How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in Iowa

The public records law that gets you the video

Iowa Open Records Law, Iowa Code chapter 22

No fixed deadline; actual-cost fees

Every person has the right to examine and copy a public record and to publish it (Iowa Code §22.2(1)), and public records include all records, documents, tape or other information stored in any medium belonging to the state or a county, city or other political subdivision (§22.1(3)), which takes in video. You may ask in person, in writing, by telephone or by electronic means; the custodian may not require you to appear in person and must fulfill copy requests received in writing, by phone or electronically (§§22.3, 22.4). Deadline: chapter 22 sets no general deadline. The Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) says “Chapter 22 is silent as to the time for response to a records request” (14FO:0004), and quotes Horsfield Materials, Inc. v. City of Dyersville (Iowa 2013), in which the Iowa Supreme Court cited the longstanding administrative interpretation that “Access to an open record shall be provided promptly upon request unless the size or nature of the request makes prompt access infeasible.” The one fixed limit is for deciding whether a confidential record should be released: a good-faith, reasonable delay for that purpose “shall not exceed twenty calendar days and ordinarily should not exceed ten business days” (§22.8(4)(d)). Outside that confidentiality decision, the IPIB’s 2024 opinion 24AO:0010 says the Iowa Supreme Court has not defined any maximum period for a reasonable delay in producing records and lists factors from Belin v. Reynolds (Iowa 2023), such as how promptly the agency acknowledged you, whether it explained the delay, produced records as they became available and told you when to expect them. Example, Iowa DOT only: it says you should receive a response within 10 business days, or up to 20 calendar days if confidential records may be involved. Fees: fulfilling a copy request may depend on paying reasonable expenses, but the custodian must make every reasonable effort to provide a record that takes less than thirty minutes to produce at no cost other than copying costs; expenses must be reasonable and communicated to you upon receipt of the request, and you may contest them; copy fees may not exceed the actual cost of providing the service, and costs for legal services should only be used for redaction or review of legally protected confidential information (§22.3, as renumbered by 2026 House File 2490 effective July 1, 2026, which kept these rules). The IPIB says agencies may charge for redacting and blurring video, including blurring software or a vendor (24AO:0014), and that a city charging for traffic camera video may charge only actual costs and may ask, but not require, your name, address and phone number or a specific form (19AO:0005). Example, Iowa Department of Public Safety (State Patrol) only: the first three hours of labor and the first three hours of attorney review are free, after that the employee’s or attorney’s actual hourly rate, and advance payment is requested when the total exceeds $250. Example, Iowa DOT only: up to three hours of staff time and 10 hard-copy pages free, then $33 an hour and ten cents a page, paid before records are released.

Police body camera and dashcam video

Often withheld as investigative report

We found no Iowa statute that specifically governs body camera or dashcam video, so the Open Records Law and its confidentiality list govern. Iowa Code §22.7(5) makes “Peace officers’ investigative reports” confidential, “unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records, or by another person duly authorized to release such information” (§22.7, introductory text), so the agency may choose to release them but is not required to. Whether video is part of an investigative report is not settled by statute. The IPIB’s March 2022 opinion (22AO:0002) said that because of conflicting district court rulings it was “not in a position to advise” whether body camera footage is part of an investigative report. Its January 2025 opinion (24AO:0014) says the Board “interprets peace officer investigative reports to include all of the information gathered by officers as part of an investigation into a crime or incident,” and its earlier decisions treated body camera video, dash camera video and 911 calls as part of the report. The two opinions describe the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in Klein v. Iowa Public Information Board (2021) differently: 22AO:0002 says the court did not definitively resolve the body camera question and decided only that the requester had standing, sending the matter back to district court, while 24AO:0014 says the court upheld the Board’s position that the 911 call, body camera and dash camera video were part of the reports. Treat the question as unsettled. Both opinions say that, under Mitchell v. City of Cedar Rapids (Iowa 2019), which applied the three-part test of Hawk Eye v. Jackson (Iowa 1994), the confidentiality is a qualified privilege: the agency must show (1) a public officer is being examined, (2) the communication was made in official confidence, and (3) the public interest would suffer by disclosure, weighing factors such as confidential informants, named but innocent suspects, an ongoing investigation, and on the other side matters of public interest such as a police shooting or a cover-up. In 24AO:0014 the Board advised that a city could withhold body camera video of a minor’s medical treatment both as an investigative report and as a medical record under §22.7(2). Whatever is withheld, “the date, time, specific location, and immediate facts and circumstances surrounding a crime or incident shall not be kept confidential” except where disclosure “would plainly and seriously jeopardize an investigation or pose a clear and present danger to the safety of an individual” (§22.7(5)). State Patrol: the Department of Public Safety’s rule says patrol reports of observations, measurements and examinations of physical evidence, including photographs, may be made available to a party to the crash or the party’s legal representative or insurance company if the investigation is complete and release will not interfere with criminal proceedings or future investigations (661 IAC 1.4(6)); send video requests to recordsrequest@dps.state.ia.us. DPS has proposed rescinding that rule along with the rest of 661 IAC chapter 1 (ARC 0608D, Iowa Administrative Bulletin September 30, 2026); it had not been adopted as of October 29, 2026. Retention: we found no Iowa statute setting a minimum retention period for body camera or dashcam video, so ask the agency to preserve it in your first letter. A court may also order release (§22.7, introductory text).

