As used in this section and sections 321.556 through 321.562, “habitual offender” means
any person who has accumulated convictions for separate and distinct offenses described
in subsection 1, 2, or 3, committed after July 1, 1974, for which final convictions have been
rendered, as follows:
1. Three or more of the following offenses, either singularly or in combination, within a
six-year period:
a. Manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle.
b. Operating a motor vehicle in violation of section 321J.2 or its predecessor statute.
c. Driving a motor vehicle while the person’s driver’s license is suspended, denied,
revoked, or barred.
d. Perjury or the making of a false affidavit or statement under oath to the department of
public safety.
e. An offense punishable as a felony under the motor vehicle laws of Iowa or any felony
in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used.
f. Failure to stop and leave information, to render aid, or to otherwise comply with sections
321.261 and 321.263.
g. Eluding or attempting to elude a pursuing law enforcement vehicle in violation of
section 321.279.
h. Serious injury by a vehicle in violation of section 707.6A, subsection 4.
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 or chapter 321C, except equipment violations, parking violations as defined in
section 321.210, violations of registration laws, violations of sections 321.445 and 321.446,
operating a vehicle with an expired license or permit, failure to appear, weights and measures
violations and speeding violations of less than fifteen miles per hour over the legal speed limit.
3. The offenses included in subsections 1 and 2 shall be deemed to include offenses
under any valid town, city or county ordinance paralleling and substantially conforming to
the provisions of the Code concerning such offenses.
[C75, 77, 79, 81, §321.555; 82 Acts, ch 1167, §10]
84 Acts, ch 1016, §4; 84 Acts, ch 1022, §9; 86 Acts, ch 1009, §3; 86 Acts, ch 1220, §37; 89
Acts, ch 296, §36; 90 Acts, ch 1230, §74 – 76; 93 Acts, ch 87, §8; 97 Acts, ch 104, §24; 97 Acts,
ch 177, §2; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §9; 2010 Acts, ch 1105, §8; 2014 Acts, ch 1092, §79; 2021 Acts,
ch 180, §5; 2025 Acts, ch 14, §12
Referred to in §321.213, 321.215, 321.556, 321.560, 321.562
Subsection 2 amended\n\nTue Dec 09 22:17:01 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 321 (137, 2)
275 MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD, §321.560
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
70
cases (
8 in the last 5 years), 1977–2026 · leading case:
State v. Peterson, 347 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1984).
State v. Peterson, 347 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1984).
· cites it 56× “The State commenced this civil action to have defendant's operator's license revoked because within a period of six years he had accumulated five convictions for driving while intoxicated.”
State of Iowa v. Deshaun Marvin Lamar Williams, 910 N.W.2d 586 (Iowa 2018).
· cites it 24× “A license to operate a motor vehicle in this state shall not be issued to any person declared to be a habitual offender under section 321.555, subsection 1, for a period of not less than two years nor more than six years from the date of the final decision of the department…”
State v. Freeman, 705 N.W.2d 286 (Iowa 2005).
· cites it 12× “Iowa Code § 321.555 (1) (1977). Proceedings brought under section 321.”
State v. Baudler, 349 N.W.2d 493 (Iowa 1984).
· cites it 40× “Our holding in Thomas was based on an interpretation of the phrase “separate and distinct offenses” which is found in the initial paragraph of section 321.555. Thomas, 275 N.W.2d at 423 (“The issue here is whether these two convictions, having arisen out of the same acts,…”
State v. Funke, 531 N.W.2d 124 (Iowa 1995).
· cites it 16× “2d 398, 402 (Iowa 1984) (Section 321.555 “is designed to protect the public from those drivers who refuse to observe the rules of prudence and safety.”
State v. Steffens, 282 N.W.2d 120 (Iowa 1979).
· cites it 22× “The State brought this action to establish that Richard Gail Steffens is an habitual offender under section 321.555, The Code 1979. We briefly explained this provision in a footnote in State v.”
State v. Cook, 565 N.W.2d 611 (Iowa 1997).
· cites it 7× “Iowa Code § 321.555 (1) defines an habitual offender as any person who has accumulated three or more convictions within a six-year period for the following offenses: a.”
State v. West, 446 N.W.2d 777 (Iowa 1989).
· cites it 13× “The State, on the other hand, points out that West’s current status is that of a habitual offender under section 321.”
State v. Iowa Dist. Court for Clayton Cnty., 419 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1988).
· cites it 10× “Iowa Code § 321.555 provides in pertinent part: As used in this division, “habitual offender” means any person who has accumulated convictions for separate and distinct offenses .”
State v. Thomas, 275 N.W.2d 422 (Iowa 1979).
· cites it 8× “In this case Susan Kathleen Thomas was alleged to be an habitual traffic offender under § 321.555(1), The Code. The state accordingly asked that her driving privileges be suspended.”
Edman v. State, 444 N.W.2d 99 (Iowa Ct. App. 1989).
· cites it 10× “On July 15, 1985, the county attorney of Bremer County filed a petition under the provisions of sections 321.555 through 321.-562 of the Iowa Code, seeking to find Ed-man to be an habitual offender, and to bar him from operating a motor vehicle on the highways of the State of…”
— Iowa Code § 321.555(1) — 30 cases
State v. Freeman, 705 N.W.2d 286 (Iowa 2005).
“Iowa Code § 321.555 (1) (1977). Proceedings brought under section 321.”
State v. Peterson, 347 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1984).
“The State commenced this civil action to have defendant's operator's license revoked because within a period of six years he had accumulated five convictions for driving while intoxicated.”
State v. Thomas, 275 N.W.2d 422 (Iowa 1979).
“In this case Susan Kathleen Thomas was alleged to be an habitual traffic offender under § 321.555(1), The Code. The state accordingly asked that her driving privileges be suspended.”
— Iowa Code § 321.555(1)(b) — 2 cases
State v. Peterson, 347 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1984).
“The State commenced this civil action to have defendant's operator's license revoked because within a period of six years he had accumulated five convictions for driving while intoxicated.”
— Iowa Code § 321.555(1)(g) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 321.555(2) — 11 cases
State v. Baudler, 349 N.W.2d 493 (Iowa 1984).
“Our holding in Thomas was based on an interpretation of the phrase “separate and distinct offenses” which is found in the initial paragraph of section 321.555. Thomas, 275 N.W.2d at 423 (“The issue here is whether these two convictions, having arisen out of the same acts,…”
State v. Funke, 531 N.W.2d 124 (Iowa 1995).
“2d 398, 402 (Iowa 1984) (Section 321.555 “is designed to protect the public from those drivers who refuse to observe the rules of prudence and safety.”
— Iowa Code § 321.555(l)(b) — 3 cases
State v. Peterson, 347 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1984).
“The State commenced this civil action to have defendant's operator's license revoked because within a period of six years he had accumulated five convictions for driving while intoxicated.”
— Iowa Code § 321.555(l)(c) — 3 cases
State v. Iowa Dist. Court for Clayton Cnty., 419 N.W.2d 398 (Iowa 1988).
“Iowa Code § 321.555 provides in pertinent part: As used in this division, “habitual offender” means any person who has accumulated convictions for separate and distinct offenses .”
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.