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Tennessee — licensed-and-bonded entry gate, an FDCPA clone in the Board's rules, 6-year SOL

Effective 2025-09-24 · Verified 2026-08-11

Authority

Tennessee is a license state, and it is structurally unusual: the statute (the Tennessee Collection Service Act, Tenn. Code Ann. tit. 62 ch. 20) is almost entirely a licensing statute — it contains no harassment rule, no fee rule, no validation rule, no call window and no call cap. All of the conduct law lives one level down, in the Collection Service Board's rules, and in particular in Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 0320-05 (Standards of Practice) — a near-verbatim re-enactment of FDCPA §§ 1692b–1692j as state law, effective 2018-06-05 and last amended 2025-09-24. Rule 0320-05-.10 then bolts Reg F on top: a Reg F violation is a state violation.

Four other bodies of law matter to a Tennessee collection operation:

  1. Statutes of limitation — Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-109(a)(3) (six years, all contracts, no written/oral split) with the ten-year residual at § 28-3-110(3). Revival is judge-made, not statutory — Tennessee has no acknowledgment/part-payment statute at all.
  2. Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977, Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-101 et seq. — the UDAP statute; the General Assembly added a collection-shaped practice to § 47-18-104(b) in 2025.
  3. Caller-ID spoofing, Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2302(a)(2) — a criminal offense written specifically for debt collectors, effective 2024-07-01, with an area-code rule.
  4. Board rules 0320-01 / 0320-04 — fees and the civil-penalty schedule.

Enforcement: the Tennessee Collection Service Board (Dept. of Commerce & Insurance, Regulatory Boards Division) licenses, investigates and disciplines; willful violation of the chapter is a Class C misdemeanor (§ 62-20-123); the Attorney General enforces the TCPA. The Board was extended by sunset review to June 30, 2030 (2024 Public Chapter 493).

Verification note — read before relying on a quote

Tennessee's official code is published only through a LexisNexis Advance JavaScript application. The Collection Service Board's own "Laws" page says so in as many words — it carries no statutory text and simply instructs the reader to "click on Title 62 … then Chapter 20" at advance.lexis.com. There is no Tennessee equivalent of Texas's tcss.legis.texas.gov file server. Statutory text below therefore comes from four official routes, each disclosed inline:

  • Source A — tn.gov's own reproduction of Tenn. Code tit. 62 ch. 20 (tn.gov/lawsandpolicies/laws-a-c/laws-collection-service/…), one page per section. This is the State of Tennessee publishing its own statute. The pages have since been removed from the live site (404) and are read here via Internet Archive captures of the official tn.gov pages (captures used: 2024-10 and 2020-10). Every page states on its face: "Current through the 2015 Regular Session", "Tenn. Code Ann. § … (2016)", last updated June 7, 2016. Source A is therefore ten years stale on its face and is corroborated for currency as described below.
  • Source B — the Secretary of State's Public Acts (publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/…), the official session laws, plus the SoS's official searchable act indexes (tnsos.org/acts/…, one table per General Assembly, exported in full and searched offline). Used both to quote enacted text directly and to prove the absence of later amendments.
  • Source C — the Secretary of State's Official Compilation of Rules and Regulations (publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/0320/…), current and dated on its face. This is the live, authoritative text of the Board's rules; nothing on this page's rules quotes is archival.
  • Source D — tncourts.gov, the Administrative Office of the Courts' official opinion server, for opinions quoting the current text of the limitations statutes. The live server is behind a JavaScript bot challenge; opinion PDFs are read via Internet Archive captures of the official tncourts.gov URLs.