When police can hold video back

Can stay confidential after case closes

Iowa’s exemption is not limited to open cases. §22.7(5) covers “Peace officers’ investigative reports” and also “specific portions of electronic mail and telephone billing records of law enforcement agencies if that information is part of an ongoing investigation,” and those email and phone billing portions may be kept confidential only until the statute of limitations for the crime under investigation expires. For the reports themselves, the IPIB quotes the Iowa Supreme Court’s holding in Mitchell v. City of Cedar Rapids (2019): “We hold that police investigative reports do not lose their confidential status under section 22.7(5) when the investigation closes” (IPIB 19AO:0003). The same opinions say the confidentiality is qualified, and that an ongoing investigation weighs in favor of withholding under the balancing test, so a closed case removes one reason to withhold but does not by itself require release. The date, time, specific location and immediate facts and circumstances of the incident must be released unless disclosure would plainly and seriously jeopardize an investigation or pose a clear and present danger to someone’s safety (§22.7(5)); the crash report statute has the same rule (§321.271(3)). For State Patrol crash evidence, the patrol may release scene measurements, physical evidence and photographs to a party, the party’s representative or insurer once the investigation is complete and release will not interfere with criminal proceedings (661 IAC 1.4(6)). The custodian may also take a good-faith delay of up to 20 calendar days (ordinarily no more than 10 business days) to decide whether a confidential record should be released to you (§22.8(4)(d)).

Do traffic cameras in Iowa record?

Some DOT cameras record; kept 7 days

The Iowa DOT does record some of its traffic cameras. Its Request a Traffic Camera Video Recording page says the DOT operates cameras on many interstates and U.S. and Iowa highways, monitored around the clock at its Statewide Traffic Management Center, and: “Video is recorded and retained at Iowa DOT for seven days. After seven days, we may have recordings available if they were previously requested. Not all Iowa DOT cameras have the ability to record video.” It also warns that a camera may not be pointed where you need, may not have been working, or may not give usable quality. Request the video on the DOT Camera Video Request Form (select the cameras on the map, give the start and end date and time and what you are looking for); the form asks whether you are an attorney, DOT consultant, government agency, insurance company, law enforcement, media or private citizen, whether a fatality is known to be involved, and what you are looking for, and it notes that recordings are only kept for 7 days but asks you to submit a later request anyway, because the video may be available if someone else requested it during that time. Its “Urgent: Footage needed within 1 business day” box appears only when the requester type is law enforcement. Questions go to DOT-CameraVidReq@iowadot.us. The page states no fee for a copy; the DOT’s general open records terms (three hours of staff time free, then $33 an hour) may apply, so ask. Cameras run by a city or county are separate systems with their own practices; the IPIB has advised that a city may charge the actual cost of copying its traffic camera video, plus actual staff time where redaction or supervised viewing is needed, and may ask for but not require your name, address and phone number (19AO:0005). Ask any city camera owner in writing right away.

