(a)

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class B misdemeanorup to 6 monthsup to $500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-12-210

  • carrier: means an insurance carrier licensed under title 56 to provide vehicle insurance, as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 55-12-203
  • Department: means the department of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-1-111
  • Designated agent: means a third-party vendor that the department of revenue may contract with to develop, implement, and administer the program. See Tennessee Code 55-12-203
  • 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.
  • Full book of business: means a business record download of an automobile liability insurer made in accordance with IICMVA Insurance Data Transfer Guide Specifications that contains the data elements described in §. See Tennessee Code 55-12-203
  • IICMVA: means the Insurance Industry Committee on Motor Vehicle Administration. See Tennessee Code 55-12-203
  • Operator: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person, other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • 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
  • program: means an insurance verification program that is created in compliance with the online verification system and data transfer standards, specifications, model, and guide of the IICMVA, and developed, implemented, and administered by the department of revenue in compliance with this part. See Tennessee Code 55-12-203
  • 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
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Street: means the entire width between boundary lines of every way when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular 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
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) If there is evidence based on either the IICMVA model or the full book of business download process described in § 55-12-207 that a motor vehicle is not insured, the department of revenue shall, or shall direct its designated agent to, provide notice to the owner of the motor vehicle that the owner has thirty (30) days from the date of the notice to provide to the department of revenue:

(A) The owner or operator‘s proof of financial security in a form approved by the department of revenue;
(B) Proof of exemption from the owner or operator’s financial security requirements under this chapter;
(C) Proof that the motor vehicle is no longer in the owner’s possession; or
(D) A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the vehicle is not in use on any public road.
(2) The notice described in subdivision (a)(1) shall include a statement that if the owner of the motor vehicle fails to comply with the requirements set forth in the notice, the owner of the motor vehicle shall be subject to a twenty-five-dollar coverage failure fee. The department of revenue or its designated agent shall transmit the notice to the owner of the motor vehicle by mailing the notice to the most recent street address or electronic mail address provided to the department of revenue by the owner.
(3) Prior to issuing the notice described in this subsection (a), the department of revenue is authorized to provide a request for information to the owner of the motor vehicle to aid in determining whether the vehicle is uninsured.
(4) Notwithstanding subdivision (a)(1), if the total number of notices required to be provided under this section in a given period is determined by the department of revenue to be administratively prohibitive, the department of revenue is authorized to provide notices to an administratively practicable number of motor vehicle owners, each of whom shall be selected randomly.
(b)

(1) If an owner of a motor vehicle fails to provide satisfactory proof or a statement as described in subsection (a), the department of revenue shall:

(A) Impose on the owner of the motor vehicle a twenty-five-dollar coverage failure fee. Of this fee, five dollars ($5.00) shall be distributed to the county clerk of the county in which the motor vehicle is registered, five dollars ($5.00) shall be distributed to the department of safety, and the remainder shall be deposited into the uninsured motorist identification restricted fund created in § 55-12-213. The revenues distributed to the county clerk shall be earmarked for the county clerk’s work in administration of the vehicle insurance verification program and shall not revert to the general fund at the end of the budget year if unexpended; and
(B) Provide a notice to the owner of the motor vehicle stating that the owner must pay the coverage failure fee described in subdivision (b)(1)(A) and provide satisfactory proof or a statement as described in subsection (a) within thirty (30) days of the date of the notice.
(2) The notice described in subdivision (b)(1)(B) shall include a statement that if the owner of the motor vehicle fails to comply with the requirements set forth in the notice, the owner of the motor vehicle shall be subject to a one hundred-dollar continued coverage failure fee and suspension or revocation of the owner’s motor vehicle registration.
(c) If the owner of the motor vehicle fails to comply with the notice described in subdivision (b)(1)(B), the department of revenue:

(1) Shall impose on the owner of the motor vehicle a one hundred-dollar continued coverage failure fee, which shall be in addition to the coverage failure fee imposed under subdivision (b)(1)(A). Of this continued coverage failure fee, ten dollars ($10.00) shall be distributed to the county clerk of the county in which the motor vehicle is registered, five dollars ($5.00) shall be distributed to the department of safety, and the remainder shall be deposited into the uninsured motorist identification restricted fund created in § 55-12-213. The revenues distributed to the county clerk shall be earmarked for the county clerk’s work in administration of the vehicle insurance verification program and shall not revert to the general fund at the end of the budget year if unexpended;
(2) Shall suspend or revoke the motor vehicle owner’s registration; and
(3)

(A) Shall provide notice to the motor vehicle owner of the legal consequences of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended or revoked registration and without owner or operator’s proof of financial security as required by this chapter, and instructions on how to effect the reinstatement of the motor vehicle owner’s registration; or
(B) May direct a designated agent to provide the notice and instructions described in this subdivision (c)(3).
(d) Any action by the department of revenue to suspend or revoke the registration of a motor vehicle under this section may be in addition to an action by a law enforcement agency to impose penalties under this chapter.
(e)

(1) A person shall not provide a false or fraudulent statement to the department of revenue or its designated agent.
(2) In addition to any other penalties, a violation of subdivision (e)(1) is a Class B misdemeanor.
(f) This part does not affect other actions or penalties that may be taken or imposed for violation of the owner or operator’s financial security requirements of this chapter.
(g) If the vehicle is no longer insured by the automobile liability insurer of record and no other insurance company using the IICMVA model indicates coverage after an unknown carrier request under § 55-12-205(3), the owner of the motor vehicle becomes eligible for notice as described in subsections (a) and (b).
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