Curious Iowa: Why does Iowa require a front license plate?

Iowa is one of 31 states in the U.S. that requires vehicles to have two license plates displayed while driving — one on the front and one on the back of the car — with very few exceptions.

But why does Iowa require a front license plate, and how strictly is that rule enforced? That’s the question several people asked when they wrote to Curious Iowa, a series from The Gazette that seeks to answer Iowans’ questions about the state, its culture and the people who live here.

For this week’s Curious Iowa installment, we’re answering questions about the laws around license plate display, and why law enforcement officers say front plates are beneficial to their work.

Who needs a front license plate in Iowa?

Almost every vehicle in Iowa is required to have a license plate on the front bumper along with the back, according to Iowa code 321.37.

The only exceptions are for vehicles that are small or don’t have a front bumper — like motorcycles, autocycles, motorized bicycles and truck tractors. Historical vehicles — model years 1948 and older — or vehicles that have been reconstructed to resemble cars from 1948 or earlier, are allowed to have a plate attached to just the rear bumper, as long as the second plate is carried in the vehicle whenever it is operated on a public highway, the law states.

If a vehicle is registered in another state, where front license plates are not required, it does not have to have a front plate while visiting Iowa.

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How do police use front license plates?

Capt. Scott Gaarde, with the Iowa City Police Department, said front license plates makes it easier for law enforcement officers to identify cars that are coming from the opposite direction, without having to turn around to follow a vehicle.

“If you’re going into oncoming traffic, you can see the license plate if you have to call it in for whatever reason,” he said. “It helps if you can do a cursory glance of a license plate and learn it real quick, and verify that’s the vehicle you’re looking for.”

This applies both to officers reading license plates themselves and to license plate reader cameras that are attached to some police vehicles, according to the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

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The Cedar Rapids department has two automatic license plate reader cameras that are attached to police squad cars, which automatically run passing license plates through police databases to check for missing person and stolen vehicle reports, and arrest warrants.

Cedar Rapids also recently installed 70 stationary license plate reader cameras around the city. Those cameras rely less on front plates, as they are all positioned so they are more likely to scan the back of a car, but they can scan a front plate if it enters their field of vision, a department spokesman said.

Traffic enforcement cameras, which issue citations for red light and speeding violations, only scan the back license plates of cars, the Cedar Rapids spokesman said.

The Iowa City Police Department does not have license plate reading cameras, or automatic enforcement cameras.

Front license plates also can increase safety when vehicles are being driven in low-visibility conditions, according to Gaarde.

“Having a front license plate, because there’s a reflective material on the plate … it does increase visibility for oncoming traffic and for pedestrians as well. So, it’s not just of value for police,” Gaarde said.

How often are license plate citations issued, and what are the penalties?

Failure to have a front license plate on your vehicle in Iowa can result in a traffic ticket and a $30 fine.

In 2021, a bill proposed in the Iowa Legislature would have increased the exceptions for vehicles required to have a license plate — defining an antique vehicle as any car more than 25 years old — and prevented law enforcement officers from pulling someone over only because they don’t have a front plate. A citation could still be given for the lack of a front license plate, but only as an additional citation in a traffic stop was initiated for some other offense, like speeding.

The bill passed the Iowa Senate, but died in committee before being voted on by the House.

While the bill was being discussed in the Senate, the Iowa Legislative Services Agency prepared a fiscal note that reported law officers issued 1,586 citations for failing to properly display a front license plate in fiscal year 2020. There were 1,937 citations issued the year before that, and 2,005 in fiscal 2018, based on LSA data.

In Iowa City, only three citations were issued in 2024 for failure to have a front license plate. In Cedar Rapids there were 75 display of plate citations issued in 2024, but the data does not distinguish between which citations were issued for the lack of a front license plate and which were issued for other incorrect license plate displays, like plates that were not properly illuminated or were placed on the wrong part of a vehicle.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com