Ames, IA

In the City of Ames, Iowa, it is unlawful to place salt, grain, fruit, vegetable material or similar feed outdoors anywhere in the city for the purpose of feeding deer. The Ames…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, every cat owner must get the animal a rabies vaccination between three and four months of age under Sec. 3.107 of the Ames Municipal Code, repeated on the…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 3.103 of the Ames Municipal Code requires every dog owner to keep the animal from running at large. A dog stays compliant only if it is on the owner's…

The City of Ames, Iowa does not ban any dog breed by name. Instead, Sec. 3.202 of the Ames Municipal Code lets the City Animal Control Officer designate any individual animal a…

Ames does not require every pet to be microchipped, but Sec. 3.206(b) of the Ames Municipal Code lets the Animal Control Officer order an animal designated a Dangerous Domestic Animal…

Ames does not require every dog or cat to be spayed or neutered, but Sec. 3.206(a) of the Ames Municipal Code lets the Animal Control Officer order the procedure, by a specific date…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 3.304 of the Ames Municipal Code bans keeping bears, large cats and wolves outright, along with imported mammals lacking quarantine-station…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, animal grooming salons are classified as a Retail Sales and Services -- General use under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 29.501(195), permitted with Minor Site…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, veterinarian offices are classified as a Retail Sales and Services -- General use under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 29.501(195), requiring Site Development Plan…

Outside the A-1 and A-2 agricultural districts, unincorporated Story County caps small animals like poultry, fowl and rabbits at one animal per 1,500 net square feet of lot area under…

In unincorporated Story County, there is no flat cap of two dogs or three cats per household. The line is drawn at five: once a household keeps or harbors more than five dogs or cats…

Anyone moving honeybee colonies, packages, or used equipment with combs into Iowa must apply to the state apiarist for a written entry permit at least sixty days before entry, backed…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, building a residential swimming pool requires a permit from the Building Official under the general permit requirement of the Ames Municipal Code, unless the…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, every outdoor residential swimming pool must be surrounded by a barrier at least 48 inches above grade with openings that block a 4-inch sphere, under a…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 3.115(2) of the Ames Municipal Code declares it a nuisance to let a dog, cat or other animal bay, bark, whine or howl for prolonged periods in a way…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, sound measured at the property line or right-of-way is capped by neighborhood type under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 16.4(4)(c): 60 decibels in residential…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a motor vehicle operated on the public right-of-way cannot emit more than 75 decibels measured 25 feet away, under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 16.5. The same…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, anyone wanting relief from the Chapter 16 noise limits to run amplified sound, such as a concert or outdoor PA system, must apply in writing to the city…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, every rental dwelling unit must have a working smoke alarm outside each sleeping area, inside every bedroom, and on every story including basements, under…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, consumer fireworks may only be used on the person's own property, or with the owner's consent, on July 3 (9 a.m. to 10 p.m., or 11 p.m. on a weekend), July 4…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, recreational fires in chimineas, fire pits and screened containers are allowed under the city's amended fire code, but every fire must sit more than 15 feet…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, burning garbage, refuse, leaves, landscape waste and other combustible material is prohibited unless the fire chief grants specific advance written approval…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, storing more than 100 pounds of liquefied petroleum gas is restricted in the city's residential and several special zoning districts under the fire code. The…

The state fire marshal may prohibit open burning across any designated area of Iowa during extremely dry conditions that make fire a danger to life or property. Violating an active…

