Title 55, Motor and Other Vehicles

(a) (1) The commissioner shall, upon receipt of an application for a certificate of title, and after determining by an examination of its records that the applicant is entitled to a certificate of title, issue the same.(2) Except as provided by subdivision (a)(3), the several cou…

(a) In the event any certificate of title is lost, mutilated, or becomes illegible, the owner or a legal representative or successor in interest of the owner of the vehicle for which the same was issued, as shown by the records of the department, shall immediately make applicatio…

(a) The department shall assign a new and distinguishing number to a motor vehicle whenever the serial and/or motor number on the motor vehicle is destroyed or obliterated, which distinguishing number shall be stamped on the vehicle in a position to be determined by the commissio…

The commissioner is authorized to adopt and enforce reasonable rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary and compatible with the public interest with respect to the change or substitution of one (1) engine in place of another in any motor vehicle.

(a) In order to transfer titling to any motor vehicle coming within the title provisions of chapters 1-6 of this title, the owner shall endorse an assignment and warranty of title upon the certificate of title, if in such owner's possession, for such vehicle, with a statement of …

The transferee, before operating or permitting the operation of a transferred vehicle upon a highway, shall apply for and obtain a registration and apply for a certificate of title for the transferred vehicle in the manner provided in § 55-4-101, except as otherwise permitted in …

(a) When the transferee of a vehicle is a dealer who holds the same for resale and lawfully operates the same under dealer's registration plates, the transferee shall not be required to obtain a new registration of the vehicle or be required to obtain a new certificate of title, …

(a) Whenever the title or interest of an owner in or to a registered vehicle passes to another otherwise than by voluntary transfer, the vehicle registration shall expire and the vehicle shall not be operated upon the highways unless and until the person entitled to possession of…

(a) The department, upon receipt of a properly endorsed certificate of title, accompanied by the required fee, and when satisfied as to the genuineness and regularity of the transfer and of the right of the transferee to a certificate of title, shall issue a new certificate of ti…

(a) When any new lien, other than a lien dependent solely upon possession, or a lien of the state for taxes established pursuant to title 67, chapter 1, part 14, is placed on any motor vehicle coming within the title provisions of chapters 1-6 of this title in a transaction not i…

(a) Any person holding a lien or encumbrance upon a vehicle, other than a lien dependent solely upon possession, may assign title or interest in and to the motor vehicle to a person other than the owner, without the consent and without affecting the interest of the owner, of the …

No conditional sales contract, chattel mortgage, or other lien or encumbrance or title retention instrument upon a registered vehicle, other than a lien dependent upon possession entered into after March 1, 1951, or a lien of the state for taxes established pursuant to title 67, …

(a) Except as provided for manufactured homes complying with the requirements of § 55-3-128, a lien or security interest in a vehicle of the type for which a certificate is required shall be perfected and shall be valid against subsequent creditors of the owner, subsequent transf…

(a) It is a Class C misdemeanor for any person to fail or neglect to properly endorse or deliver any certificate of title to the department, a transferee, or other person lawfully entitled to the certificate of title. (b) It is a Class C misdemeanor for any lienor, including a mo…

(a) If a manufactured home is affixed to a parcel of real property, as provided in the affidavit of affixation, and the legal ownership of the manufactured home and real property is identical, upon the recording of the affidavit of affixation as provided in subsection (c), the ow…

(1) If the legal owner of a manufactured home, and the real property to which the manufactured home has become affixed, desires a cancelled certificate of title to be reissued, the legal owner shall:(1) Reapply for a new certificate pursuant to this chapter;(2) Provide an abstrac…

Title to a custom-built car for which no certificate of title has ever been issued by the division may be titled as the make, model and year of the manufactured motor vehicle that the custom-built car most closely resembles; provided, however, that the car is intended to replicat…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Automotive dismantler and recycler” means a person who engages in the business of acquiring salvage vehicles for the purpose of recovering parts for resale;(2) “Flood vehicle” means any passenger motor vehicle w…

(a) Any owner dismantling or wrecking any registered vehicle shall immediately forward to the department the certificate of title issued to the owner for the vehicle, but may retain the certificate of registration and registration plates for the purpose of transferring the certif…

(a) (1) Any motor vehicle dismantler and recycler required to be licensed pursuant to § 55-17-109 or scrap metal processor as defined in § 55-3-201, who purchases motor vehicles for parts, dismantling, or scrap, shall, notwithstanding the requirements of title 62, chapter 9, be g…

(1) A motor vehicle dealer's license shall not be required for a person to sell motor vehicles to licensed automotive dismantlers and recyclers, as defined in § 55-17-102, or to registered scrap metal dealers or scrap metal processors, if:(1) The motor vehicle has been designated…

(a) The department is authorized to accept applications for rebuilt certificates of title that are supported by a salvage title and other evidence of reconstruction as is required, without the applicant first submitting this evidence through one (1) of the county clerks. In these…

(a) Prior to the issuance of a rebuilt certificate of title for a vehicle on which a salvage title has been issued, a representative of the department shall inspect the vehicle at a place and time to be designated by the commissioner. The person inspecting the vehicle shall certi…

Sections 55-3-120(c), 55-3-201, 55-3-202(b), 55-3-205, 55-3-206, and 55-3-209, apply equally to vehicles reconstructed out of state and sought to be titled in this state.

