Iowa No Chase Law
Agency discretion
Does Iowa have a no-chase law? No — Iowa has no statewide law restricting police pursuits. Each department sets its own chase policy.
What governs pursuits in Iowa
Iowa Code 321.231 (authorized emergency vehicle privileges); Iowa Code 321.279 (eluding); Iowa Code 804.13 (pursuit intervention technique)
No statewide statute restricts when Iowa police may begin or continue a pursuit. Iowa Code 321.231 grants authorized emergency vehicles special driving privileges while in pursuit of a suspected felony or misdemeanor offender, subject to due care; separate provisions regulate use of PIT (pursuit intervention technique) maneuvers by trained officers. Initiation/termination criteria are set by each department's own policy (e.g., Iowa State Patrol, local PD manuals).
Will police chase a motorcycle in Iowa?
No Iowa statute addresses motorcycles specifically. Whether to chase a fleeing motorcycle is left to each department's own pursuit policy and officer discretion, weighing offense severity against public-safety risk.
No US state has a literal law forbidding officers from chasing motorcycles. What riders call a "no-chase law" is nearly always a department policy that tells officers to break off a pursuit when the danger to the public outweighs the arrest — and fleeing remains a crime in Iowa regardless. See the state-by-state motorcycle guide for how this works everywhere.
Sources
- legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/321.231.pdf
- legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/321.279.pdf
- public.powerdms.com/IDPS01/documents/85
Verified as of August 2026. Department policies can change without notice — check the agency's published policy for current break-off criteria.