Currency of Source A. Because Source A stops at 2015, every chapter-20 section quoted below was checked against the complete official Public Acts tables for the 109th through 114th General Assemblies (2015 – 2026), exported from the Secretary of State and searched offline. Across those six General Assemblies the only enacted measures touching the Collection Service Board are two sunset extensions — 2018 Public Chapter 532 (passed 2018-02-22) → June 30, 2024, and 2024 Public Chapter 493 (passed 2024-02-05) → June 30, 2030 — and both operate only on Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4-29-245(a) and 4-29-251(a), leaving ch. 20 itself untouched. No substantive amendment to tit. 62 ch. 20 appears in 2016–2026. Two independent official cross-checks confirm the operative numbers are still live: the Board's 2023 sunset filing to the General Assembly restates the § 62-20-106 bond tiers and § 62-20-117 reciprocity verbatim, and the live TDCI licensing page restates the same three bond amounts today.

One unresolved discrepancy — see FLAGGED, below. The Board's 2023 sunset filing asserts that "in 2021, legislation passed" eliminating the in-state branch license and the solicitor identification cards. No such public chapter could be located in the official 111th- or 112th-General-Assembly act tables. § 62-20-105(c) and § 62-20-111 are quoted below as Source A has them and flagged.

Operative text

Scope — "collection service" expressly includes debt buyers (§ 62-20-102(3))

(3) "Collection service" means any person that engages in, or attempts to engage in, the collection of delinquent accounts, bills or other forms of indebtedness irrespective of whether the person engaging in or attempting to engage in collection activity has received the indebtedness by assignment or whether the indebtedness was purchased by the person engaging in, or attempting to engage in, the collection activity. "Collection service" does not include any person that engages in, or attempts to engage in, the collection of notes or guarantees. "Collection service" includes, but is not limited to: (A) Any deputy sheriff, constable or other individual who, in the course of that person's duties, accepts any compensation other than that fixed by statute in connection with the collection of an account; (B) Any person who, in the process of collecting that person's own accounts, uses or causes to be used any fictitious name that would indicate to a debtor that a third party is handling the accounts; (C) Any person who offers for sale, gives away or uses any letter or form designed for use in the collection of accounts that deceives the receiver into believing that an account is in the hands of a third party, even though the letter or form may instruct the debtor to pay directly to the debtor's creditor; and (D) Any person who engages in the solicitation of claims or judgments for the purpose of collecting or attempting to collect claims or judgments or who solicits the purchase of claims or judgments for the purpose of collecting or attempting to collect claims or judgments by engaging in or attempting to engage in collection activity relative to claims or judgments. — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-102(3) (Source A). History: Acts 1981, ch. 170, § 2; 1988, ch. 823, §§ 1-5; 2009, ch. 279, § 6; 2013, ch. 180, § 6; 2014, ch. 996, § 1.

The 2014 sentence excluding notes and guarantees is quoted directly from the official session law:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 62-20-102(3), is amended by adding the following after the first sentence: "Collection service" does not include any person that engages in, or attempts to engage in, the collection of notes or guarantees. — 2014 Public Chapter 996 (S.B. 2133), § 1 (Source B)

Exemptions — the passive-debt-buyer carve-out (§ 62-20-103)

(a) This chapter does not apply to: (1) Any person handling claims, accounts or collections under order of any court; (2) Attorneys at law; (3) Any person engaged in the collection of indebtedness incurred in the normal course of business or the business of a parent, subsidiary or affiliated firm or corporation; however, no person who is or represents the person to be a collection service is exempt from this chapter; (4) Any state or national bank; state or federal mutual savings bank; state or federal savings institution; or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of any of the foregoing; (5) Any state or federal credit union; (6) Any industrial loan and thrift company licensed or authorized by title 45, chapter 5; (7) Any small business development corporation authorized by title 45, chapter 8; (8) Any person that services or collects obligations secured by a consensual lien on a dwelling as defined by 12 C.F.R. 1026.2(a)(19) or any successor regulation; or (9) Any person that holds or acquires accounts, bills or other forms of indebtedness through purchase, assignment, or otherwise; and only engages in collection activity through the use of a licensed collection agency or an attorney authorized to practice law in this state. (b) Nothing contained within this chapter shall be construed to require an individual or business entity that collects only the individual's or its own unpaid accounts to submit to licensure or regulation by the collection service board. — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-103 (Source A). History: Acts 1981, ch. 170, §§ 3, 27; T.C.A., § 62-20-123; Acts 2014, ch. 996, § 2.

