Iowa Code § 321.196 — IA Code / Title VIII / Chapter 321 / Section 321.196
Expiration of license — renewal.
Status: in_force

(1) Except as otherwise provided, if the licensee is between the ages of seventeen years eleven months and seventy-eight years on the date of issuance of the license, a driver’s license, other than an instruction permit, chauffeur’s instruction permit, or commercial learner’s permit issued under section 321.180, expires eight years from the licensee’s birthday anniversary occurring in the year of issuance, but not to exceed the licensee’s eightieth birthday. If the licensee is under the age of seventeen years eleven months or age seventy-eight or over, the license is effective for a period of two years from the licensee’s birthday anniversary occurring in the year of issuance. A licensee whose license is restricted due to vision or other physical deficiencies may be required to renew the license every two years. If a licensee is a foreign national who is temporarily present in this state, the license shall be issued only for the length of time the foreign national is authorized to be present as verified by the department, not to exceed two years.

(2) Except as required in section 321.188, and except for a motorcycle instruction permit issued in accordance with section 321.180 or 321.180B, a driver’s license is renewable without a driving test or written examination within a period of one year after its expiration date. A person shall not be considered to be driving with an invalid license during a period of sixty days following the license expiration date. However, for a license renewed within the sixty-day period, the date of issuance shall be considered to be the previous birthday anniversary on which it expired.

(3) For the purposes of this section, the birthday anniversary of a person born on February 29 shall be deemed to occur on March 1.

(4) Except as required in section 321.180 or 321.188, the department in its discretion may authorize the renewal of a valid driver’s license upon application without an examination provided that the applicant meets one of the following conditions:

(4) (a) The applicant satisfactorily passes a vision test as prescribed by the department.

(4) (b) The applicant files a vision report in accordance with section 321.186A which shows that the applicant’s visual acuity level meets or exceeds those required by the department.

(4) (c) The applicant is eligible for license renewal electronically, pursuant to rules adopted by the department. An applicant shall not be eligible for electronic renewal of a driver’s license if the most recent previous renewal of the applicant’s driver’s license occurred electronically.

(5) An application for renewal of a driver’s license shall include a statement for the applicant to sign that acknowledges the applicant’s knowledge of the requirement to notify the department of a mailing address change under section 321.182, subsection 1.

(6) A resident of Iowa holding a valid driver’s license who is temporarily absent from the state or incapacitated, may, at the time for renewal of such license, apply to the department for a temporary extension of the license. The department upon receipt of the application shall, upon a showing of good cause, issue a temporary extension of the driver’s license for a period not to exceed six months.

[C31, 35, §4960-d15, -d30; C39, §5013.21; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §321.196]84 Acts, ch 1219, §25; 85 Acts, ch 195, §35; 86 Acts, ch 1220, §30; 87 Acts, ch 167, §3; 89 Acts, ch 296, §31; 90 Acts, ch 1230, §41; 93 Acts, ch 51, §1; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §9; 98 Acts, ch 1112, §9, 14, 16; 2000 Acts, ch 1133, §5; 2001 Acts, ch 32, §43; 2001 Acts, ch 180, §8; 2002 Acts, ch 1063, §28; 2008 Acts, ch 1018, §22; 2009 Acts, ch 124, §1; 2013 Acts, ch 82, §4, 5; 2013 Acts, ch 104, §1, 4; 2015 Acts, ch 123, §56; 2020 Acts, ch 1072, §1, 2; 2021 Acts, ch 31, §2, 3