Iowa prohibits any person from knowingly carrying or transporting a handgun in a vehicle.¹ This prohibition does not apply if the person transports an unloaded handgun inside a closed and fastened container or other secure package that cannot be concealed on the person, or in a cargo or luggage compartment where the handgun cannot be readily accessible to any person in the vehicle or common carrier.² This prohibition also does not apply to a person with a valid permit to carry, provided his or her conduct is within the limits of that permit.³

Iowa law specifically allows people to carry loaded pistols or revolvers while in a snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle on land not owned or possessed by the carrier, without a permit, if their conduct is otherwise lawful.⁴

Iowa generally prohibits the possession or carrying of a gun in or on a vehicle on a public highway, unless the firearm is taken down or totally contained in a securely fastened case, and its barrels and attached magazines are unloaded.⁵

1. Iowa Code § 724.4(1).[↩]
2. Iowa Code § 724.4(4)(f).[↩]
3. Iowa Code § 724.4(1), (4)(i).[↩]
4. Iowa Code § 321G.13(2), § 321I.14(2).[↩]
5. Iowa Code § 483A.36.[↩]