Subdivisions (4)–(9) were added in 2014, not 2017; the enacted text is identical in the session law (2014 Public Chapter 996, § 2, Source B). There is no later amendment: the debt-buyer question in Tennessee was settled once, in 2014, and has not flip-flopped since.

License requirement — and the 2014 rule that unlicensed collection is not a consumer defense (§ 62-20-105)

(a) No person shall commence, conduct or operate any collection service business in this state unless the person holds a valid collection service license issued by the board under this chapter or prior state law. (b) Regular employees of licensed collection services need not procure a separate collection service license. (c) A licensed collection service maintaining more than one (1) place of business within the state shall register each place of business with reference to its specific location, name and purpose upon application for license and upon subsequent renewals of the license. The fees for each location for registration and renewal shall be established by the board. ⚠ see FLAGGED (d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair or impede the obligation of any contract, delinquent account, bills or other forms of indebtedness, nor prevent or deny any person the right to purchase, sell, assign, or take by assignment any obligation. (e) Notwithstanding subsection (a), no debt or obligation that has been collected by a voluntary payment or by a final judgment of any court may be set aside or challenged based on the lack of a license. (f) Any person who is alleged to have violated subsection (a) in the collection of a delinquent account, bill or other form of indebtedness: (1) May cure the default at any time, even after collection may have started, by filing an application for a license with the collection services board as provided in this chapter, and the board may not use a prior collection effort in violation of this section or § 62-20-127 as a basis or consideration for the denial of a license; and (2) May be subject to sanction by the collection service board, but may not be subject to other civil action or defense based on such alleged violation. — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-105 (Source A). History: Acts 1981, ch. 170, § 5; 1988, ch. 823, § 6; 1990, ch. 1026, § 10; 2014, ch. 996, § 4.

Application and the bond — the entry gate's dollar figures (§ 62-20-106)

An application for a collection service license shall be submitted on the form prescribed by the board and shall be accompanied by: (1) A nonrefundable application fee as set by the board; (2) A current personal or corporate financial statement prepared by a licensed public accountant or certified public accountant; (3)(A) A surety bond executed by the applicant and a surety company authorized to do business in this state, made payable to the state of Tennessee. The amount of this surety bond shall be pro rated and based on the certified number of employees per collection agency as follows: (i) One to four (1-4) employees — fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000); (ii) Five to nine (5-9) employees — twenty thousand dollars ($20,000); (iii) Ten (10) or more employees — twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000); or (iv) Instead of the bond, a certificate of deposit in the sums as outlined in this subdivision (3)(A), which shall be assigned to the board; (B) The bond or assignment of certificate of deposit shall be conditioned that the applicant shall faithfully and truly perform all agreements entered into with its clients accounting for the net proceeds of all collections in accordance with this chapter; and (4) Any other relevant information and documentation that may be requested by the board to determine whether the applicant meets the requirements for initial licensure as set forth in § 62-20-107. — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-106 (Source A). History: Acts 1981, ch. 170, § 6; 1988, ch. 823, § 7; 1989, ch. 523, § 166; 1990, ch. 1026, § 9; 2015, ch. 291, § 9.

Corroborated as still current by the Board's own 2023 filing to the General Assembly:

The criteria to issue licenses is set by Tenn. Code Ann. 62-20-106: A collection service agency must provide a personal or corporate financial statement prepared by a licensed public accountant or certified public accountant. They must submit a surety bond … (i) One to four (1-4) employees — fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000); (ii) Five to nine (5-9) employees — twenty thousand dollars ($20,000); (iii) Ten (10) or more employees — twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000); or (iv) Instead of the bond, a certificate of deposit could be used. — Sunset Public Hearing Questions for Collection Service Board (2023), Q16 (Source B, capitol.tn.gov)

The bond runs to clients, not consumers: § 62-20-110(b) gives "the injured client" the action on the bond, and § 62-20-110(c) caps the surety's aggregate liability at the bond amount.

