How to Request a Continuance in Iowa Small Claims Court

When You Need More Time

You filed your answer on time, but the hearing date lands in the middle of a work emergency, a medical appointment you cannot reschedule, or a week when your key witness is out of state. Iowa small claims courts allow continuances — postponements of a scheduled hearing — but only if you ask properly and the magistrate agrees.

A continuance is not automatic. Filing the request does not move the hearing. The existing date stays on the calendar until a judicial magistrate signs an order granting the postponement.

Grounds That Typically Work

Iowa magistrates have discretion over continuance requests. There is no statutory list of approved reasons, but courts routinely grant them for:

• Scheduling conflicts — a previously committed court date, a medical procedure, or documented travel that cannot be rearranged.
• Incomplete discovery or evidence — you are waiting on records from a third party (a bank, a contractor's insurance company, a repair shop) and can show you requested them before the deadline.
• Newly served parties — a third-party defendant or counterclaim respondent who has not had enough time to prepare.
• Serious illness or family emergency — with documentation such as a doctor's note or hospital record.

Reasons that rarely succeed: general unpreparedness, wanting to hire a lawyer at the last minute without any evidence you tried earlier, or simply hoping the other side gives up.

How to File the Request

There is no special Iowa small claims continuance form. You file a written Motion for Continuance through EDMS — the same Electronic Document Management System you used to file your answer.

Your motion should include:

1. The case number and county.
2. The currently scheduled hearing date.
3. The specific reason you need more time, with supporting details (dates, documentation references).
4. A statement that you notified the opposing party of the request, or that you are unable to do so and why.
5. A proposed new hearing window if you have one.

Upload the motion as a PDF under the "Small Claims Common Filings" document category in EDMS. The clerk will route it to the assigned magistrate.

If you are exempt from electronic filing (self-represented defendants get a one-time exemption for their initial filing under Iowa Rule 16.302(2)(b)), you may still need court permission to file subsequent motions on paper. Contact the clerk's office to confirm.

What Happens After You File

The magistrate reviews your motion and either grants or denies it. If granted, the clerk issues a new hearing notice with an updated date and sends it to all parties through EDMS. If denied, the original hearing date stands and you must appear.

Because the ruling is not instant, file your motion as early as possible. A request submitted the day before the hearing is almost always denied unless the emergency is genuine and sudden.

If both parties agree to a continuance — for example, you are both in active settlement talks — a joint motion carries more weight. The magistrate is far more likely to grant a delay when neither side objects.

The Answer Deadline Is Different

A continuance postpones a hearing. It does not extend the 20-day deadline to file your answer after service. That deadline is statutory under Iowa Code § 631.4, and no continuance motion changes it. If you have not filed your answer yet and need more time, the only path is to file the answer immediately (it costs nothing) and then request a continuance for the hearing.

Missing the answer deadline triggers the plaintiff's right to request a default judgment — and a continuance motion filed afterward will not undo that.

If Your Continuance Is Denied

Show up. Missing a hearing after a denied continuance gives the magistrate grounds to enter a default judgment against you. You can still ask for a brief delay at the hearing itself — magistrates sometimes grant short adjournments from the bench — but count on presenting your case that day.

For a full walkthrough of preparing evidence, handling the hearing, and understanding your post-decision options, the Iowa Small Claims Response Guide covers every step of the defendant's process.

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