Iowa Code » Chapter 321 — MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 321.489 (2026)

Record inadmissible in a civil action

✓ current as of July 2026
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No record of the conviction of any person for any violation of this chapter shall be admissible as evidence in any court in any civil action. [C39, §5037.06; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §321.489]

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14 cases, 1957–2016 · leading case: Mathews v. Beyer, 116 N.W.2d 477 (Iowa 1962).
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Mathews v. Beyer, 116 N.W.2d 477 (Iowa 1962). · cites it 40× “" This is all the evidence of the witness Schmich which the jury heard: "Q. On the 16th of December, 1960, was Clarence Beyer before you in your office? A.”
Book v. Datema, 131 N.W.2d 470 (Iowa 1964). · cites it 48× “Before trial defendant's motion to exclude all evidence regarding his plea of guilty to a criminal charge relating to one or both of the alleged grounds of negligence was sustained. The trial court ruled such evidence, whether introduced as substantive proof of negligence or on…”
Martin v. Cafer, 138 N.W.2d 71 (Iowa 1965). · cites it 20× “Defendant objected thereto based on section 321.489, Code, 1962, "No record of the conviction of any person for any violation of this chapter shall be admissible as evidence in any court in any civil action.”
Kathryn Winger & Timothy Potts v. Cm Holdings, L.L.C., 881 N.W.2d 433 (Iowa 2016). · cites it 2× “” Iowa Code § 321.489 (2011). We have applied that statute to hold convictions for traffic violations resulting from a contested trial are not given res judicata effect in a subsequent civil action.”
Lee v. Small, 829 F. Supp. 2d 728 (N.D. Iowa 2011). · cites it 7× “Analysis 11 Small and Toft overstate the extent to which Iowa Code §§ 321.489 and 321.490 bar evidence of his traffic tickets.”
Richard v. Holliday, 153 N.W.2d 473 (Iowa 1967). · cites it 8× “Plaintiff’s petition in certiorari alleges defendant’s order is illegal because the department did not lay a proper foundation for receiving in evidence the transcript of the proceedings before it; the record of plaintiff’s conviction was inadmissible under Code section 321.489;…”
Dettmann v. Kruckenberg, 613 N.W.2d 238 (Iowa 2000). · cites it 2× “We also point out that Iowa Code section 321.489, which states “[n]o record of the conviction of any person for any violation of this chapter [321] shall be admissible as evidence in any court in any civil action,” does not exclude Michael’s criminal case conviction here under…”
Berding v. Thada, 243 N.W.2d 857 (Iowa 1976). · cites it 3× “Section 321.489, The Code, provides: “321.”
Tucker v. Heaverlo, 86 N.W.2d 353 (Iowa 1957). · cites it 2× “As further evidence of the nonapplicability of the criminal statute to the one relating to civil liability based on recklessness, attention is called to section 321.489, 1954 Code, which is as follows: “Record inadmissible in a civil action.”
Two Rivers Bank & Trust v. Vanya Atanasova, 686 F.3d 554 (8th Cir. 2012). “While Iowa law categorically prohibits the admission of a record of conviction of a motor vehicle violation in any civil action, Iowa Code § 321.489 ; Burns v. Rodriquez, 448 N.”
Augustine v. Vill. of Interlaken, 68 A.D.2d 705 (N.Y. App. Div. 1979). “, Cal Vehicle Code, § 40834; Iowa Code Ann, § 321.489; Min Stat Ann, § 169.”
Burns v. Rodriquez, 448 N.W.2d 673 (Iowa Ct. App. 1989). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code section 321.489 (1987) provides that “[n]o record of the conviction of any person for any violation of this chapter shall be admissible as evidence in any court in any civil action.”
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