(a) The department shall, upon application accompanied by a physician’s statement, provide and issue a decal or placard of distinctive design indicating that the driver of the vehicle is deaf.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-21-112

  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-21-102
  • Department: means the department of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-21-102
  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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 placard shall be personal to the deaf driver and shall only be used by that person. Any other person using the placard commits a Class A misdemeanor.
(c) These decals shall be placed in the upper corner on the driver’s side of the front windshield. When a deaf recipient transfers the automobile, the decal shall be removed, and a new decal shall be issued by the department, without cost to the deaf individual, upon the individual’s presenting the department with the used decal.
(d) When the deaf recipient of a decal or placard dies, any decals and placards shall be returned to the commissioner by the responsible representatives of the deceased.
(e) One (1) decal or placard shall be provided free to a deaf individual. If the individual desires both a decal and a placard, or desires a second decal or placard, the department may charge the individual a fee not to exceed five dollars ($5.00) for the decal or placard.
(f)

(1) The department shall, upon application accompanied by a physician’s statement, provide and issue registration and registration plates to deaf owners of motor vehicles. The registration plates shall conform to the requirements of § 55-4-103, except that they shall bear a distinctive series of letters and numbers to inform law enforcement officers that the owner of the vehicle is deaf.
(2) The department shall divulge the distinctive series of letters and numbers only to the department of safety and other law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction in this state, and shall not make the information available to the general public.
(3) All applicable registration and licensing fees shall be paid by the deaf owner.
(4) Except as expressly provided by this section, registration and license plates for the deaf shall be issued and renewed in accordance with chapter 4, part 1 of this title.
(5) All law enforcement officers charged with the enforcement of this chapter shall receive, as part of in-service training, instruction in the identification of the special license plates for deaf drivers provided for in this section.
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