(a) It is an offense for an offender to knowingly violate any provision of this part. Violations shall include, but not be limited to:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 40-39-208

  • Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Designated law enforcement agency: means any law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over the primary or secondary residence, place of physical presence, place of employment, school or institution of higher education where the student is enrolled or, for offenders on supervised probation or parole, the department of correction or court ordered probation officer. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Offender: means sexual offender, violent sexual offender and violent juvenile sexual offender, unless otherwise designated. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Register: means the initial registration of an offender, or the re-registration of an offender after deletion or termination from the SOR. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Report: means appearance before the proper designated law enforcement agency for any of the purposes set out in this part. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Sexual offender: means a person who has been convicted in this state of committing a sexual offense or has another qualifying conviction. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Sexual offense: means :
    (A) The commission of any act that, on or after November 1, 1989, constitutes the criminal offense of:
    (i) Sexual battery, under §. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • SOR: means the TBI's centralized record system of offender registration, verification and tracking information. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • TBI: means the Tennessee bureau of investigation. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • TBI registration form: means the Tennessee sexual offender registration, verification and tracking form. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Violent juvenile sexual offender: means a person who is adjudicated delinquent in this state for any act that constitutes a violent juvenile sexual offense. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Violent juvenile sexual offense: means an adjudication of delinquency, for any act committed on or after July 1, 2011, that, if committed by an adult, constitutes the criminal offense of:
    (i) Aggravated rape, under §. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Violent sexual offender: means a person who has been convicted in this state of committing a violent sexual offense or has another qualifying conviction. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Violent sexual offense: means the commission of any act that constitutes the criminal offense of:
    (A) Aggravated rape, under [former] §. See Tennessee Code 40-39-202
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Failure of an offender to timely register or report;
(2) Falsification of a TBI registration form;
(3) Failure to timely disclose required information to the designated law enforcement agency;
(4) Failure to sign a TBI registration form;
(5) Failure to pay the annual administrative costs, if financially able;
(6) Failure to timely disclose status as a sexual offender or violent sexual offender to the designated law enforcement agency upon reincarceration;
(7) Failure to timely report to the designated law enforcement agency upon release after reincarceration;
(8) Failure to timely report to the designated law enforcement agency following reentry in this state after deportation;
(9) Failure to timely report to the offender’s designated law enforcement agency when the offender moves to another state; and
(10) Conviction of a new sexual offense, violent sexual offense, or violent juvenile sexual offense.
(b) A violation of this part is a Class E felony. No person violating this part shall be eligible for suspension of sentence, diversion or probation until the minimum sentence is served in its entirety.
(c) The first violation of this part is punishable by a fine of not less than three hundred fifty dollars ($350) and imprisonment for not less than ninety (90) days.
(d) A second violation of this part is punishable by a fine of not less than six hundred dollars ($600) and imprisonment for not less than one hundred eighty (180) days.
(e) A third or subsequent violation of this part is punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand one hundred dollars ($1,100) and imprisonment for not less than one (1) year.
(f) A violation of this part is a continuing offense. If an offender is required to register pursuant to this part, venue lies in any county in which the offender may be found or in any county where the violation occurred.
(g) In a prosecution for a violation of this section, upon the request of a district attorney general, law enforcement agency, the department of correction or its officers or a court of competent jurisdiction and for any lawful purpose permitted by this part, the records custodian of SOR shall provide the requesting agency with certified copies of specified records being maintained in the registry.
(h) The records custodian providing copies of records to a requesting agency, pursuant to subsection (g), shall attach the following certification:

I, ______________, HAVING BEEN APPOINTED BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION AS CUSTODIAN OF THE BUREAU’S CENTRALIZED RECORDS SYSTEM OF SEXUAL AND VIOLENT SEXUAL OFFENDERS, REGISTRATION, VERIFICATION AND TRACKING INFORMATION (SOR), HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF THE RECORDS MAINTAINED WITHIN SAID REGISTRY.

SIGNATURE ______________ TITLE ____________________ DATE ____________________

AFFIX THE BUREAU SEAL HERE

(i) Sexual offender, violent sexual offender and violent juvenile sexual offender registry files and records maintained by the TBI may be digitized. A digitized copy of any original file or record in the TBI’s possession shall be deemed to be an original for all purposes, including introduction into evidence in all courts or administrative agencies.
(j) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a violent juvenile sexual offender who knowingly violates this part commits a delinquent act as defined by the juvenile code.
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