Public Conduct in Tennessee (2026)

Chattanooga City Code § 25-39 bans aggressive panhandling everywhere in the city: confronting, touching, blocking or…

Clarksville bars standing in a street, median, alley or sidewalk to solicit or accept money from vehicle occupants…

In the City of Jackson, Tennessee, aggressive panhandling, begging or solicitation is banned citywide under Jackson…

Knox County bans soliciting or advertising for alms, funds, or contributions on any public roadway, and bars collecting…

Knoxville makes it unlawful to solicit money, goods or services "in an aggressive manner" in any public area, defining…

Memphis bans panhandling in aggressive manners under City Code § 6-56-6: coming within three feet, touching without…

Murfreesboro bans aggressive panhandling, defined by acts like touching, blocking passage, or continuing after a…

Metro Nashville bans aggressive panhandling, blocking, touching, or persisting after someone says no, and prohibits all…

The Town of Smyrna, Tennessee, bans panhandling at bus stops, sidewalk cafés, schools, near bank entrances and ATMs…

Section 9-305 bans panhandling in the City of Spring Hill, Tennessee from one-half hour before sunset to one-half hour…

Franklin bans skateboards, roller skates, and coasters on public streets, sidewalks, alleys, and public places…

Chattanooga City Code § 25-28 bans skateboards and aggressive skates on public streets and sidewalks inside a mapped…

Clarksville prohibits skateboards and roller skates on the streets, sidewalks, or lots of any commercially-zoned…

Knoxville bans skateboards, coasters and similar wheeled toys entirely within the Central Business Improvement…

Murfreesboro bans skateboarding and roller-skating on every roadway citywide, and on sidewalks throughout the Central…

In the Town of Collierville, Tennessee, § 90.04 bars skateboards, roller skates, roller blades and similar devices at…

Skateboarding in Knox County parks is confined to designated spots and paved greenway trails under Sec. 27-8, and every…

Skateboards are allowed on Memphis's downtown common mall area, the Main Street pedestrian mall, without a permit, but…

Shelby County bars skateboards, roller skates, coasters and similar toy vehicles from any roadway except while crossing…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, anyone riding a skateboard in a park or recreation area must at all times yield…

Franklin, Tennessee makes hosting a rowdy gathering a host's problem, not just a guest's: Franklin Municipal Code §…

Hendersonville's disturbing-the-peace ordinance, Municipal Code § 11-401, bars 'violent, tumultuous, offensive, or…

Murfreesboro fines hosts $250 for a first unruly gathering - a party where alcohol flows and noise disturbances…

In the City of Spring Hill, Tennessee, § 11-401 bars disturbing the peace of others by violent, tumultuous, offensive…

Franklin, Tennessee bans loitering, congregating, or socializing in any public parking lot or garage the city owns…

Memphis doesn't ban general loitering: it targets known drug dealers, drug purchasers, and gang members who loiter in a…

Metro Nashville's code bans loitering, idling, wandering, strolling or playing in, about or on any school, college or…

Chattanooga makes it a $50 nuisance violation for 30 or more people to gather outside on commercial property within 200…

Clarksville's loitering offense is purpose-specific, not a general vagrancy ban. A person is guilty only when remaining…

In the Town of Collierville, it is a violation under § 130.017(A)(1) to loiter or prowl in a place, at a time, or in a…

City Code § 15-1004 bars people from congregating on a City of Jackson street, street corner or sidewalk in a way that…

Knoxville makes it a misdemeanor to loiter, loaf, or idle in a way that blocks sidewalks or business entrances, and…

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee regulates loitering through its alcohol chapter: Sec. 6-150 bars anyone under 21 or…

In the Town of Smyrna, Tennessee, it is unlawful to stand, sit, or engage in any activity on a public street, sidewalk…

In the City of Spring Hill, Tennessee, Municipal Code § 11-805 states that it is unlawful to smoke or vape in city…

Knox County prohibits tobacco and vapor product use on the grounds of every public park, public playground, and public…

Memphis Code § 9-88-2 bans smoking in public elevators, MATA buses, hospital lobbies, theaters, and every restaurant…

Smoking is banned on the grounds of all Metro-owned playgrounds and outdoor amphitheaters seating 6,000 or more, plus…

Smoking and vaping are banned outright in Miller Park, Chattanooga's downtown civic park, alongside skateboarding…

The Town of Collierville bans smoking in enclosed public places, but § 95.10(D)(4) exempts non-enclosed areas such as…

Knoxville bans smoking in schools, elevators, city transit vehicles, and museum or library public areas, plus within…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, Sec. 62-213 prohibits smoking on the grounds of any city-owned playground, defined…

Chattanooga pedestrians crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk must yield to all vehicles, and cannot cross…

In the City of Jackson, Tennessee, pedestrians must cross at a right angle to the curb or by the shortest route to the…

Pedestrians crossing a county roadway anywhere other than a marked or unmarked crosswalk must yield the right-of-way to…

Knoxville pedestrians must yield to vehicles when crossing outside a marked crosswalk, and between signalized…

Memphis Code § 11-28-4 bans mid-block jaywalking only between two intersections where traffic signals are actively…

Pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk in Murfreesboro must yield to all vehicles, and between two signalized…

Metro Nashville pedestrians must yield to traffic when crossing outside a marked crosswalk, and between signalized…

Clarksville makes it unlawful to cross a street anywhere except by the shortest route straight across at a right angle…

In the Town of Collierville, Tennessee, no pedestrian can start across the roadway against a Wait or Don't Walk signal…

In the City of Kingsport, a pedestrian crossing anywhere other than a marked crosswalk, or an unmarked crosswalk at an…

In the Town of Smyrna, Tennessee, § 15-509 bars a pedestrian from starting to cross the roadway on a Wait or Don't Walk…

Spring Hill's code uses no word jaywalking. Section 15-108 makes it unlawful for any pedestrian in the City of Spring…

Metro Nashville treats possession of up to a half-ounce of marijuana as a civil offense: police issue a $50 citation…

Franklin bans drinking or carrying an open container of liquor or wine on any public street, sidewalk, park, or…

Chattanooga bans drinking alcohol or beer, or holding an open container of either, on public streets, sidewalks, parks…

Clarksville makes it illegal to possess or drink alcohol, including beer, in any city park or boat dock, including ones…

In the Town of Collierville, Tennessee, it is unlawful to drink or consume an intoxicating beverage, or to have an open…

Between midnight and 6 a.m., the City of Jackson bars anyone on the premises of an open business from drinking or…

Knoxville bans possessing an open container of beer or alcohol, or drinking it, on public streets, sidewalks, parks…

Memphis bans open containers and public consumption of alcohol on streets, sidewalks, and other city-controlled areas…

Murfreesboro bans open containers of beer, wine, or other alcohol on public streets, sidewalks, parks, and school…

Metro Nashville bans carrying an unsealed beer, wine, or liquor container on streets, sidewalks, alleys, and parking…

Shelby County bans alcoholic beverages in every park and playground area within Shelby Farms, the county-run park on…

In the City of Spring Hill, Tennessee, it is unlawful to drink or consume beer or intoxicating liquor, or to have an…

Hendersonville bans visible possession of alcoholic beverages in an unsealed container on any public street or inside…

In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, it is unlawful to drink beer, wine or any alcoholic beverage on a public street…

Neither drivers nor passengers may keep an open alcoholic beverage or beer in the passenger area of a vehicle anywhere…

In the Town of Smyrna, Tennessee, it is unlawful to drink, consume, or hold an open can or bottle of beer or…