Iowa (statewide): Iowa Court Rules Chapter 27: Judicial Use of Artificial Intelligence To…
Adopted by the Iowa Supreme Court · Iowa Supreme Court
Verified September 28, 2026
- Citation
- Iowa Court Rules Chapter 27: Judicial Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools
- Order date
- July 21, 2026
Status and prospective requirement
Not yet in force (Adopted, takes effect Jan 1, 2027). It applies to the issuing body's own personnel or adjudicators, not to attorney filings. Once in force it will require: Rule 27.104(1): 'A judicial officer must maintain independent decision-making responsibility and must not delegate responsibility or defer to the work product prepared by use of an artificial intelligence tool in the performance of the judicial officer's adjudicative duties.'
What the rule will require once in force
- Rule 27.104(1): 'A judicial officer must maintain independent decision-making responsibility and must not delegate responsibility or defer to the work product prepared by use of an artificial intelligence tool in the performance of the judicial officer's adjudicative duties.'
- Rule 27.104(2): 'A judicial officer or an adjudicative assistant must independently verify the accuracy of all factual or legal sources in any work product prepared by an artificial intelligence tool for use in the judicial officer's performance of adjudicative duties.'
- Rule 27.105: an adjudicative assistant 'must obtain the judicial officer's approval before using an artificial intelligence tool' for adjudicative work and must disclose AI use to the judicial officer, stating whether the sources were independently verified.
- Rule 27.106(1): no AI tool may be used for adjudicative duties 'with any judicial case information unless the tool is currently approved by the committee to meet the confidentiality, security, and reliability requirements for that use.'
- Rule 27.107: the state court administrator 'shall maintain and publicly post on the judicial branch's website a list of artificial intelligence tools approved for use with judicial case information by judicial officers.'
- The chapter addresses judicial officers and their adjudicative assistants. It imposes no disclosure, verification, or other duty on attorneys or parties filing in Iowa courts.
Practice areas: state civil, state criminal
What Chapter 27 does
On July 21, 2026 the Iowa Supreme Court, by order, adopted Chapter 27 of the Iowa Court Rules, “Judicial Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools.” The order states that “the new chapter 27 rules provided with this order are effective January 1, 2027.” The chapter takes effect on that date.
The chapter governs judges and the people who help them decide cases. It defines a “judicial officer” (every justice, judge, magistrate, and referee serving in Iowa) and an “adjudicative assistant” (“a staff attorney, law clerk, law student, or other person assisting a judicial officer in the performance of adjudicative duties”), and assigns duties to each:
- Independence. A judicial officer “must not delegate responsibility or defer to the work product prepared by use of an artificial intelligence tool” in adjudicative work (Rule 27.104(1)).
- Verification. A judicial officer or adjudicative assistant “must independently verify the accuracy of all factual or legal sources in any work product prepared by an artificial intelligence tool” for adjudicative use (Rule 27.104(2)).
- Assistant approval and disclosure. An adjudicative assistant needs the judicial officer’s approval before using an AI tool for adjudicative work, and must tell the judicial officer when AI produced the work product and whether its sources were verified (Rule 27.105).
- Approved tools only. No AI tool may be used for adjudicative duties with “judicial case information” unless a new judicial branch AI innovation and governance committee has approved it for “confidentiality, security, and reliability” (Rule 27.106), and the approved list will be posted publicly (Rule 27.107).
What it means for firms
Chapter 27 imposes nothing on attorneys or parties. It creates no disclosure, certification, or verification duty for filings, and it does not change how a brief is prepared or signed in an Iowa court. Its relevance to a firm is indirect: from January 1, 2027, Iowa judges and their adjudicative assistants may use AI tools with judicial case information in adjudicative work only if the governance committee has approved the tool, must verify the factual and legal sources in AI-prepared work product, and the list of approved tools will be public.
Primary source
Iowa Supreme Court, Order Adopting Chapter 27 (July 21, 2026)
Iowa Court Rules Chapter 27, Judicial Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools
How this order changed
Dated record of this order's own lifecycle. Where it was amended or withdrawn, the badge shows its standing after that step.
- The state court administrator established the Iowa Judicial Branch Artificial Intelligence Working Group by administrative directive, chaired by Justice Christopher McDonald.
- adoptedThe Iowa Supreme Court adopted Chapter 27, Judicial Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools, effective January 1, 2027. source