Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
HF 344 – Motor Vehicle Title and Registration, County of Issuance (LSB1245HV.1)
Staff Contact: Maria Wagenhofer (515.281.5270) maria.wagenhofer@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – REVISED for new data (Fiscal Impact – Table 4)
Description
House File 344 allows for any county treasurer, instead of the county where the primary user of
the vehicle is located, to conduct certain transactions, including accepting applications for and
issuing certain certificate of titles, accepting applications for and issuing new registrations, and
perfecting security interests. The Bill also increases by $10 various fees required in the
registration and titling of vehicles, including establishing a $10 increase in the fee for new
registration. House File 344 subsequently increases the amount the county treasurer is allowed
to retain for deposit in the county general fund by $10 from each fee for certificate of title,
perfection of security interest, and new vehicle registration, as seen in Table 1.
Table 1 — County Fee Retention per Transaction Under House File 344
Type of Current Fees Fees Retained
Transaction Retained Under SF 380
Certificate of Title $2.50 $12.50
Perfection of Security Interests $6.00 $16.00
New Registration $1.00 $11.00
Background
Iowa Code section 321.152 currently allows counties to retain and deposit fees in their general
funds. The fees that can be retained are as follows:
• 4.0% of the total collection of each annual or semiannual vehicle registration, and each
duplicate registration card or plate issued.
• $2.50 from each fee collected for certificates of title.
• 40.0% of all fees collected for certified copies of certificates of title.
• 60.0% of all fees collected for perfection of security interests.
• 25.0% of each penalty collected for improper business-trade truck registration.
• $1.00 from each fee for new registration.
• 25.0% of each penalty collected for improper motorsports recreational vehicle registration.
Currently, a person must apply for registration and certificate of title from the person’s county of
residence or from the county where the primary users of the vehicle are located.
Table 2 includes the total number of transactions at the county level in FY 2022. The
transactions are listed as they are identified in the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s)
system.
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 Table 2 — FY 2022 Initial Registration and Certificate of Title Transactions by Counties
Type of Transaction FY 2022 Transactions
Title and Registration 888,860
Replacement and Corrected Title 61,462
Manufacturer Buy Back Title 89
Salvage Title 42,151
Security Interests 213,427
In addition to the transactions above, the Iowa DOT estimates that DOT locations processed
approximately 2,229 title transactions for commercial vehicles and 2,026 transactions for
perfection of security interests in FY 2022.
Assumptions
• FY 2024 transactions will match FY 2022 transactions.
• All “Title and Registration” transactions pay both the new title fee and the new registration
fee. As a result, it is assumed there are 888,860 new title transactions and 888,860 new
registration transactions.
• Fee revenue from transactions processed by the Iowa DOT is deposited into the Road Use
Tax Fund (RUTF).
• The Iowa Code section 321.23(1) fee amount of $10 is not increased under HF 344.
However, the Bill increases the total amount counties can retain in their general funds for
transactions under Iowa Code section 321.23(1) by $10. As a result, the RUTF will lose an
additional $8.50 per transaction under Iowa Code section 321.23(1). It is assumed there
will be an estimated 800 transactions of this type annually.
• The DOT has stated it would incur a one-time information technology labor expense of
$48,000, which would be absorbed with existing resources.
Fiscal Impact
House File 344 is estimated to increase fee revenue retained in county general funds by
$20.9 million annually, beginning in FY 2024 (Table 3).
Table 3 — Estimated Annual Increase to Counties
Type of Estimated Annual Estimated Annual
Transaction Number of Transactions Increases in Revenue
Certificate of Title 992,562 $ 9,925,620
Security Interests 213,427 2,134,270
New Registration 888,860 8,888,600
Total Increase in Revenue $ 20,948,490
Additionally, HF 344 is estimated to increase net revenue to the RUTF of $36,000 annually,
beginning in FY 2024 (Table 4).
Table 4 — Estimated Annual Net Increase to the RUTF
Type of Estimated Annual Estimated Annual
Transaction Number of Transactions Changes in Revenue
Certificate of Title — Commercial Vehicles 2,229 $ 22,290
Security Interests 2,026 20,260
Titles Under Iowa Code Section 321.23(1) 800 -6,800
Total Increase in Revenue $ 35,750
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Sources
Department of Transportation
LSA calculations
/s/ Jennifer Acton
March 1, 2023
Doc ID 1370050
The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in
developing this fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services
Agency upon request.
www.legis.iowa.gov
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 321.20, 578A.7, 321.48, 321.29, 321.34, 321.46, 321.42, 321.49, 321.52, 321.50, 321.105, 321.109, 321.122, 321.126