Vehicle title fees increase soon

The cost of titling your vehicle will increase Jan. 1, 2009.

As part of a state law designed to raise more money to pay for roads and road improvements, vehicle title fees and registration fees for trailers and trucks will rise starting at the beginning of next year.

The changes include:

*vehicle title fee increase from $15 to $25.

*salvage title fees increase from $7 to $15.

*registration for trailers 2,000 pounds or less increase from $10 to $20 per year.

*registration for travel trailers increase from $.20 per square foot to $.30 per square foot each year.

*annual registration fee for trucks model year 2009 or newer which weigh 3 tons or more (not for business use) will be based on the same weight/value formula that applies to cars and multipurpose vehicles. For example, a 3,000-pound truck with a $18,500 list price would have a $197 annual fee.

*annual registration fee for trucks model year 2009 or newer which weigh less than 3 tons will increase from $65 to $150 per year for vehicles less than 7 model years old. Pickup trucks older than that will gradually be phased down to $50 per year.

People whose renewals are due can pay their fees by the end of December and still receive the current rate.

Vehicles purchased on or after Jan. 1, 2009, will be subject to the new license fees.

Vehicles owned prior to Jan. 1, 2009, with the exception of trailers, are "grandfathered in," meaning no fee increase unless the vehicle is sold.

The money generated by this program, dubbed TIME-21, will be used to meet critical road and bridge needs over the next 20 years.

TIME-21 stands for Transportation Investment Moves the Economy in the 21st Century.

Iowa has more than 114,000 miles of highways, roads and streets and 24,753 bridges, ranking the state fifth in the nation for number of bridges and 13th for miles of roads.