Law Requiring Insurance Verification for Vehicle Registration Not Yet in Effect

Contrary to some recent media reports the James Lee Atwood Law (also known as the Insurance Verification Law) has not yet gone into effect.
According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue insurance verification for vehicle registration DOES NOT go into effect now. There are parts of the law that are in effect now, such as increased fines for not showing proof of insurance to a law enforcement official when a person is pulled over for a violation.
“Many news channels reported that effective January 1 County Clerks were required to have proof of insurance prior to vehicle registration. Currently County Clerks are not required to verify insurance prior to registration. However the state law for having insurance and providing proof to law enforcement is in effect,” said County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss.
The Department of Revenue is still in the planning phase of developing a system for insurance verification. The law as it is currently written requires that the system be functional by January 2017.