Fees are set by rule, not statute:

(1) An application for a collection license as a collection service shall be accompanied by a non-refundable fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00). (2) The Board shall grant a collection service license to qualified applicants upon receipt of six hundred dollars ($600.00), which shall not be prorated for any portion of the year. (3) Application for renewal of a collection service license shall be accompanied by a fee of three hundred and fifty dollars ($350.00). (4) All licensees shall be subject to late renewal for a period of sixty (60) days following their expiration date by payment of the prescribed fee plus a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00). — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0320-01-.03 (Source C, revised Sept. 2025)

Licenses run 24 months (§ 62-20-112(a)), with a 60-day late-renewal window (§ 62-20-112(c)). Nonresident agencies may license by reciprocity if they keep a place of business in a state that reciprocates (§ 62-20-117(a)), and must file an irrevocable consent to service of process (§ 62-20-117(b)).

Discipline, the $9 NSF cap, and the 30-day client remittance rule (§ 62-20-115)

(b) The board may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew any license held under this chapter for any of the following causes: (1) Obtaining a license through misrepresentation or fraud; (2) Collecting or attempting to collect from the debtor any fee, commission or other compensation not provided by law for collection services rendered to a client, except that a collection service may recover from debtors reasonable charges imposed by banks for processing insufficient fund checks; provided, that the charges do not exceed nine dollars ($9.00) per check; (3) Failing to report and pay to a client the net proceeds of all collections made during a calendar month within thirty (30) days, unless otherwise provided by mutual agreement between the licensee and the client; (4) Violating or cooperating with others in violating any provision of this chapter or any rule lawfully promulgated by the board; (5) Failing to comply with any applicable state or federal law or regulation pertaining to the credit and collection industry; and (6) Any cause for which issuance of a license could have been refused had it existed and been known to the board at the time of issuance. — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-115(b) (Source A)

Complaint mechanics are on a clock: the Board transmits a complaint to the licensee within 15 days and the licensee must file a sworn answer within 20 days (§ 62-20-115(a)(2)–(3)).

Civil penalties are capped by rule:

The Board may … assess civil penalties for violations of statutes, rules or orders enforceable by the Board in accordance with the following schedule: T.C.A., § 62-20-115(a)(3) — $0 - $1,000 · § 62-20-115(b)(1) — $0 - $1,000 · § 62-20-115(b)(2) — $0 - $1,000 · § 62-20-115(b)(3) — $0 - $1,000 · § 62-20-115(b)(4) — $0 - $1,000 · § 62-20-115(b)(5) — $0 - $1,000 — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0320-4-.01(1) (Source C)

Criminal penalty (§ 62-20-123)

A willful violation of this chapter or of any rule lawfully promulgated under this chapter is a Class C misdemeanor. — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-123 (Source A)

Suing in the collection agency's own name, and the small-claim consolidation caps (§ 62-20-127)

(a) A collection service, holding a valid license under this chapter, may bill, collect or file suit in its own name, as the real party in interest, on any form of indebtedness, so long as the owner or holder of the indebtedness has assigned this limited right to the collection service licensee and the following conditions have been met: (1) The assignment was voluntary, properly executed and acknowledged …; (2) The original agreement between the creditor and the debtor does not prohibit an assignment …; (3) The assignment was manifested by a written agreement stating the effective date of the assignment and any consideration given …; (4) The assignment to the collection service licensee does not transfer title or any ownership interest in the underlying account …; and (5) A collection service licensee bringing suit in its own name as an assignee may submit an affidavit of sworn account … (c) No collection service licensee shall commence any litigation authorized by this section, unless the collection service licensee appears by an attorney admitted to practice law in this state. (d)(1) … The individual amount of each account, bill, note or other indebtedness that forms the basis for any consolidated action shall not exceed two hundred dollars ($200) each … The aggregate amount of consolidated accounts … in any one (1) case shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) … (d)(2) If a debtor or codebtor files a sworn denial or otherwise raises a dispute concerning any account …, the court shall dismiss the account … without prejudice. The collection service licensee may bring a separate case … within one (1) year of dismissal … (e) Nothing in this section relieves a collection service licensee from complying with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, codified in 15 U.S.C. § 1692 … (f) On the face of any warrant or other pleading filed in any consolidated action …, the collection service licensee shall state the order in which the creditor intends to apply payments received on any judgment obtained in the consolidated action … — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-127 (Source A). History: Acts 2004, ch. 674, § 1; 2014, ch. 996, § 3.

