Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-3-101 (2026)
Motor vehicles subject to registration and certificate of title provisions - Exceptions - Definition of off-highway motor vehicle
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) Every motor vehicle or motorized bicycle, as defined in chapter 8 of this title, and every trailer, semitrailer, and pole trailer, when driven or moved upon a highway, and every mobile home or house trailer, when occupied, shall be subject to the registration and certificate of title provisions of chapters 1-6 of this title, except:
- (1) Vehicles driven or moved upon a highway in conformance with chapters 1-6 of this title relating to manufacturers, transporters, dealers, lienholders, or nonresidents;
- (2) Vehicles that are driven or moved upon a highway only for the purpose of crossing the highway from one (1) property to another;
- (3) Any implement of husbandry;
- (4) Any special mobile equipment;
- (5) No certificate of title need be obtained for any vehicle of a type subject to registration owned by the government of the United States;
- (6) No certificate of title need be obtained for a foreign vehicle that is subject to the registration provisions of this state, if the nonresident owner has a valid foreign certificate of title and certificate of registration and if the vehicle is to remain registered in the foreign state as well as in this state;
- (7) Subject to the approval of the commissioner, no certificate of title need be obtained for a vehicle that is part of a proportionally registered fleet in this state if the owner has a valid certificate of title in another state and the vehicle is engaged in interstate commerce;
- (8) Motorized bicycles, except when voluntarily registered under § 55-4-101; and
- (9) No certificate of title need be obtained or maintained where the manufactured home is affixed to real property in accordance with § 55-3-128.
- (b) The owner of a vehicle excepted in subsection (a) from the requirement for titling and registering may, subject to the approval of the commissioner, apply for a certificate of title without applying for its registration. The commissioner shall by regulation provide for the manner in which single applications are to be made and the conditions under which they may be allowed; however, this subsection (b) shall not be construed as granting authority to issue certificates of ownership on any basis other than upon documentation or summary of ownership as required in this chapter.
- (c)
- (1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, off-highway motor vehicles purchased after June 1, 1983, shall be subject to the certificate of title and special identification device provisions of this chapter and § 55-6-101, when the off-highway motor vehicles are operated on lands, other than a highway, in this state; except, that this subdivision (c)(1) does not apply to Class I and Class II off-highway vehicles.
- (2) For purposes of this chapter and chapter 52 of this title, "off-highway motor vehicle," "Class I off-highway vehicle," and "Class II off-highway vehicle" have the same meanings as defined in § 55-8-101.
- (d) Class I and Class II off-highway vehicles as defined in § 55-8-101 may be registered with the department of revenue in accordance with chapter 4, part 7 of this title and operated on county roads in accordance with § 55-8-203.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 790, Secs.s 1, s 10 eff. 1/1/2017.
Acts 1951, ch. 70, § 28 (Williams, § 5538.128); Acts 1963, ch. 143, § 3; 1968, ch. 403, § 1; 1972, ch. 518, § 4; 1972, ch. 535, § 1; 1979, ch. 247, § 2; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 59-301; Acts 1982, ch. 749, § 1; 1983, ch. 22, § 1; 1983, ch. 102, § 1; 1986, ch. 598, § 6; 1986, ch. 791, § 4; 1988, ch. 817, § 1; 2003 , ch. 76, § 3; 2008 , ch. 1007, § 7.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11
cases, 1981–2011 · leading case: Regions Bank v. Bric Constructors, LLC, f/k/a Bric Contractors, LLC, & Patricia McIntosh, 380 S.W.3d 740 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011).
Regions Bank v. Bric Constructors, LLC, f/k/a Bric Contractors, LLC, & Patricia McIntosh, 380 S.W.3d 740 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011). “28 In addition, the Bank was required to again comply with Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-3-101 et seq., that is, to perfect a new lien on the vehicles, and to record a new UCC-1 financing statement to perfect any new security interest in the vehicles.”
Waldschmidt v. Ford Motor Credit Co. (In Re Murray), 27 B.R. 445 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 1983). “Under Tennessee law, a creditor cannot obtain a superior judicial lien on a motor vehicle once the transferee has satisfied the requirements for recording the lien on the certificate of title as set out in Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-3-101, et seq. (1980 repl.”
State v. Booher, 978 S.W.2d 953 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997). “§ 55-l-103(d); said vehicle is driven upon the public roads of this state, Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-3-101; and, for purposes of the Tennessee Motor Vehicle *957 Title and Registration Law, the appellant is a resident of Tennessee, Tenn.”
Williams v. Fox, 219 S.W.3d 319 (Tenn. 2007). “§ 55-3-101(a) (2004). Both these provisions illustrate the temporary and mobile nature of these structures.”
In Re Ramey, 93 B.R. 136 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1988). “In enacting Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-3-101 (1980) and Tenn.”
Fruehauf Corp. v. Sexton (In Re Sexton), 18 B.R. 733 (E.D. Tenn. 1982). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-3-101. Because a semitrailer is not a motor vehicle, Aztex argues that the provisions of Chapter 3 governing perfection of security interests in motor vehicles are inapplicable to semitrailers.”
Fruehauf Corp. v. Sexton (In Re Sexton), 18 B.R. 730 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1981). “Section 55-3-101 expressly provides that every “motor vehicle.”
In re Hughes, 58 B.R. 452 (1986). “With exceptions immaterial, Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-3-101(a) (Supp.1985) requires registration of and procurement of a certificate of title for: [ejvery motor vehicle or motorized bicycle .”
State v. Thompson (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-3-101 (a)(3)(1993). The forfeiture provision at issue does not provide a meth od of as suring re asona ble notice to all interest hold ers of an “untitled” veh icle.”
McLemore v. Liberty State Bank (In re Johnson), 39 B.R. 478 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 1984). “Sexton, the Tennessee Court of Appeals, in a case involving “lowboy trailers,” has held that “T.C.A. § 55-3-101, et seq. pertains only to motorized vehicles and there is no requirement that detachable trailers be separately titled in this state.”
State of Tennessee v. Gary Lewis Thompson (Tenn. Ct. App. 1998). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-3-101 (a)(3)(1993). The forfeiture provision at issue does not provide a meth od of as suring re asona ble notice to all interest hold ers of an “untitled” veh icle.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-3-101(a) — 4 cases
Williams v. Fox, 219 S.W.3d 319 (Tenn. 2007). “§ 55-3-101(a) (2004). Both these provisions illustrate the temporary and mobile nature of these structures.”
In Re Ramey, 93 B.R. 136 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1988). “In enacting Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-3-101 (1980) and Tenn.”
In re Hughes, 58 B.R. 452 (1986). “With exceptions immaterial, Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-3-101(a) (Supp.1985) requires registration of and procurement of a certificate of title for: [ejvery motor vehicle or motorized bicycle .”
McLemore v. Liberty State Bank (In re Johnson), 39 B.R. 478 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 1984). “Sexton, the Tennessee Court of Appeals, in a case involving “lowboy trailers,” has held that “T.C.A. § 55-3-101, et seq. pertains only to motorized vehicles and there is no requirement that detachable trailers be separately titled in this state.”
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