Franklin, TN

Franklin prohibits keeping any animal or fowl in a place or condition that becomes a nuisance from noise, odor, or contagious disease, city-wide.

Franklin, Tennessee bars pet stores from selling dogs and cats obtained from commercial breeders or brokers. Franklin Municipal Code § 10-302 limits stock to animals sourced from a…

Franklin bars keeping chickens or other listed fowl and livestock within 1,000 feet of a home, business, or public street unless the health officer issues a permit.

Franklin, Tennessee requires indoor animal service uses, including veterinary clinics, to sit at least 200 feet from a residential property line, cut to 100 feet if the building is…

Franklin, Tennessee, has no leash ordinance of its own: it adopts Williamson County's dog and cat regulations by reference, making the county resolution's restraint rules the binding…

Tennessee's Apiary Act of 1995 requires every beekeeper who owns one or more colonies to register each apiary location with the state apiarist, then re-register every three years. New…

Tennessee classifies wild animals into five classes under TWRA rules and prohibits private possession of Class I species like big cats and great apes statewide, regardless of city…

Franklin caps a shed, workshop or greenhouse at 200 square feet as a "minor accessory structure" under Zoning Ordinance § 5.2.4; go over that and it must match the house's exterior…

Franklin, Tennessee requires the owner of a single-family lot to permanently occupy the property before an accessory dwelling unit is allowed on that lot under the 2026 zoning…

Franklin, Tennessee lets homeowners convert an existing garage or other accessory structure into an accessory dwelling unit, as long as the conversion doesn't worsen any dimensional…

Detached accessory dwelling units in Franklin may proceed to building-permit stage, but the owner must sign a parkland impact fee contract and pay the fee once it's executed.

Franklin bans open burning across the entire city limits by default, carving out only a short list of named exceptions, and two of the most common ones (ceremonial bonfires and…

Franklin will not let anyone establish, build or enlarge a plant or place of business that manufactures, distributes or handles bulk liquefied petroleum gas unless it sits in a…

Every Franklin short-term vacation rental must have UL 217-listed smoke alarms in each sleeping area, in every room along the egress path from a sleeping area to the exit door, and on…

Franklin bans the manufacture, sale and storage of fireworks across the entire city, and discharging them anywhere in city limits is unlawful unless the fire marshal has approved it…

Williamson County allows recreational backyard fires and fire pits in this affluent Nashville suburb. A contained fire with a spark screen needs no state burn permit, but drought burn…

Tennessee Division of Forestry has statewide authority over wildfire prevention, declares hazard seasons, and may issue burn bans during drought conditions affecting all residents.

Lawn watering isn't banned in Franklin by default, but once the mayor declares a Water Shortage Emergency the city can prohibit it outright as a Category 1 nonessential use, along with…

Franklin requires every property owner or tenant to periodically cut grass and other weeds, and makes it unlawful to ignore an order from the city recorder, health officer, or police…

Franklin requires two caliper inches of replacement trees for every caliper inch of specimen tree removed, planted within 12 months, with cash payment to the City's tree bank allowed…

Franklin bars property owners and HOAs from letting trees, hedges, or other plant material block sidewalks, sight lines, or otherwise endanger people using the public right-of-way…

Williamson County's landscaping ordinance requires at least 40 percent of all required landscaping or bufferyard vegetation to be native and/or drought-tolerant, drawn from a list the…

Franklin limits permitted construction activity to Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., under Sec. 12-1301, with no construction work allowed on…

Franklin, Tennessee bans a vehicle exhaust or muffler that lets loud or explosive noise escape into the open air. Franklin Municipal Code § 11-404(3)(f) makes defective mufflers a…

Franklin's noise ordinance exempts aircraft, including helicopters, operated under federal air regulations and air traffic control instruction: the city does not enforce local noise…

Franklin, Tennessee enforces a nightly noise curfew by zoning district: in residential zones, Franklin Municipal Code § 11-403(1) bars any sound plainly audible beyond the property…

