When any public official or other person in a representative capacity ceases to be such while a party to a suit, the court may order that party's successor brought in and substituted.
Rule 1.226.Officers; representatives
Division II: Actions, Joinder of Actions and Parties · Last amended February 15, 2002 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1.226 lets the court order a successor brought in and substituted whenever a public official or other person sued in a representative capacity stops holding that role while the case is pending.
Full Text of Rule 1.226
Plain-English Summary
Public officials and other representative parties come and go from their positions while litigation continues. Rule 1.226 addresses that turnover: when a public official or any other person in a representative capacity ceases to hold that capacity while a party to a suit, the court may order that party's successor brought in and substituted for them.
This keeps official-capacity litigation aligned with whoever currently holds the office or role, rather than leaving the case tied to a person who no longer occupies the position the suit is about. The rule frames this as something the court may order, giving it discretion over whether and how to bring the successor into the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a government official sued in their official capacity leaves office during the lawsuit?
Rule 1.226 allows the court to order that official's successor brought in and substituted as the party, so the case continues against whoever currently holds the position.
Does this rule apply only to elected public officials?
No. Rule 1.226 covers any public official or other person in a representative capacity who ceases to hold that role while a party to the suit, not just elected officials.
Is substitution automatic when a representative-capacity party leaves their role?
Not automatically by the rule's own terms; it provides that the court may order the successor brought in and substituted, which frames it as a step the court authorizes rather than one that happens on its own.
Why would a case need to substitute a successor instead of just continuing against the former officeholder?
Because the suit is directed at the representative capacity itself rather than the individual personally, so once that person no longer holds the role, the party who currently does becomes the appropriate one to defend or pursue the action.
Does Rule 1.226 apply to trustees or other representative roles outside government?
Yes. It refers broadly to a public official or other person in a representative capacity, which reaches representative roles beyond public office.
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
Also known as: iowa official capacity successor substitutionpublic official leaves office during lawsuit iowarepresentative party ceases capacity iowasubstituting successor official pending case iowa