Title XI, NATURAL RESOURCES (Ch. 455 - 485)

The owner and operator of any undocumented vessel shall be liable for any injury or damage occasioned by the negligent operation of such vessel. [C39, § 1703.21; C46, 50, 54, 58, §106.21; C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §106.18 ] C93, §462A.18

As used in this chapter , unless the context clearly requires a different meaning: 1. “Alcohol concentration” means the number of grams of alcohol per any of the following: a. One hundred milliliters of blood. b. Two hundred ten liters of breath. c. Sixty-seven milliliters of uri…

1. A vessel either for hire or offered for hire upon any waters of this state under the jurisdiction of the commission may be inspected at any time by representatives of the commission or by any peace officer who is trained in enforcing, and who in the regular course of duty enfo…

1. Any officer appointed by the commission may, for cause, temporarily suspend the registration certificate of any vessel that has been issued under this chapter , and the commission, after a due hearing on the matter at its next session, shall make final determination in the mat…

No person owning or operating a vessel shall permit said vessel to be occupied by more passengers and crew than the registration capacity permits. [C39, § 1703.16, 1703.24; C46, 50, 54, 58, §106.16, 106.24; C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §106.24 ] C93, §462A.24 Referred to in §…

If an owner or operator of a vessel for hire or commercial vessel operated upon the waters of this state under the jurisdiction of the commission permits such vessel to be occupied by more passengers and crew than the registration capacity allows or if a person continues to opera…

1. Vessel traffic shall be governed by the following rules: a. Passing from rear — keep to the operator’s left. b. Passing head on — keep to the operator’s right. c. Passing at right angles — vessel at the right has the right-of-way. d. Manually propelled vessels have the right-o…

Every structure, not considered a permanent structure by the commission or excepted by the rules of the commission, shall be removed from the waters, ice, or land of this state under the jurisdiction of the commission on or before December 15 of each year. Failure to comply with …

1. A dock in a boat harbor located on the Cedar river in a city with a population of more than one hundred twenty-five thousand located in a county with a population of more than two hundred thousand is exempt from all dock requirements of the department of natural resources if t…

1. A person with a valid class I or class III dock permit, as provided in 571 IAC ch. 16 , may construct a roof to protect a hoist or slip if all of the following apply: a. The roof is constructed with rust-resistant materials. b. The roof is no more than thirty feet wide. c. The…

A person shall not place or allow to remain in the waters of this state under the jurisdiction of the commission, any vessel which has failed to pass inspection. All vessels shall be seaworthy for the waters on which they are being used. [C39, § 1703.25; C46, 50, 54, 58, §106.25;…

Peace officers, members of the commission, and the commission’s deputies, agents, and employees are not violating the provisions of this chapter while acting within the scope of their employment in search and rescue operations, law enforcement duty, emergency duty, and other reso…

1. The commission is vested with the power and is charged with the duty of observing, administering, and enforcing the provisions of this chapter . 2. The commission may adopt and enforce rules under chapter 17A as necessary to carry out this chapter and to protect private and pu…

It is unlawful for any aircraft to make use of the inland lakes of the state, except in the transportation of persons or property between points separated by a distance of thirty miles or more. However, this section does not prohibit the use of such waters by any aircraft in dang…

1. Except as provided in rules adopted under this chapter , a motorboat shall not be permitted on any artificial lake under the jurisdiction of the commission except the following: a. A motorboat equipped with one or more outboard battery operated electric trolling motors. b. A m…

1. No private buoy shall be maintained in the waters of this state under the jurisdiction of the commission except as specified by the rules of the commission. 2. No other obstruction of any kind shall be maintained in the waters of this state under the jurisdiction of the commis…

1. A person operating a craft or vehicle propelled by sail or by machinery in whole or in part shall not operate the craft or vehicle on the surface of ice on the lakes and streams of this state including but not limited to boundary streams and lakes unless the commission issues …

Upon approach of an authorized emergency vessel displaying a blue light or flashing blue light, the operator of every other vessel shall stop and yield the right-of-way until the authorized vessel has passed. The provisions of this section shall not relieve the operator of an aut…

1. Except as provided in subsection 2 , a person shall not operate a motor vehicle in any of the following: a. Any portion of a meandered stream. b. Any portion of the bed of a nonmeandered stream which has been identified as a navigable stream or river by rule adopted by the dep…

1. The operator of a vessel commits a serious misdemeanor if the operator willfully fails to bring the vessel to a stop or otherwise eludes or attempts to elude an authorized marked law enforcement vessel operated by a uniformed peace officer or by a water patrol officer of the d…

A manufacturer or dealer owning, storing, repairing, or altering a vessel required to be registered under this chapter may operate the vessel for purposes of transporting, testing, demonstrating, or selling the vessel without registering each such vessel, provided that any such v…

1. Any manufacturer or dealer may, upon payment of a fee of fifteen dollars, make application to the commission, upon such forms as the commission prescribes, for a special certificate containing a general distinguishing number and for one or more duplicate special certificates. …

