Iowa Code
Chapter 321 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD
Section 321.1 - Definitions of words and phrases.

321.1 Definitions of words and phrases.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall, for the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings respectively ascribed to them.
1. “Agricultural hazardous material” means a hazardous material, other than hazardous waste, whose end use directly supports the production of an agricultural commodity, including, but not limited to, a fertilizer, pesticide, soil conditioner, or fuel. “Agricultural hazardous material” is limited to material in class 3, 8, or 9, division 2.1, 2.2, 5.1, or 6.1, or an ORM-D material as defined in
49 C.F.R. §171.8
.
1A. “Air bag” means a motor vehicle inflatable occupant restraint system that operates in the event of a crash and is designed in accordance with federal motor vehicle safety standards for the specific make, model, and year of the motor vehicle in which it is or will be installed. “Air bag” includes all component parts to a motor vehicle inflatable occupant restraint system, including but not limited to the cover, sensors, controllers, inflators, wiring, and seat belt systems.
1B. “Alcohol concentration” means the number of grams of alcohol per any of the following:
a. One hundred milliliters of blood.
b. Two hundred ten liters of breath.
c. Sixty-seven milliliters of urine.
2. “Alcoholic beverage” includes alcohol, wine, spirits, beer, or any other beverage which contains ethyl alcohol and is fit for human consumption.
3. “Alley” means a thoroughfare laid out, established, and platted as such, by constituted authority.
4. “All-terrain vehicle” means a motor vehicle designed to travel on three or more wheels and designed primarily for off-road recreational use. “All-terrain vehicle” includes off-road utility vehicles, but does not include farm tractors or equipment, construction equipment, forestry vehicles, or lawn and grounds maintenance vehicles.
5. “Ambulance” means a motor vehicle which is equipped with life support systems and used to transport sick and injured persons who require emergency medical care to medical facilities.
6. “Authorized emergency vehicle” means vehicles of the fire department, police vehicles, ambulances, and emergency vehicles owned by the United States, this state, any subdivision of this state, or any municipality of this state, and privately owned vehicles as are designated or authorized by the director of transportation under section 321.451.
6A. “Autocycle” means a three-wheeled motor vehicle originally designed with two front wheels and one rear wheel, a steering wheel rather than handlebars, no more than two permanent seats that do not require the operator or a passenger to straddle or sit astride the vehicle, and foot pedals that control the brakes, acceleration, and clutch, where applicable. A motor vehicle meeting the definition of “autocycle” is an autocycle even if the vehicle bears a vehicle identification number, or is accompanied by a manufacturer’s certificate of origin, that identifies the vehicle as a motorcycle.
6B. “Bona fide business address” means the current street or highway address of a firm, association, or corporation.
6C. “Bona fide residence” or “bona fide address” means the current street or highway address of an individual’s residence. The bona fide residence of a person with more than one dwelling is the dwelling for which the person claims a homestead tax credit under chapter 425, if applicable. The bona fide residence of a homeless person is a primary nighttime residence meeting one of the criteria listed in section 48A.2, subsection 3.
7. “Business district” means the territory contiguous to and including a highway when fifty percent or more of the frontage thereon for a distance of three hundred feet or more is occupied by buildings in use for business.
7A. “Business-trade truck” means a model year 2010 or newer motor truck with an unladen weight of ten thousand pounds or less which is owned by a corporation, limited liability company, or partnership or by a person who files a schedule C or schedule F form with the federal internal revenue service and which is eligible for depreciation under §167 of the Internal Revenue Code. If the motor truck is a leased vehicle, the motor truck is a business-trade truck only if the lessee is a corporation, limited liability company, or partnership and the truck is used primarily for purposes of the business operations of the corporation, limited liability company, or partnership or the lessee is a person who files a schedule C or schedule F form with the federal internal revenue service and the truck is used primarily for purposes of the person’s own business or farming operation.
8. “Chauffeur” means a person who operates a motor vehicle, including a school bus, in the transportation of persons for wages, compensation, or hire.
a. A person is not a chauffeur when the operation of the motor vehicle, other than a truck tractor, by the owner or operator is occasional and merely incidental to the owner’s or operator’s principal business.
b. A fire fighter is not a chauffeur when operating a fire apparatus.
c. An ambulance or rescue squad attendant is not a chauffeur when operating an ambulance or rescue squad apparatus.
d. If authorized to transport inmates, probationers, parolees, or work releasees by the director of the Iowa department of corrections or the director’s designee, an employee of the Iowa department of corrections or a district department of correctional services is not a chauffeur when transporting the inmates, probationers, parolees, or work releasees.
e. A farmer or the farmer’s hired help is not a chauffeur when operating a truck, other than a truck tractor, owned by the farmer and used exclusively in connection with the transportation of the farmer’s own products or property.
f. A farmer or the farmer’s hired help, who is eighteen years of age or older, is not a chauffeur when operating a special truck owned by the farmer and used exclusively to transport the farmer’s own products or property to a destination no more than one hundred miles from farmland owned or rented by the farmer as measured by calculating the straight-line distance between the farmland and the destination.
g. If authorized to transport patients or clients by the director of the department of human services or the director’s designee, an employee of the department of human services is not a chauffeur when transporting the patients or clients in an automobile.
h. A person is not a chauffeur when the operation is by a home care aide in the course of the home care aide’s duties.
