§ 55-4-111 — Registration fees - Classification of vehicles - Registration taxes

(a) (1) In order to facilitate efficient and uniform enforcement of chapters 1-6 of this title, motor vehicles, excepting such motor vehicles as are constructed for the purpose of transporting tangible personal property or other property, and passenger motor vehicles operating for hire, are classified, and the respective registration taxes imposed are fixed as follows: Class (A) Motorcycles or autocycles - registration fee ................................. $ 16.75 Class (B) Passenger motor vehicle and motor home - registration fee ...................................................................... 23.75 Class (C) Antique vehicles - registration fee ............................................. 30.00 Class (D)(i) Privately owned trailers and trailers held for public rental, not exceeding eight feet (8') in width and less than twenty feet (20') in length, exclusive of the tongue, and all trailers which are limited to vacationing and camping purposes, unless otherwise exempted in this section, and any privately owned trailer or semitrailer that is otherwise exempted, but the owner desires to be registered -. registration fee ..... 14.50 (ii) Mobile homes or house trailers, whether privately owned or held for public rental, the chassis and exterior shell of which are designed and constructed for occupancy, but with dimensions not exceeding eight feet (8') in width - registration fee ............................................ 24.00 (iii) Mobile homes or house trailers, whether privately owned or held for public rental, the chassis and exterior shell of which are designed and constructed for occupancy, but with dimensions exceeding eight feet (8') - registration fee .............................................................. 36.00 Class (E) Private buses (not for hire) - In the case of buses or motor driven coaches utilized exclusively for transporting either the owner or persons associated with the owner in a trade, business or vocation, or both of them, together with personalty constituting the tools of such trade, business or vocation, between places where such trade, business or vocation may be carried on, and not used to transport persons or property for hire . registration fee ........................................ 205.00 Class (F) Low speed vehicles - registration fee ......................................... 14.50 Class (G) Medium speed vehicles - registration fee .................................... 14.50 Class (H)(i) Class I off-highway vehicles - registration fee ............................... 15.00 (ii) Class II off-highway vehicles - registration fee .............................. 16.00 (2) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the first one dollar ($1.00) of each registration fee imposed by subdivision (a)(1) shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the police pay supplement fund. (b) (1) Upon receipt of an application on a form prescribed by the commissioner, applying for registration and certifying that the motor vehicle for which registration is being applied is an "antique motor vehicle," the commissioner may issue license plates to owners of antique motor vehicles in accordance with part 2 of this chapter. These license plates shall bear the word "ANTIQUE" in capital letters at the bottom of their plate, and a unique identifying number in the center of the plate. For the purpose of this section, "antique motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle over twenty-five (25) years old with a nonmodified engine and body that is used: (A) For participation in, or transportation to and from, club activities, exhibits, tours, parades, and similar uses as a collector's item; (B) On the highways for the purpose of selling, testing the operation of, or obtaining repairs to or maintenance on such motor vehicle; and (C) For general transportation on Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays. (2) This registration shall be valid so long as title to the antique motor vehicle is vested in the applicant, and shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter requiring annual registration. (3) Any person violating this section, or operating an antique motor vehicle for general transportation purposes on a day other than Saturday or Sunday or a federal holiday, shall forfeit the antique motor vehicle registration, shall be liable for the regular registration fee for that vehicle, and shall be barred from applying for or holding antique motor vehicle registration for five (5) years from the date of the violation. (4) The owner or lessee of an antique motor vehicle may display on the vehicle, when the vehicle is stationary, the license plate from an era when the vehicle was manufactured instead of the current license plate registered to the owner or lessee in accordance with part 2 of this chapter. The owner or lessee shall display the current license plate on the vehicle when the vehicle is being operated on any highway, road, or street open for public use in this state. (5) Instead of registering for a new license plate in accordance with part 2 of this chapter, the department shall permit owners of antique motor vehicles to register an official license plate issued by the state from an era when the vehicle was manufactured. A vintage license plate registered pursuant to this subdivision (b)(5) must be displayed on the vehicle in accordance with § 55-4-110 . (c) (1) There shall be no tax on trailers owned by farmers and used for agricultural purposes or hauling livestock between farm and market. (2) This section shall not apply to trailers: (A) Used for the transportation of boats or drawn by an automobile or truck, unless the owner desires that the trailer be registered; (B) Used in the furtherance of a business; or (C) That are truck trailers registered under § 55-4-113 . (3) This section shall apply to house trailers and rented trailers as defined in this section and to any personal trailer, including a trailer used for the transportation of boats or other trailer or semitrailer drawn by an automobile or truck, that is not required to be registered but that the owner desires to be registered. (d) Each person engaged in the business of renting trailers of any description to others for a consideration may register each trailer, for a period of ten (10) years, and annually pay the registration fee; provided, that every owner of automobile utility trailers engaged in the business of leasing such trailers in interstate as well as intrastate commerce shall register with the commissioner that the person is so engaged in the business of leasing such trailers in interstate as well as intrastate commerce, and shall furnish proof to the commissioner that the person has registered in the state, a number of trailers equal to the average number of automobile utility trailers operated by this person during the preceding licensing year in and through this state. Thereafter, all such trailers properly identified as belonging to the registered person and licensed in any state, territory, province, country or the District of Columbia shall be permitted to operate in this state on an interstate and intrastate basis. For the purpose of interstate and intrastate reciprocal provisions of this chapter, the utility trailers shall be classified the same as private passenger automobiles and extended the same privileges. The burden of submitting verifiable data as to the average number of trailers operating during the preceding licensing year in and throughout this state shall be on the trailer owner. The commissioner's determination in and through the state during the preceding licensing year shall be final. (e) Only one (1) registration plate shall be issued for trailers. (f) For the purposes of this section, "mobile home" or "house trailer" is a trailer or semitrailer which is designed, constructed and equipped as a dwelling place, living abode or sleeping place, either permanently or temporarily, and is equipped for use as a conveyance on streets and highways, or whose chassis and exterior shell are designed and constructed for use as a house trailer, but which is used instead for the advertising, sales, display or promotion of merchandise or services, or for any other commercial purpose except the transportation of property for hire or for distribution by a private carrier.

