Current through September 24, 2024
(1) Eligibility
requirements for a Tennessee driver license, intermediate license, photo
identification license, instructional permit, temporary driver license,
temporary intermediate driver license, temporary photo identification license
and temporary instructional permit:
(a) To be
eligible to apply for a driver license, intermediate license, photo
identification license or instructional permit, applicants are required to be a
resident of Tennessee and a United States citizen or a lawful permanent
resident of the United States.
(b)
To be eligible to apply for a temporary driver license, temporary intermediate
driver license, temporary photo identification license or temporary
instructional permit, an applicant's presence must be authorized by the federal
government for a specific purpose and for a specified period of authorized
stay, provided that no temporary license shall be issued for a period of less
than one (1) year or longer than five (5) years. Such applicant shall be a
resident of Tennessee and meet all other identification and residency
requirements required by the Department.
(2) If an applicant is found to be eligible
to apply for a license or temporary driver license, before that license or
temporary driver license is issued, all requirements regarding the proper
submission of an application must be satisfied, including, but not limited to,
passing all necessary vision, knowledge and/or skills tests and paying all
appropriate fees and fines.
(3) To
be eligible to apply for commercial classes, endorsements, and instructional
permits, applicants must meet the following standards:
(a) Age - applicants must be at least
twenty-one (21) years of age, except that:
1.
Persons nineteen (19) years of age shall be permitted to apply for a Class A or
B license, provided that until they reach the age of twenty-one (21) they shall
be restricted to operating vehicles which do not require special endorsements,
solely in intrastate commerce, within one hundred (100) miles of the driver's
place of employment or home terminal.
2. Persons eighteen (18) years of age shall
be permitted to apply for Class B license, provided that until they reach the
age of twenty-one (21) they shall be restricted to operating vehicles which do
not require special endorsements, solely in intrastate commerce, within one
hundred (100) miles of the driver's place of employment or home
terminal.
(b) Physical
and mental standards -Unless otherwise specified in 1340-1- 13.-09, applicants
shall meet the physical and mental standards as specified in
49 C.F.R. §
391.41(1989).
(c) Driver license status - Applicants'
privilege to drive shall not be under disqualification, suspension,
cancellation, revocation, or denial in this or any other state.
(4) To obtain any endorsement
required to be added to a commercial driver license in order to operate a
specific commercial motor vehicle, the applicant must meet the same standards
specified for Classes A, B, C, PA, PB, and PC, except that:
(a) Applicants for the School Bus (S)
endorsement shall have at least five (5) years of unrestricted licensed driving
experience.
1. Those employed by public school
systems shall present or have on file with the Department a current certificate
of eligibility issued by the local school system; and, upon renewal, shall have
attended all required in-service training.
2. Those employed by private school systems
shall present or have on file with the Department a letter verifying their
employment.
(5) Applicants for Class D licenses or Class
XD temporary driver licenses must meet the minimum standards:
(a) Age - Applicants must be at least sixteen
(16) years of age, provided that applicants under eighteen (18) years of age
shall fulfill all additional requirements specified in 1340-1-13-.13 for the
licensing of minors.
(b) Physical
and mental standards - Applicants must be physically and mentally capable of
safely operating a motor vehicle as stated in 1340-1-13-.09.
(c) Driver license or temporary driver
license status - Applicants' privilege to drive shall not be under suspension,
cancellation, revocation, or denial in this or any other state.
(6) Applicants for a Class PD
license or Class XP temporary driver license shall meet the same standards
specified above for Class D or Class XD, except that applicants shall be at
least fifteen (15) years of age; further, those under eighteen (18) years of
age shall fulfill all additional requirements specified in 1340-1-13-.13(1)(b)
and (c) for the licensing of minors.
(7) To obtain the For-Hire (F) endorsement,
required to be added to the Class D license or Class XD temporary driver
license for persons hired to drive as chauffeurs, the applicant must meet the
same standards specified for Class D, except that applicants shall be at least
eighteen (18) years of age.
(a) Persons
sixteen (16) years of age shall be permitted to apply for the For-Hire
endorsement provided that the vehicle the applicant is hired to drive is owned
by the applicant's family business to conduct deliveries of goods and products
exclusively for such family business.
(8) Applicants for Class M and Class PM
licenses or Class XM temporary driver licenses and Class XPM temporary driver
licenses must meet the eligibility standards specified for Class D, except as
provided for in 1340-1-12.
(9)
Applicants for Class H licenses or Class XH temporary driver licenses must meet
the same eligibility standards specified for Class D in subpart (5) above,
except that:
(a) Applicants shall be between
fourteen (14) and sixteen (16) years of age;
(b) Applicants shall demonstrate by providing
documentation that a hardship, as defined at 1340-1-13-.02(25), would result if
such license were not approved;
(c)
Applicants shall not have to meet the requirements specified in
1340-1-13-.13(d); and
(d) All Class
H licenses expire on the 16th birthday. Class XH
temporary driver licenses expire based upon legal presence documents or on the
16th birthday, whichever comes first.
Authority: T.C.A. §§
4-5-202,
55-50-102(6),
55-50-102(20),
55-50-202,
55-50-301,
55-50-302,
55-50-303, 55-50-311,
55-50-321, 55-50-322, 55-50-331,
55-50-404,
55-50-410,
55-50-504, Public Chapter No. 194,
2007, Public Acts of 2004; Chapter 778, 49 C.F.R. §383(1992), and Title
VI, Public Law 99-570, §§12005 and 12009.
