Iowa driving law, answered
Every answer here comes from Iowa Driver's License Manual and, where the manual is silent, the Iowa Code: Chapter 321: Motor Vehicles and Law of the Road, Chapter 321A: Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility, Chapter 321C: Interstate Drivers License Compacts, Chapter 321J: Operating While Intoxicated, Chapter 321L: Parking for Persons with Disabilities, Chapter 805, Section 805.8A: Scheduled violations — motor vehicles, Chapter 707, Section 707.6A: Homicide or serious injury by vehicle, Chapter 123, Section 123.47: Persons under legal age, with the page or the section it is in.
Statutes fetched on 7 October 2026; manuals fetched on 14 September 2026. How the answers are made
How far from a fire hydrant must you park?
Do not park closer than 5 feet from a fire hydrant, or in a designated hydrant red zone. Firefighters need to reach the hydrant and hook up a hose without a car in the way.
Closer than five feet from a fire hydrant;
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far from a stop sign or traffic signal must you park?
Do not park closer than 10 feet from a stop sign. A car parked close to a stop sign hides the sign from drivers coming up to it.
Closer than 10 feet from a stop sign.
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far from a railroad crossing must you park?
Do not park closer than 50 feet from a railroad crossing. A car parked near the tracks blocks the view of a coming train for other drivers.
Closer than 50 feet from a railroad crossing.
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far from a fire station driveway must you park?
Do not park closer than 20 feet from a fire station entrance. Fire trucks need room to pull out and turn fast when a call comes in.
Closer than 20 feet from a fire station entrance.
As of 14 Sep 2026
How close to the curb must you park?
When you park at a curb, park within 18 inches of the curb or closer. A car parked far from the curb sticks out into the lane where other cars can hit it.
If there is a curb, park within 18 inches of the curb or closer.
As of 14 Sep 2026
When must you stop for a school bus with flashing red lights?
b. The driver of a vehicle, including the driver of a vehicle operating on a private road or driveway, overtaking a school bus shall not pass a school bus when red or amber warning signal lights are flashing. The driver shall bring the vehicle to a complete stop no closer than fifteen feet from the school bus when it is stopped and the stop arm is extended, and the vehicle shall remain stopped until the stop arm is retracted and the school bus resumes motion.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321.372(3)
As of 7 Oct 2026
What must you do when passing a stopped emergency vehicle with flashing lights?
Iowa's Move Over or Slow Down Law requires you to change lanes when you approach certain stopped vehicles showing flashing lights. People work right next to these stopped vehicles, and an extra lane of space keeps passing cars away from them.
Iowa’s Move Over or Slow Down Law requires motorists to change lanes when approaching any of the following stopped vehicles displaying flashing lights:
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far behind a fire truck answering an alarm may you follow?
The driver of any vehicle other than one on official business shall not follow any fire apparatus traveling in response to a fire alarm closer than five hundred feet or drive into or park such vehicle within the block where fire apparatus has stopped in answer to a fire alarm.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321.367
As of 7 Oct 2026
When must you turn on your headlights?
Iowa law requires both headlights from sunset to sunrise. Lights help you see the road and let other drivers see you after the sun goes down.
Iowa law requires the use of both headlights from sunset to sunrise or whenever visibility is 500 feet or less,
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far from an oncoming vehicle must you dim your high beams?
1. Whenever a motor vehicle is being operated on a roadway or shoulder during the times specified in section 321.384, the driver shall use a distribution of light, or composite beam, directed high enough and of sufficient intensity to reveal persons and vehicles at a safe distance in advance of the vehicle, subject to the following requirements and limitations: a. Whenever a driver of a vehicle approaches an oncoming vehicle within one thousand feet, the driver shall use a distribution of light, or composite beam, so aimed that the glaring rays are not projected into the eyes of the oncoming driver. The lowermost distribution of light, or composite beam, specified in section 321.409, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, shall be deemed to avoid glare at all times, regardless of road contour and loading.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321.415(1)
As of 7 Oct 2026
Who must wear a seat belt?
Adults 18 and older must wear a seat belt while riding in the front seats of a vehicle. In a crash, people in front are thrown toward the dash and windshield. The belt holds them in the seat.
Adults 18 and older must wear a seat belt while riding in the front seats of a vehicle.
As of 14 Sep 2026
When must a child ride in a car seat?
A child under 6 years old must ride in a child restraint system, a safety seat or booster seat, not just a seat belt. An adult belt crosses a small child's neck and belly. A safety seat or booster puts the belt where it can hold the child safely.
A child under six years old must be secured in a child restraint system (a safety seat or booster seat, not a seat belt).
As of 14 Sep 2026
What is the legal blood alcohol limit for adult drivers?
Operating while intoxicated (OWI) means driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. At .08 your reaction time and judgment are badly hurt. The law draws the line there for drivers 21 and older.
having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher or operating with any amount of controlled substance in your system.
As of 14 Sep 2026
What is the blood alcohol limit for drivers under 21?
