Please read before filing a complaint:
What is Discrimination?
Discrimination is the unfair treatment of an individual because of a personal characteristic. The Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965 prohibits these types of practices.
Anyone who believes that they have been discriminated against may file with the ICRC. The ICRC is a neutral, objective, law enforcement agency. Help is available to either party upon request.
Before filing a complaint, review where The Iowa Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination:
When to File a Complaint
A complaint must be filed with the ICRC within 300 days of the alleged discriminatory practice. If federal laws apply, the case will be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). EEOC has 300 days from the date of the discriminatory incident to respond; HUD has one year.
If your complaint is a housing issue, you can choose to file directly in court with an attorney. You have two years from the date that you first found out about the discriminatory incident to file.
If you have questions about the process, please review the Complaint Process Outline.
How to File a Complaint
There are two ways to file a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission:
- Submit an electronic complaint form via Docusign.
- Paper complaints may be submitted through regular mail, e-mail, fax, or hand-delivered to the ICRC using the following forms:
- Contact Information Form
- Authorization Release FOrm
- Complaint Form -Be sure to follow the explicit instructions given here.