[Amendment contingent on funding by the federal selective service system. See the Compiler’s Notes.]

(a)

lawyer at desk

Ask a traffic law question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified traffic lawyers.
Parking violations, accidents, DUI/DWI, licensing, registration, and more
Protect your vehicle and your rights with expert legal help now
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-50-321

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of safety. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Department: means the department of safety acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Driver: means every person 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 55-50-102
  • Driver license: means a license issued by the department to an individual that authorizes the individual to operate a motor vehicle on the highways. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • 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.
  • Lawful permanent resident: means the status of having been lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws, such status not having changed. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Oath: includes affirmation. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Person: means every natural person, firm, copartnership, association or corporation. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • 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
  • Resident: means every person that lives in this state for a period of time exceeding thirty (30) days, has taken employment, or who would qualify as a registered voter, or has taken action to establish Tennessee as principal place of domicile. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Secretary: means the secretary of transportation of the United States. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • 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
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: means :
    (A) For the purposes of commercial driver licenses, a state of the United States and the District of Columbia. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • 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
  • Temporary driver license: means a license issued by the department to an individual that authorizes the individual to operate a motor vehicle on the highways for the individual's authorized period of stay in the United States or, if there is no definite end to the period of authorized stay, a period of one (1) year. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • United States: means the fifty (50) states and the District of Columbia. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
(1) Every application for a driver license, instruction permit, intermediate driver license, and photo identification card shall be made upon a form furnished by the department. Every application shall be accompanied by a birth certificate or other proof of the applicant’s date of birth that is satisfactory to the driver license examiner and by a nonrefundable fee of two dollars ($2.00), which shall constitute expendable receipts of the department. The application shall also be accompanied by proof of Tennessee residency acceptable to the department.
(2) The application fee required under subdivision (a)(1) is not required in the case of applications for restricted driver licenses under § 40-24-105(b).
(b) The driver license examiner is authorized and required to obtain positive proof of age and identification of any person taking an examination for a driver license. The applicant shall make certification on the application as to the applicant’s age and identification, and, in addition, shall submit to the driver license examiner other documentation meeting the criteria established by rules promulgated by the commissioner as proof of age and identification, or present to the driver license examiner one (1) person who possesses a valid driver license issued in this state who shall attest, in writing, under oath, that the applicant has truthfully identified the applicant in the applicant’s affidavit. For applicants under eighteen (18) years of age, the oath may be administered to, and the affidavit attested and signed by, a parent or legal guardian of the applicant, if the parent or legal guardian possesses a valid driver license issued in this state. The driver license examiners are empowered and authorized to administer oaths to applicants and attesting witnesses and to take affidavits.
(c)

(1)

(A) Every application shall state the full name, date and place of birth, sex, county of residence, residence address, including the street address and number or route and box number, or post office box number if the applicant has no bona fide residential street address, of applicant, height, weight, hair and eye color, social security number, if the applicant has been issued a social security number, and whether any such license has ever been suspended or revoked, or whether an application has ever been refused, and, if so, the date of and reason for the suspension, revocation, or refusal, and other information as the department may require to determine the applicant’s identity, competency, and eligibility. The information regarding the applicant’s social security number shall be maintained in the records of the department of safety for use as required by any state or federal law relative to child support establishment or enforcement or for other purposes as may be required by law. If the department allows the use of a number other than the social security number on the face of the license, and the social security number obtained on the application is kept on file with the department, the department shall so advise the applicant. Any applicant for a Tennessee driver license who desires the assistance of an interpreter in order to make application for a license and complete the required application shall be responsible for procuring this assistance; provided, that nothing contained within this part shall be construed or implemented in any manner that violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.).
(B) Any applicant who does not have, or who states that the applicant has never been issued, a social security number required by subdivision (c)(1)(A) shall complete an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, affirming that the applicant has never been issued a social security number.
(C) Any applicant applying for a driver license, instruction permit, intermediate driver license or photo identification license, upon initial issuance or reinstatement, shall provide either an original or certified copy of one of the following:

(i) Documentation that the applicant is a citizen of the United States; or
(ii) Documentation issued by the United States government establishing that the applicant is a lawful permanent resident.
(D) Any applicant who has received an initial issuance of a driver license since January 1, 2001, shall provide documentation as required in subdivision (c)(1)(C)(i) or (c)(1)(C)(ii) upon the first renewal date of the license.
(E) Any applicant applying for reinstatement on or after July 1, 2012, for which the department has the documents required in subdivision (c)(1)(C)(i) or (c)(1)(C)(ii) on file, shall be deemed in compliance with subdivision (c)(1)(C) unless otherwise required by law.
(2) For applicants under eighteen (18) years of age, the application shall be accompanied by documentation of compliance with § 49-6-3017. No first-time applicant who is eighteen (18) years of age or younger suspended pursuant to § 55-50-502(a)(1)(J), shall be assessed a reinstatement fee by the department.
(d) Whenever an application is received from a person previously licensed in another jurisdiction, the department shall request a copy of the driver’s record in this state with the same force and effect as though entered on the driver’s record in this state in the original instance.
(e) Section 55-50-602 is applicable to any person who knowingly makes false or fraudulent certification as to the person’s identification, date of birth, or driving privileges when making application for a driver license or photo identification license. The false attestation, knowingly made, is also punishable by suspension of the driver license of the person for two (2) years. The person shall be entitled to the rights and remedies established by the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, for contested case hearings.
(f)[Effective December 1, 2002, if contingency met. See the Compiler’s Notes.] Every application form for an intermediate driver license, driver license, renewal of driver license or photo identification license shall contain the following language printed clearly thereon: “By submitting this application, I am consenting to registration with the Selective Service System, if so required by Federal Law.”
(g) The department shall not accept matricula consular cards as proof of identification for driver license application and issuance purposes.
(h) Any applicant applying for a temporary driver license, temporary learner permit, temporary intermediate driver license or temporary photo identification license, upon initial issuance, renewal and reinstatement, shall provide proof acceptable to the department relative to the applicant’s identity, Tennessee residency, and authorized period of stay in the United States.
(i)

(1) Any person presenting a driver license from a state that issues driver licenses to illegal aliens for the purposes of obtaining a Tennessee driver license shall be required to establish proof of United States citizenship, lawful permanent resident status, or, in the case of a temporary driver license, a specified period of authorized stay in the United States.
(2) The department is authorized to promulgate rules necessary to effectuate this subsection (i) in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. The department is also authorized to utilize any process to comply with any rules and regulations, exemptions, and policies promulgated by the United States secretary of homeland security or other state or federal agency.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Part 3 Contents