There shall be a brand affixed to a certificate of title issued by the department for a motor vehicle which has sustained substantial water damage.

(a) For any passenger motor vehicle, the ownership of which is transferred on or after October 1, 1996, the department shall disclose in writing on the certificate of title whenever records readily accessible to the state indicate that the passenger motor vehicle was previously i…

(a) Any law enforcement agency that impounds a motor vehicle due to the manufacture of methamphetamine on or within the motor vehicle, determined to be contaminated pursuant to the standards developed pursuant to title 68, chapter 212, part 5, shall submit a notice of motor vehic…

(a) (1) As a condition precedent to the operation of any motor vehicle upon the streets or highways of this state, the motor vehicle shall be registered as provided in this chapter.(2) The registration and the fees provided for registration shall constitute a privilege tax upon t…

The department shall furnish to the county clerks of the various counties forms for certificates of registration, which certificates shall contain upon their face blank spaces for the following information: the date issued; the full name and bona fide residence of the owner, incl…

(a) The department shall likewise furnish to the county clerks of the various counties of the state all registration plates of all types that may be required by the county clerks in the exercise of the duties in subdivision (b)(1) imposed upon them. (b) (1) Every registration pla…

(a) All certificates of registration and registration plates issued under chapters 1-6 of this title shall expire at twelve o'clock (12:00) midnight on March 31 of each year. These certificates of registration and registration plates shall be available for renewal and purchase co…

(a) (1) Application for renewal certificates of registration and registration plates shall be made by the owner by the surrender of the owner's old certificate of registration or other indicia thereof as the commissioner may authorize to the vehicle and the payment of the require…

(1) The department shall file the original of each certificate of registration received by it from the various county clerks, and shall keep a record of all these certificates of registration by registration years for a period of at least five (5) years in suitable books as follo…

In the event any certificate of registration is lost, mutilated or becomes illegible, the owner of the vehicle for which the certificate was issued, as shown by the records of the county clerk for the county where the vehicle was registered, or the owner's legal representative, s…

(a) Every certificate of registration shall at all times be carried in the vehicle to which it refers or shall be carried by the person driving, or in control of the vehicle, who shall display the certificate upon demand of any officer or employee of the department. The owner may…

In registering any motor vehicle, the county clerk shall cause to be issued one (1) registration plate.

(a) The registration plate issued for passenger motor vehicles shall be attached on the rear of the vehicle. The registration plate issued for those trucks with a manufacturer's ton rating not exceeding three-quarter (¾) ton and having a panel or pickup body style, and also those…

(a) (1) In order to facilitate efficient and uniform enforcement of chapters 1-6 of this title, motor vehicles, excepting such motor vehicles as are constructed for the purpose of transporting tangible personal property or other property, and passenger motor vehicles operating fo…

(a) The registration fees for private and commercial motor vehicles operating for hire who transport passengers shall be as follows: (1) Motor vehicles with not more than seven (7) seats for passengers $ 47.13(2) Motor vehicles with over seven (7) seats and not more than fifteen …

(a) The registration taxes for trucks and truck tractors shall be:(1) Private Carriers and Public Household Goods Carriers. Fixed load vehicles, as defined in § 55-1-117, so designated and used only for the transportation of equipment that is mounted thereon may be registered at …

(a) The declared maximum gross weight, including motor vehicle and load, shall be painted with durable paint in letters and figures. (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as a grant of authority for the use on the public highways of the state of any motor vehicle that no…

(a) (1) As used in this section, “temporary operation permit” means a permit which the commissioner or the commissioner's designee is authorized to issue to an applicant desiring to operate a motor vehicle, otherwise subject to registration in Tennessee, over the streets and high…

(a) Beginning January 1, 2024, in addition to all other motor vehicle registration fees prescribed by law, there must be paid to the department at the time the vehicle registration is renewed an additional registration fee according to the following schedule, or in such other amo…

(a) (1) Any manufacturer, transporter or dealer may make application to the department for a certificate containing a general distinguishing number and for one (1) or more special plates, as are provided for in § 55-4-226. The fee for the master plate shall be at the rate of twic…

(a) Whenever the owner of a registered vehicle transfers or assigns the owner's title or interest to the vehicle, the registration of the vehicle shall expire. (b) The owner shall remove the registration plate or plates from the vehicle and may have the plates assigned to another…

(a) Upon any transfer of title or interest of an owner in or to a registered vehicle to another otherwise than by voluntary transfer, the new owner may secure a new registration and certificate of title upon the payment of all proper fees by any one (1) of the following methods:(…