Venue for such suits is limited to the county where the debtor signed, where consolidated accounts all arose, or where the debtor resides at commencement (§ 62-20-127(b)).

The "licensed by the Board" legend on collection letters (§ 62-20-111(b)) — ⚠ FLAGGED

(a)(1) No person may act as a solicitor for any collection service unless the person possesses a valid solicitor's identification card issued by the board to the collection service. … (b) In order to protect the rights of creditors, all letters of collection or notices of collection from a collection agency to a debtor shall contain language stating that the collection agency is licensed by the collection service board of the department of commerce and insurance. — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-111 (Source A). History: Acts 1981, ch. 170, § 11; 1985, ch. 354, § 14; 1988, ch. 823, § 18; 1989, ch. 523, § 170; 1992, ch. 580, § 3; 2001, ch. 130, § 2.

This is Tennessee's only statutory letter-content requirement and it is a real disclosure delta from federal law. Its current status is uncertain — see FLAGGED, below.

The conduct law — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 0320-05 (Standards of Practice)

Chapter 0320-05 is an FDCPA clone adopted as Tennessee rule text (original rule filed 2018-03-07, eff. 2018-06-05; amendments filed 2025-06-26, eff. 2025-09-24). It binds a "debt collector," which the rule defines as a person acting on behalf of a collection service licensed or required to be licensed by the Board (0320-05-.01(7)).

Call-time window — 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., same as federal:

(1) Communication with the consumer generally (a) Without the prior consent of the consumer provided directly to the debt collector or collection service or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, a debt collector may not communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt 1. At any unusual time or place or a time or place known or which should be known to be inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that the convenient time for communicating with a consumer is after 8:00 a.m. and before 9:00 p.m., local time at the consumer's location; — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0320-05-.03(1)(a)1 (Source C)

Call frequency — no numeric cap; intent standard only:

(1) A debt collector or collection service may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of this prohibition, the following conduct is a violation of this section: … (e) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the dialed number. (f) Except as provided in section 0320-05-.02, the placement of telephone calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity. — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0320-05-.04(1) (Source C)

Mini-Miranda, in rule rather than statute:

(k) The failure to disclose in the initial communication with the consumer, whether written or oral, that the debt collector is attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose, and the failure to disclose in subsequent communications that the communication is from a debt collector, except that this paragraph shall not apply to a formal pleading made in connection with a legal action. — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0320-05-.05(1)(k) (Source C)

Fee rule:

(a) The collection of any amount (including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) unless such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or is permitted by law. — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0320-05-.06(1)(a) (Source C)

Validation — Tennessee froze the pre-Reg F § 1692g shape into state rule:

(1) Notice of debt; contents. Within five (5) days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing: (a) The amount of the debt; (b) The name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed; (c) A statement that unless the consumer, within thirty (30) days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the collection service; (d) A statement that if the consumer notifies the collection service in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the collection service will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer …; and (e) A statement that, upon the consumer's written request within the thirty-day period, the collection service will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor. (2) Disputed debts. If the consumer notifies the debt collector or collection service in writing within the thirty-day period …, the collection service shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the collection service obtains verification … Any collection activity and/or communication during the thirty-day period may not overshadow or be inconsistent with the disclosure of the consumer's right to dispute the debt … — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0320-05-.07 (Source C)

Payment application on multiple debts:

If any consumer owes multiple debts and makes any single payment to any collection service with respect to such debts, such collection service may not apply such payment to any debt that is disputed by the consumer and, where applicable, shall apply such payment in accordance with the consumer's directions. — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0320-05-.08 (Source C)

