2023 Tennessee Code › Title 55 - MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES (§§ 55-1-101 — 55-53-105) › Chapter 12 - FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LAW (§§ 55-12-101 — 55-12-311) › Part 1 - FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LAWSHORT TITLE (§§ 55-12-101 — 55-12-142) › Section 55-12-126 - Minimum duration of proof requirement - Suspension of license or registration for premature cancellation or termination of proof - Hearing - Restoration of license or registration

(a)
Except for suspensions under §
55-12-115
, and the proof required as provided in §
55-12-114
, a person who is required to provide proof of financial responsibility shall maintain that proof for the period of the revocation or suspension. If a person elects to use a policy of insurance and financial responsibility insurance certificate as proof of financial responsibility under this section, then the effective date on the financial responsibility certificate is the date upon which financial responsibility was proven, and financial responsibility must be maintained for the period of the suspension or revocation.
(b)
(1)
If a policy of insurance or a bond required under this section and issued to a person is cancelled or terminated, then the commissioner shall suspend the license of the person and shall request that the commissioner of revenue suspend the person's motor vehicle registration. The license of the person must immediately be surrendered to the commissioner of safety, and the person's motor vehicle registration must immediately be surrendered to the commissioner of revenue.
(2)
If during the suspension or revocation period requiring proof of financial responsibility, the person filed proof of another policy or bond meeting the requirements of this part, then the person's license and registration shall not be suspended or revoked as required in subdivision (b)(1).
(3)
A notice of suspension issued under this section must be sent by United States mail to the last known address of the person at least twenty (20) days prior to the effective date of suspension, and must state that the operator, owner, or both, are entitled to an administrative hearing before the commissioner of safety, or the commissioner's designee, conducted pursuant to a request under §
55-12-103(a)
. A request for an administrative hearing must be submitted in writing on or before the final date of suspension.
(c)
Upon reapplying for a driver license, a person whose license, registration, or both have been suspended for failure to maintain evidence of financial responsibility shall refile and maintain with the commissioner of safety evidence of financial responsibility, pay a sixty-five-dollar restoration fee, and pass the driver license examination if the license has been expired, revoked, or suspended for more than one (1) renewal cycle, as described in §
55-50-337
. If the commissioner of safety, pursuant to this subsection (c), reinstates a person's driver license that has been suspended under the authority of this section, then the commissioner of safety shall request that the commissioner of revenue reinstate the person's motor vehicle registration revoked under authority of this section. After the person has paid to the commissioner of revenue the appropriate motor vehicle registration fees provided by §
55-4-111
, §
55-4-112
, or §
55-4-113
, the registration must be reinstated immediately.
(d)
The department of safety may release a person's requirement to provide proof of financial responsibility after the expiration of the period of suspension or revocation, if the department of safety's records establish that during the suspension or revocation period, the person was not convicted of an additional offense authorizing or requiring the suspension or revocation of the person's license, nor was the person's license suspended, revoked, prohibited, or cancelled due to a separate violation of law. If the department of safety, pursuant to this subsection (d), releases the requirement that a person furnish proof of financial responsibility, and if the person's motor vehicle registration has been suspended or revoked because of the person's failure to furnish that proof, then the commissioner of safety shall request that the commissioner of revenue reinstate the person's registration and, upon payment to the commissioner of revenue of the appropriate motor vehicle registration fees provided by §
55-4-111
, §
55-4-112
, or §
55-4-113
, the registration must be reinstated immediately. Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, this subsection (d) does not apply if there is an unsatisfied judgment based on a motor vehicle accident.
(e)
On or after January 1, 2024, a person who was subject to the requirements of proof of financial responsibility in this chapter prior to January 1, 2024, may petition the department of safety to reduce the time that remains for the person to comply with the proof of financial responsibility requirements. If the person has not been convicted of an additional offense requiring the suspension or revocation of a license by the department, has no outstanding suspension, revocation, cancellation, or other prohibition on the person's license, and the person does not have an unsatisfied judgment based on a motor vehicle accident, then the department shall grant the reduction.
Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 336, s 2, eff. 1/1/2024.
Acts 1977, ch. 446, § 26; 1978, ch. 645, § 2; T.C.A., § 59-1276; Acts 1980, ch. 817, § 6; 1980, ch. 868, § 2; 1986, ch. 842, §§ 27, 28; 2007 , ch. 484, § 88.