Tennessee License Plate Reader Laws (2026)

Tennessee has three statutes that name license plate readers, but no single law that sets out who may use them and for what. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-302 limits how long a government agency may store plate data from a fixed reader system: 90 days, unless the data is kept as part of an ongoing investigation. Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(a)(32)(A) makes captured plate data confidential and closed to public inspection, and a 2026 act removed the July 1, 2026 expiration date that rule once carried. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-31-202 requires commercial parking lot owners to post signs before using a plate reader to enforce their parking rules.

Information reviewed September 30, 2026.

For related pages, see the Tennessee entry in the state comparison, the ALPR laws hub, Are Flock cameras legal?, What are Flock cameras?, and our Tennessee surveillance camera laws guide.

Does Tennessee have a license plate reader law?

Yes, in three separate pieces, none of them a full regulatory scheme. We searched the whole of the official public-access Tennessee Code, Titles 1 to 71, by phrase on September 30, 2026. "Plate reader" and "automatic license plate reader" each returned three sections: 55-31-202, 55-31-102 and 10-7-504. "Captured plate data" returned 55-10-302 and 10-7-504, and "license plate recognition" returned only 55-10-302.

Together those sections cover three things: how long government agencies may keep plate data, whether the public can inspect it, and signs at commercial parking lots. They do not list the purposes police may use readers for, limit sharing with other states or federal agencies, require audits, or, in the parts we could read, set penalties.

One limit on our reading: the code site's full-document pages sit behind a CAPTCHA that we did not attempt, so we read the sections through the site's own search excerpts and, where an excerpt was cut off, through the enacting public chapter. Each section below says where that applies.

How long can Tennessee agencies keep plate reader data?

Ninety days, unless the data is part of an ongoing investigation. Section 55-10-302 was added by Public Chapter 625 of 2014 (SB 1664). The bill history shows it was signed by the Governor on April 4, 2014, and it took effect July 1, 2014.

The operative sentence, as enacted, says captured plate data collected or retained by any governmental entity through an automated license plate recognition system "may not be stored for more than ninety (90) days unless the data is retained or stored as part of an ongoing investigation." Data kept for an investigation must then be destroyed at the conclusion of either an investigation that results in no criminal charges or any criminal action involving the data.

The current code's search excerpt of subsection (b) carries the same 90-day wording; the destruction rule that follows it is taken from the 2014 public chapter. The parts of the current section we could read, the definitions and the end of subsection (b), match that act, and the section's history line ends "Acts 2014, ch. 625, § 1" with no later amendment listed.

The section defines three terms:

• An "automated license plate recognition system" is "one (1) or more fixed high-speed cameras combined with computer algorithms to convert images of license plates into computer-readable data."
• "Captured plate data" means the global positioning device coordinates, date and time, photograph, license plate number, "and any other data captured by or derived from any automated license plate recognition system."
• A "governmental entity" is "any lawfully established department, agency or entity of this state or of any political subdivision of this state."

Two consequences follow from that text. The rule binds government agencies only, so it does not set a retention period for a business, landlord or homeowners association running its own readers. And the definition names fixed cameras. The text does not address readers mounted on vehicles, and we did not research whether any Tennessee court has read the section to cover them.

Are Tennessee plate reader records public?

No, the data itself is closed. Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(a)(32)(A), part of the Public Records Act's exceptions, provides:

"Captured plate data from automatic license plate reader systems must be treated as confidential and shall not be open for inspection by members of the public."

This provision defines its terms more broadly than the retention statute. An "automatic license plate reader system" here means "one (1) or more mobile or fixed automated high-speed cameras" used with computer algorithms to convert plate images into computer-readable data, so mobile readers are expressly included. "Captured plate data" covers GPS coordinates, date and time information, photographs, plate numbers and "any other data captured by or derived from any automatic license plate reader system."

The confidentiality rule speaks only to captured plate data. It does not mention an agency's plate reader policy, vendor contract or search records, and we did not research how those documents are treated under the Public Records Act.

Did Tennessee's plate data confidentiality rule expire in 2026?

No. The rule was added by Public Chapter 201 of 2021 (SB 699 / HB 809), signed April 22, 2021, and that act included a subdivision (B) providing that the rule "is repealed effective July 1, 2026."

Public Chapter 672 of 2026 (SB 1879 / HB 1642), captioned as deleting expiration dates for certain public record exemptions, amended § 10-7-504 "by deleting subdivisions (a)(4)(H)(ii), (a)(31)(F), (a)(32)(B), (f)(9), and (u)(5)." The bill page shows it was signed by the Governor on April 7, 2026, and lists April 7, 2026 among its effective dates. The current code now reads "(B) [Deleted by 2026 amendment.]"

The repeal therefore never took effect, and the confidentiality rule continued past July 1, 2026.

Watch out: Summaries written before April 2026 may say Tennessee's plate data exemption expires on July 1, 2026. That repeal was deleted by Public Chapter 672 before it could take effect.

What do Tennessee parking lots have to post?

Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-31-202 is part of chapter 31 of Title 55, the Modernization of Towing, Immobilization, and Oversight Normalization (MOTION) Act of 2025. It provides that "[a] commercial parking lot owner shall not utilize an automatic license plate reader to enforce the commercial parking lot owner's parking requirements without first posting signage" that:

1. is designed and placed to ensure clear visibility and readability by consumers parking in the lot;
2. contains the language LICENSE PLATE READER IN USE;
3. is located at each designated entrance to the property, if the lot has a dedicated entrance; and
4. is located on each level of the lot, if it has more than one level.

The current text came from SB 1068 / HB 972, Public Chapter 457 of 2025, which replaced the whole of chapter 31 and which the bill page shows was signed on May 9, 2025. The original 2024 MOTION Act, SB 1692 (Public Chapter 1017 of 2024), also contained a plate reader sign rule for commercial parking lots.

In the code excerpt we read § 55-31-202 through item (4), which is where the section ends in SB 1068 as introduced. The full definition of "automatic license plate reader" in § 55-31-102(3) and the date the section took effect were not readable to us, because the code's full-document page is behind a CAPTCHA and the public chapter is a scanned image without a text layer. This page therefore says nothing about what happens if a lot owner does not post the signs, or about how the chapter defines a commercial parking lot.

What does Tennessee law leave out?

Most of what fuller plate reader statutes cover. Outside the parking-lot chapter, whose penalty provisions we did not verify, our searches found no Tennessee statute that lists permitted uses, governs sharing plate data with out-of-state or federal agencies, requires access logs or audits, or penalizes misuse.

Our general-law searches also surfaced sections we did not open, so we take no position on them: a consumer privacy definitions section that uses the word geolocation (§ 47-18-3302) and several state immigration enforcement provisions (including §§ 4-3-2014, 4-3-2015, 4-58-112 and 7-68-105 to 7-68-107). Our searches for plate reader terms did not return any of them.

We did not locate a plate reader policy for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation or the Tennessee Department of Transportation. That is a gap in our research, not a finding that none exists.

What have Tennessee courts said?

We did not research Tennessee court decisions on plate readers for this page, so we cannot say whether any court has applied these statutes or ruled on plate reader use.

Is Tennessee considering new plate reader legislation?

One 2026 proposal did not pass. The Protecting Everyone from Excessive Police Surveillance (PEEPS) Act, HB 2608 / SB 2215, concerned historical location data and mentions license plate readers in its text. The House bill was taken off notice in the Criminal Justice Subcommittee on March 25, 2026, and the Senate bill was assigned to the General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary on March 23, 2026. The General Assembly then adjourned, and the bill is not law.

The 115th General Assembly convenes at noon on January 12, 2027, according to the General Assembly's site. We found no official record of a filed 2027 plate reader bill as of September 30, 2026.

Where are plate readers reported in Tennessee?

This list is not complete. Our deployment records list the Knox County Sheriff's Office plate reader program as ended as of September 16, 2026, citing a news report on the county's removal deadline. That report says that on the deadline day the vendor, Flock Safety, had taken down all but 10 of its 143 license plate readers in the county, and the remaining cameras were covered by privacy shields until their removal. The list does not cover every agency in the state.

How can I check my local system?

Ask the operating agency for its written plate reader policy, its retention setting, who may search the data and with whom it is shared, and its vendor contract. For a fixed government system, the retention setting can be compared with the 90-day limit in § 55-10-302.

The plate data itself is confidential under § 10-7-504(a)(32)(A). Policies, contracts and council or commission approvals are separate records that the confidentiality rule does not mention.

At a commercial parking lot that enforces its rules with a plate reader, look for the LICENSE PLATE READER IN USE signs at each designated entrance and, in a multilevel lot, on each level. For how the technology works, see What are Flock cameras?.

Last updated: September 30, 2026. This page reflects the statutes and records described above as we reviewed them; it is general legal information, not legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Tennessee have a license plate reader law?

Tennessee has three provisions rather than one full law. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-302 limits government retention of plate data from fixed systems to 90 days unless the data is part of an ongoing investigation, § 10-7-504(a)(32)(A) makes captured plate data confidential, and § 55-31-202 requires signs at commercial parking lots that enforce parking with plate readers.

How long can Tennessee police keep license plate reader data?

Under § 55-10-302, captured plate data collected or retained by a governmental entity through a fixed automated license plate recognition system may not be stored for more than 90 days unless it is retained as part of an ongoing investigation. Investigation data must be destroyed when the investigation ends without charges or when any criminal action involving the data ends.

Can I get Tennessee plate reader data through a public records request?

The captured plate data is not open for public inspection. Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(a)(32)(A) makes it confidential, and it covers data from mobile or fixed readers. The provision does not mention agency policies or contracts.

Did the Tennessee plate data exemption expire on July 1, 2026?

No. The 2021 act set a July 1, 2026 repeal, but Public Chapter 672 of 2026, signed April 7, 2026, deleted that repeal provision, so the exemption continues.

Can a Tennessee parking lot use a license plate reader?

Under § 55-31-202, a commercial parking lot owner may not use a plate reader to enforce its parking requirements without first posting clearly visible signs reading LICENSE PLATE READER IN USE at each designated entrance and, in a multilevel lot, on each level. We did not verify the chapter's penalty provisions, so we say nothing about penalties or remedies.

Does the Tennessee retention limit apply to a business or HOA?

No. Section 55-10-302 applies to governmental entities, defined as departments, agencies or entities of the state or a political subdivision.