(a) When the transferee of a vehicle is a dealer who holds the same for resale and lawfully operates the same under dealer’s registration plates, the transferee shall not be required to obtain a new registration of the vehicle or be required to obtain a new certificate of title, but the transferee, upon transferring title or interest to another person, shall execute an assignment and warranty of title upon the certificate of title, if in the transferee’s possession or if in the possession of a lienor, or the transferee shall execute a bill of sale and deliver the same to the person to whom the transfer is made, together with evidence of ownership.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-3-120

  • Dealer: means every person engaged in the business of buying, selling or exchanging vehicles of a type required to be registered and who has an established place of business for that purpose in this state. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Department: means the department of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-1-111
  • 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.
  • 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)

(1) When the vehicle is held for resale outside of the state, this exclusion from the title and registration requirements may be waived with respect to the title provision, and the dealer shall be permitted to obtain a new certificate of title in the name of the dealership for the vehicle so held.
(2) Any dealer that resells more than five percent (5%) of the vehicles titled for foreign resale to residents of Tennessee during any given period of twelve (12) consecutive months shall, by so doing, forfeit the right to title vehicles without registering them.
(c) An insurance company that obtains title to a motor vehicle as a result of paying a total loss claim resulting from collision, fire, or water damage shall obtain a salvage title, flood title, or nonrepairable vehicle certificate from the department. This subsection (c) shall not apply to vehicles ten (10) years old or older with a value of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) or less.
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