A driver under 21 is considered to be operating while intoxicated with a BAC of .02 or more. Drivers under 21 cannot legally drink at all, so the limit is set close to zero. Even one drink can put you over it.
with a BAC of .02 or more.
As of 14 Sep 2026
What happens if you refuse a breath or blood alcohol test?
Refusing a breathalyzer test brings an automatic 1-year revocation of your license. Saying no to the test is punished harder than failing it, so refusing never helps you keep your license.
The consequences for refusing a breathalyzer test are more severe than failing a test, with an automatic one year revocation of your license and a minimum $1,250 fine.
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you use a handheld phone while driving?
You cannot hold your phone in any way while driving. Just holding the phone tempts you to glance at it and leaves you one hand to steer with.
You can’t hold your phone in any way.
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you text while driving?
Before writing, sending or reading a text, email or social media post, you must bring the vehicle to a complete stop off the traveled part of the road. Even stopped at a red light you are still in traffic and must be ready to move. Pull off the road before you touch the phone.
Before writing, sending, or reading a text message, email, or social media post, the vehicle must be brought to a complete stop off the traveled portion of the roadway.
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far before a turn must you signal?
Iowa law requires you to signal at least 100 feet before a turn if the speed limit is 45 mph or less. Other drivers need a few seconds of warning to slow down or keep clear of your turn.
Iowa law requires you to signal at least 100 feet before a turn if the speed limit is 45 mph or less and if the speed limit is faster than 45 mph, you must signal at least 300 feet before you turn.
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you turn right on a red light?
In Iowa you may turn right on a red light unless a sign prohibits it. A right turn on red keeps traffic moving, but some corners are too risky, so a sign forbids it there.
Right turns on red are permitted unless there is a sign prohibiting them.
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you turn left on a red light onto a one-way street?
You may turn left on a red light only from the left lane of a one-way street onto another one-way street. No oncoming traffic crosses your path when both streets are one-way, so the left turn works like a right on red.
You may also make a left turn at a red light if you are turning from the left lane of a one-way street onto another one-way street.
As of 14 Sep 2026
Where are U-turns not allowed?
1. It is unlawful for a person, except a person operating highway maintenance equipment or an authorized emergency vehicle, to do any of the following on a fully controlled-access facility: a. Drive a vehicle over, upon, or across a curb, central dividing section, or other separation or dividing line. b. Make a left turn or a semicircular or U-turn at a maintenance cross-over where an official sign prohibits the turn. c. Drive a vehicle except in the proper lane provided for that purpose and in the proper direction and to the right of the central dividing curb, separation, section, or line. d. Drive a vehicle into the facility from a local service road. e. Stop, park, or leave standing a vehicle, whether attended or unattended, upon the paved portion.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321.366(1)
As of 7 Oct 2026
What is the speed limit on a residential street when no sign is posted?
Where no speed limit is posted, the limit in a residential district or school district is 25 mph. Kids play and walk near homes and schools. A low speed gives you time to stop for them.
25 mph in a residential district or school district
As of 14 Sep 2026
What is the speed limit on a highway outside town when no sign is posted?
Where no speed limit is posted, the limit on all primary roads is 60 mph. Primary roads are built for steady travel between towns, so their limit is higher than in town.
60 mph on all primary roads, urban interstate highways, and secondary roads, including unpaved roads from sunrise to sunset
As of 14 Sep 2026
What is the speed limit in a school zone?
Where no speed limit is posted, the limit in a residential district or school district is 25 mph. Kids play and walk near homes and schools. A low speed gives you time to stop for them.
25 mph in a residential district or school district
As of 14 Sep 2026
When may you pass another vehicle on the right?
1. Unless otherwise prohibited by law, the driver of a vehicle on a roadway with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width for two or more lines of traffic moving in the same direction as the vehicle being passed may overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle which is making or about to make a left turn when such movement can be made in safety.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321.302(1)
As of 7 Oct 2026
May you have an open container of alcohol in the car?
It is illegal for any driver or passenger to transport an open, unsealed container of alcohol in a motor vehicle; open containers may be carried in the trunk. Keeping open drinks out of reach stops anyone in the car from drinking on the road. The trunk is out of reach.
Open containers of alcoholic beverages may be transported in the trunk of a vehicle.
As of 14 Sep 2026
Who must ride with you when you drive on a learner's permit?
b. (1) Except as otherwise provided, a permittee who is eighteen years of age or older must be accompanied by a person issued a driver’s license valid for the vehicle operated who is a member of the permittee’s immediate family if the family member is at least twenty-one years of age, an approved driver education instructor, a prospective driver education instructor who is enrolled in a practitioner preparation program with a safety education program approved by the state board of education, or a person at least twenty-five years of age, and who is actually occupying a seat beside the driver.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321.180(1)(2)
As of 7 Oct 2026
What is the penalty for littering from a vehicle?
