The state may sue in the same way as an individual. No security shall be required of it.
Rule 1.207.Actions by and against state
Division II: Actions, Joinder of Actions and Parties · Last amended February 15, 2002 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1.207 puts the state of Iowa on the same footing as any individual plaintiff when it sues, with one difference: the state never has to post security.
Full Text of Rule 1.207
Plain-English Summary
Rule 1.207 keeps the rule for the state simple. When Iowa itself is a plaintiff, it sues the same way an individual person would, following the same civil procedure rules that apply to any other litigant. The rule does not carve out a special procedural track for state-initiated litigation.
The one difference the rule states is that no security shall be required of the state. Individual litigants sometimes must post bond or other security as a condition of certain relief or procedural steps; the state is exempted from that requirement, reflecting that the state's financial ability to satisfy an eventual judgment or cost award is not in doubt the way an individual's might be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the state of Iowa follow the same procedure as any other plaintiff when it sues?
Yes. Rule 1.207 says the state may sue in the same way as an individual, without a separate procedural track.
Does the state ever have to post a bond or other security in a lawsuit it brings?
No. Rule 1.207 specifically states that no security shall be required of the state.
Does this rule address lawsuits brought against the state?
The rule's text speaks to the state suing, addressing how the state proceeds as a plaintiff and its exemption from posting security; separate statutes and rules govern claims and procedures when the state is a defendant.
Why is the state exempted from posting security?
The rule does not spell out its reasoning, but the exemption reflects that the state's capacity to answer for costs or an adverse judgment is not the kind of concern that security requirements are meant to address for individual litigants.
Does this exemption from security apply to counties or cities as well as the state itself?
Rule 1.207 refers specifically to the state; it does not by its terms extend the security exemption to counties, cities, or other municipal corporations.
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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