Senate File 300 - Introduced SENATE FILE 300 BY ROWLEY A BILL FOR An Act relating to replacement certificates of title for 1 vehicles, providing fees, and including retroactive 2 applicability provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 2538XS (3) 91 th/ns
S.F. 300 Section 1. Section 321.42, subsection 2, paragraphs a, b, 1 and d, Code 2025, are amended to read as follows: 2 a. If a certificate of title is lost or destroyed, the 3 owner or lienholder shall apply for a replacement copy of the 4 original certificate of title. The owner or lienholder of a 5 motor vehicle may also apply for a replacement copy of the 6 original certificate of title upon surrender of the original 7 certificate of title with the application. The application 8 shall be made to the department or any county treasurer. The 9 application shall be signed by the owner or lienholder and 10 accompanied by a fee of thirty dollars. 11 b. After five days, the department or county treasurer 12 shall issue a replacement copy certificate of title using 13 the applicants most recent bona fide address; however, the 14 five-day waiting period does not apply to an applicant who is a 15 lienholder or to an applicant who has surrendered the original 16 certificate of title to the department or county treasurer. 17 The replacement copy certificate of title shall be clearly 18 marked replacement and shall include security interests and 19 liens. When a replacement copy certificate of title has been 20 issued, the previous certificate is void. The department or 21 county treasurer is not authorized to refund fees collected 22 for a replacement certificate of title under this section or 23 section 321.52A . 24 d. A new purchaser or transferee is entitled to receive 25 an original certificate of title upon presenting the assigned 26 replacement copy certificate of title to any county treasurer. 27 At the time of purchase, a purchaser may require the seller 28 to indemnify the purchaser and all future purchasers of the 29 vehicle against any loss which may be suffered due to claims 30 on the original certificate of title . A person recovering an 31 original certificate of title for which a replacement has been 32 issued shall surrender the original certificate of title to the 33 county treasurer or the department. 34 Sec. 2. Section 321.152, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 35 -1- LSB 2538XS (3) 91 th/ns 1/ 2
S.F. 300 2025, is amended to read as follows: 1 c. Forty percent of all fees Eighteen dollars of each fee 2 collected for certified copies of replacement certificates of 3 title. 4 Sec. 3. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. This Act applies 5 retroactively to replacement copies of an original certificate 6 of title applied for on or after January 1, 2025. 7 EXPLANATION 8 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 9 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 10 Under current law, if a vehicles certificate of title 11 is lost or destroyed, the owner or lienholder is required to 12 apply for a replacement copy of the original certificate of 13 title. The owner or lienholder of a motor vehicle may also 14 apply for a replacement copy of the original certificate of 15 title upon surrender of the original certificate of title with 16 the application. Some Code references to a replacement copy 17 of the original certificate of title instead use certified 18 copies or replacement certificate of title. The fee for 19 a replacement copy is $30 (increased from $20 in 2024). A 20 county treasurer who issues a replacement copy of an original 21 certificate of title is authorized to retain 40 percent of the 22 fee collected for deposit in the county general fund (increased 23 to $12 from $8 in 2024 by operation of law). 24 This bill harmonizes all references in Code to a 25 replacement certificate of title, or the plural thereof. 26 The bill increases the fee a county treasurer is authorized 27 to retain for deposit in the county general fund from $12 (40 28 percent of the $30 fee) to $18. 29 The bill applies retroactively to replacement copies of an 30 original certificate of title applied for on or after January 31 1, 2025. 32 -2- LSB 2538XS (3) 91 th/ns 2/ 2