Iowa Code 321.20 – Application for registration and certificate of title
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1. Except as provided in this chapter, an owner of a vehicle subject to registration shall make application to the county treasurer of the county of the owner’s residence, or if a nonresident, to the county treasurer of the county where the primary users of the vehicle are located, or if a lessor of the vehicle pursuant to chapter 321F which vehicle has a gross vehicle weight of less than ten thousand pounds, to the county treasurer of the county of the lessee‘s residence, or if a firm, association, or corporation with vehicles in multiple counties, the owner may make application to the county treasurer of the county where the primary user of the vehicle is located, for the registration and issuance of a certificate of title for the vehicle upon the appropriate form furnished by the department. However, upon the transfer of ownership, the owner of a vehicle subject to the apportioned registration provisions of chapter 326 shall make application for issuance of a certificate of title to either the department or the appropriate county treasurer. The owner of a vehicle purchased pursuant to section 578A.7 shall present documentation that such sale was completed in compliance with that section. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty dollars, and shall bear the owner’s signature. A nonresident owner of two or more vehicles subject to registration may make application for registration and issuance of a certificate of title for all vehicles subject to registration to the county treasurer of the county where the primary user of any of the vehicles is located. The owner of a mobile home or manufactured home shall make application for a certificate of title under this section from the county treasurer of the county where the mobile home or manufactured home is located. The application shall contain:
a. The full legal name; social security number or Iowa driver‘s license number or Iowa nonoperator’s identification card number; date of birth; bona fide residence; and mailing address of the owner and of the lessee if the vehicle is being leased. If the owner or lessee is a firm, association, or corporation, the application shall contain the bona fide business address and federal employer identification number of the owner or lessee. Up to three owners’ names may be listed on the application. If the vehicle is a leased vehicle, the application shall state whether the notice of registration renewal shall be sent to the lessor or to the lessee and whether the lessor or the lessee shall receive the refund of the annual registration fee, if any. Information relating to the lessee of a vehicle shall not be required on an application for registration and a certificate of title for a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand pounds or more.
b. A description of the vehicle including, insofar as the specified data may exist with respect to a given vehicle, the make, model, type of body, the number of cylinders, the type of motor fuel used, the vehicle identification number or other assigned number, and whether new or used and, if a new vehicle, the date of sale by the manufacturer or dealer to the person intending to operate the vehicle. If the vehicle is a new low-speed vehicle, the manufacturer’s or importer’s certificate required to accompany the application under paragraph “d” shall certify that the vehicle was manufactured in compliance with the national highway traffic safety administration standards for low-speed vehicles in 49 C.F.R. §571.500.
c. Such further information as may reasonably be required by the department.
d. A statement of the applicant’s title and of all liens or encumbrances upon the vehicle and the names and mailing addresses of all persons having any interest in the vehicle and the nature of every such interest. When the application refers to a new vehicle, it shall be accompanied by a manufacturer’s or importer’s certificate duly assigned as provided in section 321.45.
e. The amount of the fee for new registration to be paid under section 321.105A, the amount of tax to be paid under section 423.26, subsection 1, or the amount of tax to be paid under section 423.26A.
f. If the vehicle is owned by a nonresident but is subject to issuance of an Iowa certificate of title or registration, the application shall also contain the full legal name, Iowa driver’s license number or Iowa nonoperator’s identification card number, date of birth, bona fide residence, and mailing address of the primary user of the vehicle. If the primary user is a firm, association, or corporation, the application shall contain the bona fide business address and federal employer identification number of the primary user. The primary user’s name and address shall not be printed on the registration receipt or the certificate of title.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 321.20
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- dealer: means every person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or exchanging vehicles of a type required to be registered under this chapter. See Iowa Code 321.24
- Department: means the state department of transportation. See Iowa Code 321H.2
- Driver: means a person who operates a motor vehicle for the transportation of railroad workers in the motor vehicle on behalf of a railroad worker transportation company, whether the person is employed by the company for wages or drives for the company as an independent contractor. See Iowa Code 327F.39
- 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 travel, except in public areas in which the boundary shall be thirty-three feet each side of the center line of the roadway. See Iowa Code 321I.1
- Lessee: means any consumer who leases a motor vehicle for one year or more pursuant to a written lease agreement which provides that the lessee is responsible for repairs to the motor vehicle. See Iowa Code 322G.2
- Lessor: means a person who holds the title to a motor vehicle leased to a lessee under a written lease agreement or who holds the lessor's rights under the agreement. See Iowa Code 322G.2
- Manufacturer: means a person engaged in the business of constructing or assembling all-terrain vehicles required to be registered under this chapter and who has an established place of business for that purpose in this state. See Iowa Code 321I.1
- Nonresident: means a person who is not a resident of this state. See Iowa Code 321I.1
- Operate: means to ride in or on, other than as a passenger, use, or control the operation of an all-terrain vehicle in any manner, whether or not the all-terrain vehicle is moving. See Iowa Code 321I.1
- Owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, having the property right in or title to an all-terrain vehicle. See Iowa Code 321I.1
- Person: includes any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, joint adventure, or association, and the plural as well as the singular number. See Iowa Code 321H.2
- Program: means an informal dispute settlement procedure established by a manufacturer which mediates and arbitrates motor vehicle warranty disputes arising in this state. See Iowa Code 322G.2
- Signature: includes an electronic signature as defined in section 554D. See Iowa Code 4.1
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Vehicle: means any vehicle as defined in chapter 321. See Iowa Code 321H.2
- Vehicle subject to registration: means any vehicle that is of a type required to be registered under chapter 321 when operated on a public highway, including but not limited to a vehicle that is inoperable, salvage, or rebuilt. See Iowa Code 321H.2
2. Notwithstanding contrary provisions of this chapter or chapter 326 regarding titling and registration by means other than electronic means, the department shall, by July 1, 2019, develop and implement a program to allow for electronic applications, titling, registering, and funds transfers for vehicles subject to registration in order to improve the efficiency and timeliness of the processes and to reduce costs for all parties involved. The program shall also provide for the electronic submission of any statement required by this section, except where prohibited by federal law.
3. The department shall adopt rules on the method for providing signatures for applications and statements required by this section that are made by electronic means.
4. Notwithstanding this section or any other provision of law to the contrary, if the program required by subsection 2 is not implemented by July 1, 2019, an owner of a vehicle subject to registration may apply to the county treasurer of a county contiguous to the county designated for the owner under subsection 1 for registration and issuance of a certificate of title.