In the City of Ames, Iowa a red painted curb marks a no-parking zone where any parked vehicle is treated as a traffic hazard and gets towed, while a yellow painted curb marks a…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, no vehicle may stand continuously in one spot on a city street, municipally owned or leased parking lot, or any other public thoroughfare for more than 48…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Ames Municipal Code Sec. 18.10 requires cars parked at a curb to sit parallel within 18 inches of the curb, 4 feet apart, and facing the direction of travel…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Ames Municipal Code Sec. 18.16 bars parking any truck or trailer over one ton, any vehicle of 20 or more gross tons, or boats on a street next to residential…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Ames Municipal Code Sec. 18.30 sets a downtown truck loading zone, bounded by Lincoln Way, Hunt, Stanton and Hayward, where freight may be discharged 6 a.m…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, parking on a street designated as a snow route is prohibited once the City announces the snow ordinance is in effect, under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 22.8…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, outdoor storage of recreational vehicles, boats and trailers is prohibited citywide except for one unoccupied unit per residential lot, which must sit in the…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a Zoning Permit is required before installing an electric vehicle charger and related equipment on most sites, but the Ames Municipal Code exempts…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a junked vehicle stored outdoors on private property for more than 48 hours is a declared public nuisance under the Ames Municipal Code, with a narrow…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, unpaved driveways, parking areas and vehicle maneuvering areas are treated as nonconforming under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 29.307(5)(f); they may stay…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, home compost piles may include yard waste, kitchen scraps such as fruit and vegetable trimmings and eggshells, shredded newspaper, and up to one cup of wood…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, outdoor irrigation is unrestricted until the City Council declares a water shortage emergency by resolution. Once a stage is declared, Sec. 28.603 through…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, only the City Manager or a designee may remove a street tree, and any private cutting or removal of a street tree requires City Manager permission under Ames…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Municipal Code Sec. 30.5(11) declares turf grass over 12 inches tall a public nuisance on any property in the city. The City Manager's designee can cite a…

Ames regulates lawn upkeep through its public nuisance code, not a blanket ban on native plants. Chapter 30 defines Turf Grasses narrowly as mowed lawn species and caps only turf…

Ames treats low-hanging vegetation over public streets and sidewalks as a public nuisance, not merely a courtesy. Ames Municipal Code Sec. 30.5(9) requires 16 feet of clearance above a…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, fences are capped at 4 feet in front setbacks and front yards, 6 feet in side and rear setbacks, and 8 feet outside setbacks under Ames Municipal Code Sec…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, barbed wire, razor wire, electric fencing, and similar materials are outright prohibited on residential and most other zoned properties under Ames Municipal…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a retaining wall no more than 4 feet above the lowest adjacent grade needs no building permit under Sec. 5.104(5), unless it supports a surcharge or impounds…

Iowa Code Chapter 359A imposes a statewide statutory duty on adjoining landowners to share construction and maintenance of partition fences upon written request, with disputes resolved…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, detached garages and accessory buildings on single-family lots are capped at 900 square feet under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 29.408(7), rising to 1,200 square…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, an Accessory Dwelling Unit is permitted on any lot with a single-family residence under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 29.409, capped at 1,000 square feet or 50…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, an Accessory Dwelling Unit or single-family residence intended for rental use must be registered with the city and hold a valid rental permit under Ames…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, converting a contributing garage inside a designated historic district into an Accessory Dwelling Unit needs approval from the Historic Preservation…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.1304 lets a resident run a Home Occupation as an allowed use in any dwelling with no permit or license required, so long as the activity stays…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.1304(4)(c)(iv) caps a home business at 10 vehicle trips a day for employees, clients and deliveries combined, counting a round trip as one. Sec…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.1304(4)(c)(iii) limits a Home Occupation to one sign, flush-mounted on the main residential structure, capped at one square foot in area. The sign…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.1304A allows a home-based day care with a resident of the dwelling as an employee to operate without any zoning permit if it holds a State of Iowa…

Iowa Code Chapter 137D exempts cottage food, non-time/temperature-controlled foods made at home, from licensing and inspection. Refrigerated or TCS foods instead require a home food…

Iowa is one of the few states that lets a home cook sell meals prepared to order. Iowa Code section 137D.1(4)(b)(2) puts made-to-order food, regularly prepared and promptly served or…

The City of Ames, Iowa splits short-term rentals under Chapter 35 into two tracks based on whether the owner stays overnight. A Hosted Home Share rents only part of the home while the…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a dwelling unit can register as a Short-Term Rental only if it is the property owner's primary residence. Sec. 35.400(2) of the Guest Lodging Code requires…

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 35.400(4) caps how many guests a registered Short-Term Rental may host in the City of Ames, Iowa. A Hosted Home Share, where the owner stays overnight, is…

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 35.400(5) sets off-street parking rules for registered Short-Term Rentals in the City of Ames, Iowa. Hosted Home Shares, where the owner is present, need no…

