2023 Iowa Code › Title VIII - TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 321L - PARKING FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES › Section 321L.2 - Persons with disabilities parking permits — application and issuance.

321L.2 Persons with disabilities parking permits — application and issuance.
1. A resident of the state with a disability desiring a persons with disabilities parking permit shall apply to the department upon an application form furnished by the department providing the applicant’s full legal name, address, date of birth, and social security number or Iowa driver’s license number or Iowa nonoperator’s identification card number, and shall also provide a statement from a physician licensed under chapter 148 or 149, a physician assistant licensed under chapter 148C, an advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed under chapter 152, a chiropractor licensed under chapter 151, an occupational therapist licensed under chapter 148B, or a physical therapist licensed under chapter 148A, or a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, chiropractor, occupational therapist, or physical therapist licensed to practice in another state, written on the physician’s, physician assistant’s, nurse practitioner’s, chiropractor’s, occupational therapist’s, or physical therapist’s stationery, stating the nature of the applicant’s disability and such additional information as required by rules adopted by the department under section 321L.8. If the person is applying for a temporary persons with disabilities parking permit, the physician’s, physician assistant’s, nurse practitioner’s, chiropractor’s, occupational therapist’s, or physical therapist’s statement shall state the period of time during which the person is expected to be disabled and the period of time for which the permit should be issued, not to exceed six months. The department may waive the requirement that the applicant furnish the applicant’s social security number, Iowa driver’s license number, or nonoperator’s identification card number when the application for a temporary persons with disabilities parking permit is made on behalf of a person who is less than one year old. The department may accept a certification of disability from the United States department of veterans affairs in lieu of a statement from a physician, physician assistant, advanced registered nurse practitioner, chiropractor, occupational therapist, or physical therapist. The department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A detailing the requirements for an acceptable certification of disability.
a. A person with a disability may apply for one of the following persons with disabilities parking permits:
(1) Persons with disabilities registration plates. An applicant may order persons with disabilities registration plates pursuant to section 321.34. An applicant may order a persons with disabilities registration plate for a trailer used to transport a wheelchair pursuant to section 321.34 in addition to persons with disabilities registration plates ordered by the applicant for a motor vehicle used to tow such a trailer pursuant to section 321.34.
(2) Persons with disabilities parking sticker. An applicant who owns a motor vehicle for which the applicant has been issued registration plates under section 321.34 or registration plates as a seriously disabled veteran under section 321.105 may apply to the department for a persons with disabilities parking sticker to be affixed to the plates. The persons with disabilities parking stickers shall bear the international symbol of accessibility.
(3) Removable windshield placard.
(a) A person with a disability may apply for a temporary removable windshield placard valid for a period of up to six months or a standard removable windshield placard valid for a period of five years, as determined by the physician’s, physician assistant’s, nurse practitioner’s, chiropractor’s, occupational therapist’s, or physical therapist’s statement under this subsection.
(i) A temporary removable windshield placard shall be renewed within thirty days of the date of expiration. Persons seeking temporary removable windshield placards shall be required to furnish evidence upon initial application that they have a temporary disability and, in addition, furnish evidence at subsequent intervals that they remain temporarily disabled. Temporary removable windshield placards shall be of a distinctively different color from standard removable windshield placards.
(ii) A standard removable windshield placard shall expire on the last day of the month five years from the date of issuance. A person with a disability may renew a standard removable windshield placard within thirty days before or after the date of expiration by submitting a statement from a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, chiropractor, occupational therapist, or physical therapist, as provided in this subsection, to the department that the person has a continuing need for the placard.
(b) The department shall issue one additional removable windshield placard upon the request of a person with a disability.
b. The department may issue expiring removable windshield placards to the following:
(1) An organization which has a program for transporting persons with disabilities or elderly persons.