i. If authorized to transport students or clients by the superintendent of the Iowa braille and sight saving school or of the Iowa school for the deaf, or the superintendent’s respective designee, an employee of the Iowa braille and sight saving school or the Iowa school for the deaf is not a chauffeur when transporting the students or clients.
j. If authorized to transport patients or residents of the Iowa veterans home by the commandant or the commandant’s designee, an employee of or volunteer at the Iowa veterans home is not a chauffeur when transporting the patients or residents in an automobile in the course of the employee’s or volunteer’s normal duties.
k. A person operating a motorsports recreational vehicle is not a chauffeur.
l. A transportation network company driver, as defined in section 321N.1, is not a chauffeur.
m. A person operating a taxicab having a seating capacity of less than seven passengers and not operating on a regular route or between specified points is not a chauffeur.
9. “Combination” or “combination of vehicles” shall be construed to mean a group consisting of two or more motor vehicles, or a group consisting of a motor vehicle and one or more trailers, semitrailers or vehicles, which are coupled or fastened together for the purpose of being moved on the highways as a unit.
10. a. “Combined gross weight” means the gross weight of a combination of vehicles.
b. “Gross combination weight rating” means the combined gross vehicle weight ratings for each vehicle in a combination of vehicles. In the absence of a weight specified by the manufacturer for a towed vehicle, the gross vehicle weight rating of the towed vehicle is its gross weight.
11. For purposes of administering and enforcing the commercial driver’s license provisions:
a. “Commercial driver” means the operator of a commercial motor vehicle.
b. “Commercial driver’s license” means commercial driver’s license as defined in
49 C.F.R. §383.5
.
c. “Commercial driver’s license information system” means the national information system established to serve as a clearinghouse for locating information related to the licensing and identification of commercial motor vehicle drivers.
d. “Commercial learner’s permit” means commercial learner’s permit as defined in
49 C.F.R. §383.5
.
e. “Commercial motor carrier” means a person responsible for the safe operation of a commercial motor vehicle.
f. “Commercial motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles used to transport passengers or property if any of the following apply:
(1) The combination of vehicles has a gross combination weight rating or combined gross weight, whichever is greater, of twenty-six thousand one or more pounds, including a towed vehicle or vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating or gross weight, whichever is greater, of ten thousand one or more pounds.
(2) The motor vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross weight, whichever is greater, of twenty-six thousand one or more pounds.
(3) The motor vehicle is designed to transport sixteen or more persons, including the operator, or is of a size and design to transport sixteen or more persons, including the operator, but is redesigned or modified to transport less than sixteen persons with disabilities.
(4) The motor vehicle is used in the transportation of hazardous material of a type or quantity requiring vehicle placarding.
g. “Employer” means any person, including the United States, a state, the District of Columbia, or a political subdivision of a state, who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns an employee to operate such a vehicle.
h. “Foreign jurisdiction” means a jurisdiction outside the fifty United States and the District of Columbia.
i. “Nonresident commercial driver’s license” means a commercial driver’s license issued to a person domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction meeting the requirements of
49 C.F.R. §383.23(b)(1)
, or to a person domiciled in another state meeting the requirements of
49 C.F.R. §383.23(b)(2)
.
j. “Nonresident commercial learner’s permit” means a commercial learner’s permit issued to a person domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction meeting the requirements of
49 C.F.R. §383.23(b)(1)
, or to a person domiciled in another state meeting the requirements of
49 C.F.R. §383.23(b)(2)
.
k. “Tank vehicle” means a commercial motor vehicle that is designed to transport any liquid or gaseous materials within a tank or tanks having an individual rated capacity of more than one hundred nineteen gallons and an aggregate rated capacity of one thousand gallons or more that is either permanently or temporarily attached to the vehicle or chassis. A commercial motor vehicle transporting an empty storage container tank not designed for transportation with a rated capacity of one thousand gallons or more that is temporarily attached to a flatbed trailer is not considered a tank vehicle.
12. “Commercial vehicle” means a vehicle or combination of vehicles designed principally to transport passengers or property of any kind if any of the following apply:
a. The vehicle or any combination of vehicles has a gross weight or combined gross weight of ten thousand one or more pounds.
b. The vehicle or any combination of vehicles has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of ten thousand one or more pounds.
c. The vehicle is designed to transport sixteen or more persons, including the driver.
d. The vehicle is used in the transportation of hazardous material of a type or quantity requiring vehicle placarding.
12A. “Completed motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle which does not require any additional manufacturing operations to perform its intended function except the addition of readily attachable equipment, components, or minor finishing operations. “Completed motor vehicle” also includes a glider kit vehicle.
13. “Component part” means any part of a vehicle, other than a tire, having a component part number.
14. “Component part number” means the vehicle identification derivative consisting of numerical and alphabetical designations affixed to a component part by the manufacturer or the department or affixed by, or caused to be affixed by, the owner pursuant to rules promulgated by the department as a means of identifying the component part.
15. “Conviction” means a final conviction, including but not limited to a plea of guilty or nolo contendere accepted by the court; a final administrative ruling or determination; or an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure a person’s appearance in court.
15A. “Crane” means a machine for raising, shifting, and lowering heavy weights by means of a projecting swinging arm.
16. “Crosswalk” means that portion of a roadway ordinarily included within the prolongation or connection of the lateral lines of sidewalks at intersections, or any portion of a roadway distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings on the surface.
