Safe at Home Program

If you’re enrolled in the Secretary of State’s “Safe at Home Program,” there are changes you should make in your driver’s license or identification card records and vehicle registration records to make sure your physical location is protected from disclosure. 

Driver’s Licenses & Identification Cards

If you already have an Iowa driver’s license or ID card, you should go in person to a DMV location to change the residential address that appears on the face of the card and the mailing address that we have on record. Please do not try to do this online. This should be done in person.  You should bring your current driver’s license or ID card and your “Safe at Home” participant card from the Secretary of State’s office that shows your “Safe at Home” address.

At the DMV location, tell the staff person that helps you that you want a replacement card to change your address, and give them your current driver’s license or ID card and your “Safe at Home” participant card. Ask them to list your residential address only as the street address and apartment number that appear on the card, without the P.O. box that appears on the card, and ask them to list your mailing address as the full address that appears on your participant card, with the street address and apartment number first, followed by the P.O. box in the second address line.

You will be charged a $10 fee for the replacement license or ID card.

Don't Have an Iowa Driver’s License or ID Card?

If you need to get your first driver’s license or ID card, just follow the procedures for new residents.  The only difference is that you will document your Iowa residency and residential address by presenting your “Safe at Home” participant card; unlike other applicants you will not have to provide two documents proving your residency and residential address. You should report your residential and mailing address as described above.

Vehicle Registration & License Plates

If you have one or more vehicles registered in the state of Iowa, you should go to the county treasurer’s office in the county where you live and tell them you want to change your address, get a new registration receipt that lists your “Safe at Home” address, and get new license plates that have a different alpha-numeric combination than your current plates.  Bring the vehicle registration receipt for each vehicle and your “Safe at Home” participant card with you.  Ask them to list your residential address only as the street address and apartment number hat appear on the card, without the P.O. box that appears on the card, and ask them to list your mailing address as the full address that appears on your participant card, with the street address and apartment number first, followed by the P.O. box in the second address line.

Polk County Residents

If you are a Polk County resident, you can do this personally at the Polk County treasurer’s office.  Just remember to bring your current license plates with you and surrender them when you get your new license plates.  There is no fee to update your vehicle registration receipts, but there is a $5 fee for every set of license plates you replace.

Residents of Counties other than Polk County

If you reside in a county other than Polk County, it’s important to understand that because your “Safe at Home” address is a Polk County address, all of your future vehicle registration notices will come from Polk County, and the plates that are issued to you will be Polk County plates, regardless of which county you actually live in.  This prevents people from discovering your actual address by narrowing their search to a specific county.  If you are from a county other than Polk you will not be issued new license plates the day you appear at your county treasurer’s office.  Instead, the Polk County treasurer will mail them directly to you.  You should either turn your old plates into your county treasurer’s office or destroy them when your new plates arrive.  There is no charge to update your registration receipt, but you will be charged a $5 plate replacement fee and a $3 mailing fee for each set of plates you are issued.

If you are registering a new vehicle or are registering a vehicle for the first time in the state of Iowa, just follow the usual procedure for registering a vehicle in Iowa, but make sure to use the address listed on your “Safe at Home” participant card for the your residential address and mailing address, following the instructions above.  Please make sure you include a copy of your “Safe at Home” participant card with your registration application.

For more information about Iowa’s Safe at Home program, please visit the Secretary of State' s "Safe at Home" website.