Iowa Code § 321.180B — IA Code / Title VIII / Chapter 321 / Section 321.180B
Graduated driver’s licenses for persons aged fourteen through seventeen.
Status: in_force

Persons under age eighteen shall not be issued a license or permit to operate a motor vehicle except under the provisions of this section. However, the department may issue restricted work and special minor’s restricted licenses to certain minors as provided in sections 321.178 and 321.194, and driver’s licenses restricted to motorized bicycles as provided in section 321.189. A person shall not be issued a license or permit to operate a motor vehicle if prohibited under section 321.194, subsection 7. A license or permit shall not be issued under this section or section 321.178 or 321.194 without the consent of a parent or guardian or a person having custody of the applicant under chapter 232 or 600A. An additional consent is required each time a license or permit is issued under this section or section 321.178 or 321.194. The consent must be signed by at least one parent, guardian, or custodian on an affidavit form provided by the department.

(1) (a) The department may issue an instruction permit to an applicant between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years if the applicant meets the requirements of sections 321.184 and 321.186, other than a driving demonstration, and pays the required fee. An instruction permit issued under this section shall be valid for a period not to exceed four years from the licensee’s birthday anniversary in the year of issuance. A motorcycle instruction permit issued under this section is not renewable.

(1) (b) Subject to the limitations in this subsection, an instruction permit entitles the permittee, while having the permit in the permittee’s immediate possession, to operate a motor vehicle other than a commercial motor vehicle or as a chauffeur or a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of sixteen thousand one or more pounds upon the highways.

(1) (c) Except as otherwise provided, a permittee who is less than eighteen years of age and who is operating a motor vehicle must be accompanied by a person issued a driver’s license valid for the vehicle operated who is the parent, guardian, or custodian of the permittee, a member of the permittee’s immediate family if the family member is at least twenty-one years of age, an approved driver education instructor, a prospective driver education instructor who is enrolled in a practitioner preparation program with a safety education program approved by the state board of education, or a person at least twenty-five years of age if written permission is granted by the parent, guardian, or custodian, and who is actually occupying a seat beside the driver. A permittee shall not operate a motor vehicle if the number of passengers in the motor vehicle exceeds the number of passenger safety belts in the motor vehicle. If the applicant for an instruction permit holds a driver’s license issued in this state valid for the operation of a motorized bicycle or a motorcycle, the instruction permit shall be valid for such operation without the requirement of an accompanying person.

(1) (c) If the permittee is operating a motorcycle in accordance with this section, the accompanying person must be within audible and visual communications distance from the permittee and be accompanying the permittee on or in a different motor vehicle. Only one permittee shall be under the immediate supervision of an accompanying qualified person.

(1) (d) A permittee shall not be penalized for failing to have the instruction permit in the permittee’s immediate possession if the permittee produces in court, within a reasonable time, an instruction permit issued to the permittee and valid at the time of the permittee’s arrest or at the time the permittee was charged with failure to have the permit in the permittee’s immediate possession.

(2) (a) The department may issue an intermediate driver’s license to a person sixteen or seventeen years of age who possesses an instruction permit issued under subsection 1 or a comparable instruction permit issued by another state for a minimum of twelve months immediately preceding application, and who presents an affidavit signed by a parent, guardian, or custodian on a form to be provided by the department that the permittee has accumulated a total of twenty hours of street or highway driving of which two hours were conducted after sunset and before sunrise and the street or highway driving was with the permittee’s parent, guardian, custodian, instructor, a person certified by the department, or a person at least twenty-five years of age who had written permission from a parent, guardian, or custodian to accompany the permittee, and whose driving privileges have not been suspended, revoked, or barred under this chapter or chapter 321J during, and who has been accident and violation free continuously for, the six-month period immediately preceding the application for an intermediate license. An applicant for an intermediate license must meet the requirements of section 321.186, including satisfactory completion of driver education as required in section 321.178 or 321.178A, and payment of the required license fee before an intermediate license will be issued. A person issued an intermediate license must limit the number of passengers in the motor vehicle when the intermediate licensee is operating the motor vehicle to the number of passenger safety belts. In addition, unless waived by the person’s parent or guardian at the time the intermediate license is issued, for the first six months following issuance of the license, a person issued an intermediate license must limit the number of unrelated minor passengers in the motor vehicle when the intermediate licensee is operating the motor vehicle to one, except when the intermediate licensee is accompanied in accordance with subsection 1. For purposes of this subsection, “unrelated minor passenger” means a passenger who is under eighteen years of age and who is not a sibling of the driver, a stepsibling of the driver, or a child who resides in the same household as the driver. The department shall prescribe the form for waiver of the six-month restriction on unrelated minor passengers, which may be in an electronic format, and shall designate characteristics for the intermediate license that shall distinguish between an intermediate license that includes the six-month restriction on unrelated minor passengers and an intermediate license that does not include the six-month restriction on unrelated minor passengers.

