(a) Any person whose license or registration is revoked, suspended or cancelled under any provision of chapter 10 or 50 of this title, or under this part, shall immediately surrender that person’s operator‘s license to the commissioner of safety and surrender that person’s motor vehicle registration to the commissioner of revenue. If any person fails to return to the commissioner of safety that person’s license, or to return to the commissioner of revenue that person’s registration, as provided in this part, the commissioner of safety shall immediately direct any peace officer or enforcement officer of the department of safety to secure possession of the license or registration, and to return the license to the department of safety or the registration to the department of revenue. For the purpose of enforcing this portion of this part, any officer of the department or any local law enforcement officer of any city or county may, when in possession of or having knowledge of an order of surrender, take possession of any suspended, revoked or cancelled driver license and/or vehicle registration in the possession of the driver, when the driver has failed to return the license or vehicle registration to the commissioner of safety or the commissioner of revenue as provided herein. All of the confiscated licenses shall be immediately forwarded to the commissioner of safety and all of the confiscated registrations and plates shall be immediately forwarded to the commissioner of revenue together with the completed notification of service of the order. Upon receipt of the fee provided in subsection (b), the commissioner shall make a payment of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to the local law enforcement agency seizing the licenses and/or vehicle registration plates, for the remittance of an executed order of suspension, cancellation or revocation and return of all seized licenses and plates. The fees received by the local law enforcement agency shall be deposited in the agency’s operational fund account and used for the enforcement of the state‘s traffic laws, including, but not limited to, chapters 10 and 50 of this title.

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 55-12-127

  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of safety, unless otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Department: means the department of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-1-111
  • Driver: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • License: means any license, temporary instruction permit, or temporary license issued under the laws of this state, or any other state, pertaining to the licensing of persons to operate motor vehicles within this state. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Motor vehicle: means every self-propelled vehicle that is designed for use upon the highway, including trailers and semitrailers designed for use with motor vehicles, and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead wires but not operated upon rails, except traction engines, road rollers and farm tractors. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Operator: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle whether or not licensed as an operator or chauffeur under the laws of this state. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a motor vehicle, or in the event a motor 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, lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this part. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Registration: means a registration certificate or certificates and registration plates issued under the laws of this state pertaining to the registration of motor vehicles. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • State: means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any province of the Dominion of Canada. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. 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) It is a Class C misdemeanor for any person to willfully fail, within twenty (20) days after cancellation, suspension or revocation, to return a license or registration as required in subsection (a). Any person who is unable to furnish proof of financial responsibility as of the time of the cancellation, suspension or revocation and who does not surrender the cancelled, suspended or revoked license or registration within twenty (20) days from the date of the cancellation, suspension or revocation shall pay to the department of safety a fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) prior to reinstatement of the license or registration. If the department of safety, pursuant to this subsection (b), reinstates a person’s license, and if that person’s motor vehicle registration has been cancelled, suspended or revoked as required by subsection (a), then the commissioner of safety shall request that the commissioner of revenue reinstate the motor vehicle owner‘s registration and, upon payment to the commissioner of revenue of the appropriate motor vehicle registration fees provided by § 55-4-111, § 55-4-112 or § 55-4-113, the registration shall be reinstated immediately. This fee shall be in addition to any other fees or requirements necessary for reinstatement.
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