(a) Upon request, in any of the following events described in subdivisions (a)(1)-(3), the commissioner shall consent to the immediate cancellation of a bond or certificate of insurance, or the commissioner shall authorize the return of money deposited as proof of financial responsibility, which the state treasurer shall return to the person entitled to the money, or the commissioner shall waive the requirement of filing proof of financial responsibility:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-12-125

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Bond: means irrevocable bond executed by a corporate surety company licensed to do business as a corporate surety company in this state, with penalties of like amounts as those pertaining to an insurance policy or the amount of damages suffered, whichever is less, the bond to guarantee the payment of any final judgment which might thereafter be rendered against the bonded party resulting from the accident up to and including the total amount of the bond, except the bond may specify a limited payment to those persons who have at the time of its execution filed claims with the commissioner, and shall contain a clause therein that it shall remain in force for one (1) year from the date of the accident or until final determination of any court action brought as a result of the accident, whichever may be the longer period of time. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of safety, unless otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: means the department of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-1-111
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Judgment: means any judgment that shall have become final by expiration without appeal of the time within which an appeal might have been perfected, or by final affirmation on appeal, rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction of any state or of the United States, upon a cause of action arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of any motor vehicle, for damages, including damages for care and loss of services, because of bodily injury to or death of any person, or for damages because of injury to or destruction of property, including the loss of use thereof. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • License: means any license, temporary instruction permit, or temporary license issued under the laws of this state, or any other state, pertaining to the licensing of persons to operate motor vehicles within this state. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Motor vehicle: means every self-propelled vehicle that is designed for use upon the highway, including trailers and semitrailers designed for use with motor vehicles, and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead wires but not operated upon rails, except traction engines, road rollers and farm tractors. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Nonresident: means every person who is not a resident of this state. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Operator: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle whether or not licensed as an operator or chauffeur under the laws of this state. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a motor vehicle, or in the event a motor vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee, lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this part. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Registration: means a registration certificate or certificates and registration plates issued under the laws of this state pertaining to the registration of motor vehicles. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • State: means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any province of the Dominion of Canada. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
(1) At any time after expiration of the period of suspension or revocation if, during the period of suspension or revocation, the person has maintained the bond, certificate of insurance, or deposit for the entire period of suspension or revocation, and the commissioner has not received record of an additional conviction that would require or permit the suspension or revocation of the license, registration or nonresident‘s operating privilege of the person by or for whom the proof was furnished;
(2) In the event of the death of the person on whose behalf the proof was filed or the permanent incapacity of the person to operate a motor vehicle; or
(3) If the license of a person who has given proof is surrendered to the commissioner and the person’s registration is surrendered to the commissioner of revenue.
(b) The commissioner shall not consent to the cancellation of a bond or return of money if:

(1) There is a pending action for damages upon a covered liability;
(2) A judgment upon the liability is unsatisfied; or
(3) In the event the person who has filed the bond or deposited the money has, within the preceding suspension or revocation period, been involved as the owner or operator in a motor vehicle accident resulting in injury or damage to another’s person or property.
(c) An affidavit of the applicant as to the nonexistence of the facts in subdivisions (b)(1)-(3), or that the applicant has been released from all liability or has been finally adjudicated not to be liable for such injury or damage, is sufficient evidence thereof in the absence of evidence to the contrary in the records of the commissioner.
(d) If a person whose proof of financial responsibility has been cancelled or returned under subdivision (a)(1) applies to the commissioner for a license within the period of suspension or revocation when proof of financial responsibility was originally required, then the commissioner shall refuse the application and request that the commissioner of revenue refuse any registration application, unless the applicant reestablishes the proof of financial responsibility for the remainder of the suspension or revocation.
(e) 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. This subsection (e) does not apply if there is an unsatisfied judgment based on a motor vehicle accident.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Part 1 Contents