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HB0737 • 2026

Motor Vehicles, Titling and Registration

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 4 and Section 55-6-101, relative to vehicle registrations.

Taxes
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Vital, Hensley
Last action
2025-04-28
Official status
Effective date(s) 04/11/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide information on how the aiding county clerk will handle tax collection discrepancies between different counties.

Vehicle Registration Assistance During Emergencies

This bill allows county clerks to request assistance from neighboring county clerks for vehicle registrations during emergencies or office closures.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows a county clerk to request assistance from another county clerk in case of public health emergencies, natural disasters, or temporary office closures.
  • Requires the requesting county clerk to send a written request specifying the time period for which help is needed via standard mail or electronic mail.
  • Permits the assisting county clerk to perform vehicle registration tasks and charge $2.50 per transaction.
  • Requires the aiding county clerk to collect local sales and use taxes at their own county's rate, not the requesting county's rate.

Who It Names or Affects

  • County clerks who need help with vehicle registrations during emergencies or office closures.
  • Neighboring county clerks providing assistance.
  • Vehicle owners applying for registration services during these times.

Terms To Know

Contiguous County
A county that shares a border with another county.
Motor Vehicle Privilege Taxes
Taxes collected by counties for vehicle registrations and related services.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if the neighboring county clerk cannot provide assistance.
  • It is unclear how this will affect tax collection discrepancies between different counties.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB0737

Plain English: This amendment adds new rules for how aiding counties collect local sales and use taxes when helping another county with vehicle registrations, including how these taxes are remitted and allocated.

  • Aiding county clerks must now collect any applicable local sales and use taxes from the county providing aid.
  • The department will allocate collected taxes to the county that is providing aid based on written notification from the aiding county clerk.
  • Counties providing aid cannot refund these taxes to offset rate differences with requesting counties.
  • The exact process and implications of tax remittance and allocation are complex and not fully explained in this amendment text.
Amendment 2-0 to HB0737

Plain English: The amendment changes how local sales and use taxes are collected and remitted for aiding counties and also modifies the method of communication allowed between parties.

  • Aiding county clerks will now collect local sales and use taxes at applicable rates, remit them to the department as per § 55-6-105, and notify the department about tax allocation to the aiding county.
  • The amendment removes 'facsimile' from the list of acceptable communication methods between parties, leaving only 'standard mail or electronic mail'.
  • The exact impact on counties providing aid is not fully detailed in the provided text.
Amendment 1-0 to SB0660

Plain English: This amendment adds new rules for how county clerks collect local sales and use taxes when helping another county with vehicle registrations, including how these taxes are remitted and allocated.

  • County clerks must now collect any applicable local sales and use taxes from the aiding county.
  • The collected taxes will be sent to a department according to specific state laws.
  • Upon notification, the department will allocate the tax proceeds back to the aiding county.
  • Counties providing aid cannot refund these taxes to offset differences in rates between counties.
  • The exact details of how this amendment fits into existing legislation are not fully explained here.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 04/11/2025

  2. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 193

  3. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 193

  4. 2025-04-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  6. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  7. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  8. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  9. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 28, Nays 1

  10. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0150)

  11. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  12. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  13. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  14. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  15. 2025-03-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/31/2025

  16. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  17. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 96, Nays 0, PNV 0

  18. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  19. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 2 - HA0114)

  20. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0113)

  21. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 3/31/2025

  22. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/26/2025

  23. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/27/2025

  24. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/20/2025

  25. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  26. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  27. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Transportation Committee for 3/18/2025

  28. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 3/19/2025

  29. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  30. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  31. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Transportation and Safety Committee to 3/19/2025

  32. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  33. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  34. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 3/5/2025

  35. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  36. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Transportation Subcommittee

  37. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  38. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Transportation Committee

  39. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  40. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  41. 2025-01-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

In the event of a public health emergency, natural disaster, or other temporary office closure, this bill authorizes a county clerk to request a county clerk in a contiguous county for ass
istance with vehicle registrations, renewal of registrations, and services pursuant to present law. The request must be in writing and delivered to the county clerk by standard mail, electronic mail, or facsimile, and must specify a period of time for wh
i
ch assistance is requested. Upon receiving a request for assistance, the county clerk may complete such tasks and services for the time period set forth in the request. The county clerk who aids the requesting county clerk must not collect county-specif
i
c motor vehicle privilege taxes, as applicable. The aiding county clerk must provide the requesting county clerk with a report of vehicles registered during the period of assistance if such report is requested for tax collection purposes.

This bill au
thorizes a county clerk providing aid pursuant to this bill to charge to and receive from applicants $2.50 (i) for issuing certificates of registration and registration plates, (ii) for transferring registration plates from one motor vehicle to another an
d
issuing a certificate for the same, (iii) for accepting for surrender certificates of registration and registration plates, and (iv) for each set of registration plates and certificates of registration.

ON MARCH 27, 2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2
AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 737, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #2 adds requirements that a c
ounty clerk
assisting with vehicle registrations pursuant to this bill do the following:

(1) C
ollect any local sales and use taxes at the rate applicable to the county provi
ding aid
; and

(2) R
emit taxes
described in (1)
to the department
of revenue.

Subject to
the 1.125% that the department is authorized to retain for administrative and collection expenses under the Local Option Revenue Act
and upon written notification f
rom the aiding county clerk,
this amendment requires
the department
to
designate the proceeds of the local sales and use tax for allocation to the county providing aid. The aiding county
is required to
provide written notice to the department not later th
an the date upon which the aiding county is required to remit such taxes under
present law
. Taxes collected by a county providing aid under this
amendment
must not be refunded to offset rate disparities between the county providing aid and the county requ
esting aid.

This amendment removes facsimile as a means by which a clerk may request assistance under this bill so that all such requests must be made by standard or electronic mail.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 660
By Hensley

HOUSE BILL 737
By Vital

HB0737
002023
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55,
Chapter 4 and Section 55-6-101, relative to
vehicle registrations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-4-101, is amended by designating
subsection (c) as subdivision (c)(1) and adding the following new subdivisions:
(2) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, in the event of a public health
emergency, natural disaster, or other temporary office closure, a county clerk may
request a county clerk in a contiguous county for assistance with vehicle registrations,
renewal of registrations, and services pursuant to § 55-6-104(a)(1). The request must
be in writing and delivered to the county clerk by standard mail, electronic mail, or
facsimile, and must specify a period of time for which assistance is requested. Upon
receiving a request for assistance, the county clerk may complete vehicle registrations,
renewal of registrations, and services pursuant to § 55-6-104(a)(1) for the time period
set forth in the request. The county clerk who aids the requesting county clerk shall not
collect county-specific motor vehicle privilege taxes, as applicable. The aiding county
clerk shall provide the requesting county clerk with a report of vehicles registered during
the period of assistance if such report is requested for tax collection purposes.
(3) For issuing certificates of registration and registration plates, for transferring
registration plates from one (1) motor vehicle to another and issuing a certificate for the
same, for accepting for surrender certificates of registration and registration plates, for
each set of registration plates and certificates of registration, a county clerk providing aid

- 2 - 002023

pursuant to subdivision (c)(2) is entitled to charge to and receive from applicants the
sum of two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) as required under § 55-6-104(a)(1).
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming law, the public welfare requiring it.