Iowa Code § 321.440 (2026)
Restrictions as to tire equipment
1. Every solid rubber tire on a vehicle shall have rubber on its entire traction surface at least one inch thick above the edge of the flange of the entire periphery. Any pneumatic tire on a vehicle shall be considered unsafe if it has:
a. Any part of the ply or cord exposed.
b. Any bump, bulge or separation.
c. A tread design depth of less than one-sixteenth of an inch measured in any two or more adjacent tread grooves, exclusive of tie bars or, for those tires with tread wear indicators, worn to the level of the tread wear indicators in any two tread grooves.
d. A marking “not for highway use”, “for racing purposes only”, “unsafe for highway use”.
e. Tread or sidewall cracks, cuts or snags deep enough to expose the body cord.
f. Such other conditions as may be reasonably demonstrated to render it unsafe.
g. Been regrooved or recut below the original tread design depth, excepting special tires which have extra under tread rubber and are identified as such, or if a pneumatic tire was originally designed without grooves or tread.
2. A vehicle, except an implement of husbandry, equipped with either solid rubber or pneumatic tires shall not be operated where the weight per inch of tire width is greater than five hundred seventy-five pounds per inch of tire width based on the tire width rating, except on a steering axle, in which case six hundred pounds per inch of tire width is permitted based on the tire width rating. [C31, 35, §5065-c1; C39, §5034.49; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §321.440] 97 Acts, ch 100, §2, 3, 12; 2014 Acts, ch 1026, §78 Referred to in §805.8A(3)(ak) For applicable scheduled fine, see §805.8A, subsection 3 \n