What to bring
Primary ID, proof of Iowa residency, proof of Social Security number, and medical or vision information if it applies to you. If you're under 18, bring form 430018 signed by a parent or guardian. Vision screening is part of the visit.
What we couldn't verify
The Iowa manual and permit pages don't state the real test's question count, pass score, fee, retake wait or languages. A search summary says the official online practice test is 25 questions with an 80% pass mark. We use that as a target, not as the official rule. The manual says more translations are on iowadot.gov.
Life on a permit
Your supervisor must be licensed and one of these: a parent, guardian or custodian; an immediate family member 21+; a driver ed instructor; or someone 25+ with written parental permission. No electronic devices except permanently installed ones, and no more passengers than seat belts.
Violations are costly. The first brings a warning letter and possibly a suspension. The second brings a 30-day suspension. Each violation pushes your next stage back six months.
To the intermediate license
- Age 16
- Iowa-approved driver education completed
- Permit held 12 months, with the last six months clean
- Parental consent
You can then drive alone from 5 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Waiver form 431170 covers school or work trips outside those hours. For the first six months, if your license shows the restriction, you may carry only one unrelated minor passenger when unsupervised. Any supervised-hours requirement isn't shown on the pages we opened. Check the intermediate license page.
Unposted speed limits
Chapter 4 lists these. Several are easy to mix up:
- Business district: 20 mph. Residential or school district: 25 mph.
- Suburban district: 45 mph. Towing a trailer: 45 mph.
- Unsurfaced secondary roads at night: 50 mph.
- Primary roads and urban interstates: 60 mph.
- Rural interstate: 70 mph. Interstate minimum: 40 mph.
Rules to remember
- School buses: stop no closer than 15 feet behind a bus. If an oncoming bus shows amber lights on a two-lane road, slow to 20 mph or less. On roads with four or more lanes, only traffic behind the bus must stop. A violation can cost up to 180 days of your license.
- Move Over or Slow Down covers emergency, tow, maintenance, construction and waste vehicles with flashing lights, plus any vehicle with its hazards on. The penalty is a suspension of up to a year.
- Steer It, Clear It: move a drivable car out of traffic after a minor crash. Each minute a lane is blocked raises the risk of a secondary crash about 2.8%.
- Report a crash within 72 hours if anyone is hurt or killed, or damage is over $1,500.
- Alcohol: .08 or any controlled substance counts as OWI. Under 21, a BAC of .02 means at least 60 days' revocation. Open containers go in the trunk.
- Fluorescent pink signs mark incident management zones.