Franklin, Tennessee treats a barking dog as a nuisance-noise violation, not a separate 'barking dog' law: Franklin Municipal Code § 11-404(3)(d) bars keeping any animal or bird whose…

Franklin exempts leaf blowers and other domestic power equipment from its noise ordinance only between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.; run one outside that window and the general noise rules…

In Franklin's commercial and industrial zoning districts, amplified sound plainly audible 100 feet from the property boundary is barred from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weeknights and 11 p.m…

In Franklin, Tennessee commercial and industrial zones, amplified sound audible 100 feet beyond the source property's boundary is banned nightly from 10 p.m. (11 p.m. weekends) until 7…

Franklin requires every short-term vacation rental (STVR), a dwelling with four or fewer sleeping rooms rented for transient stays, to hold a certificate of use and occupancy from…

Franklin's short-term vacation rental rules only cover stays of 21 consecutive days or less: leases longer than 21 continuous days fall outside the STVR chapter entirely and are…

Franklin requires every short-term vacation rental occupant to follow the city's standard peace-and-quiet noise ordinance and its 'premises kept clean' waste rule. STVRs get no…

Franklin, Tennessee requires every short-term vacation rental owner or responsible party to collect and remit all room, occupancy, and sales taxes owed under state law or the Municipal…

Three or more complaints against a Franklin STVR in one calendar year trigger written notice, and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen can revoke the permit after 15 days' notice.

Franklin requires every short-term vacation rental owner to carry homeowner's fire, hazard, and liability insurance with liability limits of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, proven…

Franklin caps every short-term vacation rental at ten occupants at any one time, bars renting the same unit to more than one party under separate contracts simultaneously, and requires…

Franklin, Tennessee lets the board of mayor and aldermen designate passenger and freight loading zones by sign, but only where a business genuinely lacks adequate off-street loading…

Franklin, Tennessee makes it unlawful to leave a disabled or unlicensed vehicle on any public way for more than 24 consecutive hours, and City Code § 15-614 has the vehicle impounded…

Franklin, Tennessee reserves marked public electric-vehicle charging spaces for vehicles that are actually plugged in and charging. City Code § 15-607 makes it unlawful to park in any…

Franklin's 2026 zoning ordinance bars parking in the front yard except on an approved driveway or parking pad, with set width, setback, and surfacing standards for residential lots.

Franklin bans stopping, standing, or parking on sidewalks, crosswalks, medians, driveways, and within set distances of fire hydrants, railroad crossings, and mailboxes.

Franklin bans parking trailers in residential front yards or streets; trailers up to 18 feet may sit behind the home's front facade on an approved pad.

Franklin limits on-street and city-garage parking to posted time limits set by the city administrator, enforcing them by chalk-marking tires rather than a citywide overnight curfew.

Franklin, Tennessee bars parking a commercial motor vehicle in a residential zoning district, on a public street or on any lot under five acres, for more than 15 continuous days. City…

Tennessee rewrote its towing law twice in two years. The Modernization of Towing, Immobilization, and Oversight Normalization Act of 2025, at T.C.A. §§ 55-31-101 to 55-31-307, deleted…

Franklin permits small-scale child care as a home occupation for up to four unrelated children, provided the operator meets Tennessee's Family Child Care Home standards under the…

Franklin, Tennessee requires home occupations to stay inside the house or an accessory building, cap floor area at 25 percent, and be owner-operated with no more than one outside…

Home occupations in Franklin are barred from having any sign or other advertising on the property: the zoning code's home-occupation rules and sign chapter agree: none at all.

Franklin caps most home occupations at two on-site clients or one family at a time; all other customer contact must go through phone, internet, or off-site channels under the city's…

Tennessee's Food Freedom Act lets you make and sell most homemade foods from a Williamson County kitchen with no license, no inspection, and no sales cap. Products go directly to the…

Tennessee does not issue a microenterprise home kitchen permit because it does not require one. Under the Tennessee Food Freedom Act, T.C.A. § 53-1-118, producing and selling homemade…

Franklin's 2026 Zoning Ordinance caps side and rear yard fences at 7 feet for residential lots, 8 feet for nonresidential and mixed uses, and limits front-yard fences to 3 feet.

