Iowa car registration and title fees

• Fee for new registration, flat part — $10.00. The flat $10 that goes with the 5% fee for new registration shown above. Paid to the county treasurer when the car is titled. (Iowa Code 321.105A(2))
• Title fee — $35.00. Certificate of title: a $30 fee plus a $5 surcharge, paid to the county treasurer. The dealer can collect it at the sale with your application. (Iowa Code 321.20(2), 321.46(2), 321.52A)
• Lien recording fee — $20.00. Recording your lender's lien on the title: $20 for each security interest. (Iowa Code 321.50(1))
• Annual registration, list price part (1%) — varies. One percent of the vehicle's original list price (MSRP), for a car up to seven model years old. It is a registration fee, not a tax on what you paid. Iowa figures this for a full year and then charges only the months left in your registration year, which ends in your birth month, so what you pay at the sale can be less. It renews every year in your birth month at the full annual amount. (Iowa Code 321.109(1)(a), 321.113(2); 761 IAC 400.22)
• Annual registration, list price part (0.75%) — varies. For a car more than seven model years old, the list-price part drops to 75%. The whole annual fee is never less than $50. Iowa figures this for a full year and then charges only the months left in your registration year, which ends in your birth month, so what you pay at the sale can be less. It renews every year in your birth month at the full annual amount. (Iowa Code 321.113(2))
• Annual registration, list price part (0.5%) — varies. For a car more than nine model years old, the list-price part drops to 50%. The whole annual fee is never less than $50. Iowa figures this for a full year and then charges only the months left in your registration year, which ends in your birth month, so what you pay at the sale can be less. It renews every year in your birth month at the full annual amount. (Iowa Code 321.113(3))
• Annual registration, weight part — $16.00. 40 cents for each 100 pounds of the car's weight or part of 100. This assumes about 4,000 pounds ($16); a car runs from about $10 to $26. Iowa figures this for a full year and then charges only the months left in your registration year, which ends in your birth month, so what you pay at the sale can be less. It renews every year in your birth month at the full annual amount. (Iowa Code 321.109(1)(a))
• Annual registration, weight part — $20.00. 40 cents for each 100 pounds of the car's weight or part of 100, battery included. This assumes about 5,000 pounds ($20). Iowa figures this for a full year and then charges only the months left in your registration year, which ends in your birth month, so what you pay at the sale can be less. It renews every year in your birth month at the full annual amount. (Iowa Code 321.109(1)(a))
• Annual registration, flat fee for a car 12 or more model years old — $50.00. A car 12 model years old or older pays a flat $50 a year, with no list-price or weight part. Iowa figures this for a full year and then charges only the months left in your registration year, which ends in your birth month, so what you pay at the sale can be less. It renews every year in your birth month at the full annual amount. (Iowa Code 321.113(4)(a))
• Electric vehicle registration fee — $130.00. A yearly fee of $130 on a battery-electric car, added to the regular registration fee, paid at the same prorated rate. (Iowa Code 321.116(1))
• Plug-in hybrid registration fee — $65.00. A yearly fee of $65 on a plug-in hybrid, added to the regular registration fee, paid at the same prorated rate. (Iowa Code 321.116(2))

• Registration renews every year in your birth month. The annual fee is 1% of the car's original list price plus 40 cents per 100 pounds. It falls as the car ages: the list-price part drops to 75% after seven model years and 50% after nine, and from the twelfth model year the fee is a flat $50.
• Late fees: if you do not file the title and registration application on time, 10% of the fee for new registration is added. An unpaid registration picks up 5% of the fee for each month it is late, never less than $5.
• If you sold, traded or junked a car with registration time left, you can claim a credit for the unused months toward the new car's annual fee. Claim it within six months; a credit under $10 is not allowed.

• A battery-electric car pays $130 a year on top of the regular registration fee.
• A plug-in hybrid pays $65 a year on top of the regular registration fee.

• Iowa does not charge sales tax on a car. It charges a one-time fee for new registration instead: $10 plus 5% of the purchase price, the same in every county. It is paid with the title application, and the dealer can collect it at the sale and pass it to the county treasurer.
• Your trade-in reduces the price the 5% is figured on, new or used, with no dollar cap. It counts even if you still owe more than it is worth. The trade-in has to be titled in the same name or names as the car you are buying (trades between spouses, or between parents and children, also qualify), and it has to be a kind of vehicle the dealer sells.
• Registration is a yearly fee set by the car's original list price and weight, not by what you paid. It renews every year in your birth month. At the sale you pay the months left until then, so the amount shown is the most you would pay.
• Registering the car: the dealer can take your title and registration application and the government fees at the sale and send them to the county treasurer within 30 days, and it gives you a 45-day "registration applied for" card. If you do not use the dealer, you have 30 days to apply at any county treasurer's office. The fees are in the calculator's total because you pay them either way.

Source: Iowa Department of Revenue - Iowa Tax/Fee Descriptions and Rates · rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Methodology.