City of Knoxville - City Court Proof of Insurance

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PROOF OF VEHICLE INSURANCE - TENNESSEE'S FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LAW

If you do not have liability insurance coverage, or otherwise fulfill Tennessee's Financial Responsibility Law requirements, the State of Tennessee does not want you to drive. In fact, Tennessee will suspend your driver license if you do not have liability insurance coverage! (If your DL was issued by another State, this may not apply to you; check with your State DMV for further details.)

To learn more about Tennessee&'s Financial Responsibility Law requirements, go to www.tennessee.gov/safety/financialresponsibility.htm.

WHEN DID YOU HAVE INSURANCE COVERAGE?

(Your answer to that question determines how much this violation will cost.)

If You Had Insurance When The Citation Was Issued - $ 0.00

If you had Insurance when the Citation was issued, the violation will be "Dismissed at No Cost!"

The insurance must show that it was in effect on the date the ticket was issued.

The insurance need not be for the vehicle listed on the Citation as long as the defendant's name is listed.

The insurance may be for the vehicle listed on the Citation and not the defendant.

If You Purchased Insurance After Receiving The Citation - $96.50

If you get Insurance and show proof of that to the Court within 5 months of the Citation issue date, the charge will be "Dismissed With The Payment Of Court Costs" ($96.50)!

As long as you get insurance within 5 months from the date your Citation was issued, you may still receive the $50 credit from City Court.

However, you need to begin paying on this ticket no later than 10 days following your scheduled Court Date. Otherwise, you risk your ticket being sent to Nashville early to begin the driver license suspension process for "failure to satisfy" (failure to pay).

Pay This Charge In-Full by the Court Date - $132.75 & DL Suspension!

$132.75 is the amount due in-full by your scheduled Court Date if you choose to pay without appearing in Court, and without showing proof of Insurance.

If you live in Tennessee, have a TN DL, and choose this option, you will lose your DL as a result of this decision!

If your DL is with another State, you might be wise to first check with your State to determine how such action might affect your DL.

Pay After Court Date w/o Insurance - $146.50 & DL Suspension!

$146.50 is the amount due if you choose to pay without appearing in Court, without showing proof of Insurance, and without paying everything off all at once by the scheduled Court Date.

This Court tries to encourage anyone who does not yet have Insurance to initially pay only $96.50 on this charge. Then, before the 5-month issue-date deadline expires, if you still do not have insurance, pay the remaining $50 balance; otherwise, if you later get Insurance, you can still receive the $50 credit from the Court.

To Show the Court Your "Proof of Insurance"

You may use any of the following options to show the Court your valid Insurance:

Show your Insurance to a Clerk at a Court Service Counter & pay $96.50 (if appropriate).

Show your Insurance to the Judge in Court & pay $96.50 (if appropriate).

Fax a clear photocopy of your Insurance to 865-215-7440. (Reference your name & Citation#, or DL#.) Make arrangement to pay $96.50 to City Court either in person or by mail (if appropriate).

Mail a clear photocopy of your Insurance with your payment of $96.50 (check or Money Order payable to City Court). City Court's mailing address is:

Include any payment that may be due in a mailing to City Court OR during your visit to a Court Service Counter.

If your Citation includes more than one violation, then you need to determine how you intend to resolve the other charges once you resolve Insurance using one of the above options. If you intend to go to Court to speak with the Judge regarding the other violations, you may easily show the Judge your Insurance while you are there. However, if you do not yet have your Insurance, that is no reason to delay seeing the Judge now on the other violations.

Acceptable "Proof of Insurance" may include:

An Insurance company card, binder or declaration page of a policy from an Insurance company authorized to do business in Tennessee, stating that a policy meeting the requirements of the Tennessee Financial Responsibility Law of 1977 has been issued; or…

A certificate from the Department of Safety noting that a cash deposit or bond in the amount required by the Tennessee Financial Responsibility Law of 1977; or…

A certificate from the Department of Safety noting that a person has qualified as a self-insurer under Section 55-12-111; or

A certificate from the Department of Safety noting that the motor vehicle being operated at the time of the violation was owned by a carrier subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Safety or the Interstate Commerce Commission, or was owned by the United States, or any subdivision thereof, and that such motor vehicle was being operated with the owner&'s consent.

Not acceptable: Normally, a "PAYMENT STUB" or "BILLING STATEMENT" does not qualify as acceptable proof of Insurance. However, if the form clearly indicates that it was stamped/endorsed by the Insurance Company/Agency very recently, and the insurance clearly appears to be in effect, the Court may consider making an exception.

"But I do not own a Car! Why must I get Insurance?" (Non-Owner's Insurance)

The State of Tennessee requires anyone driving on the public roads in the State to have insurance. If you don't have insurance, Tennessee does not want you to drive and will therefore suspend anyone's DL whenever TN finds out someone does not have insurance. (The most common ways the State learns of that is through accident reports and Court Citation reports.)

To avoid having City Court report that 'you' do not have insurance, you must show City Court Proof of Insurance before you complete final payment on your Citation. If you do not own a vehicle, you might check into being added to someone else's policy or purchasing a "Non-Owner's Insurance" policy. Not every insurance company sells that type of insurance, so you may need to ask around, but most companies sell it. ("Non-Owner's Insurance" is basic insurance a person who does not own a vehicle might purchase so as to have insurance coverage when driving.)