Iowa Small Claims Court Evidence Rules and How to Present Exhibits

Iowa small claims hearings are informal compared to regular civil court — no jury, no formal discovery, no lengthy pretrial motions. But "informal" doesn't mean the magistrate will accept anything you hand over. The evidence you bring and how you present it directly determines whether you win or lose.

What Counts as Evidence

In Iowa small claims court, evidence falls into three categories:

Documents. Contracts, invoices, receipts, estimates, repair quotes, bank statements, cancelled checks, lease agreements, written warranties, and any other paper that shows what was agreed to and what happened. These are your strongest tools because they're harder to dispute than verbal claims.

Communications. Text messages, emails, voicemails, social media messages, and letters. Anything that shows what either party said, promised, or acknowledged. Screenshot text messages with visible dates and phone numbers. Print email threads showing the full conversation chain.

Photographs and videos. Pictures of property damage, completed (or incomplete) work, product condition, receipts on a phone, or anything else relevant to the dispute. Date stamps matter — they show when damage existed or when work was in a certain state.

The magistrate can also consider testimony — what you and the other party say under oath, and what witnesses describe seeing or hearing firsthand.

The Three-Copy Practice

For in-person hearings, bring three identical physical copies of every document you plan to present:

1. One copy for the Judicial Magistrate
2. One copy for the opposing party
3. One copy for your own reference

Don't bring a single original and expect to pass it around. The magistrate keeps their copy to review while deciding the case. The opposing party needs their copy to examine and potentially challenge. You need yours to reference while explaining what each document shows.

You must electronically file printed or photographic exhibits at least a day before the hearing unless you are exempt from electronic filing. Bring copies of your exhibits to court either way.

Formatting Your Exhibits

Bring printed copies where possible. Text messages, emails, and photographs are easiest to use as printed exhibits. If you plan to use audio or video, bring playback equipment and a copy for the court; don't assume the court can play a file from your phone or tablet.

Organize by date. Put your documents in chronological order — earliest first. This helps the magistrate follow the timeline of your dispute. Number each exhibit sequentially (Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, etc.) and create a simple list showing what each exhibit is.

Use standard paper. 8.5 × 11 inches, portrait orientation. If you're uploading exhibits to EDMS pre-hearing, they must be text-searchable PDFs, under 20 MB, and not password-protected.

Redact sensitive information. Before filing or presenting any document, remove Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, dates of birth, and names of minor children. Iowa Court Rules Chapter 16, Division VI requires this for electronic filings, and it's good practice for paper exhibits too.

What the Magistrate Looks For

Magistrates in Iowa small claims handle dozens of cases. They appreciate evidence that's organized, relevant, and tells a clear story. A few principles:

Relevance beats volume. Ten documents that directly support your position are more useful than fifty pages of tangentially related material. Only bring documents that prove a specific point you need to make.

Dates matter. A photo of property damage is much stronger with a date stamp than without one. A repair estimate is more persuasive when it's dated close to the event in dispute. Contracts and agreements need dates showing when they were signed.

Written evidence trumps verbal claims. If you said something in a text message that supports your defense, print it. If the plaintiff made a promise in an email, print it. "They told me over the phone" is much weaker than "Here's the text where they said it, dated June 3."

Witness Testimony

If someone besides you or the plaintiff has relevant firsthand knowledge — they saw the work being done, they were present during a conversation, they assessed the damage independently — their testimony can strengthen your case.

Willing witnesses can simply attend the hearing with you. If a witness is reluctant, you can compel their attendance with a subpoena under IRCP 1.1701 (Form 14 for hearing testimony). The Clerk of Court can issue the subpoena. A subpoenaed witness is entitled to $10 for each full day of attendance or $5 for attendance less than a full day, plus $0.50 per mile of necessary travel. On timely motion, a court must quash or modify a subpoena requiring a nonparty to travel more than 50 miles from where they live, work, or regularly transact business; a person may be ordered to attend trial anywhere in the state where served.

Prepare your witnesses the same way you prepare yourself — make sure they know what facts they'll be asked about and that they should speak directly to the magistrate.

Evidence You Can't Use

A few things that don't work in Iowa small claims:

• Hearsay without context. "My friend told me they saw the contractor leave early" is weak unless your friend is there to testify. Bring the witness whenever possible.
• Unverified online research. "I found on a forum that this contractor has bad reviews" isn't evidence of what happened in your case.
• Mediation discussions. Under Iowa Code Chapter 679C, anything said during mediation is confidential and cannot be introduced at the hearing if mediation fails.

The Iowa Small Claims Response Guide includes an evidence organizer worksheet designed around this three-copy approach, with a checklist for each common dispute type.

See more Iowa guides →