2023 Tennessee Code › Title 55 - MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES (§§ 55-1-101 — 55-53-105) › Chapter 3 - CERTIFICATES OF TITLE (§§ 55-3-101 — 55-3-210) › Part 2 - WRECKED, DAMAGED, DISMANTLED OR REBUILT MOTOR VEHICLES (§§ 55-3-201 — 55-3-210) › Section 55-3-209 - Disclosure of motor vehicle's previous titling as "salvage" - Written notice to buyer

(a)
For any passenger motor vehicle, the ownership of which is transferred on or after October 1, 1996, the department shall disclose in writing on the certificate of title whenever records readily accessible to the state indicate that the passenger motor vehicle was previously issued a title that bore any word or symbol signifying that the vehicle was "salvage," "unrebuildable," "parts only," "scrap," "junk," "nonrepairable," "reconstructed," "rebuilt," or any other symbol or word of like kind, or that it has been damaged by flood.
(b)
(1)
The department shall indicate on the face of the title or certificate for a passenger motor vehicle, as applicable, if the passenger motor vehicle is a salvage vehicle, a nonrepairable vehicle, a rebuilt vehicle, or a flood vehicle.
(2)
Information concerning a passenger motor vehicle's status as a salvage, nonrepairable, rebuilt, or flood vehicle shall also be conveyed on any subsequent title, including a duplicate or replacement title, for the passenger motor vehicle issued by the original titling state or any other state.
(3)
The title documents, the rebuilt anti-theft inspection certificate, the decal stating "Rebuilt Vehicle - Anti-theft Inspections Passed," and the issuing system shall meet security standards minimizing the opportunities for fraud.
(4)
The certificate of title shall include the passenger motor vehicle make, model, body type, year, odometer disclosure, and vehicle identification number.
(5)
A passenger motor vehicle designated as nonrepairable shall be issued a nonrepairable vehicle certificate and shall not be retitled.
(6)
(A)
A passenger motor vehicle owner submitting a vehicle for an anti-theft inspection shall be required to provide a completed document identifying the vehicle's damage prior to being repaired, a list of replacement parts used to repair the vehicle, and proof of ownership of the replacement parts, as may be evidenced by bills of sale, invoices or, if these documents are not available, other proof of ownership for the replacement parts. The owner shall submit in writing under penalty of perjury that the information in the declaration is complete and accurate, and, to the best of the owner's knowledge, no stolen parts were used during the construction or reconstruction of the motor vehicle.
(B)
Any passenger motor vehicle or any major part or major replacement part required to be marked under
49 U.S.C. § 33102
of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act having a mark or vehicle identification number that has been illegally altered, defaced, or falsified, and that cannot be identified as having been legally obtained through bills of sale, invoices, or other ownership documentation, shall be contraband and subject to seizure.
(7)
No duplicate or replacement title shall be issued unless the word "duplicate" is clearly marked on its face.
(8)
(A)
If an insurance company is not involved in a damage settlement involving a salvage vehicle or a nonrepairable vehicle, the passenger motor vehicle owner must apply for a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate, whichever is applicable, before the passenger motor vehicle is repaired or the ownership of the passenger motor vehicle is transferred, but in any event within thirty (30) days after the passenger motor vehicle is damaged.
(B)
(i)
If an insurance company, pursuant to a damage settlement, acquires ownership of a passenger motor vehicle that has incurred damage requiring the vehicle to be titled as a salvage vehicle, nonrepairable vehicle, or flood vehicle, the insurance company either must notify the department electronically or on documents prescribed by the department for purposes of evidencing the insurance company in the ownership chain of title or, alternatively, must apply for a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate within fifteen (15) days after the title is properly assigned by the owner to the insurance company, and delivered to the insurance company with all liens released.
