Business and Commerce

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement actions or penalties for individual drivers, leaving these points as limits and unknowns.

Transportation Network Company Driver Licensing Act

This bill requires transportation network company drivers to obtain a special license from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance before they can work in the state, with penalties for non-compliance.

What This Bill Does

• Requires individuals who want to drive for transportation network companies (like Uber or Lyft) in Tennessee to get a special driver's license from the Department of Commerce and Insurance.
• Limits this license to residents of Tennessee and certain counties in neighboring states, with proof of residency required.
• Makes it illegal for drivers without this license to pick up rides that start in Tennessee.
• Forbids transportation network companies from letting unlicensed drivers take on rides starting in the state.
• Imposes fines on companies if they allow unlicensed drivers to work and can ban them from operating in Tennessee if there are many violations.

Who It Names or Affects

• Drivers who want to work for ride-hailing apps like Uber or Lyft in Tennessee.
• Transportation network companies that operate in the state.
• Residents of certain counties in neighboring states (Desoto County, Mississippi and Crittenden County, Arkansas) who wish to drive for these services.

Terms To Know

transportation network license

A special driver's license required by Tennessee law for individuals working as drivers for transportation network companies like Uber or Lyft.

serious traffic violation

A major driving offense that can lead to the suspension or revocation of a transportation network license in Tennessee.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how out-of-state drivers will be affected if they pick up rides starting outside Tennessee but ending within it.
• It is unclear what specific actions the Department of Commerce and Insurance will take to enforce these rules.
• The exact penalties for individual drivers who violate this law are not detailed in the summary.

Official Summary Text

LICENSE REQUIRED FOR TRA
NSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY DRIVERS

As of January 1, 2026, this bill requires

a
n individual seeking to work as a transportation network
company
driver in this state
to
first obtain a transportation network license from the department of commerce and insu
rance.
I
n order to be issued a transportation network license from the department,
this bill generally requires
the individual
to
have a valid Tennessee driver license.
However,
a resident of Desoto County, Mississippi, or Crittenden County, Arkansas, ma
y be issued
such
a license from the department upon providing proof of residency of such county.

This bill provides that

a
driver's transportation network license is valid for a period of one year. The department
must
establish a means by which a driver
may renew a license through the department's website
and
promulgate rules

by which the department may suspend or revoke
such
a license upon the driver committing a serious traffic violation or criminal offense or upon good cause shown.

An individual wit
hout a valid transportation network license is prohibited from accepting or transporting a prearranged ride originating in this state.
However, t
his does not prohibit a prearranged ride originating in another state from ending in this state.

PROHIBITED C
ONDUCT BY TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES

This bill prohibits

a
transportation network company
from
authoriz
ing
a driver without a valid transportation network license to accept or transport a prearranged ride originating in this state.

A transportatio
n network company that violates
this provision
is subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 per violation. If a transportation
network company
is found by the commissioner of commerce and insurance to have multiple
such
violations in a manner that is deemed to
constitute willful or wanton disregard of the requirements of this
bill
, then the commissioner
must
take action to suspend or revoke the transportation network company's ability to operate in this state.

RULEMAKING

This bill authorizes the
department o
f commerce and insurance to promulgate rules to effectuate this
bill
.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 818
By Hensley

HOUSE BILL 879
By Bricken

HB0879
002376
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55
and Title 65, Chapter 15, Part 3, relative to
transportation network companies.

WHEREAS, Tennessee is the only state in the southeast that allows out-of-state ride hail
drivers to operate within the state, while Tennessee ride hail drivers may not work in
surrounding states; and
WHEREAS, Tennesseans who live and work in our communities, contributing directly to
our local economy, struggle to compete with an oversaturated market of out-of-state drivers;
and
WHEREAS, instead of bringing down prices for consumers, an oversaturated market of
out-of-state drivers has worsened traffic congestion and diverted Tennessee tourism dollars to
other states; and
WHEREAS, a basic licensing regime is necessary to regulate this profession; now,
therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 65, Chapter 15, Part 3, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) An individual seeking to work as a transportation network driver in this state
shall first obtain a transportation network license from the department of commerce and
insurance.
(b)

- 2 - 002376

(1) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(2), in order to be issued a
transportation network license from the department, the individual must have a
valid Tennessee driver license.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (b)(1), a resident of Desoto County,
Mississippi, or Crittenden County, Arkansas, may be issued a transportation
network license from the department upon providing proof of residency of such
county.
(c) A driver's transportation network license is valid for a period of one (1) year.
The department shall establish a means by which a driver may renew a license through
the department's website. The department shall also promulgate rules, in accordance
with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, by which
the department may suspend or revoke a driver's transportation network license upon
the driver committing a serious traffic violation or criminal offense or upon good cause
shown.
(d) An individual without a valid transportation network license is prohibited from
accepting or transporting a prearranged ride originating in this state. This subsection (d)
does not prohibit a prearranged ride originating in another state from ending in this state.
(e) A transportation network company shall not authorize a driver without a valid
transportation network license to accept or transport a prearranged ride originating in
this state.
(f) A transportation network company that violates subsection (e) is subject to a
civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation. If a transportation is found by
the commissioner of commerce and insurance to have multiple violations of subsection
(e) in a manner that is deemed to constitute willful or wanton disregard of the

- 3 - 002376

requirements of this section, then the commissioner shall take action to suspend or
revoke the transportation network company's ability to operate in this state.
SECTION 2. The department of commerce and insurance is authorized to promulgate
rules to effectuate this act. The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform
Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 5.
SECTION 3. For purposes of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming a
law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect January 1, 2026,
the public welfare requiring it.