1.926(1) Notes. Jurors shall be permitted to take notes during the trial using materials to be provided by the court on the request of any juror. The court shall instruct the jury that the notes are not evidence and must be destroyed at the completion of the jury's deliberations.
Rule 1.926.Materials available to jurors
Division IX: Trial and Judgment · Last amended February 15, 2002 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1.926 lets jurors take notes during trial that must be destroyed after deliberations, and lets jurors bring those notes and the trial exhibits into the jury room, while excluding depositions unless all the evidence was written and none of it was stricken.
Full Text of Rule 1.926
(2) What jury may take to jury room. When retiring to deliberate, jurors may take their notes with them and shall take with them all exhibits in evidence except as otherwise ordered. Depositions shall not be taken unless all of the evidence is in writing and none of it has been stricken.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 1.926(1) lets jurors take notes during trial using materials the court provides on request. Those notes are a memory aid, not evidence, and the court must instruct the jury on that distinction — and the notes must be destroyed once the jury's deliberations are complete, so they leave no separate record behind.
Rule 1.926(2) covers what goes into the jury room when the jury retires to deliberate. Jurors may take their own notes with them, and they must take all exhibits admitted in evidence unless the court orders otherwise. Depositions are treated differently: they are excluded from the jury room unless all of the evidence in the case is in writing and none of it has been stricken — a narrow exception rather than the general rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are jurors allowed to take notes during a trial?
Yes. Rule 1.926(1) permits jurors to take notes during trial using materials the court provides on any juror's request.
Do juror notes count as evidence in the case?
No. Rule 1.926(1) requires the court to instruct the jury that notes are not evidence, and the notes must be destroyed once deliberations are complete.
What do jurors take with them into the jury room?
Rule 1.926(2) allows jurors to take their notes with them, and requires that all exhibits in evidence go with them as well, except as otherwise ordered by the court.
Can depositions go into the jury room during deliberations?
Generally no. Rule 1.926(2) excludes depositions from the jury room unless all of the evidence in the case is in writing and none of it has been stricken.
What happens to a juror's notes after the verdict is reached?
They must be destroyed at the completion of the jury's deliberations, as Rule 1.926(1) requires.
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 juror notes rulewhat jury takes into deliberation room iowaexhibits in jury room iowadepositions jury room iowa rule