2009 Iowa Code
Title 8 - Transportation
Subtitle 2 - Vehicles
CHAPTER 321 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD
321.134 - MONTHLY PENALTY.

        321.134  MONTHLY PENALTY.
         1.  On the first day of the second month following the beginning
      of each registration year a penalty of five percent of the annual
      registration fee shall be added to the annual registration fees not
      paid by that date and an additional penalty of five percent shall be
      added the first day of each succeeding month, until the fee is paid.
      A penalty shall not be less than five dollars.  If the owner of a
      vehicle surrenders the registration plates for a vehicle prior to the
      plates becoming delinquent, to the county treasurer of the county
      where the vehicle is registered, or to the department if the vehicle
      is registered under chapter 326, the owner may register the vehicle
      any time thereafter upon payment of the annual registration fee for
      the registration year without penalty.  The penalty on vehicles
      registered under chapter 326 shall accrue February 1 of each year.
      To avoid a penalty or an additional penalty in the case of a
      delinquent registration, if the last calendar day of a month falls on
      Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday, the payment deadline is extended to
      include the first business day of the following month.  For payments
      made through a county treasurer's authorized website only, if the
      last day of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday, the
      electronic payment must be initiated by midnight on the first
      business day of the next month.  All other electronic payments must
      be initiated by midnight on the last day of the month preceding the
      delinquent date.
         2.  The annual registration fee for trucks, truck tractors, and
      road tractors, as provided in sections 321.121 and 321.122, may be
      payable in two equal semiannual installments if the annual
      registration fee exceeds the annual registration fee for a vehicle
      with a gross weight exceeding five tons.  The penalties provided in
      subsection 1 shall be computed on the amount of the first installment
      only and on the first day of the seventh month of the registration
      period the same rate of penalty shall apply to the second
      installment, until the fee is paid.  Semiannual installments do not
      apply to commercial vehicles, as defined under section 326.2, subject
      to proportional registration, with a base state other than the state
      of Iowa, as defined in section 326.2, subsection 1.  The penalty on
      vehicles registered under chapter 326 accrues August 1 of each year
      except as provided in section 326.6.  The department shall not allow
      the annual registration fee for a commercial vehicle registered under
      chapter 326 to be paid in two equal semiannual installments for five
      years after the registrant has paid the annual registration fee late
      for two consecutive years.
         3.  If a penalty applies to an annual vehicle registration fee
      provided for in sections 321.121 and 321.122, the same penalty shall
      be assessed on the fees collected to increase the registered gross
      weight of the vehicle, if the increased gross weight is requested
      within forty-five days from the date the delinquent vehicle is
      registered for the current registration period.
         4.  Notwithstanding subsections 1 through 3, if a vehicle
      registration is delinquent for twenty-four months or more, a flat
      penalty and fee shall be assessed for the delinquent period in
      addition to the current annual registration fee.  The flat penalty
      and fee shall be one hundred fifty percent of the current annual
      registration fee.
         5.  The department shall waive the penalties imposed by this
      section for an owner who is in the military service of the United
      States and who has been relocated as a result of being placed on
      active duty on or after September 11, 2001.  The department shall
      adopt rules to implement this subsection, including, if necessary,
      procedures for refunding penalties collected prior to March 29, 2004.
      

         Section History: Early Form

         [SS15, § 1571-m7; C24, 27, 31, 35, § 4931; C39, § 5009.02;
      C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 321.134] 

         Section History: Recent Form

         82 Acts, ch 1062, § 26, 38; 83 Acts, ch 24, § 6, 12; 89 Acts, ch
      185, § 4; 90 Acts, ch 1230, § 18; 2002 Acts, ch 1043, §2; 2004 Acts,
      ch 1013, §23, 35; 2004 Acts, ch 1092, §4; 2007 Acts, ch 143, §13;
      2008 Acts, ch 1113, §100
         Referred to in § 321.39, 321.123, 326.6, 331.557, 331.653