Some of the stupid laws in Tennessee are genuinely still on the books, some were struck down by federal courts decades ago but never scrubbed from the state constitution, and some are pure internet myth. The ones worth knowing about are the handful that could actually cost you a fine or a misdemeanor charge if you ignored them. Everything else is dinner-party trivia.
Constitutional Leftovers Nobody Repealed
Article IX, Section 2 of the Tennessee Constitution still says that anyone who “denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments” cannot hold civil office.1Justia. Tennessee Constitution Article IX Section 2 It has been unenforceable since 1961, when the U.S. Supreme Court held in Torcaso v. Watkins that religious tests for public office violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments.2Justia. Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961) Tennessee never got around to removing the language.
The dueling clause is a different story. Article IX, Section 3 bars anyone who fights a duel, carries a challenge, or helps arrange one from holding “any office of honor or profit” in the state.3Justia. Tennessee Constitution Article IX Section 3 That sweep is wider than the legislature alone, covering every state office. No court has struck it down and no one has repealed it, so technically it still works. It just hasn’t had anyone to work on in a very long time.
You Can Keep the Deer You Hit
Hitting a deer with your car in Tennessee does not mean leaving it on the shoulder. Under § 70-4-115, anyone who accidentally kills a wild animal with a motor vehicle may possess it for personal use and consumption. For deer, you have to notify the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency or a law enforcement officer within 48 hours and provide your name and address. For bears, an enforcement officer has to authorize possession and issue a kill tag before you load anything into your truck.4Justia. Tennessee Code 70-4-115 – Destruction and Disposal of Wildlife – Permit – Penalty Skip those steps and your free venison becomes illegal wildlife possession, a Class C misdemeanor.
Hunting from a vehicle is its own offense. Under § 70-4-109, chasing, hunting, or killing any wild animal from an aircraft, motor vehicle, or boat under power is unlawful. The only exception is for a person permanently confined to a wheelchair, who may hunt from a stationary vehicle during legal hunting season if accompanied by another person.5Justia. Tennessee Code 70-4-109 – Hunting From Aircraft, Watercraft or Motor Vehicles Unlawful – Exception for Persons Confined to Wheelchairs – Penalty A violation is a Class C misdemeanor, up to 30 days in jail and a $50 fine.6Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Misdemeanors
Section 70-4-108 goes further for anyone who treats a rural road as a shooting lane. Hunting from a public road right-of-way or firing a gun across any public road is a Class C misdemeanor on its own. Hunting from a motor vehicle on a public road or right-of-way jumps to a Class A misdemeanor, up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.7Justia. Tennessee Code 70-4-108 – Hunting From or Across Public Road or Near Dwelling – Penalty6Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Misdemeanors
The Animals You Cannot Legally Own
Tennessee classifies certain wildlife as Class I, meaning inherently dangerous, and private ownership is flatly prohibited. The list runs through all species of lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, cougars, bears, wolves, gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippos, crocodiles, alligators, and all venomous snakes and amphibians.8FindLaw. Tennessee Code Title 70 Wildlife Resources 70-4-403 Only licensed zoos, circuses, and commercial propagators can possess Class I animals, and the facility has to pass an inspection first.9Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Wildlife Permits Available A separate Class IV category covers white-tailed deer, black bears, and wild turkeys, which no private individual can keep either. Only government-operated zoos and TWRA-authorized rehabilitators qualify.
Why the Alcohol Rules Change at the County Line
Tennessee’s alcohol laws under Title 57 let local governments decide whether their jurisdiction is wet, dry, or something in between.10Justia. Tennessee Code Title 57 – Intoxicating Liquors Roughly two dozen Tennessee counties remain fully dry. You can legally buy a bottle of whiskey in one county and drive ten minutes into the next where selling it is a crime. Dry pockets exist across rural East, Middle, and West Tennessee.
