2009 Iowa Code
Title 8 - Transportation
Subtitle 2 - Vehicles
CHAPTER 321 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD
321.189 - DRIVER'S LICENSE -- CONTENT.

        321.189  DRIVER'S LICENSE -- CONTENT.
         1.  Classification and issuance.  Upon payment of the required
      fee, the department shall issue to every qualified applicant a
      driver's license.  Driver's licenses shall be classified as follows:
         a.  Class A -- Valid for the operation of vehicles with a
      gross combination weight rating of twenty-six thousand one or more
      pounds if the towed vehicle or vehicles have a gross vehicle weight
      rating or gross combination weight rating of ten thousand one or more
      pounds, and also valid for the operation of vehicles with lower gross
      combination weight ratings and other vehicles except motorcycles.
         b.  Class B -- Valid for the operation of a vehicle with a
      gross vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand one or more pounds
      or a combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating
      of twenty-six thousand one or more pounds if the towing vehicle has a
      gross vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand one or more pounds
      and the towed vehicle or vehicles have a gross vehicle weight rating
      or gross combination weight rating of less than ten thousand one
      pounds, and also valid for the operation of vehicles with lower gross
      vehicle weight ratings or gross combination weight ratings except
      motorcycles.
         c.  Class C -- Valid for the operation of a vehicle, other
      than a motorcycle, or a combination of vehicles with a gross
      combination weight rating of twenty-six thousand one or more pounds
      provided the towing vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating of less
      than twenty-six thousand one pounds and each towed vehicle has a
      gross vehicle weight rating of less than ten thousand one pounds, or
      a combination of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross
      combination weight rating of less than twenty-six thousand one pounds
      and also valid for the operation of any vehicle, other than a
      motorcycle, for which the operator is exempt from commercial driver's
      license requirements under section 321.176A.
         d.  Class D -- Valid for the operation of a motor vehicle as a
      chauffeur.
         e.  Class M -- Valid for the operation of a motorcycle.
         A driver's license may be issued for more than one class.  Class A
      and B driver's licenses shall only be issued as commercial driver's
      licenses.  Class C and M driver's licenses may be issued as
      commercial driver's licenses.  A driver's license is not valid for
      the operation of a vehicle requiring an endorsement unless the
      driver's license is endorsed for the vehicle.  A class D driver's
      license is also valid as a noncommercial class C driver's license.
      The holder of a commercial driver's license is not required to obtain
      a class D driver's license to operate a motor vehicle as a chauffeur.
      When necessary, the department shall by rule create additional
      classes or modify existing classes of driver's licenses, however, the
      rule shall be temporary and if within sixty days after the next
      regular session of the general assembly convenes the general assembly
      has not made corresponding changes in this chapter, the temporary
      classification or modification shall be nullified.
         2.  Content of license.
         a.  Appearing on the driver's license shall be a
      distinguishing number assigned to the licensee; the licensee's full
      name, date of birth, sex, and residence address; a colored
      photograph; a physical description of the licensee; the name of the
      state; the dates of issuance and expiration; and the usual signature
      of the licensee.  The license shall identify the class of vehicle the
      licensee may operate and the applicable endorsements and restrictions
      which the department shall require by rule.
         b.  A commercial driver's license shall include the licensee's
      address as required under federal regulations, and the words
      "commercial driver's license" or "CDL" shall appear prominently on
      the face of the license.  If the applicant is a nonresident, the
      license must conspicuously display the word "nonresident".
         c.  The department shall assign an applicant for a driver's
      license a distinguishing driver's license number other than the
      applicant's social security number.
         d.  The license may contain other information as required
      under the department's rules.
         3.  Replacement.  If prior to the renewal date, a person
      desires to obtain a driver's license in the form authorized by this
      section, a license may be issued as a voluntary replacement upon
      payment of the required fee as set by the department by rule.  A
      person shall return a driver's license and be issued a new license
      when the first license contains inaccurate information upon payment
      of the required fee as set by the department by rule.
         4.  Symbols.  Upon the request of a licensee, the department
      shall indicate on the license the presence of a medical condition,
      that the licensee is a donor under the revised uniform anatomical
      gift Act as provided in chapter 142C, or that the licensee has in
      effect a medical advance directive.  For purposes of this subsection,
      a medical advance directive includes but is not limited to a valid
      durable power of attorney for health care as defined in section
      144B.1.  The license may contain such other information as the
      department may require by rule.
         5.  Tamperproofing.  The department shall issue a driver's
      license by a method or process which prevents as nearly as possible
      the alteration, reproduction, or superimposition of a photograph on
      the license without ready detection.
         6.  Licenses issued to persons under age twenty-one.  A
      driver's license issued to a person under eighteen years of age shall
      contain the same information as any other driver's license except
      that the words "under eighteen" shall appear prominently on the face
      of the license.  A driver's license issued to a person eighteen years
      of age or older but less than twenty-one years of age shall contain
      the same information as any other driver's license except that the
      words "under twenty-one" shall appear prominently on the face of the
      license.  Upon attaining the age of eighteen or upon attaining the
      age of twenty-one, and upon payment of a one dollar fee, the person
      shall be entitled to a new driver's license or nonoperator's
      identification card for the unexpired months of the driver's license
      or card.  An instruction permit or intermediate license issued under
      section 321.180B, subsection 1 or 2, shall include a distinctive
      color bar.  An intermediate license issued under section 321.180B,
      subsection 2, shall include the words "intermediate license" printed
      prominently on the face of the license.
         7.  Motorized bicycle.
         a.  The department may issue a driver's license valid only for
      operation of a motorized bicycle to a person fourteen years of age or
      older who has passed a vision test or who files a vision report as
      provided in section 321.186A which shows that the applicant's visual
      acuity level meets or exceeds those required by the department and
      who passes a written examination on the rules of the road.  A person
      under the age of sixteen applying for a driver's license valid only
      for operation of a motorized bicycle shall also be required to
      successfully complete a motorized bicycle education course approved
      and established by the department or successfully complete an
      approved motorized bicycle education course at a private or
      commercial driver education school licensed by the department.  A
      public school district shall charge a student a fee which shall not
      exceed the actual cost of instruction.  A driver's license valid only
      for operation of a motorized bicycle entitles the licensee to operate
      a motorized bicycle upon the highway while having the license in the
      licensee's immediate possession.  The license is valid for a period
      not to exceed two years from the licensee's birthday anniversary in
      the year of issuance, subject to termination or cancellation as
      provided in this section.
         b.  A driver's license valid only for operation of a motorized
      bicycle shall be canceled upon a conviction for a moving traffic
      violation and reapplication may be made thirty days after the date of
      cancellation.  The cancellation of the license upon conviction for a
      moving traffic violation shall not result in requiring the applicant
      to maintain proof of financial responsibility under section 321A.17,
      unless the conviction would otherwise result in a suspension or
      revocation of a person's driver's license.
         c.  As used in this section, "moving traffic violation"
      does not include a parking violation as defined in section 321.210 or
      a violation of a section of the Code or municipal ordinance
      pertaining to standards to be maintained for motor vehicle equipment
      except sections 321.430 and 321.431, or except a municipal ordinance
      pertaining to motor vehicle brake requirements as applicable to
      motorized bicycles.
         d.  The holder of any class of driver's license may operate a
      motorized bicycle.  