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 35.400(6) requires every registered Short-Term Rental in the City of Ames, Iowa to prove its taxes are current before renewing. At each annual registration…

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 35.400(8)(b) caps Home Share rentals in the City of Ames, Iowa at a total of 90 days of use per annual registration period. Each guest contract under this cap…

The City of Ames, Iowa requires Short-Term Rentals to either register under Chapter 35's Guest Lodging Code or fully comply with Chapter 13's Rental Housing Code; there is no third…

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 35.500(6) lets the Enforcement Officer immediately revoke or suspend a Short-Term Rental registration in the City of Ames, Iowa for code violations, false…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, urinating or defecating onto any sidewalk, street, alley, or other public way, or onto the floor, hallway, steps, stairway, doorway, or window of any public…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, drinking alcohol, wine or beer on public streets, highways or other public places is unlawful under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 17.17, unless the location holds…

The City of Ames, Iowa bans riding skateboards on streets, alleys, sidewalks, parking areas, and city property within a defined downtown zone bounded by Lincoln Way, Sixth Street, Duff…

Under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 17.30, a party in the City of Ames, Iowa becomes an unlawful nuisance party when it produces conditions like unlawfully loud noise, public intoxication…

The City of Ames, Iowa extends its electronic smoking device ban into outdoor spaces under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 17.36, covering outdoor sports arena and entertainment venue…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, pedestrians cannot cross a street between adjacent signalized intersections except in a crosswalk, and away from signals must cross by the shortest route to…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, massage therapy businesses must display each therapist's state license and photograph, designate a resident manager, and produce ownership and staffing…

Anyone acting as a pawnbroker in the City of Ames, Iowa must hold an annual dealer's permit issued by the City Clerk before lending against or buying pledged property. Ames Municipal…

Secondhand dealers doing business in the City of Ames, Iowa, including any automated buy-back kiosk, must hold a dealer's permit and report every transaction to a Police-designated…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Ames Municipal Code Sec. 18.19 lets a commercial, institutional or multi-unit lot owner have an unauthorized vehicle towed only after posting entrance…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, zoning code Sec. 29.1301 forbids opening or relocating an adult entertainment business within 1,000 feet of another such business, a school, a place of…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.1304(6)(g) flatly prohibits repairing or painting motor vehicles, including motorcycles and boats, or any trailer, semitrailer, recreational vehicle…

Iowa Code chapter 453A regulates vape and tobacco retail permits, requires retailer registration, and preempts conflicting local licensing schemes.

In the City of Ames, Iowa, cyclists on roadways must ride as near the right-hand side as practicable, may not ride more than two abreast except on paths reserved for bicycles, and must…

Iowa Code section 321.247 gives no statewide right to drive a golf cart on the road. Incorporated areas may, upon approval of their governing body, allow golf carts on city streets…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, any owner or agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a building, or to install or alter electrical, gas, mechanical or…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, the City has adopted the 2020 National Electrical Code as its electrical code, and Ames Municipal Code Sec. 5.103 requires a permit from the Building…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, the City has adopted the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, and Ames Municipal Code Sec. 5.103 requires a permit from the Building Official before installing…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, permitted construction work must remain accessible and exposed for inspection until the Building Official approves it, and Ames Municipal Code Sec. 5.113…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a carbon monoxide alarm is required in any rental dwelling unit or sleeping unit that has a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage, under…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, one- and two-family homes are not required to install residential fire sprinklers; the city deleted the plumbing code's residential sprinkler sections…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Municipal Code Sec. 13.407(17) requires every door into a rented dwelling, rooming, or housekeeping unit to have a keyed lock with a throw of at least 1 inch…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Municipal Code Sec. 13.705 requires at least one passenger elevator to stay in operation at all times a rental building is occupied. Buildings with only a…

In unincorporated Story County, where you can run a child care business depends on whether it counts as a small in-home operation or a licensed center, and centers serving more than…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, peddlers and solicitors may not knock between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., and posting a No Peddlers or No Solicitors sign at a home's entrance bars any…

