2009 Iowa Code
Title 8 - Transportation
Subtitle 2 - Vehicles
CHAPTER 321 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD
321.90 - DISPOSAL OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES.

        321.90  DISPOSAL OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES.
         1.  Garagekeepers and abandoned motor vehicles.  Any motor
      vehicle left in a garage operated for commercial purposes after the
      period for which the vehicle was to remain on the premises shall,
      after notice by certified mail to the last known registered owner of
      the vehicle addressed to the owner's last known address of record to
      reclaim the vehicle within ten days of the date of the notice, be
      deemed an abandoned motor vehicle unless reclaimed by the owner
      within such ten-day period or the owner notifies the garagekeeper in
      writing within such period of time that such vehicle is not an
      abandoned motor vehicle and shall be reported by the garagekeeper to
      the police authority.  If the identity or address of the last
      registered owner of the motor vehicle cannot be determined, the
      vehicle shall be deemed an abandoned motor vehicle on the eleventh
      day after the period for which the vehicle was to remain on the
      premises unless reclaimed by the owner within the ten-day period or
      the owner notifies the garagekeeper in writing within such period of
      time that such vehicle is not an abandoned motor vehicle and shall be
      reported by the garagekeeper to the police authority.  All abandoned
      motor vehicles left in garages may be taken into custody by a police
      authority upon the request of the garagekeeper and sold in accordance
      with the procedures set forth in section 321.89, subsection 4, unless
      the motor vehicle is reclaimed.  The proceeds of the sale shall be
      first applied to the garagekeeper's charges for towing and storage,
      and any surplus proceeds shall be distributed in accordance with
      section 321.89, subsection 4.  Nothing in this section shall be
      construed to impair any lien of a garagekeeper under the laws of this
      state, or the right of a garagekeeper to foreclose the garagekeeper's
      lien, provided that a garagekeeper shall be deemed to have abandoned
      the garagekeeper's artisan lien when such vehicle is taken into
      custody by the police authority.  For the purposes of this section
      "garagekeeper" means any operator of a parking place or
      establishment, motor vehicle storage facility, or establishment for
      the servicing, repair, or maintenance of motor vehicles.
         2.  Disposal to demolisher.
         a.  Any person, firm, corporation, or unit of government upon
      whose property or in whose possession is found any abandoned motor
      vehicle, or any person being the owner of a motor vehicle whose title
      certificate is faulty, lost, or destroyed and is thereby unable to
      transfer title to the motor vehicle, may apply to the police
      authority of the jurisdiction in which the motor vehicle is situated
      for authority to sell, give away, or otherwise dispose of the motor
      vehicle to a demolisher.
         b.  The application shall set out the name and address of the
      applicant, and the year, make, model, and vehicle identification
      number of the motor vehicle, if ascertainable, together with any
      other identifying features, and shall contain a concise statement of
      the facts surrounding the abandonment, or a statement that the title
      of the motor vehicle is lost or destroyed, or the reasons for the
      defect of title in the owner.  The applicant shall execute an
      affidavit stating that the facts alleged are true and that no
      material fact has been withheld.  An order for disposal obtained
      pursuant to section 555B.8, subsection 3, satisfies the application
      requirements of this paragraph.
         c.  If the police authority finds that the application is
      executed in proper form, and shows that the motor vehicle has been
      abandoned upon the property of the applicant, or if it shows that the
      motor vehicle is not abandoned but that the applicant appears to be
      the rightful owner, the police authority shall follow appropriate
      notification procedures as set forth in section 321.89, subsection 3,
      except that in the case of an order for disposal obtained pursuant to
      section 555B.8, subsection 3, no notification is required.
         d.  If the abandoned motor vehicle is not reclaimed in
      accordance with section 321.89, subsection 3, or no lienholder
      objects to the disposal in the case of an owner-applicant, the police
      authority shall give the applicant a certificate of authority
      allowing the applicant to obtain a junking certificate for the motor
      vehicle.  The applicant shall make application for a junking
      certificate to the county treasurer within thirty days of receipt of
      the certificate of authority and surrender the certificate of
      authority in lieu of the certificate of title.  The demolisher shall
      accept the junking certificate in lieu of the certificate of title to
      the motor vehicle.
         e.  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section and
      sections 321.89 and 321.91, any person, firm, corporation, or unit of
      government upon whose property or in whose possession is found any
      abandoned motor vehicle, or any person being the owner of a motor
      vehicle whose title certificate is faulty, lost, or destroyed, may
      dispose of such motor vehicle to a demolisher for junk without a
      title and without the notification procedures of section 321.89,
      subsection 3, if the motor vehicle lacks an engine or two or more
      wheels or other structural part which renders the vehicle totally
      inoperable.  The police authority shall give the applicant a
      certificate of authority.  The owner shall apply to the county
      treasurer for a junking certificate within thirty days of receipt of
      the certificate of authority and shall surrender the certificate of
      authority in lieu of the certificate of title.
         f.  The owner of an abandoned motor vehicle and all
      lienholders shall no longer have any right, title, claim, or interest
      in or to the motor vehicle; and no court in any case in law or equity
      shall recognize any right, title, claim, or interest of any owner or
      lienholders after the disposal of the motor vehicle to a demolisher.

         g.  Any proceeds from the sale of an abandoned motor vehicle
      to a demolisher under this section, by one other than the owner of
      the vehicle, except the sale of a vehicle pursuant to an order for
      disposal obtained pursuant to section 555B.8, subsection 3, shall
      first be applied to that person's expenses in effecting the sale,
      including storage, towing, and disposal charges, and any surplus
      shall be distributed in accordance with section 321.89, subsection 4.
      The proceeds from the sale of a vehicle disposed of pursuant to
      section 555B.8, subsection 3, shall be distributed in accordance with
      section 555B.9.
         3.  Duties of demolishers.
         a.  Any demolisher who purchases or otherwise acquires an
      abandoned motor vehicle for junk under the provisions of this section
      shall junk, scrap, wreck, dismantle, or demolish such motor vehicle.
      A demolisher shall not junk, scrap, wreck, dismantle, or demolish a
      vehicle until the demolisher has obtained the junking certificate
      issued for the vehicle.
         b.  A demolisher shall keep an accurate and complete record of
      all motor vehicles purchased or received by the demolisher in the
      course of the demolisher's business.  These records shall contain the
      name and address of the person from whom each motor vehicle was
      purchased or received and the date when the purchases or receipts
      occurred.  The records shall be open for inspection by any police
      authority at any time during normal business hours.  Any record
      required by this section shall be kept by the demolisher for at least
      one year after the transaction to which it applies.  

         Section History: Early Form

         [C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 321.90] 

         Section History: Recent Form

         88 Acts, ch 1138, §12--14; 95 Acts, ch 118, §14, 15; 2005 Acts, ch
      179, §128; 2008 Acts, ch 1018, §19
         Referred to in § 8A.323, 321.89, 321.91, 555B.9