2009 Iowa Code
Title 8 - Transportation
Subtitle 2 - Vehicles
CHAPTER 321 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD
321.46 - NEW TITLE AND REGISTRATION UPON TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP -- CREDIT.

        321.46  NEW TITLE AND REGISTRATION UPON TRANSFER OF
      OWNERSHIP -- CREDIT.
         1.  The transferee shall, within thirty calendar days after
      purchase or transfer, apply for and obtain from the county treasurer
      of the person's residence, or if a nonresident, the county treasurer
      of the county where the primary users of the vehicle are located or
      the county where all other vehicles owned by the nonresident are
      registered, or in the case of a mobile home or manufactured home, the
      county treasurer of the county where the mobile home or manufactured
      home is located, or if a firm, association, or corporation with
      vehicles in multiple counties, the transferee may apply for and
      obtain from the county treasurer of the county where the primary user
      of the vehicle is located, a new registration and a new certificate
      of title for the vehicle except as provided in section 321.25,
      321.48, or 322G.12.  The transferee shall present with the
      application the certificate of title endorsed and assigned by the
      previous owner and shall indicate the name of the county in which the
      vehicle was last registered and the registration expiration date.
         2.  Upon filing the application for a new registration and a new
      title, the applicant shall pay a title fee of twenty dollars, an
      annual registration fee prorated for the remaining unexpired months
      of the registration year, and a fee for new registration if
      applicable.  A manufacturer applying for a certificate of title
      pursuant to section 322G.12 shall pay a title fee of ten dollars.
      However, a title fee shall not be charged to a manufactured or mobile
      home retailer applying for a certificate of title for a used mobile
      home or manufactured home, titled in Iowa, as required under section
      321.45, subsection 4.  The county treasurer, if satisfied of the
      genuineness and regularity of the application, and in the case of a
      mobile home or manufactured home, that taxes are not owing under
      chapter 435, and that applicant has complied with all the
      requirements of this chapter, shall issue a new certificate of title
      and, except for a mobile home, manufactured home, or a vehicle
      returned to and accepted by a manufacturer as described in section
      322G.12, a registration card to the purchaser or transferee, shall
      cancel the prior registration for the vehicle, and shall forward the
      necessary copies to the department on the date of issuance, as
      prescribed in section 321.24.  Mobile homes or manufactured homes
      titled under chapter 448 that have been subject under section 446.18
      to a public bidder sale in a county shall be titled in the county's
      name, with no fee, and the county treasurer shall issue the title.
         3.  The applicant shall be entitled to a credit for that portion
      of the annual registration fee of the vehicle sold, traded, or junked
      which had not expired prior to the transfer of ownership of the
      vehicle.  The annual registration fee for the new registration for
      the vehicle acquired shall be reduced by the amount of the credit.
      The credit shall be computed on the basis of the number of months
      remaining in the registration year, rounded to the nearest whole
      dollar.  The credit shall be subject to the following limitations:
         a.  The credit shall be claimed within thirty days from the
      date the vehicle for which credit is granted was sold, transferred,
      or junked.  After thirty days, all credits shall be disallowed.
         b.  Any credit granted to the owner of a vehicle which has
      been sold, traded, or junked may only be claimed by that person
      toward the annual registration fee for another vehicle purchased and
      the credit may not be sold, transferred, or assigned to any other
      person.
         c.  When the amount of the credit is computed to be an amount
      of less than ten dollars, a credit shall be disallowed.
         d.  To claim a credit for the unexpired annual registration
      fee on a junked vehicle, the county treasurer shall disallow any
      claim for credit unless the owner presents a junking certificate or
      other evidence as required by the department to the county treasurer.

