Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 321.491 (2026)

Convictions and recommendations for suspension to be reported

✓ current as of July 2026

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1. Every district judge, district associate judge, and judicial magistrate shall keep a full record of every case in which a person is charged with any violation of this chapter or of any other law regulating the operation of vehicles on highways.

2. a. Within ten days after the conviction or forfeiture of bail of a person upon a charge of violating any provision of this chapter or other law regulating the operation of vehicles \n Tue Dec 09 22:17:01 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 321 (137, 2) §321.491, MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD 266\n\non highways every magistrate of the court or clerk of the district court of record in which the conviction occurred or bail was forfeited shall prepare and immediately forward to the department an abstract of the record of the case. The abstract of the record of the case must be certified by the person preparing it to be true and correct.

b. A certified abstract of the record of the case prepared for the department shall only be available to the public from the department. A noncertified record of conviction or forfeiture of bail shall be available to the public from the judicial branch. The clerk of the district court shall collect a fee of fifty cents for each noncertified copy of any record of conviction or forfeiture of bail furnished to any requester except the department or other local, state, or federal government entity. Moneys collected under this section shall be transferred to the department as appropriated receipts, as defined in section 8.2, to enhance the efficiency of the department to process records and information between the department and the Iowa court information system.

c. Notwithstanding any other provision in this section or chapter 22, the judicial branch shall be the provider of public electronic access to the clerk’s records of convictions and forfeitures of bail through the Iowa court information system and shall, if all such records are provided monthly to a vendor, collect a fee from such vendor for the period beginning on July 1, 1997, and ending on June 30, 1999, which is the greater of three thousand dollars per month or the actual direct cost of providing the records. On and after July 1, 1999, if all such records are provided monthly to a vendor, the judicial branch shall collect a fee from such vendor which is the greater of ten thousand dollars per month or the actual direct cost of providing the records.

3. The abstract must be made upon a form furnished by the department or by copying a uniform citation and complaint or by using an electronic process which accurately reproduces or forms a durable medium for accurately and legibly reproducing an unaltered image or reproduction of the citation, and must include the name and address of the party charged, the registration number of the vehicle involved, the nature of the offense, the date of hearing, the plea, the judgment, or whether the bail was forfeited, the amount of the fine or forfeiture, and any court recommendation, if any, that the person’s driver’s license be suspended. The department shall consider and act upon the recommendation.

4. Every clerk of a court of record shall also forward a like report to the department upon the conviction of any person of manslaughter or other felony in the commission of which a vehicle was used.

5. The failure, refusal, or neglect of an officer to comply with the requirements of this section shall constitute misconduct in office and shall be grounds for removal from office.

6. All abstracts received by the department under this section shall be open to public inspection during reasonable business hours. [S13, §1571-m23; C24, 27, 31, 35, §5076 – 5078; C39, §5037.08; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §321.491] 90 Acts, ch 1230, §73; 93 Acts, ch 16, §10; 94 Acts, ch 1074, §2; 96 Acts, ch 1218, §66; 97 Acts, ch 104, §23; 98 Acts, ch 1047, §68; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §9; 98 Acts, ch 1178, §9; 99 Acts, ch 96, §35; 99 Acts, ch 207, §13; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §120; 2024 Acts, ch 1185, §166 Referred to in §321.206, 321.555, 602.8102(51), 805.6, 805.9\n\n LAW ENFORCEMENT \n

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1967–2021 · leading case: Explore Info. Servs. v. COURT INFO. SYS, 636 N.W.2d 50 (Iowa 2001).

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Explore Info. Servs. v. COURT INFO. SYS, 636 N.W.2d 50 (Iowa 2001). · cites it 26× “Iowa Code § 321.491 (1997). A 1994 amendment to section 321.”

City of Davenport v. Seymour, 755 N.W.2d 533 (Iowa 2008). · cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 321.491 . The Davenport ordinance does not.”

Explore Info. Servs. v. Iowa Court Info. Sys., 636 N.W.2d 50 (Iowa 2001). · cites it 26× “Iowa Code § 321.491 (1997). A 1994 amendment to section 321.”

Richard v. Holliday, 153 N.W.2d 473 (Iowa 1967). · cites it 4× “2d) It is also significant that section 321.491 contains a detailed requirement that a conviction or forfeiture of bail upon a charge of violating any provision of chapter 321 be reported to the department within ten days and the report shall be open to public inspection.”

Iowa Dep't of Transp. v. Iowa Dist. Court for Poweshiek Cnty., 530 N.W.2d 725 (Iowa 1995). · cites it 2× “Six or more of any separate and distinct offenses within a two-year period ' in the operation of a motor vehicle, which are required to be reported to the department by section 321.491 [“any provision of this chapter or other law regulating the operation of vehicles on…”

Brianna Blomberg v. Iowa Dep't of Transp., Motor Veh. Div. (Iowa Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 2× “” Under Iowa Code section 321.491(2)(a) (2019), the clerk of court must immediately forward to the IDOT an abstract of record of a conviction under chapter 321 within ten days after conviction.”

City Of Davenport Vs. Thomas J. Seymour (Iowa 2008). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code § 321.491 . The Davenport ordinance does not.”

— Iowa Code § 321.491(2)(a) — 1 case

Brianna Blomberg v. Iowa Dep't of Transp., Motor Veh. Div. (Iowa Ct. App. 2021). “” Under Iowa Code section 321.491(2)(a) (2019), the clerk of court must immediately forward to the IDOT an abstract of record of a conviction under chapter 321 within ten days after conviction.”

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