(a) The state, county or municipal court clerk and county clerk responsible for the collection of fees, fines, court costs or other charges is hereby authorized to:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 8-21-107

  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Service: means service as a general employee, a teacher, a state police officer, a wildlife officer, a firefighter, a police officer, a state judge, a county judge, an attorney general, a commissioner or a county official which is paid for by an employer, and also includes service for which a former member of the general assembly is entitled to under former §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • State: means the state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
(1) Accept payment by credit card of a fee, fine, court cost or other charge; and
(2) Collect a fee for processing the payment by credit card.
(b) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, “credit card” has the same meaning as used in § 47-22-101.
(c) The clerk shall set the processing fee in an amount that is reasonably related to the expense incurred by the court in processing the payment by credit card. However, the court may not set the processing fee in an amount that exceeds five percent (5%) of the amount of the fee, court cost or other charge being paid.
(d) If a payment by credit card is not honored by the credit card company on which the funds are drawn, the clerk may collect a service charge from the person who owes the fee, fine, court cost or other charge. The service charge is in addition to the original fee, fine, court cost or other charge and is for the collection of that original amount. The amount of the service charge shall be the same amount as the fee charged for the collection of a check drawn on an account with insufficient funds.
(e) The clerk collecting a fee or charge under this chapter shall deposit the fee or charge in the general fund of the clerk’s respective governmental unit.
(f) The county clerk collecting a fee or charge under this chapter shall state on any notice to the taxpayer either the percentage of the processing fee or the fee itself.
(g) The county clerk collecting a fee or charge under this chapter shall state on any notice to the taxpayer either the percentage of the processing fee for use of a credit card or the actual fee imposed for the use of a credit card.
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