Franklin prohibits chain-link fencing citywide except in the LI and HI industrial districts, and allows wire or electrified livestock fencing only within the AG agricultural district.

Franklin caps residential retaining walls at 2 feet in front yards and 6 feet in side and rear yards, with taller or paired walls needing extra setback and a building permit.

Franklin's 2026 zoning ordinance says a fence or wall may need a building permit depending on its height, administered by the Department of Building and Neighborhood Services.

Tennessee's partition fence statute requires adjoining landowners using land for crops or livestock to share fence costs equally. The law applies statewide and cannot be overridden by…

Franklin requires a permit for any pool built, installed, repaired, or altered in the city under its adopted 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code.

Franklin has adopted the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code by reference, setting the design, construction, alteration, and safety standards -- barriers, drain covers…

Franklin defines recyclables narrowly: only director-approved commodities like cardboard, aluminum, tin, steel, and newspaper, with hazardous, infectious, industrial, and medical waste…

Franklin charges every residential address a mandatory sanitation fee under Municipal Code § 17-110, even though actually using the pickup service is optional. The city issues one…

Franklin, Tennessee requires residents to set trash carts within about two feet of the curb, clear of obstructions, parked cars, sidewalks, and drainage ditches.

Franklin collects non-containerized bulky items curbside for a per-load fee, plus separate limits on brush and limb size for pickup.

Franklin makes it unlawful to dump municipal solid waste into any stream, ditch, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, or other drain, to dispose of it anywhere except a site approved under…

Franklin will not shovel up loose leaves or clippings: yard waste has to go into biodegradable paper bags of no more than 33 gallons. Brush and limbs must be cut to 10 feet or 18…

Franklin residents may not set out their rollout container earlier than 7:00 p.m. the night before collection and must pull it back in by 7:00 p.m. on collection day. Carts also have…

Franklin's Sanitation Department does not run a dumpster program: businesses needing six or more rollout containers a week must contract with a private vendor. Placing any dumpster or…

In Franklin's R1 (Residential 1) zoning district, a principal house is capped at 2 1/2 stories under the 2026 Franklin Zoning Ordinance. Accessory structures can't exceed the height of…

In Franklin's Downtown District (DD), buildings can cover up to 85 percent of a lot: the Zoning Ordinance's dimensional standards table sets building coverage at a maximum of 85% and…

Franklin's R1--Residential 1 District requires a 60-foot front, 25-foot side, and 50-foot rear setback for principal buildings under the 2026 zoning ordinance.

Franklin's 2026 zoning ordinance requires any homeowners association deeded open space to record covenants giving the HOA lien authority over unpaid assessments, and lets the City…

Franklin's 2026 zoning ordinance requires any homeowners association receiving deeded open space to record covenants barring dissolution, mandating membership, and letting the City…

Williamson County may, but is not required to, step in when an HOA fails to maintain required open space or common areas, suing for an injunction or other civil remedy and billing the…

Williamson County does not referee disputes between a homeowner and their HOA board, but it holds a narrow civil-enforcement backstop under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 16.06(E): if an…

A Tennessee condominium association must hold at least one meeting of the members every year, and notice of any meeting must go out not less than 10 and not more than 60 days in…

Since July 1, 2026 a Tennessee homeowners' association may not prohibit a property owner from installing an electric vehicle charging station for personal use on the owner's own…

Tennessee law voids any homeowners' association covenant or rule that prohibits, or has the effect of prohibiting, a property owner from flying the flag of the United States or an…

Tennessee sets no dollar cap on association fines. The only fining statute in the state is T.C.A. § 66-27-402(a)(11) in the Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008, which lets a unit owners'…