17. “Dealer” means every person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or exchanging vehicles of a type required to be registered hereunder and who has an established place of business for such purpose in this state. “Dealer” includes those persons required to be licensed as dealers under chapters 322 and 322C.
18. “Demolisher” means any agency or person whose business is to convert a vehicle to junk, processed scrap, or scrap metal, or otherwise to wreck or dismantle vehicles.
19. “Department” means the state department of transportation. “Commission” means the state transportation commission.
20. “Director” means the director of transportation or the director’s designee.
20A. “Driver’s license” means any license or permit issued to a person to operate a motor vehicle on the highways of this state, including but not limited to a temporary restricted or temporary license and an instruction, chauffeur’s instruction, commercial learner’s, or temporary permit. For purposes of license suspension, revocation, bar, disqualification, cancellation, or denial under this chapter and chapters 321A, 321C, and 321J, “driver’s license” includes any privilege to operate a motor vehicle.
20B. “Electric personal assistive mobility device” means a self-balancing, nontandem two-wheeled device powered by an electric propulsion system that averages seven hundred fifty watts and is designed to transport one person, with a maximum speed on a paved level surface of less than twenty miles per hour. The maximum speed shall be calculated based on operation of the device by a person who weighs one hundred seventy pounds when the device is powered solely by the electric propulsion system. For purposes of this chapter, “electric personal assistive mobility device” does not include an assistive device as defined in section 216E.1.
21. “Endorsement” means an authorization to a person’s driver’s license required to permit the person to operate certain types of motor vehicles or to transport certain types or quantities of hazardous materials.
22. “Essential parts” mean all integral and body parts of a vehicle of a type required to be registered hereunder, the removal, alteration, or substitution of which would tend to conceal the identity of the vehicle or substantially alter its appearance, model, type, or mode of operation.
23. “Established place of business” means the place actually occupied either continuously or at regular periods by a dealer or manufacturer where the dealer’s or manufacturer’s books and records are kept and a large share of the dealer’s or manufacturer’s business is transacted. If a dealer has designated one established place of business for purposes of keeping all the dealer’s books and records pursuant to section 321.63, “established place of business” also includes any place actually occupied either continuously or at regular periods by the dealer where a large share of the dealer’s business is transacted but not where the dealer’s books and records are kept.
24. “Farm tractor” means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing machines, and other implements of husbandry.
24A. “Fence-line feeder” means a vehicle used exclusively for the mixing and dispensing of nutrients to bovine animals at a feedlot.
24B. “Financial liability coverage” means any of the following:
a. An owner’s policy of liability insurance which is issued by an insurance carrier authorized to do business in Iowa to or for the benefit of the person named in the policy as insured, and insuring the person named as insured and any person using an insured motor vehicle with the express or implied permission of the named insured against loss from liability imposed by law for damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of an insured motor vehicle within the United States of America or Canada, but subject to minimum limits, exclusive of interest and costs, in the amounts specified in section 321A.21 or specified in another provision of the Code, whichever is greater.
b. A bond filed with the department pursuant to section 321A.24.
c. A certificate of deposit filed with the department as provided in section 321A.25.
d. A valid certificate of self-insurance issued by the department pursuant to section 321A.34.
25. “Fire vehicle” means a motor vehicle which is equipped with pumps, tanks, hoses, nozzles, ladders, generators, or other fire apparatus used to transport fire personnel, fight fires, and respond to emergencies.
26. “Foreign vehicle” means every vehicle of a type required to be registered under this chapter brought into this state from another state, territory, or country other than in the ordinary course of business by or through a manufacturer or dealer and not registered in this state.
27. The linear measure of the plot of ground upon which the building is located abutting upon the highway shall be deemed “frontage occupied by the building”, and the phrase “frontage on such highway for a distance of three hundred feet or more” shall mean the total frontage on both sides of the highway for such distance.
28. “Garage” means every place of business where motor vehicles are received for housing, storage, or repair for compensation.
28A. “Glider kit vehicle” means a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in subsection 11, that is a combination of a new cab and a new frame with an engine, transmission, and drive axle that are not new such that the resulting vehicle is not a newly manufactured vehicle pursuant to
49 C.F.R. §571.7(e)
.
28B. “Grain cart” means a vehicle with a nonsteerable single or tandem axle designed to move grain.
29. a. “Gross weight” means the empty weight of a vehicle plus the maximum load to be carried by the vehicle. The maximum load to be carried by a passenger-carrying vehicle shall be determined by multiplying one hundred fifty pounds by the number of passenger seats carried by such vehicle.
b. “Unladen weight” means the weight of a vehicle or vehicle combination without load.
c. “Gross vehicle weight rating” means the weight specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle.
30. “Guaranteed arrest bond certificate” means any printed, unexpired certificate issued by an automobile club or association to any of its members, or any printed, unexpired certificate issued by an insurance company authorized to write automobile liability insurance within this state, which certificate is signed by such member or insured and contains a printed statement that such automobile club, association, or insurance company and a surety company which is doing business in this state under the provisions of section 515.48, subsection 2, guarantee the appearance of the person whose signature appears on the certificate and that they will, in the event of failure of such person to appear in court at the time of trial, pay any fine or forfeiture imposed on such person in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars. If such insurance company is itself qualified under the provisions of section 515.48, subsection 2, the insurance company may be its own surety. Bail in this form shall be subject to the forfeiture and enforcement provisions with respect to bail bonds in criminal cases as provided by law.
