Iowa eFILE file size limit and PDF requirements
Short answer
VerifiedIowa, United StatesCourt
Iowa eFILE limits each submission to 20 MB for district court filings and 150 MB for appellate court filings. Documents must be PDF and searchable whenever possible.
Source: eFILE User Guide
Source checked: October 21, 2026
Requirements
Every rule Iowa eFILE publishes that affects your PDF, with its source.
| Rule | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum total sizeRequired | 20 MB per submission: District court filing150 MB per submission: Appellate court filing. Split oversized documents into parts filed in consecutive submissions, labelled “Part 1 of 3”, and tell the clerk. | Source [1] |
| Accepted formatsRequired | PDFProposed orders must be filed in an editable Microsoft Word format. | Source [1] |
| Searchable textRecommended | RequiredPDFs must be searchable whenever possible; scanned paper must be OCR’d. | Source [1] |
| Page sizeRecommended | Letter (8.5 × 11 in) only | Source [1] |
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Common rejection reasons
Also worth knowing
- An older, undated Iowa Judicial Branch manual page (iowacourts.state.ia.us/acp/manual/fiPreFile.htm) still says 2 MB per document and 10 MB per submission; the current eFILE User Guide supersedes it.
Sources
- [1]
Get an email if these rules change
We re-read every source at least once a week. One email when a source for Iowa eFILE changes, nothing else.
Changelog
Replaced the undated legacy manual (2 MB per document) with the current eFILE User Guide (20 MB / 150 MB per submission). Status changed from needs_check to verified.
Other United States portals
| Portal | Size limit | Page limit | Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa (CM/ECF)Iowa, courtVerified | 15 MBper file | Verified | |
| U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa (CM/ECF)Iowa, courtVerified | 35.0 MBper file | Verified | |
| eFileAZ, Arizona limited jurisdiction courts (self-represented)Arizona, courtVerified | 9.5 MBper file | Verified | |
| Findlay (Ohio) Municipal Court e-filingOhio, courtVerified | 20 MBper file | Verified | |
| Florida Courts E-Filing PortalFlorida, courtVerified | 50MBper file | Verified | |
| National Visa Center (NVC) / CEAC document uploadFederal, agencyVerified | 2 MBper file | Verified |