(2) (b) Except as otherwise provided, a person issued an intermediate license under this subsection who is operating a motor vehicle between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. must be accompanied by a person issued a driver’s license valid for the vehicle operated who is the parent, guardian, or custodian of the intermediate licensee, a member of the intermediate licensee’s immediate family if the family member is at least twenty-one years of age, an approved driver education instructor, a prospective driver education instructor who is enrolled in a practitioner preparation program with a safety education program approved by the state board of education, or a person at least twenty-five years of age if written permission is granted by the parent, guardian, or custodian, and who is actually occupying a seat beside the driver. However, a licensee may operate a vehicle to and from school-related extracurricular activities and work without an accompanying driver between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. if the licensee possesses a waiver on a form to be provided by the department. An accompanying driver is not required between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.

(3) (a) A person who has been issued an instruction permit, an intermediate license, or a full driver’s license under this section, upon conviction of a moving traffic violation or involvement in a motor vehicle accident which occurred during the term of the instruction permit or intermediate license, shall be subject to remedial driver improvement action or suspension of the permit or current license. A person possessing an instruction permit who has been convicted of a moving traffic violation or has been involved in an accident shall not be issued an intermediate license until the person has completed the remedial driver improvement action and has been accident and violation free continuously for the six-month period immediately preceding the application for the intermediate license. A person possessing an intermediate license who has been convicted of a moving traffic violation or has been involved in an accident shall not be issued a full driver’s license until the person has completed the remedial driver improvement action and has been accident and violation free continuously for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the application for a full driver’s license.

(3) (b) The department may suspend an instruction permit, intermediate license, or full license issued under this section upon receiving satisfactory evidence that the person issued the instruction permit, intermediate license, or full license violated the restrictions imposed under subsection 1 or 2 during the term of the instruction permit or intermediate license.

(4) A full driver’s license may be issued to a person seventeen years of age who possesses an intermediate license issued under subsection 2 or a comparable intermediate license issued by another state for a minimum of twelve months immediately preceding application, and who presents an affidavit signed by a parent, guardian, or custodian on a form to be provided by the department that the intermediate licensee has accumulated a total of ten hours of street or highway driving of which two hours were conducted after sunset and before sunrise and the street or highway driving was with the licensee’s parent, guardian, custodian, instructor, a person certified by the department, or a person at least twenty-five years of age who had written permission from a parent, guardian, or custodian to accompany the licensee, whose driving privileges have not been suspended, revoked, or barred under this chapter or chapter 321J during, and who has been accident and violation free continuously for, the twelve-month period immediately preceding the application for a full driver’s license, and who has paid the required fee.

(5) A person under the age of eighteen applying for an intermediate or full driver’s license valid for the operation of a motorcycle shall be required to successfully complete a motorcycle education course either approved and established by the department of transportation or from a private or commercial driver education school licensed by the department of transportation before the class M license will be issued. A public school district shall charge a student a fee which shall not exceed the actual cost of instruction minus moneys received by the school district under section 321.179.

(6) A person who violates the restrictions imposed under subsection 1 or 2 may be issued a citation under this section and shall not be issued a citation under section 321.193. A violation of the restrictions imposed under subsections 1 and 2 shall not be considered a moving violation.

(7) The department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this section.

98 Acts, ch 1112, §5, 14, 16; 99 Acts, ch 13, §12, 13; 99 Acts, ch 128, §1 – 3; 2006 Acts, ch 1068, §22 – 24; 2009 Acts, ch 130, §2 – 5; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §180; 2010 Acts, ch 1069, §44; 2010 Acts, ch 1105, §2; 2011 Acts, ch 38, §9 – 11; 2012 Acts, ch 1021, §66; 2013 Acts, ch 80, §1, 3; 2013 Acts, ch 90, §78; 2013 Acts, ch 121, §101; 2014 Acts, ch 1092, §76; 2024 Acts, ch 1166, §4; 2025 Acts, ch 14, §3 – 5