Iowa at a glance
Rules, not your dateChild sexual abuse: the civil deadline
Until age 23, or 5 years after discovering the injury and its link to the abuse, whichever is later (since July 1, 2026). The change does not revive claims already expired. Before it: age 19, or 4 years after discovery. The rule is in Iowa Code § 614.8A, as amended by 2026 Iowa Acts ch. 1104 (HF 1036).
That is the deadline for a civil lawsuit, a claim for money damages. A criminal prosecution runs on a separate clock set by the state’s criminal code, and a report to police can be made whether or not a civil claim is still open. How the two differ.
Adult sexual assault: the civil deadline
2 years (general personal injury period). Abuse by a counselor, therapist or school employee: 5 years after last treatment or school enrollment. The rule is in Iowa Code § 614.1(2), (12).
Revival and lookback windows
A window that revives expired sexual abuse claims is open in Iowa. It opened on April 19, 2024 and is scheduled to close on December 31, 2026. The law is 2024 Iowa Acts ch. 1089 (SF 2431, uncodified), limited to claims against the bankruptcy estate of a congressionally chartered organization in the bankruptcy filed February 18, 2020.
A revival window, sometimes called a lookback window, lets survivors file claims that had already expired, for a set period. Closed windows stay listed here with their dates, because a claim filed while one was open may still be moving through the courts. Every state’s window, side by side.
Claims against public entities
Cities, counties, school districts: suit within 2 years. State: written claim to the department of management within 2 years. For abuse of a minor, the statutes leave unsettled whether these claims get extra time to age 23 or only the 2 years. See Iowa Code §§ 670.5, 669.13.
A claim against a public body often needs a written notice filed with that body first, and the notice period can be far shorter than the deadline for the lawsuit itself.
Active lawsuits and institutions in Iowa
- Roblox litigation: Attorney general suit against Roblox
The deadlines described here are general rules, and most of them have exceptions. The date that governs a particular claim turns on the state, the person’s age when the abuse happened, when they connected it to the harm it caused, and who the defendant is. A claim against a public agency or a public school can carry a written notice requirement that runs out long before the ordinary deadline.
Nothing on this page can tell you your own date. A lawyer who looks at your facts can, and there is no charge to ask.
- Iowa Code § 614.8A, as amended by 2026 Iowa Acts ch. 1104 (HF 1036) (childhood claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- Iowa Code § 614.1(2), (12) (adult claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- 2024 Iowa Acts ch. 1089 (SF 2431, uncodified), limited to claims against the bankruptcy estate of a congressionally chartered organization in the bankruptcy filed February 18, 2020 (revival window). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- Iowa Code §§ 670.5, 669.13 (notice to public entities). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- CHILD USA, statute of limitations research (used as a cross-check, not as the source of any rule above).