A Tennessee condominium association has an automatic lien on a unit from the moment an assessment or a fine falls due, and T.C.A. § 66-27-415(a)(1) lets it foreclose that lien by…

Tennessee does not cap rentals, set a minimum lease term or fix a vote threshold for adopting a leasing amendment. What it does instead is grandfather you: under T.C.A. § 66-27-703 an…

Every vocation, occupation and business that Tennessee law names a taxable privilege owes Franklin an annual municipal privilege tax at the maximum rate the state's Business Tax Act…

Franklin adopts the National Electrical Code, 2023 edition, by reference for every electrical installation in the city, and Sec. 12-304 bars any electrical work until the State of…

Franklin requires an automatic fire sprinkler system in any new or renovated building of 5,000 square feet or more, and in every educational or institutional building regardless of…

Franklin, Tennessee requires a certificate of use and occupancy before anyone occupies a building, structure, or parcel that was constructed, expanded, renovated, or has a change of…

Franklin requires a permit before starting any work on a building, structure, or its electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing systems; starting without one draws a fee-schedule penalty.

Franklin, Tennessee runs plumbing work under the 2024 International Plumbing Code, adopted by Franklin Municipal Code § 12-201, with the Building and Neighborhood Services Department…

Franklin's local answer to a green building code is its adopted 2024 International Energy Conservation Code, which sets efficiency requirements for insulation, HVAC, water heating, and…

Williamson County requires a Family or Group Child Care Home to hold a state license, most often from the Tennessee Department of Human Services, before operating. Outdoor play areas…

Franklin, Tennessee bans parking, stopping, or standing a motor vehicle in a marked bicycle lane under City Code § 15-128, with one carved-out exception for specific McKay's Mill…

Franklin outright prohibits offering, parking, or operating any on-demand shared electric scooter anywhere in the city, with violations fined up to $50 and scooters impounded.

Tennessee rebuilt this area in 2025. Public Chapter 255 repealed Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-191, the old low speed and medium speed vehicle section, effective April 24, 2025, and folded…

Franklin, Tennessee requires any film, video, or photography production that wants to close or restrict a public street to spell that out in its permit application to the city…

Franklin requires a city permit before using public streets or property for professional photography production, though photography for news gathering or law-enforcement investigations…

Franklin's zoning code bans LED electronic message center signs and LED display screens outright: digital billboards aren't permitted anywhere in the city.

Franklin caps window signs at 15 percent of an individual window's area, or 15 percent of a grouped-window area, and no storefront may display more than five window signs under the…

Franklin has no sign type dedicated to garage sales: signage for a sale falls under the general temporary-sign rule: max two per lot, six square feet on residential lots, and a…

Franklin's sign code bans inflatable or balloon-type devices over 18 inches in diameter that require tethering, the exact profile of most yard-display holiday inflatables, citywide…

Political preference signs are treated as temporary, non-commercial signs under Zoning Ordinance Section 18.08(B). A residential lot may post up to five such signs at once within a…

Franklin's zoning code caps light spill: fixtures must minimize glare on neighbors, stay within a 35-degree beam angle, and can't be visible from any residential lot.

Franklin's 2026 Zoning Ordinance requires exterior lighting to be shielded and aimed downward, bans fixtures relying only on prismatic or acrylic globes, and requires a photometric…

Franklin allows only an office for a mobile auto-detailing or maintenance provider as a home business: actual repair work can't be done on-site, and client contact must stay off-site…

Franklin's zoning ordinance keeps adult-oriented establishments at least 500 feet from homes, schools, day cares, funeral homes, liquor stores, civic uses, and each other under the…

Franklin bars new vape shops from locating within 500 feet of homes, schools, day cares, funeral homes, civic uses, or another vape shop.

Franklin requires anyone who buys or resells used jewelry, precious stones, or scrap metal to register with the police chief, hold every item seven days, and log each transaction.

