(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 order to ensure its safekeeping, provide a duplicate or facsimile of the certificate of registration to be kept in the vehicle for display by any person who may legally operate the vehicle under the owner’s registration.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class C misdemeanorup to 30 daysup to $50
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-4-108

  • ADS-operated vehicle: means a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Department: means the department of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-1-111
  • Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof, with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Platoon: means a group of individual motor vehicles that are traveling in a unified manner at electronically coordinated speeds. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
(b) The provision of subsection (a) requiring that a certificate of registration be carried in the vehicle to which it refers, or by the person driving the vehicle, shall not apply when the certificate of registration is used for the purpose of making application for renewal of registration or upon a transfer of the vehicle.
(c) For purposes of any vehicle operating as part of a platoon, as defined by § 55-8-101, the requirements of subsection (a) are satisfied if the certificate of registration is at all times carried in the first or lead vehicle in the platoon.
(d) For purposes of an ADS-operated vehicle, as defined by § 55-30-102, the requirements of subsection (a) are satisfied if the certificate of registration is at all times carried in or available electronically through, the vehicle to which it refers.
(e) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
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