(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(2), no scrap metal dealer may purchase or otherwise acquire scrap metal from a person unless that person presents a state or federally issued photo identification card that appears valid on its face to the dealer and provides a thumbprint as provided in § 62-9-104.

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 62-9-103

  • Person: means an individual, association, partnership, corporation, or any other legally cognizable organization or entity. See Tennessee Code 62-9-101
  • 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
  • Scrap metal: means any ferrous or nonferrous metal that is no longer used for its original purpose and is capable of being processed for reuse by a metal recycling facility, including, but not limited to, iron, brass, wire, cable, copper, bronze, aluminum, platinum, lead, solder, steel, stainless steel, catalytic converters or other similar obsolete ferrous or nonferrous metals, but shall not include recyclable aluminum cans. See Tennessee Code 62-9-101
  • Scrap metal dealer: means a person who buys, exchanges or deals in scrap metal or an employee or agent of that dealer who has the express or implied authority to buy, exchange or deal in scrap metal on behalf of the dealer. See Tennessee Code 62-9-101
  • sex: means a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person's biological sex. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • 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
(b)

(1) If a valid state or federally issued photo identification card is presented, the scrap metal dealer shall record the name, sex, height, date of birth, residence address and the photo identification card number of the person selling the scrap metal, photocopy the photo identification card presented and maintain this information as part of the transaction record. The scrap metal dealer shall also record the license plate number and make and model of the motor vehicle the seller is driving. If the vehicle is a commercial vehicle, the buyer shall record the name of the business owning or leasing the vehicle.
(2) If the person presenting the scrap metal for sale does not have a state or federally issued photo identification card, the dealer shall require the seller to present some form of state or federally issued identification, photograph the person and record the information contained on the identification card prior to the transaction being made. Even if a photograph of the seller is taken, the dealer is prohibited from making the transaction if the seller does not have, or refuses to present, the required identification.