         e.  A credit shall not be allowed to any person who has made
      claim to receive a refund under section 321.126.
         f.  If the credit allowed exceeds the amount of the annual
      registration fee for the vehicle acquired, the owner may claim a
      refund under section 321.126, subsection 6, for the balance of the
      credit.
         g.  The credit shall be computed on the unexpired number of
      months computed from the date of purchase of the vehicle acquired.
         4.  If the annual registration fee upon application is delinquent,
      the applicant shall be required to pay the delinquent fee from the
      first day the annual registration fee was due prorated to the month
      of application for new title.
         5.  The seller or transferor may file an affidavit on forms
      prescribed and provided by the department with the county treasurer
      of the county where the vehicle is registered certifying the sale or
      transfer of ownership of the vehicle and the assignment and delivery
      of the certificate of title for the vehicle.  Upon receipt of the
      affidavit, the county treasurer shall file the affidavit with the
      copy of the registration receipt for the vehicle on file in the
      treasurer's office and on that day the treasurer shall note receipt
      of the affidavit in the vehicle registration and titling system.
      Upon filing the affidavit, it shall be presumed that the seller or
      transferor has assigned and delivered the certificate of title for
      the vehicle.  For a leased vehicle, the lessor licensed pursuant to
      chapter 321F or the lessee may file an affidavit as provided in this
      subsection certifying that the lease has expired or been terminated
      and the date that the leased vehicle was surrendered to the lessor.
         6.  An applicant for a new registration for a vehicle transferred
      to the applicant by a spouse, parent, or child of the applicant, or
      by operation of law upon inheritance, devise or bequest, from the
      applicant's spouse, parent, or child, or by a former spouse pursuant
      to a decree of dissolution of marriage, is entitled to a credit to be
      applied to the annual registration fee for the transferred vehicle.
      A credit shall not be allowed unless the vehicle to which the credit
      applies is registered within the time specified under subsection 1.
      The credit shall be computed on the basis of the number of unexpired
      months remaining in the registration year of the former owner
      computed from the date the vehicle was transferred, computed to the
      nearest whole dollar.  The credit may exceed the amount of the annual
      registration fee for the transferred vehicle.  When the amount of the
      credit is computed to be an amount of less than ten dollars, the
      credit shall be disallowed.  The credit shall not be sold,
      transferred, or assigned to any other person.
         7.  If a motor vehicle is leased and the lessee purchases the
      vehicle upon termination of the lease, the lessor shall, upon claim
      by the lessee with the lessor within thirty days of the purchase,
      assign the annual registration fee credit and registration plates for
      the leased motor vehicle to the lessee.  Credit shall be applied as
      provided in subsection 3.  

         Section History: Early Form

         [S13, § 1571-m9; C24, 27, 31, 35, § 4962; C39, § 5002.02; C46,
      50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 321.46; 82 Acts, ch
      1251, § 11] 

         Section History: Recent Form

         82 Acts, ch 1062, § 8, 38; 83 Acts, ch 24, § 2--4, 12; 83 Acts, ch
      82, § 2; 84 Acts, ch 1305, § 52; 85 Acts, ch 87, §3; 87 Acts, ch 130,
      §3; 88 Acts, ch 1215, §6; 90 Acts, ch 1154, § 1--5; 91 Acts, ch 191,
      §6; 93 Acts, ch 87, § 3; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §9; 99 Acts, ch 188, §8;
      2000 Acts, ch 1016, §6; 2000 Acts, ch 1047, §2, 4; 2001 Acts, ch 153,
      §17, 18; 2002 Acts, ch 1119, §44; 2004 Acts, ch 1013, §13, 14, 35;
      2005 Acts, ch 34, §5, 26; 2006 Acts, ch 1068, §12, 13; 2006 Acts, ch
      1070, §6; 2008 Acts, ch 1113, §17, 21, 80
         Referred to in § 312.2, 321.34, 321.48, 321.52, 321.52A, 321.105,
      321.109, 321.126, 322G.12, 331.557, 805.8A(2c)
         Surcharge imposed; § 321.52A
         For applicable scheduled fines, see § 805.8A, subsection 2,
      paragraph c