Skip to content

State consumer-law reference center

Tennessee

Public educationDirectory available

Section inventory35 entries

Paid servicesNot approved by this page

State law changes and varies by facts. Only source-checked inventories appear below. “Research pending” is not legal guidance and never means DJC may market, enroll, contract, bill, or provide a regulated service in this jurisdiction.

State statute inventory

Consumer-protection authorities under review

35 section entries

Legal review pending

Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-18-101–47-18-135

The complete Part 1 inventory was checked against the 2024 Tennessee Code publication and the Tennessee Attorney General’s description of the Act. Section 105 remains explicitly labeled repealed. Individual section text should be checked against the current official code before reliance.

Open official state source ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-101

Short title

Names the part the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-102

Purposes

States the Act’s consumer-protection policies and liberal-construction direction.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-103

Definitions

Defines consumer, goods, services, trade, commerce, and other terms.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-104

Unfair or deceptive acts prohibited

Declares unfair or deceptive acts unlawful and lists numerous specific prohibited practices.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-105

Repealed

Preserves notice that section 105 has been repealed.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-106

Investigations and information requests

Authorizes investigations and requests for information and provides noncompliance penalties.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-107

Voluntary compliance

Allows assurances resolving alleged violations and provides penalties for noncompliance.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-108

Restraining orders and injunctions

Authorizes public injunctive relief and penalties for violating court orders.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-109

Private action and damages

Addresses private remedies, enhanced damages, fees, and notice to the Attorney General.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-110

Limitations of actions

Sets limitations rules for covered actions; confirm current law before calculating a deadline.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-111

Exemptions

Identifies transactions or conduct excluded under specified conditions.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-112

Supplementary law

States that the Act supplements other legal rights and remedies.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-113

Waiver, jurisdiction, and venue restrictions

Restricts waivers and contract terms that improperly limit jurisdiction or venue.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-114

Attorney General powers

Describes Attorney General authority to administer and enforce the Act.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-115

Construction

Addresses interpretation and relation to specified federal consumer-protection policies.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-116

Costs

Provides for recovery or assessment of specified enforcement costs.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-117

Out-of-state liquor advertising warning

Requires a specified warning in covered liquor advertising.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-118

Failure to respond to information request

Provides consequences for nonresponse to an authorized request for information.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-119

New passenger motor vehicles

Addresses specified representations and practices involving new passenger vehicles.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-120

Prize inducements

Defines terms and prohibits specified prize-based sales inducements.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-121

Unlicensed vehicle-dealer advertising

Requires unlicensed motor-vehicle dealers to comply with advertising rules.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-122

Violations of Part 2

Applies specified Consumer Protection Act remedies to violations of Part 2.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-123

Unsolicited negotiable instruments

Regulates products, services, or memberships purchased by negotiating unsolicited instruments.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-124

Prizes

Identifies specified prize representations as unfair or deceptive.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-125

Specially targeted consumers

Provides additional penalties for qualifying conduct targeting specified consumers.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-126

Credit and debit card receipts

Restricts information printed on covered electronic card receipts and addresses violations.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-127

Gift certificates

Regulates expiration dates, fees, and other gift-certificate practices.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-128

Debit-card holds

Requires disclosures concerning specified holds placed on debit-card funds.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-129

Novelty lighters

Prohibits sale or gifting of specified novelty lighters.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-130

Travel promoter trust accounts

Prohibits commingling and requires trust-account treatment of specified customer funds.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-131

Government impostor advertisements

Prohibits deceptive advertisements that imply government identity, affiliation, or authorization.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-132

Healthcare facility billing

Regulates billing for specified healthcare services, supplies, equipment, or other facility-provided services.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-133

Automatic renewal subscriptions

Requires disclosures, notices, cancellation methods, and other protections for covered subscriptions.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-134

Unsolicited real-property purchase offers

Provides acceptance and cancellation rules and treats specified violations as unlawful.

Read available section text ↗

Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-135

Financing-company telephone display

Defines terms and requires covered financing companies to display a telephone number.

Read available section text ↗

Research map

Tennessee consumer-credit categories

Research pending

Credit services and credit repair organizations

Licensing, registration, bonding, contracts, fees, cancellation, advertising, and prohibited practices.

What the legal reviewer checks

Covered-service definitions
License or registration requirements
Contract and disclosure language
Fee and cancellation restrictions
Advertising and prohibited practices

Research pending

Debt collection

State collection-agency licensing, prohibited conduct, validation-related rules, remedies, and regulator contacts.

What the legal reviewer checks

Collector and agency definitions
Licensing and exemptions
Communication and conduct restrictions
Civil remedies and enforcement
Complaint channels

Research pending

Consumer reporting and security freezes

State credit-reporting duties, freezes, protected-consumer freezes, identity-theft blocks, and remedies.

What the legal reviewer checks

Freeze placement and lifting
Fees and timing
Protected consumers
Identity-theft procedures
Enforcement and remedies

Authority identified

Identity theft, data breach, and privacy

Identity-theft crimes and recovery tools, breach notices, personal-information safeguards, and privacy rights.

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-18-101–47-18-135

What the legal reviewer checks

Breach notice triggers and timing
Covered personal information
Security safeguards
Identity-theft reports and blocks
Attorney-general enforcement

Research pending

Garnishment and judgment protections

State exemptions, disposable-earnings limits, court procedures, bank-account protections, and employer duties.

What the legal reviewer checks

Wage and bank exemptions
Debt-specific limits
Claim-of-exemption procedure
Notice and hearing deadlines
Employer restrictions

Research pending

Repossession and deficiency balances

Notice, cure, repossession conduct, sale, accounting, redemption, and deficiency rules.

What the legal reviewer checks

Right-to-cure notices
Repossession restrictions
Sale notice and commercial reasonableness
Redemption
Deficiency accounting and defenses

Research pending

Small-dollar and consumer lending

Licensing, rates, fees, payment plans, disclosures, collection practices, and complaint resources.

What the legal reviewer checks

Covered loan definitions
License requirements
Rate and fee limits
Rollover or payment-plan rules
Enforcement

Research pending

Mortgage, housing, and auto finance

Servicing, foreclosure, homeowner, dealer-finance, motor-vehicle-sales, and related protections.

What the legal reviewer checks

Mortgage servicing and foreclosure
Homeowner notices and assistance
Dealer and sales-finance licensing
Auto disclosures
Complaints and remedies

Research pending

Medical and utility debt

Billing, collection, charity-care, utility termination, deposit, and payment-plan rules.

What the legal reviewer checks

Hospital and medical billing
Charity-care disclosures
Utility shutoff protections
Deposits and payment plans
Complaint agencies

Research pending

Military and veteran protections

State protections that may supplement federal servicemember and military-lending laws.

What the legal reviewer checks

State active-duty coverage
Interest or collection protections
Lease and contract rules
Court stays
Military legal-assistance contacts

Need information before review is complete?

Use the official state source, state attorney general, financial regulator, or legal-aid provider. Confirm current effective dates and amendments before relying on a section.

Find official state legislature ↗Open verified resource center →