1.413(1) Pleadings need not be verified unless special statutes so require and, where a pleading is verified, it is not necessary that subsequent pleadings be verified unless special statutes so require. Counsel's signature to every motion, pleading, or other paper shall be deemed a certificate that: counsel has read the motion, pleading, or other paper; that to the best of counsel's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after reasonable inquiry, it is well grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law; and that it is not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass or cause an unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation. If a motion, pleading, or other paper is not signed, it shall be stricken unless it is signed promptly after the omission is called to the attention of the pleader or movant. If a motion, pleading, or other paper is signed in violation of this rule, the court, upon motion or upon its own initiative, shall impose upon the person who signed it, a represented party, or both, an appropriate sanction, which may include an order to pay the other party or parties the amount of the reasonable expenses incurred because of the filing of the motion, pleading, or other paper, including a reasonable attorney fee. The signature of a party shall impose a similar obligation on such party. This rule does not apply to disclosures, discovery requests, responses, objections, and motions under rules 1.500 through 1.517, which are governed by rule 1.503(6).
Rule 1.413.Verification abolished; affidavits; certification
Division IV: Pleadings and Motions · Last amended January 1, 2015 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1.413 does away with the general requirement that pleadings be verified, replaces it with a signature-based certification that the filing is well-grounded and not filed to harass or delay, and lets a required verification be satisfied instead by a statutory certification made under penalty of perjury.
Full Text of Rule 1.413
(2) If a party commencing an action has in the preceding five-year period unsuccessfully prosecuted three or more actions, the court may, if it deems the actions to have been frivolous, stay the proceedings until that party furnishes an undertaking secured by cash or approved sureties to pay all costs resulting to opposing parties to the action including a reasonable attorney fee.
(3) Any motion asserting facts as the basis of the order it seeks, and any pleading seeking interlocutory relief, shall contain or be accompanied by an affidavit of the person or persons knowing the facts requisite to such relief. A similar affidavit shall be appended to all petitions which special statutes require to be verified.
(4) Any pleading, motion, affidavit, or other document required to be verified under Iowa law may, alternatively, be certified pursuant to Iowa Code section 622.1, using substantially the following form:
"I certify under penalty of perjury and pursuant to the laws of the state of Iowa that the preceding is true and correct.
Date Signature"
Plain-English Summary
Iowa pleadings generally do not need to be verified — sworn to before a notary or similar officer — unless a special statute requires it, and even where an initial pleading is verified, later pleadings in the same case do not need to be unless a special statute says so for them too. In place of verification, Rule 1.413(1) makes the act of signing itself carry legal weight: signing a motion, pleading, or other paper certifies that counsel read it, that it is well grounded in fact and warranted by existing law (or a good-faith argument to change that law) to the best of counsel's knowledge after reasonable inquiry, and that it was not filed for an improper purpose like harassment or needless delay or expense. An unsigned filing gets stricken unless it is signed promptly once the omission is pointed out, and a filing signed in violation of this standard can draw sanctions — potentially including an order to cover the other side's reasonable expenses and attorney fees. A party's own signature carries the same obligation as counsel's. This certification requirement does not apply to discovery disclosures, requests, responses, objections, and motions under the discovery rules, which are governed by their own certification provision instead.
Rule 1.413(2) addresses a party with a pattern of losing cases: if someone commencing an action has unsuccessfully prosecuted three or more actions in the preceding five years, and the court views those actions as frivolous, the court can stay the new proceeding until the party posts security — cash or an approved surety — sufficient to cover the opposing party's costs, including a reasonable attorney fee, if the new action fails too.
Rule 1.413(3) requires an affidavit from someone with knowledge of the relevant facts whenever a motion rests on asserted facts, or a pleading seeks interlocutory relief, and the same affidavit requirement attaches to any petition a special statute requires to be verified. Finally, Rule 1.413(4) offers an alternative to verification: anything Iowa law requires to be verified can instead be certified under Iowa Code section 622.1, using language certifying, under penalty of perjury, that the document is true and correct.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Iowa pleadings still need to be sworn or verified?
Only if a special statute requires it. Rule 1.413(1) states that pleadings need not be verified generally, and even a verified pleading does not require later pleadings to be verified unless a special statute requires that too.
What does signing a pleading or motion certify under this rule?
That counsel has read it, that it is well grounded in fact and warranted by existing law or a good-faith argument to change existing law after reasonable inquiry, and that it is not filed to harass, delay, or needlessly increase litigation costs.
What happens if a party or attorney signs a frivolous or harassing filing?
The court, on its own initiative or on motion, must impose an appropriate sanction on the person who signed it, the represented party, or both — which can include ordering payment of the other side's reasonable expenses and attorney fees.
Can a filer avoid this rule's sanctions by not signing anything?
No. An unsigned motion, pleading, or other paper is stricken unless it is signed promptly after the omission is brought to the filer's attention.
Does having lost several recent lawsuits affect a new case?
It can. Rule 1.413(2) lets the court stay a new proceeding, until security for costs is posted, when the party bringing it has unsuccessfully prosecuted three or more actions in the preceding five years and the court views them as frivolous.
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 verification abolished certificationsigning pleading certification rule iowasanctions unsigned pleading iowapenalty of perjury certification iowafrivolous litigant bond iowa civil