SB0296 • 2026

Traffic Safety

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38; Title 40 and Title 55, Chapter 10, relative to license plate flippers.

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Gardenhire, Martin G
Last action: 2025-03-31
Official status: Comp. became Pub. Ch. 55
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

License Plate Flipper Law

This law allows police officers to seize or impound vehicles with installed license plate flippers and gives vehicle owners a chance to remove them if they are present.

What This Bill Does

Police can take away cars that have license plate flippers in them.
If the car owner is there, they get a chance to safely remove the flipper from their car.
The police only keep the flipper as evidence and not the whole car if it's removed.
Car owners must pay for towing and storage fees if their car gets impounded.

Who It Names or Affects

People who own or operate cars with license plate flippers
Law enforcement officers

Terms To Know

License Plate Flipper: A device that can change or hide a car's license plate.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not specify what happens if the flipper cannot be safely removed.
It is unclear how police will decide when to impound a vehicle versus just seizing the flipper.

Amendments

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

HA0005

Amendment 1-0 to HB0300

Plain English: The amendment allows police officers to tell drivers to move their cars to a safer spot if there's a license plate flipper on the car.

Police can direct drivers with license plate flippers to move their vehicles to a safe location chosen by the officer.

The amendment text does not specify what happens after moving the vehicle or penalties for having a license plate flipper.

SA0018

Amendment 1-0 to SB0296

Plain English: The amendment allows police officers to tell drivers to move their cars to a safer spot if there's a license plate flipper on the car.

Police can direct drivers with license plate flippers to move their vehicles to a safe location chosen by the officer.

The amendment text does not provide details about what happens after moving the vehicle or penalties for having a license plate flipper.

Bill History

2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 55
2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly
Effective date(s) 03/26/2025
2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly
Pub. Ch. 55
2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Governor.
2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Transmitted to Governor for his action.
2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Senate Speaker
2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by H. Speaker
2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.
2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Companion House Bill substituted
2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate, Ayes 31, Nays 0
2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0018)
2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.
2025-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/3/2025
2025-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Received from House, Passed on First Consideration
2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., as am., Ayes 95, Nays 1, PNV 0
2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly
H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0005)
2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) withdrawn.
2025-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 2/24/2025
2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 2/26/2025
2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 2/20/2025
2025-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Transportation and Safety Committee
2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Transportation Committee for 2/18/2025
2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Transportation Committee
2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Transportation Subcommittee for 2/11/2025
2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Transportation Subcommittee
2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to Transportation Committee
2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2025-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law provides that a person commits a Class B misdemeanor if the person acts with criminal negligence and purchases or poss
esses a license plate flipper. Additionally, a person commits a Class A misdemeanor if the person acts with criminal negligence and manufactures, sells, offers to sell, or otherwise distributes a license plate flipper. As used in present law, a "license

plate flipper" means a manual, electronic, or mechanical device designed or adapted to be installed on a motor vehicle that either (i) alternates between two or more license plates for the purpose of allowing the vehicle operator to change the license pla
t
e displayed on the operator's vehicle; or (ii) hides a license plate from view by flipping the plate, making the license number not visible.

This bill authorizes a law enforcement officer to seize or impound as evidence a motor vehicle that is found with
an installed license plate flipper. However, if the owner or operator of the vehicle is present, then the owner or operator must be provided the opportunity to promptly remove the flipper if it can be removed safely. If the flipper is removed, then a l
a
w enforcement officer may only seize the flipper as contraband. Further, if the motor vehicle is impounded, then the owner is responsible for payment of towing, impound fees, and reasonable costs to remove the license plate flipper.

ON FEBRUARY 24, 2025
, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 300, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 authorizes a
law enforcement officer, in the officer's discretion,
to
direct the owner or operator of the motor vehicle to move the vehicle to a location that the office
r designates for the safe removal of the license plate flipper.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HOUSE BILL 300
By Martin G

SENATE BILL 296
By Gardenhire

SB0296
000041
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38;
Title 40 and Title 55, Chapter 10, relative to
license plate flippers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-10-210, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection:
(e) A motor vehicle that is found with an installed license plate flipper may be
seized or impounded by a law enforcement officer as evidence; provided, that the owner
or operator of the motor vehicle, if present, must be provided the opportunity to promptly
remove the license plate flipper if it can be removed safely. If the license plate flipper is
removed, then the law enforcement officer may seize only the license plate flipper as
contraband. If the motor vehicle is impounded, then the owner of the vehicle is
responsible for payment of towing and impounding fees and reasonable costs to remove
the license plate flipper.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.