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1. When can I renew my registration?

Vehicles may be renewed during a three month window around your renewal month without penalty. This includes the month prior to your renewal month, your renewal month, and the month following your renewal month.

If the last day of the three month window falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, renewals can be completed on the first business day of the following month without penalty.

2. What is the penalty if my vehicle registration is not paid on time?

Following the three month renewal window, a penalty is assessed at the rate of 5% of the fee due, per vehicle, per month, rounded to the nearest dollar with a minimum penalty of $5 per vehicle.

When the last day of the month is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, renewals can be completed on the first business day of the following month without added penalty.

Vehicle owners receive an annual renewal notice sent from their County Treasurer. This penalty will still accrue and cannot be waived if you do not receive your notice.

3. What is the “enforcement date”?

Law enforcement defines the enforcement date as the first day of the second month following the registration month. It is recommended that the renewal be processed and the sticker be affixed to the license plate on or before the enforcement date.

For large plates, Iowa law requires the registration validation sticker (often called a tag) to be affixed to the lower left side of the rear plate and for small plates the tags should be affixed to the upper left corner.

Affixing the registration validation sticker should occur on or before the "enforcement date".

4. How do I get personalized plates?

Personalized and Specialty plates are procured through the Iowa Department of Transportation. For more information on the processes required, visit our Personalized and Specialized Plates page.

5. How do I register a truck weighing 28 tons or more?

If you are renewing a truck registered weighing 28 or more tons you will need a current 2290 Form that has the correct VIN of the vehicle being renewed. The form must also be stamped by the IRS with a received date.

You can only renew semi-annually if your registration month is December. You can choose a different month for registration, however you will be required to pay one full year's registration fee.

More information, including the form and instructions, can be found at the
Internal Revenue Service website.

6. How do I register a homemade trailer?

You will need to come into the office to register the homemade trailer. We will need you to be sure that the trailer weighs 2000 pounds or less. We will need to know the color of the homemade trailer, and a description of the trailer.

We will complete an application for registration that all owners of the homemade trailer will sign. It will be registered as a specially constructed small regular trailer.

Small trailers are not issued titles, they are only issued a registration.

7. How do I store a vehicle?

In order to store a vehicle the vehicle registration must be current. Bring in the plates and registration for the vehicle. We will place the vehicle in storage and stamp your registration with our "stored" stamp.

When you bring the vehicle out of storage a full years license fee will be due.

8. I have lost my validation sticker and/or registration, where do I go to obtain a new one?

You may come to the office and we can reprint your registration for $3.