A Tennessee odometer disclosure statement is the written mileage certification a seller gives a buyer whenever a covered vehicle changes hands. In most private sales, you complete it right on the back of the certificate of title. When the title isn’t in hand, you use Form RV-F1317001 instead. Either way, both parties sign, the buyer files it with the county clerk during the title transfer, and the mileage becomes part of the permanent record for that vehicle.
Do You Need a Disclosure for This Vehicle
Federal rules set the exemptions and Tennessee follows them. A disclosure is required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles for 20 years after the model year, so a 2011 vehicle stays covered through January 1, 2031, a 2015 through 2035, and so on. Model year 2010 and older vehicles fell under the previous 10-year rule and are already exempt. Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 16,000 pounds are exempt regardless of age, and non-motorized equipment like trailers and pull-behind campers never needed one.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Consumer Alert: Changes to Odometer Disclosure Requirements
If your vehicle is exempt, you can skip the rest of this. If it isn’t, keep reading.
Which Form to Use
Tennessee titles issued on or after January 1, 1990 have an odometer disclosure section printed on the back of the certificate. For a normal private sale where the seller has the title, that section is the disclosure. No separate form.2Hamilton County Clerk. Odometer Regulations
Form RV-F1317001, the standalone Odometer Disclosure Statement, is used when the title isn’t available at the time of sale or predates the 1990 format. Dealers rely on it often because the title may still be with a lienholder or an auction. You can pick up a copy at any county clerk’s office or download it from the Tennessee Department of Revenue.3Tennessee Department of Revenue. Odometer Disclosure Statement
Filling Out the Disclosure
The information is the same whether you’re writing on the title or on RV-F1317001. The seller records the vehicle’s year, make, model, and full 17-character Vehicle Identification Number. Check the VIN against the dashboard plate and the title itself before you write it down, because the VIN is what ties this mileage statement to this specific vehicle.
The Mileage Reading
Write the odometer reading in whole miles. The form explicitly says “no tenths,” so ignore any fractional digit on the dash. Then select the certification that fits the odometer’s condition:3Tennessee Department of Revenue. Odometer Disclosure Statement
- Actual Mileage. The reading reflects the real distance traveled, with no known discrepancy.
- Exceeds Mechanical Limits. The odometer has rolled past its maximum display. A five-digit odometer resets after 99,999 miles, so the true total can’t be determined from the reading.
- Not Actual Mileage. The odometer has been replaced, repaired in a way that changed the reading, or is otherwise unreliable. Selecting this box triggers a separate Odometer Discrepancy form, and without that companion form the title transfer will stall.
The “Not Actual Mileage” box catches sellers off guard. If a shop replaced your instrument cluster and couldn’t reset it to the old reading, that counts as a discrepancy even when no one did anything dishonest. Check the box anyway. Not flagging it is what later looks like fraud.4Tennessee County Clerk. Odometer Overview
Signatures and Addresses
Both the seller and the buyer must print their name, provide a full residential or business address, and sign. The buyer’s signature confirms receipt and acknowledgment of the mileage statement. A missing signature is one of the most common reasons county clerks reject a title application, so finish this at the sale, not later by phone or mail.
Fixing a Mistake After Signing
Once both parties have signed, you can’t cross out an error and write the correction in. Federal regulation treats the signed disclosure as a controlled document. Wrong mileage, a transposed VIN digit, the wrong certification box: any of these typically requires a corrective affidavit or a new disclosure signed by both parties. Call the county clerk before the buyer files for the new title. The clerk can tell you what corrective document Tennessee accepts and whether it needs to be notarized. Waiting until the application is already in the system makes the fix slower.
When the Title Isn’t in Your Hands
Lienholder Still Holds the Title
If your lender has the physical title, you can’t sign the back of it. Federal law provides for a “secure power of attorney” in this situation. The seller signs the secure power of attorney at the time of sale, authorizing the buyer or a dealer intermediary to complete the odometer disclosure once the title arrives from the lender. A general power of attorney will not work. The secure version has specific fraud protections built in, and using the wrong form can void the disclosure.5National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. MOPOA.ETL
Lost Title
The same secure power of attorney procedure works for a lost title while the seller applies for a duplicate. Tennessee issues a duplicate title for a $14 fee.6Tennessee Department of Revenue. Duplicate Title
Leased Vehicles
When a lease ends, the lessee gives the lessor a written odometer disclosure. Federal regulations treat this as a separate category with its own form template in Appendix D of 49 CFR Part 580. The dealership will usually prepare the paperwork, but the lessee is the one certifying the mileage, so read it before signing.7eCFR. Odometer Disclosure Requirements
Filing With the County Clerk
The completed disclosure goes to your local county clerk along with the application for a new certificate of title. Most counties handle this in person; some accept mailed applications. The clerk checks the disclosure for completeness before processing the transfer, and anything missing or inconsistent comes back to you. Your county clerk’s office can quote you the full fee total before you go, and some counties post a calculator online.
What Getting It Wrong Costs
Misrepresenting the mileage on a used vehicle’s odometer is a Class A misdemeanor under Tennessee law. That covers rolling back the odometer, altering a mileage disclosure, or removing a door-frame sticker placed after a legitimate odometer repair.8Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Odometer Fraud A Class A misdemeanor carries up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, a fine up to $2,500, or both.9Justia Law. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Misdemeanors
Legitimate odometer repair is allowed. If a mechanic services the odometer, the reading must remain the same afterward. When that isn’t possible, the odometer is set to zero and the owner must affix a permanent plate or sticker to the driver’s door frame showing the pre-repair mileage and the service date.8Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Odometer Fraud
Federal charges are available too. A knowing and willful violation of the federal odometer statute carries up to three years in federal prison, a fine, or both.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 32709 – Penalties On the civil side, a buyer who was sold a vehicle with a fraudulent mileage reading can sue for three times actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater, with attorney’s fees on top if they win. The suit has to be filed within two years of discovering the fraud.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 32710 – Civil Actions