Wine in grocery stores is a recent arrival. Retail food stores could not sell wine until January 1, 2019, under the Sale of Wine in Retail Food Stores Act. Even now, a store has to derive at least 20 percent of its sales from food, keep at least 1,200 square feet of floor space, and employ at least one person holding a manager’s permit from the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.11University of Tennessee MTAS. Wine in Grocery Stores
Sunday hours are shorter. Package stores and wine-selling grocery stores can operate from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Sundays, while the Monday-through-Saturday window opens two hours earlier at 8:00 a.m.12Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Frequently Asked Questions And beer above 10.1% ABV is classified as high-gravity, which means liquor stores only. The craft IPA you cannot find at the supermarket is often sitting on a shelf two blocks away for exactly that reason.
Road Rules That Catch Drivers Off Guard
The “slow poke law,” enacted in 2016, makes it a Class C misdemeanor to cruise in the left lane of an interstate or multilane divided highway unless you are actively passing someone. The fine is $50 plus court costs. Exceptions apply for heavy traffic, bad weather, highway design that forces left-lane positioning for an exit or turn, avoiding merging traffic, and emergency or maintenance vehicles.13Justia. Tennessee Code 55-8-204 – Slow Poke Law
Blocking a road or walkway is treated much more seriously. Under § 39-17-307, intentionally or recklessly obstructing a street, sidewalk, hallway, or other place used for public passage is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a $2,500 fine. If the obstruction keeps an emergency vehicle from reaching a highway or blocks an emergency exit, the charge becomes a Class E felony. The statute defines obstruction broadly, covering anything that makes passage impassable, unreasonably inconvenient, or potentially dangerous.14Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-307 – Obstructing Highway or Other Passageway
Skateboards, roller skates, scooters, and similar equipment are prohibited inside Tennessee state parks except in locations the park manager has specifically designated and posted.15Legal Information Institute. Tenn Comp R and Regs 0400-02-02-.24 – Skates, Skateboards, Rollerblades, Segways, Scooters and Like Recreational Equipment Outside the parks, many cities use general obstruction codes to control where these can be used on streets and sidewalks.
Marriage Rules That Surprise People
Tennessee prohibits marriage between a wider range of relatives than most people expect. Section 36-3-101 bars marrying a direct ancestor or descendant, the direct ancestor or descendant of either parent, any descendant of a grandparent, any descendant of your spouse, or the spouse of a parent or direct descendant.16Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-101 – Prohibited Degrees of Matrimony That “descendant of a grandparent” language is what makes first-cousin marriage illegal, since your first cousin is by definition a descendant of your grandparent.
The minimum marriage age changed in 2018. Before then, Tennessee had no statutory floor, which allowed child marriages with parental consent. The legislature set the minimum at 17, and a 17-year-old cannot marry someone four or more years older.17Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-105 – Minimum Age of Applicant for Marriage License
Urban Legends Worth Debunking
Lists of “weird Tennessee laws” circulate online with claims that eating ice cream on a sidewalk is illegal, that swearing in public will get you arrested, and that sharing a Netflix password is a crime. None of them hold up the way they are told.
The ice cream claim has no statute behind it. The disorderly conduct statute, § 39-17-305, does not mention profanity at all. What it prohibits is fighting or threatening behavior in public, refusing a lawful dispersal order near an emergency, creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition that serves no legitimate purpose, and making unreasonable noise that prevents others from going about their business.18Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-305 – Disorderly Conduct A particularly aggressive outburst could fit one of those categories depending on context, but ordinary cursing does not violate the statute. The offense is a Class C misdemeanor, up to 30 days in jail and a $50 fine.6Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Misdemeanors
The Netflix password story started around 2011, when Tennessee updated its computer crimes law. Section 39-14-602 makes it an offense to knowingly access a computer, network, or telecommunications system without authorization for the purpose of obtaining money, property, or services through false pretenses.19Justia. Tennessee Code 39-14-602 – Offenses – Penalties The law was aimed at hackers and large piracy operations, not at anyone letting a cousin use their streaming login. Because the statute does not carve out an exception for casual credential sharing, headlines seized on the theoretical possibility. No one has been prosecuted for sharing a streaming password under it.