Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: a dissolved Iowa corporation reinstates by filing Application for Reinstatement (Form 635_2001), filed with the Iowa Secretary of State under Iowa Code §490.1422 (Reinstatement following administrative dissolution); §490.1421 (dissolution procedure); §490.401 (name requirements) for $5, with no statutory deadline to do it.
If you’d rather have the reinstatement filed for you
Bizee can prepare and file the Iowa reinstatement paperwork described above on your behalf. State filing fees and any back taxes owed are separate, and you pay those directly either way.
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The filing, and what Iowa calls it
Iowa calls this process ‘reinstatement.’ It is triggered by administrative dissolution under §490.1421 – the Secretary of State gives 60 days’ notice to cure a ground (e.g., delinquent biennial report, no registered agent) before dissolving. A corporation may apply for reinstatement at any time afterward by filing Form 635_2001 stating the grounds have been eliminated; reinstatement relates back to the dissolution date as if it never occurred.
How long you have to reinstate
Iowa sets no deadline for reinstating a dissolved corporation. Iowa Code §490.1422(1) allows application ‘at any time after the effective date of dissolution’ – there is no outer deadline. However, if the application is filed more than 5 years after dissolution, the corporation must state a name that independently satisfies current naming requirements (§490.401), because it is not guaranteed to retain its original name past 5 years (see ‘Whether your name is still yours’ below). That does not mean waiting is free; back fees and penalties keep accruing the whole time the entity sits dissolved. (Iowa Code §490.1422(1)(c))
What you must pay before it goes through
Iowa will not reinstate the corporation until every year it sat delinquent is paid for. If dissolved for failure to comply with biennial reporting, the corporation must file at least the two most recent delinquent biennial reports and pay all delinquent report fees with the application. If dissolved for failure to maintain a registered agent/office, a statement of change naming a new agent (with fee) must accompany the application. If dissolved due to expiration of duration, articles of amendment/restated articles (with fee) must be filed. The base reinstatement filing fee itself is $5.00. (Iowa SOS Form 635_2001 (Rev 7/24) Instructions; Iowa Code §490.1422)
Whether your name is still yours
Your original name is not guaranteed to still be yours. Iowa Code §490.1422(2)(b) states a corporation does not relinquish the right to retain its corporate name only if reinstatement is effective within 5 years of dissolution – implying that beyond 5 years the name is not guaranteed and may already be taken by another filer. Consistent with this, §490.1422(1)(c) requires an application filed more than 5 years after dissolution to state a name that separately satisfies current naming rules. Check Iowa’s business-name database before assuming the reinstatement filing will go through under the old name. (Iowa Code §490.1422(1)(c), (2)(b))
What the filing costs
Iowa’s Application for Reinstatement (Form 635_2001), filed with the Iowa Secretary of State carries a $5 filing fee. Flat $5.00 reinstatement filing fee per the Secretary of State’s own form, regardless of years delinquent. Separate fees apply to any accompanying filings needed to cure the dissolution ground (late biennial reports, registered-agent change, articles of amendment) – not included in the $5.00.
What this page does not answer
Reinstating the entity at the state level and squaring things up with the IRS are two separate processes. Late federal returns, penalty abatement requests, and reinstating a lapsed EIN’s associated accounts are governed by federal law, not by Iowa’s corporation statute, and this page does not source them. We have the state-filing answer at primary and the federal-cleanup answer not at all.
This page covers a for-profit business corporation. If you are reinstating an LLC in Iowa instead, the filing, fee and statute are different: see reinstating an LLC in Iowa.
Sources
Every citation on this page is statutory or the Secretary of State’s own official filing instructions. No formation service, no registered-agent marketing page and no aggregator is cited anywhere in this cluster as a source of law; those are the only publishers of the competing versions.
- Iowa Code §490.1421 (legis.iowa.gov): https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/490.1421.pdf
- Iowa Code §490.1422 (legis.iowa.gov): https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/490.1422.pdf
- Iowa SOS Form 635_2001, Application for Reinstatement: https://sos.iowa.gov/business/pdf/635_2001.pdf