31. “Hazardous material” means a substance or material which has been determined by the United States secretary of transportation to be capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and which has been so designated.
32. “Implement of husbandry” means a vehicle or special mobile equipment manufactured, designed, or reconstructed for agricultural purposes and, except for incidental uses, exclusively used in the conduct of agricultural operations. “Implements of husbandry” includes all-terrain vehicles operated in compliance with section 321.234A, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, fence-line feeders, and vehicles used exclusively for the application of organic or inorganic plant food materials, organic agricultural limestone, or agricultural chemicals. To be considered an implement of husbandry, a self-propelled implement of husbandry must be operated at speeds of thirty-five miles per hour or less. “Reconstructed” as used in this subsection means materially altered from the original construction by the removal, addition, or substitution of essential parts, new or used.
A vehicle covered under this subsection, if it otherwise qualifies, may be operated as special mobile equipment and under such circumstances this subsection shall not be applicable to such vehicle, and such vehicle shall not be required to comply with sections 321.384 through 321.423, when such vehicle is moved during daylight hours; however, the provisions of section 321.383 shall remain applicable to such vehicle.
33. “Intersection” means the area embraced within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines, or, if none, then the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two highways which join one another at, or approximately at, right angles, or the area within which vehicles traveling upon different highways joining at any other angle may come in conflict.
34. “Laned highway” means a highway the roadway of which is divided into three or more clearly marked lanes for vehicular traffic.
35. “Light delivery truck”, “panel delivery truck”, or “pickup” means any motor vehicle designed to carry merchandise or freight of any kind, not to exceed two thousand pounds.
36. “Local authorities” means every county, municipal, and other local board or body having authority to adopt local police regulations under the Constitution and laws of this state.
36A. “Low-speed electric bicycle” means a device having a saddle or seat for the use of a rider, two or three wheels equipped with fully operable pedals, and an electric motor of less than seven hundred fifty watts that meets the requirements of one of the following classes:
a. “Class 1 low-speed electric bicycle” means a low-speed electric bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used to provide assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of twenty miles per hour or more.
b. “Class 2 low-speed electric bicycle” means a low-speed electric bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of twenty miles per hour or more.
c. “Class 3 low-speed electric bicycle” means a low-speed electric bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used to provide assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of twenty-eight miles per hour or more.
36B. “Low-speed vehicle” means a motor vehicle manufactured in compliance with the national highway and traffic safety administration standards for low-speed vehicles in
49 C.F.R. §571.500
. A low-speed vehicle which is in compliance with the equipment requirements in
49 C.F.R. §571.500
shall be deemed to be in compliance with all equipment requirements of this chapter.
36C. “Manufactured home” is a factory-built structure constructed under authority of 42 U.S.C. §5403, which is required by federal law to display a seal from the United States department of housing and urban development, and was constructed on or after June 15, 1976.
36D. a. “Manufactured or mobile home” means any vehicle without motive power used or so manufactured or constructed as to permit its being used as a conveyance upon the public streets and highways and so designed, constructed, or reconstructed as will permit the vehicle to be used as a place for human habitation by one or more persons.
b. “Travel trailer” means a vehicle without motive power used, manufactured, or constructed to permit its use as a conveyance upon the public streets and highways and designed to permit its use as a place of human habitation by one or more persons. The vehicle may be up to eight feet six inches in width and its overall length shall not exceed forty-five feet. The vehicle shall be customarily or ordinarily used for vacation or recreational purposes and not used as a place of permanent habitation. If the vehicle is used in this state as a place of human habitation for more than one hundred eighty consecutive days in one location it shall be classed as a manufactured or mobile home regardless of the size limitations provided in this paragraph.
c. “Fifth-wheel travel trailer” means a type of travel trailer which is towed by a pickup by a connecting device known as a fifth wheel. However, this type of travel trailer may have an overall length which shall not exceed forty-five feet.
d. “Motor home” means a motor vehicle designed as an integral unit to be used as a conveyance upon the public streets and highways and for use as a temporary or recreational dwelling and having at least four, two of which shall be systems specified in subparagraphs (1), (4), or (5) of this paragraph, of the following permanently installed systems which meet American national standards institute and national fire protection association standards in effect on the date of manufacture:
(1) Cooking facilities.
(2) Ice box or mechanical refrigerator.
(3) Potable water supply including plumbing and a sink with faucet either self-contained or with connections for an external source, or both.
(4) Self-contained toilet or a toilet connected to a plumbing system with connection for external water disposal, or both.
(5) Heating or air conditioning system or both, separate from the vehicle engine or the vehicle engine electrical system.
(6) A one hundred ten – one hundred fifteen volt alternating current electrical system separate from the vehicle engine electrical system either with its own power supply or with a connection for an external source, or both, or a liquefied petroleum system and supply.
e. “Motorsports recreational vehicle” means a modified motor vehicle used for the purpose of participating in motorsports competitions and consisting of a conversion unit mounted on a truck tractor or motor truck chassis such that the motor vehicle can be used as a conveyance on the highway and as a temporary or recreational dwelling. The motor vehicle must have at least four of the permanently installed systems listed in paragraph “d”, two of which shall be systems specified in paragraph “d”, subparagraph (1), (4), or (5).
