Every registration plate shall at all times be securely fastened in a horizontal position to
the vehicle for which it is issued so as to prevent the plate from swinging and at a height of
not less than twelve inches from the ground, measuring from the bottom of the plate, in a
place and position to be clearly visible and shall be maintained free from foreign materials
and in a condition to be clearly legible. An imitation plate or plates imitating or purporting
to imitate the official registration plate of any other state or territory of the United States or
of any foreign government shall not be fastened to the vehicle.
[S13, §1571-m11; C24, 27, 31, 35, §4877; C39, §5001.22; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75,
77, 79, 81, §321.38]
85 Acts, ch 195, §32
Referred to in §321.57, 331.557, 805.8A(2)(g)
For applicable scheduled fine, see §805.8A, subsection 2
\n
Notes of Decisions
State of Iowa v. Tommy Tyler, Jr., 830 N.W.2d 288 (Iowa 2013).
· cites it 6× “” 12 Finally, the State advances a theory in its brief suggesting that “the plate cover could have had a light coat of dust, mud or snow so as to render Tyler’s plate unreadable from an angle or from a distance,” in violation of Iowa Code section 321.38. 3 This argument was not…”
State v. Reisetter, 747 N.W.2d 792 (Iowa Ct. App. 2008).
· cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 321.38 (requiring a license registration plate to be maintained in a condition to be clearly legible, but not specifying a distance from which the plate must be legible).”
United States v. Gregory Givens, 763 F.3d 987 (8th Cir. 2014).
“Iowa Code Ann. § 321.38 . There is an exception, permitting that “[a] vehicle may be operated upon the highways .”
State of Iowa v. Prince G. Paye (Iowa Ct. App. 2022).
· cites it 81× “That statute provides, in relevant part: Every registration plate shall at all times be securely fastened in a horizontal position to the vehicle for which it is issued so as to prevent the plate from swinging and at a height of not less than twelve inches from the ground,…”
State of Iowa v. Ashlee Marie Mumford (Iowa 2024).
· cites it 13× “” Iowa Code § 321.38 (2022). Dirt and grime are “foreign materials” within the meaning of the statute, and if the dirt and grime render the information printed on the license plate not “clearly legible,” the motorist has violated the statute.”
State of Iowa v. Ashlee Marie Mumford (Iowa 2024).
· cites it 13× “” Iowa Code § 321.38 (2022). Dirt and grime are “foreign materials” within the meaning of the statute, and if the dirt and grime render the information printed on the license plate not “clearly legible,” the motorist has violated the statute.”
State of Iowa v. Chase Robert Griffin (Iowa 2023).
· cites it 5× “Section 321.38 states in relevant part: Every registration plate shall at all times be securely fastened in a horizontal position to the vehicle for which it is issued so as to 5 prevent the plate from swinging and at a height of not less than twelve inches from the ground,…”
State of Iowa v. Destiny Brown (Iowa Ct. App. 2019).
· cites it 2× “Iowa Code § 321.38 (requiring registration plates to be “clearly visible” and “maintained free from foreign materials and in a condition to be clearly legible”).”
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.