Iowa Writ of Execution: How to Request General Execution (Form 3.25)

What the Praecipe Is and Why You Need It

Form 3.25 — the Request for General Execution, known formally as a Praecipe — is the document that converts your unpaid court judgment into an active enforcement order. Without it, the clerk cannot issue a writ of execution, the sheriff has no authority to act, and your judgment remains an unenforced piece of paper.

Every enforcement path in Iowa starts here. Whether you plan to garnish wages, levy a bank account, or seize personal property, the Praecipe is the first filing. It tells the clerk you are ready to pursue forced collection and requests that a writ of execution be issued and directed to the county sheriff.

When You Can File

The Praecipe can be filed once the judgment is final and no stay of execution is in effect. For small claims judgments, finality arrives when:

• The 20-day appeal window under Iowa Code § 631.13 has closed and no appeal bond has been posted, or
• An appeal was filed but without a bond approved by the clerk (a bare notice of appeal does not stay execution)

If the court entered an installment payment order under § 631.12(1), you must wait for the debtor to default on that schedule and file an Affidavit of Default (Form 3.16) before the Praecipe becomes available.

Check for active bankruptcy stays as well. If the debtor has filed for bankruptcy, the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 halts all execution — filing a Praecipe while a stay is in effect violates federal law.

How to File Form 3.25

The Praecipe is filed electronically through Iowa's EDMS (Electronic Document Management System). You log into your eFile account, select the case number, choose the correct document type, and submit.

The form itself asks for basic information: the case number, party names, the judgment amount, and your signature as the judgment creditor (or your attorney's). You do not need to specify which enforcement tool you intend to use on the form — the writ that the clerk issues is a general execution, meaning it authorizes any lawful enforcement action.

Once the clerk reviews the docket and confirms the judgment is final and unsatisfied, they issue the writ of execution. This is a court order directed to the county sheriff, commanding levy on the debtor's non-exempt assets.

What to Do With the Writ

The writ does nothing sitting in the court file. You need to deliver it to the sheriff's civil process division in the county where the debtor's assets are located. That might be the county where the debtor works (for wage garnishment), where their bank branch is located (for a bank levy), or where they keep personal property (for a physical levy).

Along with the writ, you provide:

Written directions identifying the specific target — the employer's name and address, the bank and branch, or the personal property to be seized. The sheriff will not guess; if your directions are vague or incorrect, the writ is effectively useless.

An advance fee deposit covering the sheriff's service costs. Under Iowa Code § 331.655, the base civil service fee is $30 plus round-trip mileage at the local rate set under § 70A.9, which may be up to the federal IRS maximum. Many counties require larger deposits. Polk County announced a garnishment fee change effective November 1, 2025; confirm its current amount with the Sheriff's Civil Division at 515-286-3800.

The 120-Day Lifetime

The execution must be returned within 120 days under Iowa Code § 626.16. The garnishment notice ends when the writ expires, so further withholding requires a new Praecipe, a new writ, and new service. Expiration does not cancel the garnishee's duties for funds already withheld; those funds remain subject to the garnishment proceedings under §§ 626.27 and 642.22.

This expiration means planning matters. If you are pursuing wage garnishment on a low-income debtor whose annual cap limits collection to a few hundred dollars per year, one 120-day writ may collect only a fraction of what is owed. Multiple writ cycles — each with its own costs — are the reality for many small claims collections.

Cross-County Execution

If the debtor's assets are in a different county from where the judgment was entered, you need to take one extra step before filing the Praecipe there. Request a Certified Transcript of Judgment from the original court's clerk under Iowa Code § 624.26, then file that transcript with the clerk in the target county. This establishes your judgment in that county's records and allows execution there.

For a detailed walkthrough of every enforcement option — from this initial Praecipe through garnishment, bank levies, property liens, and final satisfaction — our Iowa Judgment Collection Guide covers the complete sequence with form numbers, sheriff fee details, and exemption boundaries.

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