# Iowa Table of Authorities: All Pages and Rule 6.903

> Iowa appellate tables require alphabetized cases and every citation page. Learn Rule 6.903, Arabic pagination, citation forms and the PDF-to-Word workflow.

*Updated: 2026-10-14*

**Iowa appellate briefs need a table of authorities with references to all pages where each authority is cited.** Iowa R. App. P. 6.903(2)(a)(2) requires cases alphabetically arranged, statutes and other cited authorities. The table follows the table of contents. This is a page-by-page reference requirement, not merely a list of the authorities discussed most often.

[Generate an Iowa table of authorities from your brief PDF](/table-of-authorities-generator?court=ia#tool), review the citations and page references, and download editable Word output. The Iowa preset is available; confirm the actual court and settings before processing. Court detection or a sample can override your entry selection.

**Iowa appellate fast facts**

- Rule 6.903(2)(a)(2): alphabetized cases, statutes and other authorities, with references to all citation pages.
- Appellee briefs follow the requirement through Rule 6.903(3); reply briefs retain it under Rule 6.903(4).
- Rule 6.906(4)(b) separately requires an amicus table with all citation pages.
- Rule 6.903(1)(f): consecutive Arabic whole numbers, cover page one, blank pages numbered, and printed numbers matching digital PDF pages.
- Rule 6.903(1)(d): every brief must be a searchable PDF.
- The official September 2026 court-rule publication supplies the chapter read here; its chapter running header is December 2025. Sources checked October 14, 2026.

## The requirement is all pages, not passim

> “A table of authorities containing a list of cases alphabetically arranged, statutes, and other authorities cited with references to all pages of the brief where they are cited.” — Iowa R. App. P. 6.903(2)(a)(2)

List every citation page, including citations in footnotes and nonargument sections. If an authority appears on hypothetical pages 8, 12, 13 and 22, an explicit list such as 8, 12–13, 22 preserves the locations. A range is useful only when the authority actually occurs on every page in that range. Do not turn scattered pages into one continuous range.

Do not treat the rule as permission to replace those references with **passim**. A word meaning ‘throughout’ does not identify all the pages. The cited requirement expressly calls for all pages; retain explicit references rather than importing another jurisdiction’s convention. Nor is the table a place to add authorities that never appear in the brief.

**Which document needs this table?**

| Document | Source and treatment | Practical review |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Appellant’s principal brief | 6.903(2)(a)(2) | Table after contents; alphabetize cases and include all pages. |
| Appellee’s brief | 6.903(3) conforms to (2), with specified narrative exceptions | Build from the appellee’s own citations, not the appellant’s table. |
| Appellant’s reply | 6.903(4) retains (2)(a), except specified sections | Use the reply’s pages and newly cited authorities. |
| Amicus brief | 6.906(4)(b) | Its separate table requirement also says all pages. |
| District-court memorandum or special appellate filing | Identify that document’s governing rule | Do not apply the principal-brief contents automatically. |

## Citation forms and three different kinds of pages

Rule 6.904(2)(a) requires a Bluebook-type case citation including party names, reporter volume and page, a pinpoint supporting the proposition, issuing court and year. Iowa cases are cited to the North Western Reporter unless not reported there, in which case the official reporter is used. Unpublished decisions have separate docket-number and electronic-database requirements. Review the complete citation before consolidating a short form with its full entry.

Rule 6.904(2)(b) supplies forms such as **Iowa R. App. P.**, **Iowa R. Civ. P.** and **Iowa R. Evid.**; other court rules use **Iowa Ct. R.** Under (2)(c), code citations include section and date, while treatises include edition and section or page. Those identifying details belong in the citation. The table’s right-hand numbers instead locate that citation in your brief. Record citations under Rule 6.904(4), including docket number, document title, record page and filing date, serve a third purpose and should not become authorities-table page references.

## Keep the PDF and printed numbering aligned

Iowa expressly prohibits Roman-numeral page numbering in briefs. The cover is page one, even if a familiar template starts its preliminary tables at i. Any blank page remains part of the consecutive sequence, and displayed page numbers must match the electronic document’s digital page numbers. Fix the underlying Word pagination before extracting the table.

The table is excluded from the applicable word, line or handwritten-page calculation under Rule 6.903(1)(i), but it still occupies numbered pages. That distinction matters: adding a three-page table does not consume three counted argument pages, yet it moves later citation locations by three unless the layout already reserved that space.

**From searchable PDF to reviewed Word table**

- Export the current brief to a text-based, searchable PDF. Keep the matching .docx if you want insertion into the editable brief.
- Open the generator with Iowa selected. Verify actual court settings, then check every full citation, duplicate, short form and footnote occurrence against the PDF.
- Review every printed page reference. Confirm the cover-page-one numbering and digital-page alignment before accepting the generated list.
- PDF alone downloads an editable Word table. A matching Word file plus text-layer PDF can insert ordinary table text into the Word brief. These routes do not require Word field updating.
- Re-export the assembled brief and recheck every reference after insertion or substantive editing. The generator does not restyle citations, format the entire brief or add e-filing bookmarks.

> **Build an Iowa table without an account:** Brief Authority is free, requires no account and processes your brief on your device without uploading it. Use the Iowa preset as a starting point, then review the all-pages references yourself. DOCX-only processing is a different route: it creates Word fields for Word for Windows, rather than the finished ordinary-text table produced from a PDF.

[Build an Iowa table](/table-of-authorities-generator?court=ia#tool)

Free. No account. Your brief stays in your browser, never uploaded.

## Frequently asked

**Does an Iowa reply need a table?**

Yes. Rule 6.903(4) excuses specified sections of the appellant’s brief but retains the table requirement. Extract it from the reply itself.

**Can I use passim for a frequently cited case?**

Do not substitute it for the required references to all pages. Keep the actual page list, using only accurate consecutive ranges.

**Can my preliminary tables use Roman numerals?**

No. Rule 6.903(1)(f) requires Arabic whole numbers throughout, beginning with the cover as one and matching digital PDF pages.

**Do TOA pages count toward the brief limit?**

They are excluded under Rule 6.903(1)(i), but must still be numbered and accounted for when locating later citations.

**Does this rule require a trial-court memorandum table?**

This guide addresses Chapter 6 appellate briefs. A trial memorandum, petition on appeal or application for further review needs its own rule analysis; do not assume identical contents.

**Related guides**

- [Tables of authorities by state](/table-of-authorities-by-state)
- [Table of authorities format](/table-of-authorities-format)
- [Build a table from a PDF](/table-of-authorities-from-pdf)

**Official sources checked October 14, 2026**

- [Iowa Legislature: official Chapter 6, September 2026 publication](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ACO/CR/LINC/09-30-2026.chapter.6.pdf): Read Rules 6.903, 6.904 and 6.906, including principal, appellee, reply and amicus coverage. Chapter header: December 2025; publication date is not a new amendment date.
- [Iowa Legislature: official court-rule publication index](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/courtRules/courtRulesListings?error=ref): Identifies the September 2026 official edition and its Chapter 6 link. General guidance, not legal advice; check current rules and case-specific orders before filing.