(2) For a violation under section 321.446, the scheduled fine is one hundred thirty-five dollars. d. Litter and debris violations. For violations under sections 321.369 and 321.370, the scheduled fine is ninety dollars. e. Open container violations. For violations under sections 321.284 and 321.284A, the scheduled fine is two hundred sixty dollars.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 805.8A(14)(2)
As of 7 Oct 2026
How long can you be jailed for a first drunk-driving conviction?
3. A first offense is punishable by all of the following: a. A minimum period of imprisonment in the county jail of forty-eight hours, but not to exceed one year, to be served as ordered by the court, less credit for any time the person was confined in a jail or detention facility following arrest or for any time the person spent in a court-ordered operating-while-intoxicated program that provides law enforcement security. However, the court, in ordering service of the sentence and in its discretion, may accommodate the defendant’s work schedule.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321J.2(3)
As of 7 Oct 2026
How long is your license suspended for a first drunk-driving conviction?
Even if you are not convicted of OWI in criminal court, your driving privileges will be revoked for at least 180 days if you operate while intoxicated. Losing your license does not wait on a court win or loss. It is a separate penalty that comes with the test result.
Even if you are not convicted of an OWI offense in criminal court, your driving privileges will still be revoked for a minimum of 180 days if you operate while intoxicated.
As of 14 Sep 2026
When must you install an ignition interlock after a drunk-driving conviction?
1. If a defendant is convicted of a violation of section 321J.2 and the defendant’s driver’s license or nonresident operating privilege has not been revoked under section 321J.9 or 321J.12 for the occurrence from which the arrest arose, the department shall revoke the defendant’s driver’s license or nonresident operating privilege for one hundred eighty days if the defendant submitted to chemical testing and has had no previous conviction or revocation under this chapter and shall revoke the defendant’s driver’s license or nonresident operating privilege for one year if the defendant refused to submit to chemical testing and has had no previous conviction or revocation under this chapter. The department shall require the defendant to install an ignition interlock device of a type approved by the commissioner of public safety on all vehicles operated by the defendant if the defendant seeks a temporary restricted license.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321J.4(1)
As of 7 Oct 2026
At what blood alcohol level do drunk-driving penalties increase?
(2) A person is not eligible for a deferred judgment under section 907.3 if the person has been convicted of a violation of this section or the person’s driver’s license has been revoked under this chapter, and any of the following apply: (a) If the defendant’s alcohol concentration established by the results of an analysis of a specimen of the defendant’s blood, breath, or urine withdrawn in accordance with this chapter exceeds .15, regardless of whether or not the alcohol concentration indicated by the chemical test minus the established margin of error inherent in the device or method used to conduct the test equals an alcohol concentration of .15 or more. (b) If the defendant has previously been convicted of a violation of subsection 1 or a statute in another state substantially corresponding to subsection 1.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321J.2(3)(2)
As of 7 Oct 2026
What is the fine for texting while driving?
(4) One thousand two hundred eighty-five dollars for speed greater than twenty-five miles per hour over the posted speed limit. j. Vehicle component parts records violations. For violations under section 321.95, the scheduled fine is seventy dollars. k. Actions against a person on a bicycle. For violations under section 321.281, the scheduled fine is three hundred twenty-five dollars. l. Use of electronic device while driving violations. For violations under section 321.276, the scheduled fine is one hundred dollars. m. Leaving scene of traffic accident. For violations under section 321.262, the scheduled fine is one hundred thirty-five dollars. n. Striking unattended vehicle. For violations under section 321.264, the scheduled fine is one hundred thirty-five dollars.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 805.8A(14)(4)
As of 7 Oct 2026
How much light must a tinted side or rear window let through?
Iowa law requires the windshield and the windows right beside the driver to let at least 70 percent of the light through. Dark tint makes it hard to see at night and hard for others to see your eyes and know you have seen them.
Iowa law requires tinted windshields and windows to the immediate right or left of the driver to allow at least 70 percent of the light through.
As of 14 Sep 2026
How much distance must you leave when passing a bicycle?
When passing a bicyclist, you must change lanes completely, giving the rider the entire lane as you would any other vehicle. A bike can wobble or swerve around a pothole. Moving fully into the next lane keeps you clear of the rider if that happens.
When passing bicyclists, you must completely change lanes, giving the bicyclist the entire lane like you would with any other vehicle.
As of 14 Sep 2026
Must a vehicle driving slower than other traffic keep to the right lane?
2. Any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic upon all roadways, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection, an alley, private road or driveway.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321.297(2)
As of 7 Oct 2026
What is the minimum liability insurance coverage for bodily injury or death of one person and property damage?
b. Shall insure the person named in the policy and any other person, as insured, using the motor vehicles with the express or implied permission of the named insured, against loss from the liability imposed by law for damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the motor vehicles within the United States of America or the Dominion of Canada, subject to limits exclusive of interest and costs, with respect to each such motor vehicle, twenty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to said limit for one person, forty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and fifteen thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.
Iowa law, Iowa Code § 321A.21(2)
As of 7 Oct 2026
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