(ii)
Notwithstanding this or any other law to the contrary, if an insurance company acquires ownership of a passenger motor vehicle under the circumstances described in this subdivision (b)(8) and then sells the vehicle, then these transactions shall be exempt from sales and use tax liability to the same extent the transactions were exempt from such liability prior to October 1, 1996. If the vehicle does not meet or exceed the definition of a "salvage vehicle," "nonrepairable vehicle" or "flood vehicle," the insurance company is authorized to endorse change in ownership on the certificate of title as follows:
(a)
With regard to a motor vehicle that is sold "as is" without repairs, change in ownership may be endorsed on the certificate of title without:
(1)
Obtaining a new certificate of title; or
(2)
Registering with the department for sales and use tax purposes; and
(b)
With regard to a motor vehicle which is sold after repair, the insurance company must first obtain a certificate of title in its name, unless the transfer is to a licensed dealer or to the insured, in which cases the procedure set forth in subdivision (1) shall apply.
(C)
If an insurance company does not assume ownership of its insured's passenger motor vehicle that has incurred damage requiring the vehicle to be titled as a salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle, the insurance company shall:
(i)
Notify the insured of the insured's obligation to apply for a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate for the passenger motor vehicle and notify the department that a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate should be issued for the vehicle; or
(ii)
Withhold payment of the claim until the insured applies for a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate.
(D)
If a leased passenger motor vehicle incurs damage requiring the vehicle to be titled as a salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle, the lessor must apply for a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate within twenty-one (21) days after being notified by the lessee that the vehicle has been so damaged. The lessee of the vehicle shall inform the lessor that the leased vehicle has been so damaged within thirty (30) days after the occurrence of the damage.
(E)
Any person acquiring ownership of a damaged passenger motor vehicle that meets the definition of a salvage or nonrepairable vehicle for which a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate has not been issued must apply for a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate, whichever is applicable. This application must be made before the vehicle is further transferred, but in any event, within thirty (30) days after ownership is acquired. This subdivision (b)(8)(E) shall not apply to a scrap metal processor that acquires a nonrepairable vehicle for the sole purpose of processing it into prepared grades of metallic scrap.
(F)
No nonrepairable vehicle certificate shall be issued after two (2) transfers of ownership.
(G)
(i)
When a passenger motor vehicle has been flattened, baled, or shredded, whichever comes first, the title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate for the vehicle shall be surrendered to the state within thirty (30) days.
(ii)
If the second transferee on a nonrepairable vehicle certificate is unequipped to flatten, bale or shred the vehicle, this second transferee must, at the time of final disposal of the vehicle, use the services of a professional automotive recycler properly licensed by the state or a scrap metal processor who is hereby authorized to flatten, bale or shred the vehicle and to effect the surrender of the nonrepairable vehicle certificate to the state on behalf of the second transferee.
(iii)
Records shall be updated to indicate the destruction of this vehicle and no further ownership transactions for the vehicle will be permitted.
(iv)
If Tennessee is not the state of origin of the title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate, then the department shall notify the state of origin of the surrender of the title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate and of the destruction of this vehicle.
(H)
When a salvage title is issued, the department's records shall so note. There shall be no retitling for registration purposes or issuance of a rebuilt title for a passenger motor vehicle with a salvage title without a certificate of inspection, indicating that the vehicle has passed the required state anti-theft inspections. This item does not preclude the issuance of a new salvage title for a salvage vehicle after a transfer of ownership.
(I)
After a passenger motor vehicle titled with a salvaged title has passed the required anti-theft inspections, the inspection official will affix a secure decal stating "Rebuilt Vehicle - Anti-theft Inspections Passed" to the driver's door jamb of the vehicle and issue to the owner of the vehicle a certificate indicating that the passenger motor vehicle has passed the required anti-theft inspections. The decal must comply with the permanency requirements established by the department.
(J)
The owner of a passenger motor vehicle titled with a salvage title may obtain a rebuilt title and vehicle registration by presenting to the department the salvage title, properly assigned, if applicable, together with the certificate that the vehicle has passed the anti-theft inspections. With this proper documentation and upon request, a rebuilt title and registration shall be issued to the owner. When a rebuilt title is issued, the department's records shall so note.
(9)
A seller of a passenger motor vehicle that becomes a flood vehicle shall, at or prior to the time of transfer of ownership, give the buyer a written notice that the vehicle is a flood vehicle. At the time of the next title application for the vehicle, disclosure of the flood status shall be provided to the state with the properly assigned title and the word "Flood" shall be conspicuously labeled across the front of the new title.
