Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly
Tennessee SB1667: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 29; Title 55 and Title 56, relative to motor vehicle financial responsibility.
Status: Chaptered, May 27, 2026
Fiscal Summary STATE GOVERNMENTREVENUEDepartment of SafetyUninsured Motorist FundFY27-28 & Subsequent Years$920,000$1,615,900 EXPENDITURESUninsured Motorist FundFY27-28$1,600,000 LOCAL GOVERNMENTREVENUEMandatoryFY27-28 & Subsequent Years$5,397,900 Bill Summary The James Lee Atwood Jr. Law requires the department of revenue to provide notice to an owner of a motor vehicle if there is evidence that a motor vehicle is not insured. Such notice requires the vehicle owner to provide (i) proof of financial security, (ii) proof of exemption from financial security requirements, (iii) proof that the vehicle is no longer in the owner's possession, or (iv) a statement that the vehicle is not in use on any public road. Failure to respond to the notice results in an initial coverage failure fee, and continuing failure to respond results in increasing additional fees. This bill prohibits the department of revenue or a county clerk from processing an application for registration of a motor vehicle after the owner becomes subject to issuance of the above-described notice until the applicant provides proof of financial responsibility. If the applicant elects to use a policy of insurance as proof, the documentation must state that the policy will be in force for at least 30 days. This bill clarifies that the owner of a motor vehicle becomes subject to issuance of the above-described notice if the department of revenue has included a designation in the Tennessee Vehicle Title and Registration System database or other available database that there is evidence that a motor vehicle is not insured and the department of revenue has not issued a notice to the owner. INCREASED COVERAGE FAILURE FEES The James Lee Atwood Jr. Law provides that failure to respond to a notice from the department of revenue, as described above, results in an initial $
What the bill says
From the amended text:
Senate Transportation and Safety 1 Amendment No. 1 to SB1667 Massey Signature of Sponsor AMEND S e n ate Bill No. 1667* House Bill No. 1690 by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 4, Part 1, is amended by adding the following as a new section: (a) The commissioner or a county clerk shall not process an application for initial issuance of registration of a motor vehicle unless the vehicle has met the requirements of this section and the Financial Responsibility Law of 1977, compiled in chapter 12, part 1 of this title. (b) Submission of the following items constitutes satisfactory proof that a vehicle has met the requirements of the Financial Responsibility Law of 1977, as required by subsection (a): (1) Documentation, such as the declaration page of an insurance policy, an insurance binder, or an insurance card from an insurance company authorized to do business in this state, whether in paper or electronic format, stating that a policy of insurance meeting the requirements of the Financial Responsibility Law of 1977 has been issued and will be in force for a period of not less than thirty (30) days; or (2) A certificate, valid for one (1) year, issued by the commissioner of revenue, stating that: (A) A …