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HB0537 • 2026

Motor Vehicles, Titling and Registration

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38 and Title 55, relative to motor vehicle registration.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Camper, Taylor
Last action
2025-05-02
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 157
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about how this will affect drivers without access to electronic devices or what happens if police cannot verify the electronic registration.

Law Enforcement's Safer Tennessee Electronic Registration (LESTER) Act

This law requires that electronic copies of vehicle registration be accepted by police as proof of registration unless the image is unclear or seems fake, and updates the definition from 'motor-propelled vehicle' to 'motor vehicle'.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires that if a person shows an electronic copy of their vehicle registration, it must be accepted by police as proof of registration unless the image is unclear or seems fake.
  • Allows police to ask for more information to check if the electronic registration is real.
  • Updates the definition in Tennessee's laws from 'motor-propelled vehicle' to 'motor vehicle'.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Drivers who use electronic copies of their vehicle registrations
  • Law enforcement officers checking for proof of registration

Terms To Know

Prima facie evidence
Evidence that is accepted as true until proven otherwise.
Electronic format
Information stored or displayed on a digital device, like a smartphone or tablet.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify what happens if police cannot verify the electronic registration.
  • It is unclear how this will affect drivers who do not have access to electronic devices.
  • The effective date of July 1, 2025, means there is a delay before these changes take place.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB0537

Plain English: The amendment changes Tennessee law to allow drivers to show their vehicle registration on a smartphone or other electronic device and sets rules for when police can ask for more information.

  • Drivers can now use an electronic format, like a phone app, to display proof of vehicle registration.
  • Police must accept the electronic registration unless they cannot read it clearly or suspect fraud.
  • If police are unsure about the validity of the electronic registration, they may ask for more information.
  • Using an electronic device to show registration does not give permission for law enforcement to access other contents on the device.
  • The amendment text does not specify what happens if a driver refuses to provide additional requested information when asked by police.
Amendment 1-0 to SB0228

Plain English: This amendment changes Tennessee law to allow drivers to show their vehicle registration on electronic devices and sets rules for how police officers should handle such displays.

  • Drivers can now use electronic formats to display proof of vehicle registration, which must be accepted by law enforcement unless the image is unclear or believed to be fraudulent.
  • Police officers have the right to ask for more information if they need to verify the validity of an electronic registration.
  • If a police officer cannot confirm that an electronic registration is valid, they do not have to accept it as proof.
  • The amendment does not specify what happens if a driver refuses to provide additional information when asked by law enforcement.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 157

  2. 2025-05-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  3. 2025-05-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 157

  4. 2025-04-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  10. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  11. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 94, Nays 0, PNV 0

  12. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0159)

  13. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  14. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/31/2025

  15. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  16. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/27/2025

  17. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  18. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added pur. Rule 52

  19. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Transportation Committee for 3/25/2025

  20. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Transportation Committee

  21. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Transportation Subcommittee for 3/18/2025

  22. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Transportation Subcommittee to 3/18/2025

  23. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Transportation Subcommittee for 3/11/2025

  24. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Transportation Subcommittee to 3/11/2025

  25. 2025-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  26. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Transportation Subcommittee for 3/4/2025

  27. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  28. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  29. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 32, Nays 1

  30. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0001)

  31. 2025-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 2/24/2025

  32. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  33. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 2/19/2025

  34. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Transportation and Safety Committee

  35. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Transportation Subcommittee

  36. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Transportation Committee

  37. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  38. 2025-01-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  39. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  40. 2025-01-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON FEBRUARY 24, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 228, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, provide that
the "Law Enforcement's Safer Tennessee Electronic Registration (LESTER) Act
,
"
enacted by the bill, requires the following:



If a person displays the evidence of financial responsibility in an electronic format, then the evidence must be accepted by law enforcement as proof of registration, unless
(i) t
he image is not clear enough for the officer to determine the information or
(ii) t
he officer believes the image or the information contained in the image is fraudulent or inaccurate.

An officer may require additional information to verify the validity of the electronic registration.
However, i
f
the
officer cannot verify the validity of the electronic registration, then the officer is not required to accept the electronic registration.



Expands the provision in present law that requires p
roof of registration of
a
motor-propelled vehicle in the name of a person
to
be prima facie evidence of ownership of the vehicle by the person in whose name the vehicle is registered and the proof of registration
is
likewise prima facie evidence that the vehicle was then and there being operated by the owner or by the owner's servant for the owner's use and benefit and within the course and scope of the servant's employment
by, instead, applying such provision to a "motor vehicle" rather than a "motor propelled vehicle".

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 228
By Taylor

HOUSE BILL 537
By Camper

HB0537
000575
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38
and Title 55, relative to motor vehicle registration.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Law Enforcement's Safer
Tennessee Electronic Registration (LESTER) Act".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-4-138, is amended by deleting the
following language:
If a person displays the evidence in an electronic format pursuant to this section, the
person is not consenting for law enforcement to access any other contents of the
electronic device.
and substituting instead the following:
If a person displays the evidence in an electronic format pursuant to this section, then
the evidence must be accepted by law enforcement as proof of registration, and such
display is not consent for law enforcement to access any other contents of the electronic
device.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-10-312(a), is amended by
deleting the language "motor-propelled vehicle" and "motor propelled vehicle" wherever it
appears and substituting instead the language "motor vehicle".
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.