1. a. The department is authorized to establish rules providing for the suspension of
the license of an operator upon thirty days’ notice and without preliminary hearing upon a
showing by its records or other sufficient evidence that the licensee:
(1) Is an habitually reckless or negligent driver of a motor vehicle.
(2) Is an habitual violator of the traffic laws.
(3) Is physically or mentally incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle.
(4) Has permitted an unlawful or fraudulent use of the license.
(5) Has committed an offense or acted in a manner in another state or foreign jurisdiction
which in this state would be grounds for suspension or revocation.
(6) Has committed a serious violation of the motor vehicle laws of this state.
(7) Is subject to a license suspension under section 321.513.
b. Prior to a suspension taking effect under paragraph “a”, subparagraph (1), (2), (3),
(4), (5), or (6), the licensee shall have received thirty days’ advance notice of the effective
date of the suspension. Notwithstanding the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act,
chapter 17A, the filing of a petition for judicial review shall, except for suspensions under
paragraph “a”, subparagraph (3), operate to stay the suspension pending the determination
by the district court.
2. In determining suspension the department shall not consider the following:
a. Violation of motor vehicle equipment standards if repairs are made within seventy-two
hours of the violation and satisfactory evidence of repair is immediately sent to the
department.
b. Violations of requirements to install and use safety belts, safety harnesses, and child
restraint devices under sections 321.445 and 321.446.
c. Parking violations, meaning violation of a local authority parking ordinance or
violation of sections 321L.4, 321.366, subsection 1, paragraph “f”, and sections 321.354
through 321.361 except section 321.354, subsection 1, paragraph “a”.
d. The first two speeding violations within any twelve-month period of ten miles per hour\n\nTue Dec 09 22:16:59 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 321 (137, 2)
157 MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD, §321.210B\n\nor less over the legal speed limit in speed zones having a legal speed limit between thirty-four
miles per hour and fifty-six miles per hour.
[C31, 35, §4960-d35; C39, §5014.10; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §321.210;
82 Acts, ch 1100, §18, 19]
84 Acts, ch 1016, §2; 84 Acts, ch 1022, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1009, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1220, §32; 87
Acts, ch 120, §1; 87 Acts, ch 167, §6; 89 Acts, ch 247, §6; 90 Acts, ch 1230, §54; 96 Acts, ch
1152, §15; 97 Acts, ch 23, §33; 97 Acts, ch 104, §16; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §113, 172; 2010 Acts,
ch 1105, §4; 2013 Acts, ch 90, §243; 2025 Acts, ch 14, §7
Referred to in §321.12, 321.178, 321.180A, 321.189, 321.190, 321.191, 321.194, 321.210C, 321.212, 321.213, 321.215, 321.218, 321.372,
321.555, 321A.17
Subsection 2, paragraph e stricken
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
43
cases, 1959–2020 · leading case:
State v. Peterson, 347 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1984).
State v. Peterson, 347 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1984).
· cites it 22× “" Iowa Code § 321.210 (6) (1983). The administrative proceedings authorized under sections 321.”
Danner v. Hass, 134 N.W.2d 534 (Iowa 1965).
· cites it 26× “The Department of Public Safety, hereinafter known as the department, suspended his driver’s license for sixty days under the authority of section 321.210. The department also suspended the license and plaintiff’s automobile registration until the plaintiff should furnish proof…”
Spurbeck v. Statton, 106 N.W.2d 660 (Iowa 1960).
· cites it 28× “Applying this rule, we cannot agree that section 321.210 must be construed to give the commissioner discretion in enforcing it in a proper case.”
Needles v. Kelley, 156 N.W.2d 276 (Iowa 1968).
· cites it 44× “The pertinent statutes are Code, 1966, section 321.210: "Authority to suspend; point system.”
State v. Funke, 531 N.W.2d 124 (Iowa 1995).
· cites it 10× “Pursuant to authority granted by section 321.210, the department of transportation may administratively suspend the license of any operator who accumulates three or more moving violations within one year.”
City of Des Moines v. Iowa Dep't of Transp. & Iowa Transp. Comm'n, 911 N.W.2d 431 (Iowa 2018).
· cites it 4× “We determined that it was, particularly noting the statutory basis for the authority to promulgate such rules: Section 321.210 authorizes the department to establish rules for license suspension if the operator is found to be a habitual violator, and provides only three…”
Crow v. Shaeffer, 199 N.W.2d 45 (Iowa 1972).
· cites it 12× “As pertinent here Code section 321.210 provides: “The department is hereby authorized to suspend the license of an operator or chauffeur without preliminary hearing upon a showing by its records or other sufficient evidence that the licensee: * * * * * * “2.”
Hitchcock v. Dep't of Pub. Saf., 98 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 1959).
· cites it 16× “; that the defendant acted illegally and exceeded its jurisdiction in that the asserted ground upon which the suspension was made is not one authorized by said statute. The suspension was for 30 days. The writ issued and all proceedings stayed pending hearing thereon.”
State v. Bartusek, 383 N.W.2d 582 (Iowa 1986).
· cites it 8× “…provides for the suspension of a driver’s license when that driver is an habitual offender of the traffic laws. Iowa Code § 321.210 (3) (1983).”
State v. Green, 722 N.W.2d 650 (Iowa 2006).
· cites it 6× “Iowa Code § 321.210 (1). Green contends, and the district court held, that the DOT failed to establish that Green actually received the thirty-day notice, as required by section 321.”
— Iowa Code § 321.210(1) — 6 cases
Spurbeck v. Statton, 106 N.W.2d 660 (Iowa 1960).
“Applying this rule, we cannot agree that section 321.210 must be construed to give the commissioner discretion in enforcing it in a proper case.”
State v. Green, 722 N.W.2d 650 (Iowa 2006).
“Iowa Code § 321.210 (1). Green contends, and the district court held, that the DOT failed to establish that Green actually received the thirty-day notice, as required by section 321.”
— Iowa Code § 321.210(1)(f) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 321.210(2) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 321.210(3) — 3 cases
State v. Bartusek, 383 N.W.2d 582 (Iowa 1986).
“…provides for the suspension of a driver’s license when that driver is an habitual offender of the traffic laws. Iowa Code § 321.210 (3) (1983).”
— Iowa Code § 321.210(4) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 321.210(6) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 321.210(7) — 5 cases
Danner v. Hass, 134 N.W.2d 534 (Iowa 1965).
“The Department of Public Safety, hereinafter known as the department, suspended his driver’s license for sixty days under the authority of section 321.210. The department also suspended the license and plaintiff’s automobile registration until the plaintiff should furnish proof…”
Needles v. Kelley, 156 N.W.2d 276 (Iowa 1968).
“The pertinent statutes are Code, 1966, section 321.210: "Authority to suspend; point system.”
Crow v. Shaeffer, 199 N.W.2d 45 (Iowa 1972).
“As pertinent here Code section 321.210 provides: “The department is hereby authorized to suspend the license of an operator or chauffeur without preliminary hearing upon a showing by its records or other sufficient evidence that the licensee: * * * * * * “2.”
— Iowa Code § 321.210(A) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 321.210(l)(d) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 321.210(l)(g) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.