37. “Manufacturer” means every person engaged in the business of fabricating or assembling vehicles of a type required to be registered. “Manufacturer” does not include a person who converts, modifies, or alters a completed motor vehicle manufactured by another person or a person who assembles a glider kit vehicle. “Manufacturer” includes a person who uses a completed motor vehicle manufactured by another person to construct a class “B” motor home as defined in section 321.124. “Manufacturer” also includes a final-stage manufacturer as defined in section 322.2.
38. “Metal tire” means every tire the surface of which in contact with the highway is wholly or partly of metal or other hard, nonresilient material.
39. Reserved.
40. a. “Motorcycle” means every motor vehicle having a saddle or seat for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground including a motor scooter but excluding a tractor, an autocycle, a low-speed electric bicycle, and a motorized bicycle.
b. “Motorized bicycle” means a motor vehicle having a saddle or seat for the use of a rider, designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, and not capable of operating at a speed in excess of thirty-nine miles per hour on level ground unassisted by human power, but excluding a low-speed electric bicycle.
c. “Bicycle” means either of the following:
(1) A device having two or three wheels and having at least one saddle or seat for the use of a rider which is propelled by human power.
(2) A low-speed electric bicycle.
41. “Motor truck” means every motor vehicle designed primarily for carrying livestock, merchandise, freight of any kind, or over nine persons as passengers.
42. a. “Motor vehicle” means a vehicle which is self-propelled and not operated upon rails.
b. “Used motor vehicle” or “secondhand motor vehicle” or “used car” means a motor vehicle of a type subject to registration under the laws of this state which has been sold “at retail” as defined in chapter 322 and previously registered in this or any other state.
c. “New motor vehicle or new car” means a motor vehicle subject to registration which has not been sold “at retail” as defined in chapter 322.
d. “Car” or “automobile” means a motor vehicle designed primarily for carrying nine passengers or less, excluding motorcycles and motorized bicycles.
43. Reserved.
44. “Multipurpose vehicle” means a motor vehicle designed to carry not more than ten people, and constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road operation.
45. “Nonresident” means every person who is not a resident of this state.
46. “Official traffic-control devices” means all signs, signals, markings, and devices not inconsistent with this chapter placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic.
47. “Official traffic-control signal” means any device, whether manually, electrically or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to proceed.
47A. “Off-road utility vehicle” means a motorized flotation-tire vehicle with not less than four and not more than eight low-pressure tires that is limited in engine displacement to less than one thousand five hundred cubic centimeters and in total dry weight to not more than one thousand eight hundred pounds and that has a seat that is of bucket or bench design, not intended to be straddled by the operator, and a steering wheel or control levers for control.
48. “Operator” or “driver” means every person who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway.
49. “Owner” means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of a security agreement with an immediate right of possession vested in the debtor, then such debtor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter.
50. “Peace officer” means every officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations in addition to its meaning in section 801.4.
51. “Pedestrian” means any person afoot.
52. “Person” means every natural person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation. Where the term “person” is used in connection with the registration of a motor vehicle, it shall include any corporation, association, partnership, company, firm, or other aggregation of individuals which owns or controls such motor vehicle as actual owner, or for the purpose of sale or for renting, whether as agent, salesperson, or otherwise.
53. “Pneumatic tire” means every tire in which compressed air is designed to support the load.
54. “Private road” or “driveway” means every way or place in private ownership and used for vehicular travel by the owner and those having express or implied permission from the owner but not by other persons.
54A. “Product identification number” or the acronym PIN means a group of unique numerical or alphabetical designations assigned to a complete fence-line feeder, grain cart, or tank wagon by the manufacturer or by the department and affixed to the vehicle, pursuant to rules adopted by the department, as a means of identifying the vehicle or the year of manufacture.
54B. “Proof of financial liability coverage card” means either a liability insurance card issued under section 321.20B, a bond insurance card issued under section 321A.24, a security insurance card issued under section 321A.25, or a self-insurance card issued under section 321A.34.
55. “Railroad” means a carrier of persons or property upon cars operated upon stationary rails.
56. “Railroad corporation” means any corporation organized under the laws of this state or any other state for the purpose of operating the railroad within this state.
57. “Railroad sign” or “signal” means any sign, signal, or device erected by authority of a public body or official or by a railroad and intended to give notice of the presence of railroad tracks or the approach of a railroad train.
58. “Railroad train” means an engine or locomotive with or without cars coupled thereto, operated upon rails.
59. “Reconstructed vehicle” means every vehicle of a type required to be registered under this chapter materially altered from its original construction by the removal, addition, or substitution of essential parts, new or used. “Reconstructed vehicle” does not include a street rod, replica vehicle, or glider kit vehicle.
59A. “Registration fees”, unless otherwise specified, means both the annual vehicle registration fee and the fee for new registration, to the extent applicable, for purposes of administering the provisions of this chapter concerning vehicle registration fees.
