Iowa § 321.555 - 321.555 Habitual offender defined.

§ 321.555. 321.555 Habitual offender defined.

As used in this section and sections 321.556 through 321.562, “habitual offender” means any person who has accumulated convictions for separate and distinct offenses described in subsection 1, 2, or 3, committed after July 1, 1974, for which final convictions have been rendered, as follows: 1. Three or more of the following offenses, either singularly or in combination, within a six-year period: a. Manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle. b. Operating a motor vehicle in violation of section 321J.2 or its predecessor statute. c. Driving a motor vehicle while the person’s driver’s license is suspended, denied, revoked, or barred. d. Perjury or the making of a false affidavit or statement under oath to the department of public safety. e. An offense punishable as a felony under the motor vehicle laws of Iowa or any felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used. f. Failure to stop and leave information, to render aid, or to otherwise comply with sections 321.261 and 321.263. g. Eluding or attempting to elude a pursuing law enforcement vehicle in violation of section 321.279. h. Serious injury by a vehicle in violation of section 707.6A, subsection 4. 2. Six or more of any separate and distinct offenses within a two-year period in the operation of a motor vehicle, which are required to be reported to the department by section 321.491 or chapter 321C, except equipment violations, parking violations as defined in section 321.210, violations of registration laws, violations of sections 321.445 and 321.446, operating a vehicle with an expired license or permit, failure to appear, weights and measures violations and speeding violations of less than fifteen miles per hour over the legal speed limit. 3. The offenses included in subsections 1 and 2 shall be deemed to include offenses under any valid town, city or county ordinance paralleling and substantially conforming to the provisions of the Code concerning such offenses. [C75, 77, 79, 81, §321.555; 82 Acts, ch 1167, §10] 84 Acts, ch 1016, §4; 84 Acts, ch 1022, §9; 86 Acts, ch 1009, §3; 86 Acts, ch 1220, §37; 89 Acts, ch 296, §36; 90 Acts, ch 1230, §74 – 76; 93 Acts, ch 87, §8; 97 Acts, ch 104, §24; 97 Acts, ch 177, §2; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §9; 2010 Acts, ch 1105, §8; 2014 Acts, ch 1092, §79; 2021 Acts, ch 180, §5; 2025 Acts, ch 14, §12 Referred to in §321.213, 321.215, 321.556, 321.560, 321.562 Subsection 2 amended Thu Dec 11 19:42:51 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Section 321.555 (36, 2)