(2) A person in the business of transporting persons with disabilities or elderly persons.
c. One expiring removable windshield placard may be issued for each vehicle used by the organization or person for transporting persons with disabilities or elderly persons. A placard issued under this paragraph shall be renewed every four years from the date of issuance and shall be surrendered to the department if the organization or person is no longer providing the service for which the placard was issued. Notwithstanding section 321L.4, a person transporting persons with disabilities or elderly persons in a motor vehicle for which a placard has been issued under this paragraph may display the placard in the motor vehicle and may use a persons with disabilities parking space while the motor vehicle is displaying the placard. A placard issued under this paragraph shall be of a distinctively different color from a placard issued under paragraph “a”.
d. A new removable windshield placard can be issued if the previously issued placard is reported lost, stolen, or damaged. The placard reported as being lost or stolen shall be invalidated by the department. A placard which is damaged shall be returned to the department and exchanged for a new placard in accordance with rules adopted by the department.
2. Any person providing false information with the intent to defraud on the application for a persons with disabilities parking permit used in establishing proof under subsection 1 is subject to a civil penalty of three hundred dollars which may be imposed by the department. A physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, chiropractor, occupational therapist, or physical therapist who provides false information with the intent to defraud on the physician’s, physician assistant’s, nurse practitioner’s, chiropractor’s, occupational therapist’s, or physical therapist’s statement used in establishing proof under subsection 1 is subject to a civil penalty of three hundred dollars which may be imposed by the department. In addition to the civil penalty, the department shall revoke the permit issued pursuant to this section.
3. The removable windshield placard shall contain the following information:
a. Each side of the placard shall include all of the following:
(1) The international symbol of access, which is at least three inches in height, centered on the placard, and is white on a blue shield.
(2) An identification number.
(3) A date of expiration, which shall be of sufficient size to be readable from outside the vehicle.
(4) The seal or other identification of the issuing authority.
b. One side of the placard shall contain all of the following information:
(1) (a) Subject to subparagraph division (b), a statement printed on it as follows:
Unauthorized use of this placard as indicated in Iowa Code chapter 321L may result in a fine, invalidation of the placard, or revocation of the right to use the placard. This placard shall be displayed only when the vehicle is parked in a persons with disabilities parking space or in a parking space not designated as a persons with disabilities parking space if a wheelchair parking cone is used pursuant to Iowa Code section 321L.2A.
(b) After the department has issued the existing supply of placards bearing the statement set forth in subparagraph division (a), the statement printed on each newly issued placard shall be as follows:
Remove from mirror before operating vehicle.
(2) The return address and telephone number of the department.
(3) The signature of the person who has been issued the placard.
4. A removable windshield placard shall only be displayed when the vehicle is parked in a persons with disabilities parking space. The removable windshield placard shall be displayed in a manner that allows the entire placard to be visible through the vehicle’s windshield.
5. A seriously disabled veteran who has been provided with an automobile or other vehicle by the United States government under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. §3901 – 3904 is not required to apply for a persons with disabilities parking permit under this section unless the veteran has been issued special registration plates or personalized plates for the vehicle. The regular registration plates issued for the disabled veteran’s vehicle without fee pursuant to section 321.105 entitle the disabled veteran to all of the rights and privileges associated with persons with disabilities parking permits under this chapter.
89 Acts, ch 247, §10; 90 Acts, ch 1151, §5; 90 Acts, ch 1267, §39; 95 Acts, ch 118, §30; 96 Acts, ch 1088, §7; 96 Acts, ch 1171, §6, 7; 97 Acts, ch 70, §9 – 13, 15; 97 Acts, ch 123, §2 – 4; 2000 Acts, ch 1206, §2, 3; 2005 Acts, ch 8, §39; 2006 Acts, ch 1068, §33; 2008 Acts, ch 1088, §124; 2008 Acts, ch 1124, §17; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §118; 2010 Acts, ch 1035, §7; 2015 Acts, ch 123, §37; 2016 Acts, ch 1067, §1 – 3; 2016 Acts, ch 1111, §2; 2018 Acts, ch 1026, §118; 2022 Acts, ch 1080, §2 – 5
Referred to in §321.23, 321.166, 321L.1, 321L.2A, 321L.4, 321L.5
[ ()]Subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 1 amended
[ ()]Subsection 1, paragraph a, subparagraph (3), subparagraph division (a), unnumbered paragraph 1 amended
[ ()]Subsection 1, paragraph a, subparagraph (3), subparagraph division (a), subparagraph subdivision (ii) amended
[ ()]Subsection 2 amended