         Section History: Early Form

         [C31, 35, § 4960-d19, -d20, -d22, -d28; C39, § 5013.14; C46,
      50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, § 321.189; C77, 79, 81, § 321.189; 81
      Acts, ch 107, § 1, 2] 

         Section History: Recent Form

         84 Acts, ch 1022, § 4; 84 Acts, ch 1292, § 3; 87 Acts, ch 167, §
      1; 87 Acts, ch 206, § 2, 3; 90 Acts, ch 1230, § 35; 92 Acts, ch 1175,
      § 22, 23; 93 Acts, ch 164, § 1; 94 Acts, ch 1102, § 2; 95 Acts, ch
      67, §25; 95 Acts, ch 95, §1; 95 Acts, ch 118, §22; 96 Acts, ch 1017,
      § 1--3; 97 Acts, ch 74, §1; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §9; 98 Acts, ch 1112, §
      6, 7, 14, 16; 99 Acts, ch 13, §14; 2001 Acts, ch 90, §2; 2001 Acts,
      ch 132, §5; 2001 Acts, ch 180, §7; 2003 Acts, ch 108, §56; 2006 Acts,
      ch 1068, §26; 2007 Acts, ch 44, §29
         Referred to in § 321.177, 321.180B, 321.189A, 321.190, 321.191,
      321.213
         Fee, see § 321.191