Reg F is incorporated by reference as a state violation — and vicarious liability is explicit:

The Board shall be authorized to enforce compliance with the rules of this chapter. For purpose of the exercise by the Board of its functions and powers under the Tennessee Collection Service Act, a violation of 12 C.F.R. § 1006, Regulation F issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of the rules of this chapter. Any act by a debt collector acting on behalf of a collection service that constitutes a violation of the rules of the Board, including those in this chapter, shall constitute a violation by the collection service. — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0320-05-.10 (Source C; amendments filed 2025-06-26, eff. 2025-09-24)

The statute itself adds only a narrow list of things the chapter does not authorize:

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit: (1) The use or sale of forms that simulate legal forms so as to deceive a debtor or the general public; (2) The unauthorized practice of law; or (3) A collection agency to notify a credit bureau or credit agency concerning the owner of record of a motor vehicle who has failed to pay an overdue parking ticket or tickets without first notifying the owner of record … that, if the ticket is not timely paid to the collection agency by a date included in the notification, the credit bureau or credit agency will be notified of such fact, which could affect the owner's credit rating. — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-120 (Source A)

Caller-ID spoofing — a criminal offense aimed at debt collectors (eff. 2024-07-01)

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 47-18-2302, is amended by deleting subsection (a) and substituting: (a) Except as provided in § 47-18-2303, it is an offense for: (1) A person, in connection with a telecommunications service or an interconnected VoIP service, to knowingly cause any caller identification service to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller identification information to a subscriber with the intent to defraud or cause harm to another person or to wrongfully obtain anything of value; or (2) A person, on behalf of a debt collector or inbound telemarketer service, to knowingly cause any caller identification service to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller identification information, including caller identification information that does not match the area code of the person or the debt collector or inbound telemarketer service the person is calling on behalf of, or that is not a toll-free phone number, to a subscriber with the intent to defraud or cause harm to another person or to wrongfully obtain anything of value. SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2024, the public welfare requiring it, and applies to conduct occurring on or after that date. — 2024 Public Chapter 758 (H.B. 2504) (Source B)

Tennessee Consumer Protection Act — the 2025 fake-lawsuit addition (§ 47-18-104(b))

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 47-18-104(b), is amended by adding the following as a new subdivision: ( ) Making false statements or misrepresentations of fact to a consumer to indicate or imply that the consumer is a party to a civil lawsuit or a defendant in a criminal prosecution in order to induce the consumer to pay for services related to the purported lawsuit or prosecution or to pay costs, fines, penalties, or other assessments related to the purported lawsuit or prosecution. SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it, and applies to acts occurring on or after the effective date of this act. — 2025 Public Chapter 177 (S.B. 816) (Source B)

The Attorney General's TCPA enforcement machinery sits at §§ 47-18-107 (assurances of voluntary compliance) and 47-18-108 (actions by the AG), both amended in 2025 Public Chapter 614 (Source B).

Statute of limitations

Six years, all contracts, no written/oral split — § 28-3-109(a)(3)

The Tennessee Supreme Court, quoting the statute:

The applicable statute of limitations in this case is Tennessee Code Annotated section 28-3-109(a)(3), which provides that a general breach-of-contract action "shall be commenced within six (6) years after the cause of action accrued." The statute does not specify when "the cause of action accrue[s]." Our courts have held that a breach-of-contract cause of action accrues "as of the date of the breach" or, in the case of anticipatory breach, "when the acts and conduct of one party shows [sic] an intention to no longer be bound by the contract." — Individual Healthcare Specialists, Inc. v. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Inc., No. M2015-01642-SC-R11-CV (Tenn. Jan. 18, 2019), at 45 (Source D)

The Court of Appeals, quoting both the six-year contract rule and the ten-year residual:

