322.19A Documentary fee.

1. For purposes of this section, “documentary fee” means a fee that may be charged to a customer by a motor vehicle dealer for the preparation of documents related to an application for motor vehicle registration and an application for issuance of a certificate of title, and the performance of other related services for the customer. “Documentary fee” does not include any costs or fees charged to a motor vehicle dealer or a dealer’s customer by a third party.

2. A motor vehicle dealer may charge a documentary fee not to exceed one hundred eighty dollars for each motor vehicle sold in a transaction.

3. After the department has implemented a statewide program pursuant to section 321.20, subsection 2, the maximum documentary fee permitted by subsection 2 shall be reduced by twenty-five dollars.

4. A motor vehicle dealer who charges a documentary fee to a customer shall include the fee in the price of the motor vehicle. The dealer shall disclose the full amount of the fee in any price of a motor vehicle advertised by the dealer and when making or accepting an offer to sell a motor vehicle. The dealer shall provide the following notice to the customer, which notice shall be clearly and conspicuously disclosed in any motor vehicle purchase agreement with the customer:

DOCUMENTARY FEE. A DOCUMENTARY FEE IS NOT AN OFFICIAL FEE. A DOCUMENTARY FEE IS NOT REQUIRED BY LAW, BUT MAY BE CHARGED TO A BUYER FOR THE PREPARATION OF DOCUMENTS AND THE PERFORMANCE OF RELATED SERVICES. THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT THAT MAY BE CHARGED FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEE IS DETERMINED BY IOWA CODE SECTION 322.19A. THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY LAW.

5. A violation of this section is an unlawful practice under section 714.16.

2016 Acts, ch 1083, §8