The commission, upon granting any such application, shall issue to the applicant a special certificate containing the applicant’s name and address, the general distinguishing number assigned to the applicant, the word “manufacturer” or “dealer”, and such other information as the …

The commission shall also issue duplicate special certificates as applied for which shall have displayed thereon the general distinguishing number assigned to the applicant. Each duplicate special certificate so issued shall contain a number or symbol identifying the same from ev…

Each special certificate issued under this chapter shall expire at midnight on April 30 of the last calendar year of the registration period, and a new special certificate for the ensuing registration period may be obtained upon application to the commission and payment of the fe…

Water occurring in any river, stream, or creek having definite banks and bed with visible evidence of the flow of water is flowing surface water and is declared to be public waters of the state of Iowa and subject to use by the public for navigation purposes in accordance with la…

1. The director, with the consent of the commission, may enter into agreements with the appropriate regulatory agencies of other states as necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this chapter and not inconsistent with this chapter , and may do all acts contained in t…

Except as provided in sections 462A.6 and 462A.6A , every vessel on the waters of this state under the jurisdiction of the commission shall be numbered. A person shall not operate, maintain, or give permission for the operation or maintenance of any vessel on such waters unless t…

If a manufacturer or dealer has an established place of business in more than one city, the manufacturer or dealer shall secure a separate and distinct special certificate and general distinguishing number for each such place of business. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §106.41 ] C93, …

Upon the transfer of ownership of any vessel, the owner shall, at the time of delivering the vessel, provide the purchaser or transferee with either the title of the vessel assigned in the purchaser’s or transferee’s name or, if there is no title, the registration certificate wit…

The purchaser or transferee shall, except as otherwise provided by this chapter , within thirty days of the purchase or transfer, file a new application form with the county recorder with a fee of one dollar and the appropriate writing fee, and a transfer of number shall be award…

When the purchaser or transferee of a vessel is a dealer who holds the same for resale and operates the vessel only for purposes incident to a resale and displays thereon a special dealers’ certificate, or does not operate such vessel or permit it to be operated, such transferee …

Whenever a dealer purchases or otherwise acquires a vessel registered in this state, the dealer shall issue a signed receipt to the previous owner, indicating the date of purchase or acquisition, the name and address of such previous owner, and the registration number of the vess…

Nothing in this section shall prohibit a dealer from obtaining a new registration and transfer of registration in the same manner as other purchasers. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §106.47 ] C93, §462A.47

Upon the sale of a vessel by a manufacturer or dealer, the purchaser shall, within thirty days of the purchase, make application for registration and the purchaser may operate the vessel without its individual identification number thereon for a period of not more than thirty-fiv…

A manufacturer or dealer shall not permit the use of a “registration applied for” card unless an application for a registration certificate has been made. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §106.49 ] C93, §462A.49 2014 Acts, ch 1092, §99

1. The owner of each vessel required to be numbered by this state shall initially register it with the commission through the county recorder of the county in which the owner resides, or, if the owner is a nonresident, the owner shall register it in the county in which such vesse…

The commission shall, upon the application of any manufacturer or dealer, furnish “registration applied for” cards free of charge. No cards shall be used except those furnished by the commission. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §106.50 ] C93, §462A.50

The county recorder shall be responsible for all fees and penalties for the issuance of vessel registrations. All unused registration certificates shall be surrendered to the commission upon demand. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §106.51 ] C93, §462A.51 Referred to in §331.602

1. A county recorder shall remit to the commission all fees collected by the recorder through a process determined by the department. All fees collected for the registration of vessels shall be forwarded by the commission to the treasurer of the state, who shall place the money i…

A writing fee of two dollars for each privilege shall be collected by the county recorder. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §106.5 , 106.53 ; 82 Acts, ch 1028, §29 ] C93, §462A.53 2005 Acts, ch 137, §16 ; 2012 Acts, ch 1100, §64 ; 2023 Acts, ch 71, §111 Referred to in §331.605 , 462A.5 …

The writing fees collected by the county recorder shall be paid to the county treasurer by the county recorder as other such fees are paid to the county treasurer by the county recorder. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §106.54 ] C93, §462A.54 Referred to in §331.602

No vessel shall be registered by the county recorder until there has been presented to the recorder receipts, bills of sale, or other satisfactory evidence that the sales or use tax has been paid for the purchase of the vessel. If the owner of the vessel is unable to present sati…

An applicant for registration of a vessel for which the county recorder is not satisfied as to the ownership of the vessel as provided in section 462A.5, subsection 1 , shall file with the department a bond in the form prescribed by the department and executed by the applicant, a…

Exemption from registration provisions of this chapter . A vessel shall not be required to be registered if it is: 1. Covered by a number in full force and effect which has been awarded to it pursuant to a federally approved numbering system of another state if such vessel shall …

An officer of the commission or any peace officer who is trained in enforcing, and who in the regular course of duty enforces, boating and navigation laws may stop and inspect a vessel being launched, being operated, or being moored on the waters of this state under the jurisdict…