Franklin requires a data center's building footprint to sit at least 500 feet from any arterial street, unless the building isn't visible from that street.

Franklin, Tennessee's City Charter puts the burden on the abutting property owner: build and repair the sidewalk yourself, or the city does it and charges you for it, backed by a…

Franklin prohibits storing, selling, or displaying goods on public streets, alleys, or sidewalks and bars soliciting from vehicle occupants in the right-of-way, except when the Board…

Franklin requires a permit before occupying or obstructing any street, alley, sidewalk, or right-of-way with equipment, materials, debris, or excavation work, and violating a permit's…

Franklin requires short-term vacation rental owners to apply for a certificate of use and occupancy and keep a local responsible party on file before renting to guests.

Franklin has adopted the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code citywide, setting structural, sanitation, and light/ventilation standards for dwellings, apartment houses, and…

In URLTA counties, Tenn. Code 66-28-505 gives a tenant 14 days to cure nonpayment of rent or another remediable breach before the lease terminates. Dangerous or violent conduct allows…

In URLTA counties, a Tennessee landlord must give at least 24 hours' notice before entering to show the unit to prospective tenants in the last 30 days of tenancy, may enter without…

In URLTA counties, Tenn. Code 66-28-201(d) caps any late fee at 10% of the rent past due and requires a five-day grace period before a fee may be charged. If the grace period ends on a…

In URLTA counties, Tenn. Code 66-28-512 lets either party end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days' written notice before the periodic rental date, and a week-to-week tenancy…

Tennessee has no statewide rent control and no cap on rent increases. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-35-102, no local government may enact, maintain, or enforce an ordinance controlling…

Tennessee sets no statutory cap on security deposits. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301, landlords in counties over 75,000 must hold deposits in a separate account, let the tenant…

Tennessee adverse possession requires 7 years of possession when the claimant holds recorded color of title (Tenn. Code 28-2-101 to -102), or 20 years of open, continuous, hostile…

Franklin bans open burning citywide but expressly exempts non-commercial cooking fires, including barbecues and outdoor fireplaces, which need no permit under the fire code.

Pushcart food vendors in Franklin need a mobile food vending permit and cannot operate in the street right-of-way where licensed motor vehicles travel.

Franklin limits food truck vending by right to office, commercial, industrial, mixed-use, and institutional zoning districts, with narrow exceptions for residential HOA events and…

Franklin requires a City-issued mobile food vending permit for every food truck, trailer, or pushcart before it can legally operate anywhere within city limits.

Franklin requires peddlers, solicitors, and itinerant merchants to obtain an individual city permit before going door-to-door, issued only after a police background investigation.

Door-to-door solicitors in Franklin must leave immediately if a resident posts a sign saying solicitors aren't welcome, and can only knock between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through…

Franklin caps garage and yard sales at four per dwelling per year, each requiring a City permit and lasting at most two consecutive days.

Franklin requires a special event permit for street fairs, festivals, and similar public gatherings on city property, with applications due 90 to 120 days ahead depending on whether…

A Franklin block party held on private property without a street closure needs no permit unless 200 or more people gather, but a street closure request needs 72 hours' police notice.

Franklin requires a permit from the city administrator or Board of Mayor and Aldermen before anyone organizes a parade or other special event, with applications due 90 to 120-plus days…

Franklin charges set daily fees to reserve city park pavilions and event facilities, from $100 for a small pavilion up to thousands for premium venues like Harlinsdale Farm.

