A new law is hitting the road soon. Starting July 1st Iowa’s Hands-Free Driving Law goes into effect.

Drivers will no longer be allowed to hold or manually operate a cell phone or other electronic device while driving. Using your device is only allowed if it’s hands-free or voice activated.

Hands-free means you cannot hold your phone while driving. You cannot manually scroll, type, or enter an address into GPS while driving. You cannot view texts, videos, or social media from behind the wheel. Nor can you stream videos or make video calls while driving. 

The enforcement timeline for this new law will be from July 1 – December 31 warnings will be issued. Starting January 1, 2026 violators could receive a moving violation with a $100 fine.