Iowa Code § 808.16
Exception to search warrant requirement garbage searches
Iowa · Iowa Code Chapter 808 — Search and Seizure · Status: effective
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- Citation
- Iowa Code § 808.16, Exception to search warrant requirement garbage searches, Iowa, version 1 as recorded 2026-10-03, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/2312064
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Full text
1. It is the public policy of this state that a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage placed outside of the person’s residence for waste collection in a publicly accessible area.
2. A city or county shall only adopt an ordinance or a regulation concerning waste management and sanitation for the purposes of promoting public health and cleanliness. An ordinance or a regulation adopted by a city or county shall not be construed by a person to create a reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage placed outside of the person’s residence for waste collection in a publicly accessible area.
3. Garbage placed outside of a person’s residence for waste collection in a publicly accessible area shall be deemed abandoned property and shall not be considered to be constitutionally protected papers or effects of the person.
4. A peace officer may conduct a search and may seize garbage placed outside of a person’s residence for waste collection in a publicly accessible area without making an application for a search warrant.