Anyone who peddles or solicits residence to residence in the City of Ames, Iowa without a fixed indoor place of business must register with the City Clerk and wear a visible…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Chapter 5B of the Municipal Code requires any new development disturbing one acre or more of land, or creating over 10,000 square feet of impervious cover…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, anyone required to obtain a State NPDES General Permit #2 for a construction site must also get a City Construction Site Erosion and Sediment Control…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, no structure or land in a mapped flood plain overlay district can be used, located, extended, converted or structurally altered without full compliance with…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, new or substantially improved residential structures in the Floodway Fringe Overlay District must elevate their lowest floor, including any basement, at…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, the Building Official can declare any building, shed, fence or structure a dangerous building or public nuisance under the city's Dangerous Building Code…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, property owners must clear snow and ice from the sidewalk abutting their property within ten (10) daylight hours after a storm ends, under Ames Municipal…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Municipal Code Sec. 30.5(14) makes it a public nuisance to leave an excavation, hole, or depression deeper than three feet on any lot or parcel in the city…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices cannot sit on a combustible balcony or within 10 feet of combustible construction under the city's…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, households must keep garbage and recycling in a water-tight, tightly closed hard receptacle that birds and animals cannot rip open, and plastic bags or paper…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, every hauler licensed to collect garbage, refuse or recycling must maintain prompt, reliable pickup service under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 10.20. A collector…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, it is unlawful to deposit garbage, yard waste, refuse or recycling in any street, alley, lane, public place, private property or body of water within city…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, brush and tree trimmings set out for collection must be tied in bundles no more than four feet long and two feet in diameter, using hemp, sisal, cotton or…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, licensed haulers must collect garbage and refuse from single-family homes and multi-family properties of up to four units no more than once a week under Ames…

The City of Ames, Iowa runs a mandatory curbside recycling program under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 10.27, collecting recycling from every single-family residence and each unit of a…

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 10.8(4) sets the only three lawful ways to dispose of recycling in the City of Ames, Iowa: through the Sec. 10.27 residential curbside recycling program, by…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, bulky household items and other large trash go to the Arnold O. Chantland Resource Recovery Center, the only authorized disposal site under Sec. 10.21 of the…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, all city parks close nightly at 10:30 p.m. and reopen at 6:00 a.m. under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 19.11. Only Parks and Recreation Department staff or…

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 13.400 sets the City of Ames, Iowa's minimum habitability standard for every registered rental structure: owners must keep structures and exterior property…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, no owner or operator may rent or offer to rent a dwelling unit for human habitation unless it is registered with the Inspection Division and holds a valid…

Iowa Code Sec. 562A.27(2) lets a landlord terminate after 3 days' written notice for nonpayment of rent. For other material lease breaches, Sec. 562A.27(1) requires a 7-day notice with…

Under Iowa Code Sec. 562A.19, a landlord must give the tenant at least 24 hours' notice before entering and may enter only at reasonable times, except in an emergency. Tenants may not…

Iowa Code Sec. 562A.9(4) caps late fees by rent amount. If monthly rent is $700 or less, a lease may not charge over $12 per day or $60 per month total. If rent is more than $700, the…

Iowa Code Sec. 562A.34 lets either party end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days' written notice before the periodic rental date, a week-to-week tenancy with at least 10…

Iowa preempts local rent control. Iowa Code 364.3(9) bars any city from adopting or enforcing an ordinance that limits the amount of rent charged for leasing private residential or…

Iowa caps a security deposit at two months' rent. Under Iowa Code 562A.12, a landlord must return the deposit, or a written statement of deductions, within 30 days after the tenancy…

Iowa requires 10 years of open, hostile, exclusive, and continuous possession under a claim of right or color of title to claim title by adverse possession, drawing on the 10-year…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, ground signs are limited to 50 feet under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 21.122(2)(a), but the ordinance carves out land near Interstate 35: a ground sign within…