Franklin's sidewalk cafe application requires a copy of the business's license, proof of liability insurance naming the city as additional insured, and proof of any required beer or…

Franklin bans placing graffiti on any public or private property citywide and requires owners to remove graffiti visible from public rights-of-way once Building and Neighborhood…

Anyone who suspects a zoning violation on unincorporated Williamson County land can file a complaint with the Community Development Department office under Section 22.05(B) of the…

Franklin's historic downtown sits inside the Historic Preservation Overlay (HPO). Any construction, alteration, rehabilitation, relocation, or demolition there needs a certificate of…

Franklin bans skateboards, roller skates, and coasters on public streets, sidewalks, alleys, and public places, limiting their use to areas the Board of Mayor and Aldermen specifically…

Franklin, Tennessee makes hosting a rowdy gathering a host's problem, not just a guest's: Franklin Municipal Code § 11-402 bars disturbing the peace through violent, tumultuous…

Franklin, Tennessee bans loitering, congregating, or socializing in any public parking lot or garage the city owns, leases, or maintains, under City Code § 15-615(1)(d). The same…

Franklin bans drinking or carrying an open container of liquor or wine on any public street, sidewalk, park, or government building unless the location is licensed for it.

Franklin's 2026 zoning ordinance bars removing, harming, or disturbing any specimen tree, a canopy tree 24 inches or greater in diameter, without meeting an approved exemption, permit…

Franklin's 2026 zoning ordinance requires street trees along both sides of every street and internal drive, planted in tree wells, six-foot planting strips, or bulb-outs.

Franklin's landscape standards bar developers from using any species on the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council's invasive list to meet required plantings: those plants get zero credit…

Franklin's 2026 zoning ordinance requires new or substantially improved homes in AE flood zones to elevate the lowest floor at least three feet above the base flood elevation, one foot…

Franklin requires a floodplain development permit before any construction, fill, or land disturbance in a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area.

Every construction site in Franklin, regardless of size, must have erosion prevention and sediment control (EPSC) measures installed and operating before work begins, under the city's…

Franklin requires new development to size stormwater systems to specific storm-return standards: catch basins for the 10-year storm, bridges and culverts for the 50-year storm, and…

Williamson County is landlocked in Middle Tennessee, so coastal rules do not apply. Development near its streams and drainageways is instead governed by open-space buffers, floodplain…

Franklin's AG--Agricultural District requires 15-acre minimum lots and exempts agricultural structures from the city's normal accessory-structure standards.

Franklin charges a 5% privilege tax on every hotel, motel, and short-term rental room billed to transient guests staying under 90 days, collected by the operator and remitted to the…

Franklin requires large developments, over 5 acres, 10+ units, or mandatory-landscaping projects using 7,500+ gallons a day near an existing line, to install a dual reclaimed water…

Franklin, Tennessee bars yelling, shouting, or singing outside commercial businesses open between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., and holds the owner liable if patron parking sits within 100 feet…

Franklin treats continual use of a portable generator as regulated 'construction activity' under Sec. 12-1301(2)(d), so generator noise on a permitted job site is confined to the same…

Franklin, Tennessee bans playing a vehicle radio, tape, CD, or similar audio system loud enough to be heard 50 feet away on public streets, parks, lots, or other city property.

Franklin, Tennessee confines noisy loading and unloading to daytime hours: Franklin Municipal Code § 11-404(3)(h) bans loud or excessive noise from loading or unloading a vehicle or…

Continuous mechanical noise, such as rooftop condensers, compressors and chillers on covered commercial, industrial or institutional uses, is capped by Williamson County's Zoning…

Franklin bans minors under 18 from public places between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. on school nights, and midnight to 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, under the city's Juvenile Curfew Ordinance.

Franklin adopted the federal food-service sanitation code but expressly struck its grading language, so restaurants operate under permits and inspections without a public letter-grade…

Franklin requires every employee of a retail beer permit holder to carry a current state health card for food handlers before they can start work.

Franklin makes it unlawful to let a property become filthy or attract flies, rodents, or vermin, treating unchecked pest breeding as a public-health nuisance under the city code.

