1. A sex offender may file an application in district court seeking to modify the registration requirements under this chapter.

Attorney's Note

Under the Iowa Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Serious misdemeanorup to 1 yearbetween $430 and $2,560
Simple misdemeanorup to 30 daysbetween $105 and $855
For details, see Iowa Code§ 903.1

Terms Used In Iowa Code 692A.128

  • Convicted: means found guilty of, pleads guilty to, or is sentenced or adjudicated delinquent for an act which is an indictable offense in this state or in another jurisdiction including in a federal, military, tribal, or foreign court, including but not limited to a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent, but whose juvenile court records have been sealed under section 232. See Iowa Code 692A.101
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Conviction: includes the conviction of a juvenile prosecuted as an adult. See Iowa Code 692A.101
  • Department: means the department of public safety. See Iowa Code 692A.101
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Incarcerated: means to be imprisoned by placing a person in a jail, prison, penitentiary, juvenile facility, or other correctional institution or facility or a place or condition of confinement or forcible restraint regardless of the nature of the institution in which the person serves a sentence for a conviction. See Iowa Code 692A.101
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Residence: means each dwelling or other place where a sex offender resides, sleeps, or habitually lives, or will reside, sleep, or habitually live, including a shelter or group home. See Iowa Code 692A.101
  • Sex offender: means a person who is required to be registered under this chapter. See Iowa Code 692A.101
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. For an offender whose requirement to register as a sex offender commenced prior to July 1, 2022, an application shall not be granted unless all of the following apply:

 a. The date of the commencement of the requirement to register occurred at least two years prior to the filing of the application for a tier I offender and five years prior to the filing of the application for a tier II or III offender.
 b. The sex offender has successfully completed all sex offender treatment programs that have been required.
 c. A risk assessment has been completed and the sex offender was classified as a low risk to reoffend. The risk assessment used to assess an offender as a low risk to reoffend shall be a validated risk assessment approved by the department of corrections.
 d. The sex offender is not incarcerated when the application is filed.
 e. The director of the judicial district department of correctional services supervising the sex offender, or the director’s designee, stipulates to the modification, and a certified copy of the stipulation is attached to the application.
 3. For an offender whose requirement to register as a sex offender commenced on or after July 1, 2022, an application shall not be granted unless all of the following apply:

 a. A period of time has elapsed since the offender’s initial registration as follows:

 (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph division (b), a tier I offender initially registered at least ten years prior to the filing of the application.

 (b) A tier I offender who was under twenty years of age at the time the offender committed a violation of section 709.4, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, subparagraph (2), subparagraph division (d), initially registered at least five years prior to the filing of the application.
 (2) A tier II or tier III offender initially registered at least fifteen years prior to the filing of the application.
 b. The sex offender has successfully completed all sex offender treatment programs that have been required.
 c. A risk assessment has been completed and the sex offender was classified as a low risk to reoffend. The risk assessment used to assess an offender as a low risk to reoffend shall be a validated risk assessment approved by the department of corrections.
 d. The sex offender has successfully completed any pretrial release, probation, parole, or work release for the offense requiring registration.
 e. The director of the judicial district department of correctional services supervising the sex offender, or the director’s designee, stipulates to the modification, and a certified copy of the stipulation is attached to the application.
 f. The sex offender is not incarcerated when the application is filed.

 (1) A tier I offender must not have been convicted of any criminal offense other than a simple misdemeanor, or a simple or serious misdemeanor or traffic violation under chapter 321, for the ten-year period immediately preceding the filing of the application.
 (2) A tier II or tier III offender shall not have been convicted of any criminal offense other than a simple misdemeanor, or a simple or serious misdemeanor or traffic violation under chapter 321, for the fifteen-year period immediately preceding the filing of the application.
 4. The application shall be filed in the sex offender’s county of principal residence.
 5. Notice of any application shall be provided to the county attorney of the county of the sex offender’s principal residence, the county attorney of any county in this state where a conviction requiring the sex offender’s registration occurred, and the department. The county attorney where the conviction occurred shall notify the victim of an application if the victim’s address is known.
 6. The court may, but is not required to, conduct a hearing on the application to hear any evidence deemed appropriate by the court. The court may modify the registration requirements under this chapter by reducing the registration period.
 7. If the court modifies the registration requirements under this chapter, the court shall send a copy of the order to the department, the sheriff of the county of the sex offender’s principal residence, any county attorney notified in subsection 4, and the victim, if the victim’s address is known.