Ames, Iowa has no separate ordinance for political or campaign signs: they are regulated as temporary and/or portable signs under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 21.126. A political sign may…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, digital billboard displays, called Digital Displays in the Ames Municipal Code, are confined to properties zoned HOC, GI or PI that abut U.S. Highway 30…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, the property owner abutting a public sidewalk is responsible for maintaining it under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 22.1, along with the 'parking' strip and other…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, building or maintaining a private, fixed encroachment, such as steps, pipes, retaining walls, or storage tanks, within the public right-of-way requires a…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 22.4 of the Municipal Code makes it unlawful to place rocks, dirt, lumber, dumpsters, storage containers, barricades, or form work in the public…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a restaurant can extend its sidewalk cafe into an on-street parking space by installing a semi-permanent seating structure, or 'parklet,' but Ames Municipal…

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 22.32 lets a restaurant operate a sidewalk cafe on the public sidewalk under a City-issued Sidewalk Cafe Permit, with the fee set out in Appendix D. The cafe…

Anyone holding a parade, race, concert, or other public assembly in unincorporated Story County, on private property, county roads, or county property, needs a special events permit…

Vendors and organizers running a carnival, festival, or street fair in unincorporated Story County must cover food, alcohol, and sanitation in their special events application under…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, planting a street tree in the parking strip or public right-of-way requires following the City's planting plan on file with the Department of Public Works…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, the Inspection Division must inspect every registered rental dwelling before issuing a Letter of Compliance and again before each Letter renews, under Ames…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Municipal Code Sec. 13.411 requires every structure to be kept free of insect and rodent infestation, with prompt extermination by approved, non-hazardous…

The City of Ames grants a 15% density bonus, rounded up to the next whole unit, to Planned Unit Development (PUD) Overlay projects that set aside at least 10% of units as affordable…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.808 of the Ames Municipal Code sets the design framework for the Downtown Service Center (DSC) zone: dense, high-coverage development with buildings…

Ames imposes a hotel and motel tax on transient lodging under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 24.3, set at a base rate of five percent (5%) of gross rental receipts. Sec. 24.4 raises that…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, outdoor lighting fixtures must be designed, installed, and maintained to prevent light trespass onto residential buildings on adjacent or nearby property…

In unincorporated Story County, any outdoor luminaire rated above 1,800 lumens cannot emit direct light above a horizontal plane through its lowest light-emitting part. Sports and…

The Ames Municipal Code regulates food trucks through Sec. 22.14, making it unlawful to sell food, beverages or merchandise from any street, sidewalk, alley or city parking lot without…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, the Public Nuisances chapter of the municipal code declares noxious weeds, classified under Iowa Code Section 317.1A, and any other plant the City deems…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.1304(5) treats a rummage or garage sale, meaning a sale of household goods held outdoors or in a garage, as exempt from the Home Occupation rules…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a building, structure or site can only be designated a historic landmark, the city's version of a cultural monument, if it satisfies national, state or local…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.1309(9) requires anyone installing a non-exempt solar energy system to apply for a Solar Energy System Zoning Permit through the Planning & Housing…

Iowa has no statute that voids a homeowners association covenant banning solar panels. The only covenant provision in Iowa's solar chapter, Iowa Code section 564A.8, does nothing more…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.401(2) of the Zoning Ordinance caps how much of a lot principal and accessory buildings, plus outdoor storage, may cover, with exact percentages set…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.401(4) of the Zoning Ordinance sets maximum structure heights in each zone's Development Standards Table and lists narrow exceptions for rooftop…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.402(1) of the Zoning Ordinance requires every building and structure to meet the minimum and maximum Building Setbacks listed in its zone's…

When Story County Environmental Health receives a formal complaint about a private water well or its distribution system, County Code Section 61.10(3) requires EH to open a complaint…

Story County's Board of Health regulations, covering nuisances, wells, septic systems, pools and more, are enforced complaint-first: County Code Section 72.04 requires the…

Story County's Environmental Health Department enforces a defined list of public-health nuisances in the unincorporated county under Code of Ordinances §55.07: spoiled food, unburied…

Land, farmhouses, farm barns, and farm outbuildings used for agricultural purposes in unincorporated Story County are exempt from the county's zoning and land development regulations…

Iowa Code 657.11 protects qualifying animal feeding operations and farms from most nuisance suits unless plaintiffs prove specified statutory exceptions.