(10)
In the case of a leased passenger motor vehicle, the lessee, within fifteen (15) days of the occurrence of the event that caused the vehicle to become a flood vehicle, shall give the lessor written disclosure that the vehicle is a flood vehicle.
(c)
The department is directed to develop electronic procedures in lieu of paper documents whenever these electronic procedures provide the same information, function, and security otherwise required by this section.
(d)
(1)
If an insurance company or a salvage pool operator or an automotive dismantler and recycler authorized by the insurance company is unable to obtain the properly endorsed certificate of ownership or other evidence of ownership acceptable to the department within thirty (30) calendar days following the acceptance by the owner of an offer of an amount in settlement of a total loss, the insurance company or salvage pool operator or an automotive dismantler and recycler, on a form provided by the department and signed under penalty of perjury, may request the department to issue a salvage certificate for the vehicle. The request must include written confirmation by the requester that the insurance company has paid the claim and that the requester has made at least two (2) written attempts via commercial delivery service with evidence of delivery to the last known address of the owner to obtain the certificate of ownership or other acceptable evidence of title and must include the fee as set by the department.
(2)
The department, upon receipt of the certificate of ownership, other evidence of title, or properly executed request described in subdivision (d)(1) and the fee, shall issue a lien-free salvage certificate for the vehicle.
(e)
(1)
If an insurance company requests a salvage pool operator, the primary business of which is the sale of salvage vehicles on behalf of insurers, to take possession of a salvage vehicle that is the subject of an insurance claim and subsequently the insurance company does not take ownership of the vehicle, then the insurance company may direct the salvage pool operator to release the vehicle to the owner or lienholder. If an insurance company directs a salvage pool operator to release a vehicle to the vehicle's owner or lienholder, then the insurance company shall provide notice to the salvage pool operator authorizing such release. This notice may be sent via commercial delivery service, electronic mail, or a proprietary electronic system accessed by both the insurance company and the salvage pool operator.
(2)
Upon receiving notice from an insurance company, the salvage pool operator shall send two (2) notices a minimum of fourteen (14) days apart to the owner and any lienholder of the vehicle informing the owner or lienholder that the vehicle is available for pick up within thirty (30) days of the date on which the first notice was sent. Each notice must include an invoice for any outstanding charges owed to the salvage pool operator, and must inform the owner and any lienholder that the owner or lienholder has thirty (30) days from the date of the first notice to pay any applicable charges and pick up the vehicle from the salvage pool operator. Notice under this subdivision (e)(2) must be sent by certified mail or by another commercially available delivery service providing proof of delivery to the address of the owner, and any lienholder, on record with the department.
(3)
If the owner or lienholder of the vehicle does not pick up the vehicle within thirty (30) days of the date on which the first notice was sent to the owner or a lienholder in accordance with subdivision (e)(2), then the vehicle must be considered abandoned, the vehicle's certificate of title is deemed to be assigned to the salvage pool operator, and the salvage pool operator, without surrendering the certificate of title, may request on a form provided by the department that the department issue a lien-free salvage certificate of title for the vehicle. The request must be accompanied by a copy of the notice sent by the insurance company as required by subdivision (e)(1), and evidence of delivery of the notices sent to the owner and any lienholder as required in subdivision (e)(2), or evidence that the notices sent to the owner and any lienholder were returned as undeliverable. Notwithstanding any outstanding liens against the vehicle, upon the department's receipt of any fee charged for a lien-free salvage certificate of title and a request for such title meeting the requirements of this subdivision (e)(3), the department shall issue a lien-free salvage certificate of title for the vehicle to the salvage pool operator in possession of the vehicle.
(f)
A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 528,s 1, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by 2020 Tenn. Acts, ch. 675, s 1, eff. 10/1/2020.
Acts 1996, ch. 552, §§ 4, 6; 1996, ch. 839, § 3; 2006, ch. 517, §§ 4, 5; 2007 , ch. 484, § 33.