When a bond or other instrument given to the state, county, school or other municipal corporation, or to any officer or person, is intended for the security of the public generally, or of particular individuals, action may be brought thereon, in the name of any person intended to be thus secured, who has sustained an injury in consequence of a breach thereof, except when otherwise provided.
Rule 1.202.Public bond
Division II: Actions, Joinder of Actions and Parties · Last amended February 15, 2002 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1.202 lets any person a public bond or other security instrument was meant to protect sue on it directly, in their own name, once they have suffered an injury from a breach, unless another law says otherwise.
Full Text of Rule 1.202
Plain-English Summary
Public entities and officials often post bonds meant to protect the public generally or particular people who deal with them. Rule 1.202 gives the people that protection is meant for a direct route to court. If a bond or similar instrument is given to the state, a county, a school or other municipal corporation, or to an officer or person, and it is intended to secure the public generally or particular individuals, anyone within that intended protection who has been injured by a breach of the instrument may sue on it in their own name.
This matters because the bond is not held by the injured person; it runs to the government entity or official. Without a rule like this, a person harmed by a breach might have to persuade that entity or official to sue on their behalf. Rule 1.202 lets the injured party skip that step and bring the action directly, so long as they fall within the class the bond was meant to secure and they can show an injury from the breach.
The rule ends with a qualifier: this direct right to sue applies except when otherwise provided. Some bonds or the statutes that require them may set their own enforcement procedure, and where that is so, the specific provision controls over this general rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue directly on a public official's bond if I was harmed by a breach of it?
Yes, if the bond was intended to secure the public generally or people in your position, and you sustained an injury from the breach. Rule 1.202 lets you bring the action in your own name rather than requiring the government body that holds the bond to sue for you.
Does it matter whether the bond names me specifically as a protected party?
No. Rule 1.202 covers bonds intended for the security of the public generally as well as those intended for particular individuals, so you do not need to be named in the bond itself, only within the class it was meant to protect.
What kinds of entities can hold a bond that Rule 1.202 covers?
The rule covers bonds given to the state, a county, a school or other municipal corporation, or to any officer or person, when the bond is intended for public or individual security.
Do I need to show an actual injury to sue on the bond?
Yes. Rule 1.202 limits the right to sue to a person who has sustained an injury as a consequence of a breach of the bond, not anyone in the abstract class it protects.
Is this right to sue directly absolute?
No. Rule 1.202 applies except when otherwise provided, meaning a specific statute governing a particular bond can set a different procedure that controls instead.
Source & verification. Rule text and the Comment are
reproduced verbatim from the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Iowa Supreme Court. Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
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