Story County doesn't regulate homeowners association bylaws or elections directly, but its subdivision rules require one to exist: major subdivisions of 10 or more lots must set aside…

Iowa has no general HOA assessment statute, so a planned-community HOA's lien rights come from its recorded declaration plus contract law. For condominiums under the Horizontal…

Iowa's records law for homeowners associations is Iowa Code chapter 499C, added by 2023 Acts, chapter 137. It gives a unit owner or the owner's authorized agent five categories of…

Iowa sets no dollar cap on a homeowners association fine and requires no notice, cure period or hearing before one is imposed. The amount and the process come from your declaration and…

Iowa gives an association a statutory assessment lien only where the community is a condominium under the Horizontal Property Act or a multiple housing cooperative under chapter 499A…

Iowa Code 124E and Iowa Admin Code 641 chapter 154 control medical cannabidiol dispensary licensing, location count, and operations. Only state-licensed dispensaries may sell…

Recreational drone use in Iowa is governed primarily by FAA Part 107 and the Recreational Flyers exception, with state limits in Iowa Code 808.15 on government surveillance. Iowa…

Iowa Code 331.301(6) preempts counties and cities from adopting minimum wage rates that exceed the Iowa state minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Iowa has allowed permitless concealed carry for adults 21 and older since July 2021, while still issuing optional non-professional permits for reciprocity.

Iowa Code 724.28 broadly preempts cities and counties from regulating firearms, ammunition, components, and accessories more strictly than state law.

Iowa permits open carry of handguns by qualifying adults statewide, though local preemption under Iowa Code 724.28 prevents stricter city rules.

Iowa Code 99F.7 gives the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission sole authority to decide the number, location, and type of licensed gambling structures and excursion gambling boats…

Iowa Code chapter 99B bars any nonprofit from running bingo, raffles, games of skill or chance, or a game night until the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing issues a…

Iowa Code § 99B.45 lets individuals gamble against each other in card and parlor games, including poker, without a state gambling license, but caps it hard: no one may win or lose more…

Iowa restricts sports wagering licenses to operators already licensed to run gambling games at a pari-mutuel racetrack enclosure or an excursion gambling boat. Under Iowa Code section…

Iowa gives its police an express roadblock statute, chapter 321K, and then confines it. A routine vehicle roadblock may be run only as provided in that section, and the section lists…

Iowa has no statute granting an express right to film police, but it does not need one: Iowa Code section 727.8(3)(a) exempts from the eavesdropping offence any recording made by a…

Iowa is not a stop and identify state. No provision of the Iowa Code requires a person detained on suspicion to give a name, and the closest section, Iowa Code 719.1A, criminalizes…

Iowa has never legalized adult-use cannabis, and it has no statute about consenting to a vehicle search. The one search-limiting provision in the Iowa Code is section 124E.12(9), which…

Iowa Code 364.3(3)(c) (cities) and 331.301(6) (counties) preempt local governments from regulating consumer merchandise containers, including plastic bags, foam containers, cups, and…

Iowa Code 453A.6 sets the minimum age to purchase or possess tobacco, alternative nicotine, and vapor products at 21 in alignment with federal law.

Iowa answers add-on lighting with numbers rather than generalities. Iowa Code section 321.403 allows no more than three auxiliary driving lamps, mounted on the front between 12 and 42…

Iowa never enumerates what may be stuck to a windshield. Chapter 321 mentions the windshield in only four places, and none of them is a list of permitted items, so a dash cam is judged…

Iowa Code section 321.275(4) does four things in one paragraph. It bans a motorcycle or motorized bicycle from being operated between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows…

Iowa Code section 321.37(3) makes it unlawful for a vehicle owner to place any frame around or over the registration plate which does not permit full view of all numerals and letters…

The word detector does not appear anywhere in Iowa Code chapter 321. What Iowa outlaws is the speed detection jamming device, defined in Iowa Code section 321.232(4)(a) as equipment…

Iowa Code section 321.442 starts from a flat ban: no tire moved on a highway may carry a block, stud, flange, cleat or spike of any material other than rubber projecting beyond the…

Iowa Code section 321.438(2) bans operating a vehicle whose front windshield, front side windows or front sidewings are excessively dark or reflective, and it leaves the number to the…