Personnel Information: Employee Access to Personnel Files
Iowa Personnel File Access Law
Employees
Iowa employees have the right to see and copy their personnel files, including performance evaluations and disciplinary records. Employers may set a mutually agreed time, have a representative present, withhold references, and charge commercial-rate copy fees.
- Where
- Iowa
- Citation
- Iowa Code 91B.1
- Status
- In force
- Enforced by
- Not specified in the section
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- The section contains no penalty or enforcement provision.
- Applies to
- Employers as defined in Iowa Code 91A.2 and their employees (91B.1(1))
Rights it gives people
- Give employees access to, and copies of, their personnel files, including evaluations, disciplinary records, and other employment-relations information.Iowa Code 91B.1(1)
Other duties
- Access time is set by agreement, an employer representative may be present, employment references are excluded, and a per-page copy fee at commercial rates may be charged.Iowa Code 91B.1(2)(a)-(c)
Sources
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Original effective date (1990 Acts ch. 1033) and later amendment dates (1998, 2008) not confirmed from session laws.
Research reference, not legal advice.