321.134 - MONTHLY PENALTY.
321.134 MONTHLY PENALTY. 1. On the first day of the second month following the beginning of each registration year a penalty of five percent of the annual registration fee shall be added to the annual registration fees not paid by that date and an additional penalty of five percent shall be added the first day of each succeeding month, until the fee is paid. A penalty shall not be less than five dollars. If the owner of a vehicle surrenders the registration plates for a vehicle prior to the plates becoming delinquent, to the county treasurer of the county where the vehicle is registered, or to the department if the vehicle is registered under chapter 326, the owner may register the vehicle any time thereafter upon payment of the annual registration fee for the registration year without penalty. The penalty on vehicles registered under chapter 326 shall accrue February 1 of each year. To avoid a penalty or an additional penalty in the case of a delinquent registration, if the last calendar day of a month falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday, the payment deadline is extended to include the first business day of the following month. For payments made through a county treasurer's authorized website only, if the last day of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday, the electronic payment must be initiated by midnight on the first business day of the next month. All other electronic payments must be initiated by midnight on the last day of the month preceding the delinquent date. 2. The annual registration fee for trucks, truck tractors, and road tractors, as provided in sections 321.121 and 321.122, may be payable in two equal semiannual installments if the annual registration fee exceeds the annual registration fee for a vehicle with a gross weight exceeding five tons. The penalties provided in subsection 1 shall be computed on the amount of the first installment only and on the first day of the seventh month of the registration period the same rate of penalty shall apply to the second installment, until the fee is paid. Semiannual installments do not apply to commercial vehicles, as defined under section 326.2, subject to proportional registration, with a base state other than the state of Iowa, as defined in section 326.2, subsection 1. The penalty on vehicles registered under chapter 326 accrues August 1 of each year except as provided in section 326.6. The department shall not allow the annual registration fee for a commercial vehicle registered under chapter 326 to be paid in two equal semiannual installments for five years after the registrant has paid the annual registration fee late for two consecutive years. 3. If a penalty applies to an annual vehicle registration fee provided for in sections 321.121 and 321.122, the same penalty shall be assessed on the fees collected to increase the registered gross weight of the vehicle, if the increased gross weight is requested within forty-five days from the date the delinquent vehicle is registered for the current registration period. 4. Notwithstanding subsections 1 through 3, if a vehicle registration is delinquent for twenty-four months or more, a flat penalty and fee shall be assessed for the delinquent period in addition to the current annual registration fee. The flat penalty and fee shall be one hundred fifty percent of the current annual registration fee. 5. The department shall waive the penalties imposed by this section for an owner who is in the military service of the United States and who has been relocated as a result of being placed on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. The department shall adopt rules to implement this subsection, including, if necessary, procedures for refunding penalties collected prior to March 29, 2004.
Section History: Early Form [SS15, § 1571-m7; C24, 27, 31, 35, § 4931; C39, § 5009.02; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 321.134]
Section History: Recent Form 82 Acts, ch 1062, § 26, 38; 83 Acts, ch 24, § 6, 12; 89 Acts, ch 185, § 4; 90 Acts, ch 1230, § 18; 2002 Acts, ch 1043, §2; 2004 Acts, ch 1013, §23, 35; 2004 Acts, ch 1092, §4; 2007 Acts, ch 143, §13; 2008 Acts, ch 1113, §100 Referred to in § 321.39, 321.123, 326.6, 331.557, 331.653