Iowa Courts Online (ICO) debuted a new shopping cart feature late last year. Iowans can now pay multiple fees on multiple cases with a single payment using the new shopping cart feature on Iowa Courts Online instead of making separate payments for each individual fee.
Iowa Courts Online is the most frequently visited state government website with more than 538 million annual views. The site is free for the public to use and was created, in part, to better manage the collection of court costs. In an effort to make the site more accessible and easy to navigate for Iowans, the Shopping Cart feature allows users to pay, for example, a speeding ticket fine as well as the court costs from a separate case in one transaction. Prior to the roll out of the shopping cart feature, users with multiple fines had to pay for each charge with separate transactions. This new feature is one example of the court’s dedication to streamlining and simplifying the paperless court system.
“The new shopping cart feature for Iowa Courts Online allows anyone owing the courts to pay multiple fines or fees such as a court cost and a speeding ticket in one transaction, similar to making multiple online purchases using an e-commerce shopping website,” State Court Administrator Todd Nuccio said. “A person can pay court costs, fines, surcharges, and other court related debt. It is a more effective and efficient way to collect court debt while providing better customer service to Iowans.”
Searching for Payments Due Using Case Search and Advanced Case Search
Users start by performing a Case Search or Advanced Case Search, typing in their case number. Clicking on the Case ID link, then the Financial Tab will bring them to the screen shown below. At the bottom of the Financial screen, the user will see the three new buttons added to the site. They include Make a Payment, Add to the Cart, and Review Shopping Cart.
A user with only one case in need of payment can click the Make a Payment button, redirecting them to a page to enter in the amount they wish to pay as well as their payment information, as shown in the image below.
For users with payments in multiple cases, the user can click Add to the Cart, and then begin a new search for the remaining cases. Before the user’s adds the item to the cart, they must first input how much of the fine they will pay, then select Add to Cart again.
Once a user finishes adding costs to their cart, they can view the cart by clicking Review Shopping Cart.
Searching for Payments Due with ICO’s Payment Search
A person conducting a Payment Search on Iowa Courts Online begins by typing in a case number, clicking the Case ID link on the Results page. If money is due, the screen will show the amount due, a field to enter the amount the user wishes to pay, and two buttons: Add to Cart and Continue.
A user with only one case payment due can click the Continue button, redirecting them to the USBank page to input payment information. For multiple cases in need of payment, the user can click Add to Cart. To review the cart, users click the Review Shopping Cart link placed at the top of the Results page.
Shopping Cart Review
Users reviewing the shopping cart can edit or remove payments before completing the transaction.
Clicking the pencil icon allows users to edit the amount of the payment. Clicking the red X icon will delete the payment from the Shopping Cart. Satisfied with the cart, users then click the Verify Amounts button to enable the Continue to USBank button. The Continue to USBank button will take the user to the USBank website to complete the transaction.