Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-703 (2026)

Criminal proceeds subject to forfeiture

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a) Any property, real or personal, directly or indirectly acquired by or received in violation of any statute or as an inducement to violate any statute, or any property traceable to the proceeds from the violation, is subject to judicial forfeiture, and all right, title, and interest in any such property shall vest in the state upon commission of the act giving rise to forfeiture.

(b) Any real property, including any right, title and interest in the whole of or any part of any lot or tract of land and any property used as an instrumentality in or used in furtherance of a violation of the following laws shall be subject to judicial forfeiture:
- (1) A conviction for a violation of § 39-17-417(i) or (j) or the commission of three (3) or more acts occurring on three (3) or more separate days within a sixty-day period, and each act results in a felony conviction under chapter 17, part 4 of this title; or
- (2) The commission of three (3) or more acts occurring on three (3) or more separate days within a sixty-day period, and each act results in a conviction for promoting prostitution under chapter 13, part 5 of this title.

(c)
- (1) The items enumerated in subdivision (c)(2) are subject to judicial forfeiture as provided in this part for a violation of the following offenses:
  - (A) For an offense committed on or after July 1, 2022:
    - (i) Kidnapping, as defined in § 39-13-303;
    - (ii) Aggravated kidnapping, as defined in § 39-13-304;
    - (iii) Especially aggravated kidnapping, as defined in § 39-13-305;
    - (iv) Aggravated rape of a child, as defined in § 39-13-531;
    - (v) Rape of a child, as defined in § 39-13-522;
    - (vi) Aggravated rape, as defined in § 39-13-502;
    - (vii) Rape, as defined in § 39-13-503;
    - (viii) Commission of an act of terrorism, as defined in § 39-13-805; and
    - (ix) Aggravated human trafficking, as defined in § 39-13-316;
  - (B) For an offense committed on or after July 1, 2011:
    - (i) Involuntary labor servitude, as defined in § 39-13-307;
    - (ii) Trafficking for forced labor or services, as defined in § 39-13-308; and
    - (iii) Trafficking for commercial sex acts, as defined in § 39-13-309; and
  - (C) For an offense committed on or after July 2, 2022:
    - (i) Especially aggravated rape;
    - (ii) Especially aggravated rape of a child; or
    - (iii) Grave torture;
- (2) The items to which subdivision (c)(1) applies are:
  - (A) When used or intended to be used in connection with such violation:
    - (i) Conveyances, including aircraft, motor vehicles, and other vessels;
    - (ii) Books, records, telecommunication equipment, or computers;
    - (iii) Money or weapons; and
    - (iv) Real property;
  - (B) Everything of value furnished, or intended to be furnished, in exchange for an act in violation of such statutes, including all proceeds traceable to the exchange, and all negotiable instruments and securities used, or intended to be used, to facilitate the violation;
  - (C) Any property, real or personal, directly or indirectly acquired by or received in violation of such statutes, or as an inducement to violate such statutes, or any property traceable to the proceeds from the violation; and
  - (D) Any real property, including any right, title, and interest in the whole of or any part of any lot or tract of land and any property used as an instrumentality in or used in furtherance of such violation.

(d) In any in rem forfeiture action in which the subject property is cash, monetary instruments in bearer form, funds deposited in an account in a financial institution, or other like fungible property:
- (1) It shall not be necessary for the state to identify the specific property involved in the offense that is the basis for the forfeiture action; and
- (2) It shall not be a defense that the property involved in such an action has been removed and replaced by identical property.

Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1089, s 9, eff. 7/1/2022.

Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 982, s 3, eff. 7/1/2022.

Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 982, s 1, eff. 7/1/2022.

Acts 1998, ch. 979, § 3; 2009 , ch. 432, § 1; 2011 , ch. 354, § 1.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 9 cases, 2001–2017 · leading case: State of Tennessee v. Jerry Lewis Tuttle, 515 S.W.3d 282 (Tenn. 2017).

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State of Tennessee v. Jerry Lewis Tuttle, 515 S.W.3d 282 (Tenn. 2017). · cites it 4× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-703 (a). Furthermore, “any property used as an instrumentality in or used in furtherance of’ certain criminal offenses, including “[a] conviction for a violation of § 39-17-417(i) or (j),” “shall be subject to judicial forfeiture.”

State v. Phillips, 138 S.W.3d 224 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 2× “, Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-11-703(a) (2003); Tenn.”

State of Tennessee v. Jerry Lewis Tuttle (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). · cites it 8× “conspiracy to possess marijuana in an amount over 300 pounds with intent to sell or deliver within 1000 feet of a school, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony, and…”

State of Tennessee v. Lucian Henry Marshall, III (Tenn. Crim. App. 2005). · cites it 5× “39-17-502 and T.C.A. 39-11-703, with the moneys being illegal proceeds of gambling.”

State of Tennessee v. A Tract of Land Known as 141 Belle Forest Circle (Tenn. Crim. App. 2001). · cites it 5× “” See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-703 (a). The 1998 Act replaced Tenn.”

State v. John Phillips (Tenn. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 4× “, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-703 (a) (2003); Tenn.”

In Re Tennessee Walking Horse Forfeiture Litig. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 3× “Finally, Appellees argue that the horses at issue were acquired prior to the criminal acts at issue in this case, and therefore, are exempt from forfeiture under Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-11-704(a), which provides: (a) No interest in any property described in §…”

Teresa McEwen v. Dept. of Saf. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 2× “18 The State is not, and indeed could not, proceed under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-703 (a) (2003), which permits the forfeiture and confiscation of property “traceable to the proceeds from” a violation of any statute.”

In Re Tennessee Walking Horse Forfeiture Litig. (2017). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-703 (c) (specifying certain types of property and crimes that together authorize forfeiture).”

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-703(a) — 3 cases

State v. Phillips, 138 S.W.3d 224 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003). “, Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-11-703(a) (2003); Tenn.”

In Re Tennessee Walking Horse Forfeiture Litig. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). “Finally, Appellees argue that the horses at issue were acquired prior to the criminal acts at issue in this case, and therefore, are exempt from forfeiture under Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-11-704(a), which provides: (a) No interest in any property described in §…”

State of Tennessee v. Jerry Lewis Tuttle (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “conspiracy to possess marijuana in an amount over 300 pounds with intent to sell or deliver within 1000 feet of a school, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony, and…”

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-703(b)(1) — 1 case

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