Iowa § 331.651 - 331.651 Office of county sheriff.

§ 331.651. 331.651 Office of county sheriff.

1. The office of sheriff is an elective office. However, if a vacancy occurs in the office, the first deputy shall assume the office after qualifying as provided in this section. The first deputy shall hold the office until a successor is appointed or elected to the unexpired term as provided in chapter 69. If a sheriff is suspended from office, the district court may appoint a sheriff until a temporary appointment is made by the board as provided in section 66.19. 2. A person elected or appointed sheriff shall meet all the following qualifications: a. Have no felony convictions. b. Be age twenty-one or over at the time of assuming the office of sheriff. c. Be a certified peace officer recognized by the Iowa law enforcement academy council under chapter 80B or complete the basic training course provided at the Iowa law enforcement academy’s central training facility or a location other than the central training facility within one year of taking office. A person shall be deemed to have completed the basic training course if the person meets all course requirements except the physical training requirements. 3. A person elected or appointed to the office of sheriff shall qualify by taking the oath of office as provided in section 63.10 and give bond as provided in section 64.8. 4. The term of office of the sheriff is four years. [C51, §96, 239; R60, §224, 473; C73, §589; C97, S13, §1072; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §520; C46, §39.17; C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §39.17, 337.20; S81, §331.651; 81 Acts, ch 117, §650] 94 Acts, ch 1010, §1; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §95, 115; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §138 Referred to in §97B.49C, 97B.49G Fri Dec 12 20:00:26 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Section 331.651 (21, 0)