Franklin's unsafe and unsanitary structures ordinance lets the building official order repair, vacate-and-close, or demolition of any structure found unfit for human occupancy due to…

There are no marijuana dispensaries in Williamson County because Tennessee authorizes none. Selling marijuana is a felony statewide, and the state licenses no recreational or medical…

Growing marijuana at home is illegal in Williamson County. Tennessee has no medical or recreational marijuana program, and cultivating cannabis plants is manufacturing a controlled…

Williamson County's Zoning Ordinance protects parcels listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with dry-laid stone walls, cemeteries, archaeological sites, and vestiges…

Williamson County lets homeowners attach solar panels to a house or accessory structure without a Zoning Certificate, so long as the panels do not exceed the height limit set for that…

Tennessee has no solar-access law overriding HOA covenants, so a homeowners association may restrict or prohibit rooftop solar panels. The Solar Access Law of 1979 (T.C.A. § 66-9-201…

Tennessee prohibits local governments from setting minimum wages above the federal floor under T.C.A. 50-2-112, reserving wage authority exclusively to the state.

Tennessee bars local governments from mandating paid sick or family leave on private employers under T.C.A. 50-2-112, leaving leave decisions to employer discretion.

Tennessee preempts local predictive scheduling and fair workweek ordinances under T.C.A. 50-2-112, preventing cities from regulating private employer scheduling practices.

Tennessee allows permitless concealed and open carry for adults 21 and older (or qualified 18-20 year olds) under T.C.A. 39-17-1307 and 1351, with optional enhanced and concealed…

Tennessee law preempts virtually all local regulation of firearms, ammunition, and components, reserving authority exclusively to the state legislature under T.C.A. 39-17-1314.

Open carry of handguns is lawful in Tennessee under permitless carry, but rifles and shotguns are subject to general unlawful-carry rules in T.C.A. 39-17-1307.

Tennessee allows eligible adults to carry handguns openly or concealed in private motor vehicles without a permit under T.C.A. 39-17-1351 and 39-17-1307, preempting stricter local…

Tennessee bans gambling outright, but Title 3, Chapter 17 lets a qualifying 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) nonprofit run one raffle, reverse raffle, cakewalk, cake wheel, or bingo event per…

Tennessee's gambling statute contains no exemption for private, social, or friends-only wagering. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-501(1) defines gambling as risking anything of value on a…

The Tennessee General Assembly has never passed a checkpoint statute. The phrases sobriety checkpoint and checkpoint return zero results in a full-text search of the Tennessee Code…

Tennessee has never enacted a statute granting a right to record police, and a full-text search of the Tennessee Code turns up no such provision. What it has instead, since July 1…

Tennessee got its first identification statute on July 1, 2025, and it deliberately stops short of a duty to identify. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-611 lets an officer ask for your name…

Tennessee has not legislated on consent to search a vehicle. There is no statutory logging duty, no odor rule, and no clause saying lawful possession of anything cannot justify a…

Tennessee preempts local plastic bag bans and fees under T.C.A. § 7-51-2002 (enacted 2019), which makes the state the exclusive regulator of auxiliary containers such as bags.

Tennessee does not impose a statewide flavor ban on tobacco or vape products, and local flavor bans are generally preempted by uniform state licensing under Title 39, Chapter 17, Part…

Tennessee allows auxiliary road lighting lamps, but T.C.A. § 55-9-402(a)(2) lets only two of them burn at any one time on top of the two required headlights. Anything that shows to the…

Tennessee is one of the few states whose statute names the windshield as a lawful place to put a device. Section 55-8-199(b)(2)(A) permits a device "mounted on the vehicle's…

Tennessee prohibits lane splitting outright. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-182(c) says no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of…

Tennessee draws a hard line on plate covers. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-110(b) says no tinted materials may be placed over a license plate "even if the information upon the license plate…

A radar detector is legal to own, carry and use in a private passenger vehicle in Tennessee. A full text search of the Tennessee Code returns no provision using the phrase "radar…

Tennessee allows studded tires, but only during a fixed statewide season that runs from October 1 through April 15 each year. Outside that window Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-106(a) bans any…

Tennessee sets a single figure for every window on a car: aftermarket film may not drop visible light transmittance below 35 percent, and nothing except the manufacturer's standard…