60. “Registration year” means the period of twelve consecutive months beginning on the first day of the month following the month of the birth of the owner of the vehicle for vehicles registered by the county treasurer, except that “registration year” means the calendar year for motor trucks and truck tractors which are registered by the county treasurer in two equal semiannual installments pursuant to sections 321.120, 321.121, and 321.122, and “registration year” means the period of twelve consecutive months, as determined by the owner, for motor trucks and truck tractors that are registered by the county treasurer on an annual basis pursuant to sections 321.120, 321.121, and 321.122. For leased vehicles registered by the county treasurer, except for motor trucks and truck tractors registered pursuant to sections 321.120, 321.121, and 321.122, “registration year” means the period of twelve consecutive months beginning on the first day of the month following the month in which the lease expires. For vehicles registered under chapter 326, “registration year” means the twelve-month period determined by the department pursuant to section 326.14.
61. “Replica vehicle” means any completed motor vehicle other than a motorcycle or motorized bicycle with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than ten thousand pounds consisting of a body, frame, and other essential parts, assembled as a reproduction of a vehicle originally manufactured by a generally recognized manufacturer of motor vehicles with the substitution or addition of essential parts to update the vehicle for purposes of safety, performance, or reliability. For purposes of vehicle registration, the model year of a replica vehicle shall be the same as the model year of the motor vehicle that it is designed to resemble.
62. “Rescue vehicle” means a motor vehicle which is equipped with rescue, fire, life support, hazardous material, or emergency management equipment used to assist and rescue persons in emergencies or support emergency personnel in the performance of their duties.
63. “Residence district” means the territory within a city contiguous to and including a highway, not comprising a business, suburban, or school district, where forty percent or more of the frontage on such highway for a distance of three hundred feet or more is occupied by dwellings or by dwellings and buildings in use for business.
63A. “Retractable axle” means an axle designed with the capability of manipulation or adjustment of the weight on the axle.
64. “Right-of-way” means the privilege of the immediate use of the highway.
64A. “Road tractor” means every motor vehicle designed and used for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry any load thereon either independently or any part of the weight of a vehicle or load so drawn.
65. “Roadway” means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.
66. “Road work zone” means the portion of a highway which is identified by posted or moving signs as the site of construction, maintenance, survey, or utility work. The zone starts upon meeting the first sign identifying the zone and continues until a posted or moving sign indicates that the work zone has ended.
67. “Rural residence district” means an unincorporated area established by a county board of supervisors which is contiguous to and including a secondary highway, not comprising a business district, where forty percent or more of the frontage of the highway for a distance of three hundred feet or more is occupied by dwellings or by dwellings and buildings in use for business. For purposes of this subsection, farm houses and farm buildings are not to be considered.
68. “Safety zone” means the area or space officially set apart within a roadway for the exclusive use of pedestrians and which is protected or so marked or indicated by adequate signs as to be plainly visible at all times while set apart as a safety zone.
68A. “Salvage pool” means the business of selling at auction wrecked or salvage vehicles, as defined in section 321.52.
69. “School bus” means every vehicle operated for the transportation of children to or from school, except vehicles which are:
a. Privately owned and not operated for compensation;
b. Used exclusively in the transportation of the children in the immediate family of the driver;
c. Operated by a municipally or privately owned urban transit company or a regional transit system as defined in section 324A.1 for the transportation of children as part of or in addition to their regularly scheduled service; or
d. New or used motor vehicles designed to carry not more than ten persons as passengers, including the driver, or used passenger vans designed to carry not more than twelve persons as passengers, including the driver, either school owned or privately owned, which are used to transport pupils to activity events in which the pupils are participants or used to transport pupils to their homes in case of illness or other emergency situations. The vehicles operated under the provisions of this paragraph shall be operated by employees of the school district who are specifically approved by the local superintendent of schools for the assignment.
70. “School district” means the territory contiguous to and including a highway for a distance of two hundred feet in either direction from a schoolhouse in a city.
71. “Semitrailer” means every vehicle without motive power designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that some part of its weight and that of its load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle.
Wherever the word “trailer” is used in this chapter, same shall be construed to also include “semitrailer”.
A “semitrailer” shall be considered in this chapter separately from its power unit.
72. “Sidewalk” means that portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines intended for the use of pedestrians.
73. “Solid tire” means every tire of rubber or other resilient material which does not depend upon compressed air for the support of the load.
74. “Special mobile equipment” means every vehicle not designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons or property and incidentally operated or moved over the highways, including road construction or maintenance machinery and ditch-digging apparatus. This description does not exclude other vehicles which are within the general terms of this subsection.
75. “Special truck” means a motor truck or truck tractor not used for hire with a gross weight registration of six through thirty-nine tons used by a person engaged in farming to transport commodities produced only by the owner, or to transport commodities purchased by the owner for use in the owner’s own farming operation or occasional use for charitable purposes. “Special truck” also means a motor truck or truck tractor not used for hire with a gross weight registration of six through thirty-nine tons used by a person engaged in farming who assists another person engaged in farming through an exchange of services. A “special truck” does not include a truck tractor operated more than fifteen thousand miles annually.
76. “Specially constructed vehicle” means every vehicle of a type required to be registered under this chapter not originally constructed under a distinctive name, make, model, or type by a generally recognized manufacturer of vehicles and not materially altered from its original construction. “Specially constructed vehicle” does not include a street rod, replica vehicle, or glider kit vehicle.
77. “Stinger-steered automobile transporter” means any vehicle combination designed and used specifically for the transport of assembled highway vehicles, recreational vehicles, or boats in which the fifth wheel is located on a drop frame located below and behind the rearmost axle of the power unit.