Red-light and speed cameras

Speed camera tickets only, DOT permit

Iowa Code chapter 321P (enacted by 2024 Acts chapter 1181) regulates an “automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement,” defined as a camera or optical device working with a speed measuring device to detect speeding and produce mailed or electronic citations (§321P.1(1)). No one may use a system unless authorized under the chapter, and a county or city may use one only with a valid DOT permit covering that location; the DOT may approve a permit based on its determination that a system is appropriate and necessary and the least restrictive means to address the critical traffic safety issues there (§321P.2). A local authority may not use a system to issue a citation for anything other than exceeding the speed limit by more than ten miles per hour, and a local authority of 20,000 people or fewer may not issue citations from a mobile system (§321P.3(1), (2)); the DOT’s rules for mobile systems are in 761 IAC chapter 145. We found no Iowa statute that authorizes red-light camera citations. A peace officer or a trained and certified person must review and approve the recorded photograph or video before a citation is issued, violations are civil infractions with capped fines, and citations go to the vehicle’s owner, who must be given a chance to show someone else was driving (§§321P.6, 321P.7). The camera must record only the rear of the vehicle and its plate while the alleged violation is committed, and may not be placed to capture the front of a vehicle or anyone’s face (§321P.9(2)), so these cameras are unlikely to show how a crash happened. Records of violations at each location are public records (§321P.2(2)(a)), but we found no statute giving the public a right to the camera images themselves; ask the city or county that runs the system under chapter 22. Plate readers: images captured by an automatic registration plate reader, and accompanying data, must be permanently deleted within 30 days unless a law enforcement agency copies them as relevant to an ongoing criminal case or investigation (§321P.4).

If your request is denied

IPIB complaint in 60 days, or court

Chapter 22 sets up no internal administrative appeal for a records denial. You choose between two routes (§23.5(1)). Iowa Public Information Board: any aggrieved person may file a complaint alleging a violation of chapter 22, and it “must be filed within sixty days from the time the alleged violation occurred or the complainant could have become aware of the violation with reasonable diligence” (§23.7(1)); the IPIB’s online form or a signed letter to the Iowa Public Information Board, Jessie Parker Building, 510 East 12th St., Des Moines, Iowa 50319, works. The Board decides whether to accept it, works with the parties toward an informal resolution, and if that fails investigates, decides probable cause and may hold a contested case and order compliance, damages and other remedies, subject to judicial review (§§23.8 to 23.10). The Board has no jurisdiction over the judicial or legislative branches or the governor’s office (§23.12). Court: alternatively, sue the custodian in district court in the county of its principal place of business (§22.10(1)), or seek mandamus or an injunction (§22.5); once you show the defendant is a government body, the records are government records and it refused to make them available, the burden shifts to the agency to show compliance (§22.10(2)). An unreasonable delay can count as a refusal, according to the IPIB’s account of Belin v. Reynolds (Iowa 2023) in 24AO:0010. If you win, the court must order compliance and award costs and reasonable attorney fees, and must assess damages of $100 to $500 against those who participated in the violation ($1,000 to $2,500 if knowing), except a person who proves a listed defense, such as a good-faith but incorrect balancing under a judicially created balancing test or reasonable reliance on a written opinion (§22.10(3)). We found no filing deadline for a court action in chapter 22, but the IPIB’s 60-day limit runs from the violation and video can be overwritten, so act fast. You may want to ask a lawyer about a court order or a discovery request if a lawsuit over the crash is filed.

What to do now

1. 1

   Request DOT camera video right away

   Use the DOT Camera Video Request Form and pick the cameras near the crash. The DOT keeps recordings 7 days; after that, submit anyway, since the video may exist if someone else asked for it.

2. 2

   Ask police for video and to preserve it

   Send the responding agency a written open records request for body camera and dashcam video, with date, time, location and case number, and ask that it be preserved.

3. 3

   Expect investigative report objections

   If the agency calls the video a confidential investigative report, ask for the date, time, location and immediate facts in writing and for a balancing decision under Mitchell.

4. 4

   Complain to the IPIB within 60 days

   File with the Iowa Public Information Board within 60 days of the denial or unreasonable delay, or go to district court instead.

5. 5

   Post the crash on the bounty board

   Dashcam and business camera footage is not in any public agency’s files and is often overwritten within days.

Frequently asked questions