Civil Division

The Civil Division of the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office is located on the second floor of the Joint Law Enforcement Center. The Civil Division staff performs all the civil and administrative functions at the sheriff’s office. With the assistance of the patrol deputies the civil division helps process and serve nearly 4000 civil processes annually. These civil processes range from subpoena’s, court orders, writ’s, original notices, garnishments, sheriffs levies, sheriffs sales and substance and mental committals just to name a few.

The Civil Division/Office hours are 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday with the exception of County recognized holidays.

The fee’s for civil process service are set fee’s and are dependent upon the type of civil process it is and it also depends on the amount of attempts that were necessary to serve the document.

Garnishments

A garnishment is a legal proceeding taken by a creditor after a judgement is awarded from a court against a debtor. If the creditor knows that the debtor has money, or property, in the hand of a third party (wages owed by the debtor's employer, funds in a bank account, etc.), the creditor may have a garnishment served to recover funds owed on the debt. Iowa Code 642 governs the amount allowed to be withheld.

The actual fees for service are added to the amount of the judgement to be garnished. The execution must be issued and delivered/mailed by the Sheriff's Office with Garnishment Directions for Service (PDF).
Most banks and a lot of employers require (besides the defendant's name) another identifier such as a social security number/account number. This is to ensure the correct person is being garnished. Without this information the garnishment will still be served, but your chance of receiving any funds may be reduced dramatically.
Garnishments expire 120 days from the date it was issued by the Clerk of Court.
The Sheriff's Office will require the last known address for the defendant, since for all non-wage garnishment a notice of garnishment is required to be mailed by restricted certified mail, as well as, one copy by first class mail

No-Contact/Restraining Order

No-Contact Order (Civil)

A Civil No-Contact Order is a domestic violence case, an order forbidding the defendant from having any contact with the protected party. This order is issued at the request of the protected party according to Iowa Code 236.3A (PDF). This process begins at the Clerk of Court Civil Division for the county in which the victim resides in. The Clerk of Court will provide the Sheriff's Office with the order to serve upon the defendant.

No-Contact Order (Criminal)

A Criminal No-Contact Order prohibits contact with the protected party by the defendant. This order is issued automatically by the courts in domestic violence cases according to Iowa Code 664A.3(1) (PDF). This normally involves an arrest of the defendant prior to the no-contact order being issued.

Restraining Order/Injunction

A court order prohibiting someone from doing some specified act or commanding someone to undo some wrong or injury. A judicial process operating in personam, and requiring person to whom it is directed to do or refrain from doing a particular thing. Generally, it is a preventative and protective remedy, aimed at future acts, and is not intended to redress past wrongs. Consult your attorney about the need and ability to obtain a restraining order/injunction.

Eviction Procedures

All evictions within Wapello County are handled by the Sheriff's Office. This is a numerous step process which involves the removal and/or recovery of personal property. The landlord(s) reason for the eviction determines the process.

Iowa Code 562A (PDF) outlines the eviction process

Forcible Entry and Detainer must be served by a disinterested third party that follows Iowa Code 648 (PDF)

Landlords are responsible for supplying the labor needed at the eviction. To schedule a Writ of Possession you will need to come to the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office between 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Evictions will be scheduled Monday-Friday between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Sheriff's Office does not provide legal advice