Iowa statute
Iowa Code § 321.555 — Habitual offender defined
Current through 2026 Iowa Code (enactments effective on or before 2026-01-01, through the 2025 Regular Session, 91st G.A.)
Part of Chapter 321: Motor Vehicles and Law of the Road, Iowa Code.
Full text of Iowa Code § 321.555
Statutory text current through the 2026 Iowa Code (enactments effective on or before 2026-01-01, through the 2025 Regular Session, 91st G.A.). This publication reproduces the statutory text of the official 2026 Iowa Code (Legislative Services Agency); it is not the official publication of the State of Iowa.
As used in this section and sections 321.556 through 321.562, “habitual offender” means any person who has accumulated convictions for separate and distinct offenses described in subsection 1, 2, or 3, committed after July 1, 1974, for which final convictions have been rendered, as follows:
1. Three or more of the following offenses, either singularly or in combination, within a six-year period:
a. Manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle.
b. Operating a motor vehicle in violation of section 321J.2 or its predecessor statute.
c. Driving a motor vehicle while the person’s driver’s license is suspended, denied, revoked, or barred.
d. Perjury or the making of a false affidavit or statement under oath to the department of public safety.
e. An offense punishable as a felony under the motor vehicle laws of Iowa or any felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used.
f. Failure to stop and leave information, to render aid, or to otherwise comply with sections 321.261 and 321.263.
g. Eluding or attempting to elude a pursuing law enforcement vehicle in violation of section 321.279.
h. Serious injury by a vehicle in violation of section 707.6A, subsection 4.
2. Six or more of any separate and distinct offenses within a two-year period in the operation of a motor vehicle, which are required to be reported to the department by section 321.491 or chapter 321C, except equipment violations, parking violations as defined in section 321.210, violations of registration laws, violations of sections 321.445 and 321.446, operating a vehicle with an expired license or permit, failure to appear, weights and measures violations and speeding violations of less than fifteen miles per hour over the legal speed limit.
3. The offenses included in subsections 1 and 2 shall be deemed to include offenses under any valid town, city or county ordinance paralleling and substantially conforming to the provisions of the Code concerning such offenses.
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Legal terms used in this section
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.