[County name], Iowa

Subject: Public records request: delinquent property tax list, [County name], Iowa

Dear Records Custodian:

Under the Iowa Open Records Law (Iowa Code ch. 22), I request a copy of the current list of real property accounts with delinquent property taxes in [County name], Iowa.

Please include these fields, to the extent your office keeps them:
- Parcel or account number
- Owner name
- Property (situs) address
- Owner mailing address
- Tax years that are delinquent
- Amount owed (by year, if your office keeps it that way)

I would like the list in electronic form (CSV or Excel), sent by email to [Your email]. A file your office already produces is fine. I am not asking you to create a new record.

I understand the annual tax sale is held the third Monday of June each year (Iowa Code ch. 446). I am asking for the list as your office keeps it today, including, if this year's sale has already been held, parcels sold at the annual tax sale that remain unredeemed (tax-sale certificates outstanding) as well as any parcels offered but not sold.

If there is a charge, please send me an itemized estimate first if it will be more than $25.

If the list will take time to prepare, please let me know when I can expect it.

If you withhold any part of the list, please tell me which exemption applies and send the rest.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your mailing address]
[Your email]

How to send it

  1. Check what the county already posts. Many tax offices publish the delinquent list on their website or in a newspaper notice before a tax sale. If it is posted, you may not need a request at all.
  2. Find the records contact. Look on the tax office's website for an open-records email address or online request portal. If the office has its own form, you can paste this letter into it.
  3. Send the letter and keep a copy. Note the date you sent it. Iowa's law sets no single day count, so if you hear nothing in two weeks, follow up politely and ask for a date.
  4. Approve or question the estimate. Large data pulls can carry a fee for staff or computer time. Ask what it covers before you pay.

Or skip the wait

For many Iowa counties we already have the list. Each county page shows a free sample, and where we sell the list, the whole file for $27, or $39 with deal scores. See the Iowa counties we have

Pick your Iowa county