1. Whenever a peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that a person has violated
any provision of this chapter punishable as a simple, serious, or aggravated misdemeanor,
such officer may:
a. Immediately arrest such person and take the person before a magistrate; or
b. Without arresting the person, either
(1) Prepare a written citation to appear in court containing the name and address of such
person, the driver’s license number, if any, the registration number, if any, of the person’s
vehicle, the offense charged, and the time and place the person shall appear in court; or
(2) Prepare a memorandum of the alleged traffic violation containing the name and
address of such person, the registration number, if any, of the person’s vehicle, the offense
alleged to have been committed, and such other information as may be prescribed by the
commissioner of public safety with the concurrence of the director of transportation.
2. If the officer prepares either a citation or a memorandum as provided in this section, the
alleged offender shall be requested to sign it. If the person signs, the person may be released
without arrest. In case a citation is issued, the signing shall constitute a written promise to
appear as stated in the citation. A copy of the citation shall be presented to the person named
therein. If a memorandum is prepared, the original shall be retained by the officer, and a copy
shall be sent to the department, and a copy shall be presented to the person named therein.
3. For preparing the summons or memorandum referred to in this section, there shall be
charged to the person named in the summons or memorandum, upon conviction, a fee of two
dollars. The fee shall be assessed as part of the court costs.
4. The number of copies and the form of the citations and memorandums authorized by
this section shall be as prescribed by the commissioner of public safety with the concurrence
of the director of transportation.\n\nTue Dec 09 22:17:01 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 321 (137, 2)
265 MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD, §321.491\n\n 5. This section shall not apply to a traffic offense which must be charged upon a uniform
citation and complaint as provided in section 805.6.
[C24, 27, 31, 35, §5082; C39, §5037.02, 5037.03; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77,
§321.485, 321.486; C79, 81, §321.485]
83 Acts, ch 123, §130, 209; 90 Acts, ch 1230, §72; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §9
Referred to in §805.15
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
12
cases, 1971–2020 · leading case:
Knowles v. Iowa, 525 U.S. 113 (1998).
Knowles v. Iowa, 525 U.S. 113 (1998).
“Iowa Code Ann. § 321.485 (l)(a) (West 1997) provides that Iowa peace officers having cause to believe that a person has violated any traffic or motor vehicle equipment law may arrest the person and immediately take the person before a magistrate.”
United States v. Wade Allen Wheat, 278 F.3d 722 (8th Cir. 2001).
“See Iowa Code § 321.485 (l)(a) (2001). A constitutional scheme that absolutely forbade peace officers from immediately stopping a vehicle reported to be dangerous, in order to ask a few questions of the driver, but encouraged them to watch that same vehicle like hawks for the…”
United States v. Hambrick, 630 F.3d 742 (8th Cir. 2011).
· cites it 2× “See Iowa Code § 321.485 (2008) (providing officers may arrest individuals for a simple misdemean- or).”
Moyer v. Nelson, 324 F. Supp. 1224 (S.D. Iowa 1971).
· cites it 6× “The pertinent Iowa statute dealing with the place of trial is § 321.485, and perhaps § 758.1, although on its face the latter purports to relate to a different situation.”
State v. Snider, 522 N.W.2d 815 (Iowa 1994).
· cites it 2× “” Iowa Code section 321.485 allows a peace officer to arrest a person or issue a written citation or memorandum if the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person has violated any provision of Chapter 321 punishable as a simple, serious or aggravated…”
United States v. Coats, 335 F. Supp. 2d 871 (W.D. Tenn. 2004).
“Iowa law also authorizes the far more usual practice of issuing a citation in lieu of arrest or in lieu of continued custody after an initial arrest.”
State of Iowa v. Geoffrey Dean Oolman (Iowa Ct. App. 2016).
· cites it 4× “First, Oolman contends the officer did not comply with Iowa Code section 321.485 (entitled Notice to appear—promise to appear) in completing his arrest.”
State of Iowa v. Nicholas Hodges (Iowa Ct. App. 2018).
· cites it 3× “See Iowa Code § 321.485 . “[W]ith state traffic offenses, a municipal police officer has authority to arrest anywhere in the state, if the officer has a reasonable belief that the person committed such a traffic offense.”
State of Iowa v. Joseph Ray Brooks (Iowa Ct. App. 2018).
· cites it 2× “” Iowa Code § 321.485 (2). The statute does not say the absence of such a signature amounts to insufficient notice of a hearing.”
State of Iowa v. Joseph Jackson Howard (Iowa Ct. App. 2020).
· cites it 2× “Each of the dual headlamps required by section 321.485 shall emit “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 requirements and limitations…”
United States v. Wade Allen Wheat (8th Cir. 2001).
“See Iowa Code § 321.485 (1)(a) (2001). A constitutional scheme that absolutely forbade peace officers from immediately stopping a vehicle reported to be dangerous, in order to ask a few questions of the driver, but encouraged them to watch that same vehicle like hawks for the…”
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treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.