Legislative History

Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 569,s 1, eff. 7/1/2024. Amended by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 181, s 2, eff. 7/1/2017. Amended by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 10, Secs.s 1, s 2 eff. 3/15/2017. Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 790, s 3, eff. 1/1/2017. Acts 1951, ch. 70, § 83 (Williams, § 5538.183); Acts 1953, ch. 167, § 17; 1955, ch. 10, § 1; 1955, ch. 52, §§ 6, 7; 1957, ch. 250, § 1; 1957, ch. 388, § 1; 1961, ch. 336, § 1; 1963, ch. 143, § 7; 1963, ch. 145, §§ 1, 3; 1965, ch. 48, § 1; 1965, ch. 269, § 1; 1965, ch. 283, § 1; 1967, ch. 218, § 1; 1973, ch. 234, § 4; 1974, ch. 735, § 1; 1978, ch. 786, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 59-421; Acts 1984, ch. 966, § 10; 1985, ch. 283, § 2; 1985, ch. 402, § 6; 1985, ch. 461, § 1; 1986, ch. 804, § 8; 1987, ch. 446, § 8; 1988, ch. 816, § 1; 1991, ch. 13, § 1; 1994, ch. 603, § 1; 1994, ch. 662, § 1; 1995, ch. 282, § 1; 1999, ch. 98, §§ 1, 2; 2001, ch. 4, § 1; 2002, ch. 620, § 1; 2002, ch. 747, § 4; 2002, ch. 856, § 8a; 2006, ch. 910, §§ 1, 2; 2007 , ch. 142, §§ 1, 2; 2007 , ch. 601, § 1; 2008 , ch. 959, § 3; 2009 , ch. 265, § 1; 2009 , ch. 530, § 127.