Iowa Senate Bill SF300

Iowa 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/13/25
• Refer: 2/13/25

Caption

A bill for an act relating to replacement certificates of title for vehicles, providing fees, and including retroactive applicability provisions.(See SF 447.)

Summary

Senate File 300 updates Iowa law governing replacement vehicle certificates of title. It clarifies and standardizes terminology throughout the Code by using “replacement certificate of title” rather than varying references such as “replacement copy” or “certified copy,” and it preserves the existing process for owners or lienholders to request a replacement when a title is lost, destroyed, or voluntarily surrendered. The bill keeps the five-day waiting period for most applicants, but continues to exempt lienholders and applicants who surrender the original title from that delay. The bill also changes the fee distribution for replacement title transactions. The application fee remains $30, but the amount a county treasurer may retain for the county general fund increases from $12 to $18 for each replacement title fee collected. The bill includes a retroactive applicability clause, making it apply to replacement title applications filed on or after January 1, 2025.

Impact

SF 300 amends Iowa Code section 321.42 and section 321.152 to align title-related terminology and adjust the county share of replacement title fees. It affects vehicle owners, lienholders, county treasurers, and the Department of Transportation by clarifying the replacement-title process, confirming the handling of liens and security interests, and increasing county revenue from these transactions. The bill also applies retroactively to qualifying applications submitted on or after January 1, 2025, which could affect fees already collected for replacement title requests during that period.

Sentiment

The available legislative record suggests the bill was noncontroversial and administrative in nature. There are no recorded committee transcripts or floor vote details indicating opposition, and the bill advanced by committee report before being renumbered as SF 447. The overall tone appears to be routine housekeeping legislation focused on consistency in the Code and a modest fee adjustment for counties.

Contention

The main substantive issue is the fee increase for county treasurers, which raises the county retention from $12 to $18 per replacement title fee. While the bill explanation frames this as an adjustment to county general fund revenue, any concern would likely center on the higher cost to vehicle owners seeking replacement titles. A secondary point is the retroactive application to January 1, 2025, which could affect applicants who filed before enactment but after that date. No specific opposition or competing viewpoints are documented in the provided materials.