78. “Street” or “highway” means the entire width between property lines of every way or place of whatever nature when any part thereof is open to the use of the public, as a matter of right, for purposes of vehicular traffic.
78A. “Street rod” means any car or motor truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than ten thousand pounds required to be registered under this chapter, manufactured by a generally recognized manufacturer of motor vehicles prior to the year 1949, which may contain a body or frame not manufactured by the original manufacturer, or any motor vehicle designed and manufactured to resemble a motor vehicle manufactured prior to the year 1949. For purposes of vehicle registration, the model year of a street rod shall be the same as the model year of the motor vehicle that it is designed to resemble.
79. “Suburban district” means all other parts of a city not included in the business, school, or residence districts.
80. “Tandem axle” means any two or more consecutive axles whose centers are more than forty inches but not more than ninety-six inches apart.
80A. “Tank wagon” means a vehicle designed to carry liquid animal or human excrement.
81. “Through (or thru) highway” means every highway or portion thereof at the entrances to which vehicular traffic from intersecting highways is required by law to stop before entering or crossing the same and when stop signs are erected as provided in this chapter or such entrances are controlled by a peace officer or traffic-control signal. The term “arterial” is synonymous with “through” or “thru” when applied to highways of this state.
82. “Tourist attraction” means a business, activity, service, or site where a major portion of the product or service provided is tourist oriented.
83. “Tourist-oriented directional sign” means a sign providing identification and directional information for a tourist attraction.
83A. “Towing or recovery vehicle” means a motor vehicle equipped with booms, winches, slings, or wheel lifts used to tow, recover, or transport other motor vehicles.
83B. “Tracked implement of husbandry” means a fence-line feeder, grain cart, or tank wagon that is mounted on a chassis attached to a pair of tracks that transfer the weight of the implement to the ground or the roadway surface.
84. “Traffic” means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel.
85. “Trailer” means every vehicle without motive power designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle.
86. Reserved.
87. “Transporter” means a person engaged in the business of delivering vehicles of a type required to be registered or titled in this state who has received authority to make delivery as specified by rules adopted by the department.
88. “Truck tractor” means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and load so drawn. However, a truck tractor may have a box, deck, or plate for carrying freight, mounted on the frame behind the cab, and forward of the fifth-wheel connection point.
89. “Used vehicle parts dealer” means a person engaged in, or advertising as being engaged in, the business of selling bodies, parts of bodies, frames, or component parts of used vehicles subject to registration under this chapter.
89A. “Utility maintenance vehicle” means a motor vehicle operated by an employee or contractor of an entity, including but not limited to the state, a political subdivision of the state, or any commission, department, or agency thereof, an electric cooperative association, or a public or private corporation, in connection with the provision of utility services.
89B. “Utility services” means cable, electric, natural gas, telephone, telecommunication, water, and wastewater treatment services and includes but is not limited to the improvement, installation, maintenance, relocation, or repair of cables, fibers, pipes, utility poles, utility structures, wires, and associated right-of-way and other infrastructure associated with such services.
90. “Vehicle” means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway. “Vehicle” does not include:
a. Any device moved by human power, including a low-speed electric bicycle.
b. Any device used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
c. Any personal delivery device operated pursuant to chapter 321O.
d. Any integral part of a truck tractor or road tractor which is mounted on the frame of the truck tractor or road tractor immediately behind the cab and which may be used to transport persons and property but which cannot be drawn upon the highway by the truck tractor or another motor vehicle.
e. Any steering axle, dolly, auxiliary axle, or other integral part of another vehicle which in and of itself is incapable of commercially transporting any person or property but is used primarily to support another vehicle.
91. “Vehicle identification number” or the initials VIN mean the numerical and alphabetical designations affixed to a vehicle or a component part of a vehicle by the manufacturer or the department or affixed by, or caused to be affixed by, the owner pursuant to rules promulgated by the department as a means of identifying the vehicle.
92. “Vehicle rebuilder” means a person engaged in, or advertising as being engaged in, the business of rebuilding or restoring to operating condition vehicles subject to registration under this chapter, which have been damaged or wrecked.
93. “Vehicle salvager” means a person engaged in, or advertising as being engaged in, the business of scrapping vehicles, dismantling or storing wrecked or damaged vehicles or selling reusable parts of vehicles or storing vehicles not currently registered which vehicles are subject to registration under this chapter.
94. “Where a vehicle is kept” shall refer to the county of residence of the owner or to the county where the vehicle is mainly kept if said owner is a nonresident of the state.
