Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-503 (2026)
Surrender of license - Forwarding surrendered license and record of convictions to department - Report of convictions - Recommendation of suspension
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) Whenever any person is convicted of any offense for which this chapter makes mandatory the revocation of the operator's or chauffeur's license of the person by the department, the court in which the conviction is had shall require the surrender to it of all operator's and chauffeur's licenses then held by the person so convicted, and the court shall thereupon forward the licenses together with a record of the conviction to the department.
- (b) Every court having jurisdiction over offenses committed under this chapter, or any other statute of this state or municipal ordinance of any city or town regulating the operation of motor vehicles on highways, shall forward to the department a record of the conviction of any person in the court for a violation of any of these laws, and may recommend the suspension of the operator's or chauffeur's license of the person so convicted.
- (c) For the purpose of this chapter:
- (1) "Conviction" means a final conviction; and
- (2) A failure to satisfy a citation or a forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure a defendant's appearance in court, which forfeiture has not been vacated, shall be equivalent to a conviction.
Acts 1937, ch. 90, § 13; C. Supp. 1950, § 2715.21 (Williams, § 2715.26); Acts 1955, ch. 114, § 10; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 59-714; Acts 1986, ch. 842, § 5; T.C.A., §§ 55-7-114, 55-7-503.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7
cases, 1995–2019 · leading case: State v. Loden, 920 S.W.2d 261 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1995).
State v. Loden, 920 S.W.2d 261 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1995). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-50-503 (1993) further provides: (a) Whenever any person is convicted of any offense for which this chapter makes mandatory the revocation of the operator’s .”
State v. Sneed, 8 S.W.3d 299 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “” In Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-50-503, conviction is defined for the purposes of the Driver Licenses chapter as a “final conviction.”
State of Tennessee v. Richard E. Brown, Jr. (Tenn. Crim. App. 2011). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-503 (c)(1). This court has previously stated that a conviction is a “final conviction” for purposes of revoking a license even when an appeal of the conviction is pending.”
State of Tennessee v. Sterling Panchikal (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “Furthermore, when revocation is mandatory, the court of conviction “shall require the surrender” of the offender’s license, “and the court shall thereupon forward the licenses together with a record of the conviction to the department.”
State v. Robert M. Sneed (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). “” In Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-503 , 3 conviction is defined for the purposes of the Driver Licenses chapter as a “final conviction.”
State of Tennessee v. Dennis Haughton Webber (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “Likewise, there is no proof before this court regarding the trial court‟s actions in regard to forwarding the convictions to the Department of Safety under Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-50-503. Even if the trial court had failed to forward the convictions to the Department…”
State of Tennessee v. Tyrone R. Teasley (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “§ 55-50-503(a) (2012). Revocation of a driver’s license is defined as the “termination by formal action of the [D]epartment [of Safety] of a person’s driver license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways[.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-503(a) — 3 cases
State of Tennessee v. Sterling Panchikal (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “Furthermore, when revocation is mandatory, the court of conviction “shall require the surrender” of the offender’s license, “and the court shall thereupon forward the licenses together with a record of the conviction to the department.”
State of Tennessee v. Richard E. Brown, Jr. (Tenn. Crim. App. 2011). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-503 (c)(1). This court has previously stated that a conviction is a “final conviction” for purposes of revoking a license even when an appeal of the conviction is pending.”
State of Tennessee v. Tyrone R. Teasley (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “§ 55-50-503(a) (2012). Revocation of a driver’s license is defined as the “termination by formal action of the [D]epartment [of Safety] of a person’s driver license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways[.”
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