The Tennessee Department of Revenue says a person who moves from another state should register the vehicle within 30 days of the move. The application for a certificate of title and registration goes to the county clerk. Bring proof of identification and Tennessee residency, the most current out-of-state registration, and either the out-of-state title or the name and address of the lienholder. The new-resident pages do not tell you to complete a safety inspection, an emissions test, or a VIN inspection before the clerk will take the application.
What do I do, in order?
- Get liability insurance at the limits Revenue publishes, unless you qualify for another form of financial responsibility. The Financial Responsibility page says insurance is the easiest way to comply.
- Gather identification, proof of residency, the current out-of-state registration, and the title. If a lender has the title, the clerk will take the lender's name and address instead and request the title.
- File the title and registration application at the county clerk. Notice VR-7 says that is the path for a person who moved from another state. Notice VTR-48 says the same office is where a new resident applies for a Tennessee license plate.
- If the car was already titled or registered in the name that will appear on the Tennessee title, notice SUT-50 says you may import that personal vehicle without sales and use tax when you change legal residence. If it was titled in someone else's name, you pay the difference between tax paid to the origin state and Tennessee's use-tax rate.
VR-6 names a limited exception for students from other states who attend school in Tennessee. It does not list the documents a student must show, and it does not say a student may keep the old plates for a stated number of months. Ask the clerk. The pages opened November 10, 2026, do not describe a military exemption.
What documents does Revenue name?
The titling page for new residents and people relocating lists three items:
- Proof of identification and proof of residency. The page points to an English-language version of that list and does not reprint every acceptable document.
- The most current out-of-state registration.
- Either the lienholder's name and address, or, if there is no lienholder, the out-of-state title.
Notice VR-7 shortens that to the current out-of-state registration and the lender's name and address, and it says that if you do not have the lender information you must furnish the out-of-state title. VTR-48 matches the longer list and adds that the clerk uses the lender's information to request the current title.
None of these notices prints a title fee, a plate fee, or a registration fee. The clerk calculates the amount. This guide does not invent a statewide fee. The titling page also does not describe a temporary tag or a transit permit for the days before the Tennessee plate is issued. Ask the clerk before you rely on the old plates past the 30 days.
Do I owe tax?
Notice SUT-50 draws a clear line. If the vehicle is titled or registered by a person in the name that will appear on the Tennessee title, a person changing legal residence may import a personal motor vehicle without paying sales and use tax. If the vehicle is imported in other circumstances, or it is titled in another person's name in the previous state, the applicant pays the difference between the tax paid to the state of origin and the Tennessee use-tax rate. The notice cites Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-6-210 and does not print the percentage. A boat has a separate rule on that page, including a fair-market-value cap, and that boat rule is not the car rule.
What insurance is required?
Revenue's Financial Responsibility page, opened November 10, 2026, lists the minimum liability limits as $25,000 for each injury or death per accident, $50,000 for total injuries or deaths per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. A regular passenger plate or a motorcycle plate requires that kind of policy. A commercial plate requires a commercial auto policy. The page says that starting in 2017, uninsured drivers can be fined and can lose the registration if they cannot show financial responsibility, under the James Lee Atwood Jr. Law. Ask the clerk if a policy card from another state is enough on the day you apply.
What if the car is shipped to Tennessee?
The truck delivery does not replace the county-clerk visit. The 30-day registration guidance still runs from the move, and the tax result still depends on whether the car is already in your name. See car shipping to Tennessee, the cost page, and when the lender has the title. RideShipper compares quotes. It is not a carrier or a broker, and it does not file the title.