[S13, §1571-m1, -m20; C24, 27, §4863, 5030, 13012; C31, 35, §4863, 4960-d1, 5030, 13012; C39, §5000.01; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §321.1; 81 Acts, ch 101, §1;
81 Acts 2d Ex, ch 2, §5
; 82 Acts, ch 1056, §1, ch 1122, §1, ch 1254, §1]
82 Acts, ch 1062, §1, 2, 38; 83 Acts, ch 9, §3, 8; 83 Acts, ch 24, §1, 12; 84 Acts, ch 1219, §21; 84 Acts, ch 1252, §1; 84 Acts, ch 1292, §2; 85 Acts, ch 21, §41; 85 Acts, ch 35, §1, 2; 85 Acts, ch 37, §1; 85 Acts, ch 40, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1056, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1071, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1210, §1, 2; 86 Acts, ch 1237, §19; 86 Acts, ch 1238, §13; 87 Acts, ch 170, §2 – 4; 87 Acts, ch 186, §1, 2; 87 Acts, ch 189, §1; 88 Acts, ch 1047, §1; 88 Acts, ch 1083, §1, 2; 89 Acts, ch 34, §1; 89 Acts, ch 83, §40, 41; 89 Acts, ch 118, §1; 90 Acts, ch 1183, §3; 90 Acts, ch 1230, §6 – 14; 91 Acts, ch 56, §1; 91 Acts, ch 219, §14; 92 Acts, ch 1048, §1; 92 Acts, ch 1104, §1; 92 Acts, ch 1175, §19, 28; 93 Acts, ch 114, §1; 93 Acts, ch 139, §7; 94 Acts, ch 1087, §1; 95 Acts, ch 10, §1; 95 Acts, ch 55, §1, 2; 95 Acts, ch 56, §1; 95 Acts, ch 118, §1, 2; 96 Acts, ch 1005, §1; 96 Acts, ch 1129, §113; 97 Acts, ch 100, §1; 97 Acts, ch 104, §5; 97 Acts, ch 108, §1, 2; 97 Acts, ch 139, §1, 17, 18; 97 Acts, ch 148, §7, 9; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §1 – 4; 98 Acts, ch 1075, §20; 98 Acts, ch 1121, §8; 99 Acts, ch 13, §1 – 3, 29; 99 Acts, ch 108, §1 – 3; 99 Acts, ch 188, §1; 2000 Acts, ch 1005, §1; 2000 Acts, ch 1016, §1; 2000 Acts, ch 1025, §1, 6; 2000 Acts, ch 1133, §1; 2001 Acts, ch 32, §15; 2001 Acts, ch 132, §1; 2001 Acts, ch 153, §15, 17; 2001 Acts, ch 176, §80; 2002 Acts, ch 1063, §17, 18; 2003 Acts, ch 6, §1; 2003 Acts, ch 24, §2; 2004 Acts, ch 1013, §1, 35; 2004 Acts, ch 1132, §80; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §397, 400; 2005 Acts, ch 8, §2, 3; 2005 Acts, ch 20, §4; 2006 Acts, ch 1068, §6, 7, 41
; 2008 Acts, ch 1018, §1 – 3
; 2008 Acts, ch 1021, §1 – 4; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §106; 2008 Acts, ch 1044, §1 – 4, 8; 2008 Acts, ch 1113, §2, 11, 38; 2009 Acts, ch 90, §1; 2009 Acts, ch 130, §20; 2010 Acts, ch 1035, §1; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §111; 2010 Acts, ch 1186, §3; 2011 Acts, ch 38, §2; 2012 Acts, ch 1013, §1, 2; 2012 Acts, ch 1093, §1; 2013 Acts, ch 37, §1; 2013 Acts, ch 103, §2 – 4, 21; 2014 Acts, ch 1023, §1; 2014 Acts, ch 1027, §1; 2014 Acts, ch 1127, §4, 5; 2015 Acts, ch 29, §114; 2015 Acts, ch 72, §1, 4; 2015 Acts, ch 123, §31, 44; 2016 Acts, ch 1073, §101; 2016 Acts, ch 1098, §1, 2; 2016 Acts, ch 1101, §1, 24; 2017 Acts, ch 84, §1; 2018 Acts, ch 1010, §1; 2018 Acts, ch 1022, §1; 2018 Acts, ch 1095, §1; 2019 Acts, ch 59, §90; 2019 Acts, ch 67, §1, 20; 2019 Acts, ch 138, §1; 2019 Acts, ch 146, §1; 2020 Acts, ch 1063, §145; 2020 Acts, ch 1089, §3; 2021 Acts, ch 33, §1 – 3; 2021 Acts, ch 119, §1; 2021 Acts, ch 125, §2 – 4
Referred to in §123.48, 142D.2, 159A.11, 308A.1, 321.20B, 321.24, 321.56, 321.105A, 321.121, 321.126, 321.235A, 321.235B, 321.260, 321.285, 321.373, 321.471, 321.474, 321.486, 321A.1, 321A.32, 321E.7, 321E.14, 321E.34, 321G.9, 321G.20, 321G.24, 321I.7, 321I.21, 321J.6, 321J.8, 321N.3, 321O.1, 321O.2, 321O.4, 321O.7, 322.2, 322.3, 322.4, 322.27A, 322.35, 322C.2, 322D.1, 325A.2, 326.2, 327F.39, 423.1, 423.6, 423B.2, 452A.74A, 452A.76, 453A.4, 455B.301, 462A.34A, 476.27, 481A.54, 522A.2, 537.3604, 537B.2, 537B.4, 669.14, 670.4, 707.6A, 713.6A, 713.6B, 714.2, 714.8, 805.8A(14)(i), 805.9, 805.16, 811.9
Subsection 8, unnumbered paragraph 1 amended
Subsection 8, paragraph b stricken and rewritten
Subsection 8, NEW paragraph c and former paragraphs c – l redesignated as d – m
NEW subsection 36A and former subsections 36A – 36C renumbered as 36B – 36D
Subsection 40 amended
Subsection 90, paragraph a amended
Subsection 90, NEW paragraph c and former paragraphs c – d redesignated as d – e

Structure Iowa Code