Section 28-3-109 directs that "contracts not otherwise expressly provided for" in the code "shall be commenced within six (6) years after the cause of action accrued." TENN. CODE ANN. § 28-3-109(a)(3). Similarly, section 28-3-110 provides that, "all other cases not expressly provided for" in the code "shall be commenced within ten (10) years after the cause of action has accrued." TENN. CODE ANN. § 28-3-110(3). — Carroll v. Braden (Agresta) v. Palmer, No. W2001-01901-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 15, 2002), at 3 (Source D)

And again in 2024, applied to a contract claim:

His breach of contract claim was subject to dismissal if his claim accrued prior to November 21, 2015. See Tennessee Code Annotated section 28-3-109(a)(3) (providing that causes of actions based upon contract must be commenced within six years after the cause of action accrued). — Siskin Hosp. for Physical Rehabilitation, Inc. v. Little, No. E2023-01328-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 8, 2024), at 8 (Source D)

Labeled interpretation: § 28-3-109(a)(3) is a single bucket for "contracts not otherwise expressly provided for." Tennessee draws no written-vs-oral distinction anywhere in ch. 28-3, and the courts above apply the subsection to "a general breach-of-contract action" without qualification. Credit-card and open-account claims are ordinary contract claims and fall in the same six-year bucket. That classification is interpretation, not statutory text — no Tennessee statute names credit cards or open-end accounts.

Revival — judge-made, and it does not require a writing

Tennessee has no revival statute. (A full section-heading walk of Tenn. Code Ann. tit. 28 chapters 1 and 3 turns up no acknowledgment, new-promise, or part-payment provision; § 28-1-112 is the borrowing statute and § 28-1-111 is the absence-tolling statute. Those section headings come from finding aids, not an official Tennessee source — see UNVERIFIED, below — but the courts below supply the affirmative rule directly.) Revival is common law, most recently restated by the Court of Appeals in 2024, quoting Ingram v. Earthman:

"Similarly, a defendant may revive a plaintiff's remedy that had been barred by the running of a statute of limitations either by expressly promising to pay the debt or by acknowledging the debt and expressing a willingness to pay it." Ingram v. Earthman, 993 S.W.2d 611, 633–34 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1988) … In such cases, "The expression of willingness to pay the debt that must accompany the acknowledgment of the debt may be implied from the defendant's words or acts but … the words or acts must amount to a recognition of the continuing obligation. Persons who successfully establish the revival exception to a statute of limitations defense must file suit with[in] the applicable limitations period measured from when the conduct constituting the revival occurred." — Siskin Hosp. for Physical Rehabilitation, Inc. v. Little, No. E2023-01328-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 8, 2024), at 9–10 (Source D)

Labeled interpretation — this is the single most operationally important line on the page. Tennessee is the inverse of the Georgia pattern: there is no signed-writing requirement, the acknowledgment may be implied from acts, and the clock restarts from the revival conduct. A partial payment is the paradigm "act" from which a court could imply both acknowledgment and willingness to pay — but no Tennessee authority located in this compilation squares a bare payment, without more, against the Ingram two-element test. Treat Tennessee as a payment-may-revive, fact-dependent state and do not ship a flat "payment restarts the clock" output. See UNVERIFIED, below.

Accrual

Breach-of-contract claims accrue on the date of the breach (Individual Healthcare, above), and Tennessee has no statutory discovery rule for contract claims — the Supreme Court said so expressly in that opinion's footnote 38 ("Some jurisdictions have a statute that expressly incorporates the discovery rule into the statute of limitations applicable to breach-of-contract claims. … Tennessee does not."). Judge-made discovery and equitable-estoppel doctrines still apply (Siskin, at 8–9).

UNVERIFIED — located but not traceable to official Tennessee text

The following sections could not be read on any official Tennessee source (the code is Lexis-gated; they are outside tit. 62 ch. 20 so tn.gov does not reproduce them; the pre-2003 session laws are not on the Secretary of State's act server; and no official opinion quoting them was located). Their substance below comes from non-official aggregators used only as finding aids and is recorded here so the next verification pass knows exactly what to confirm. Do not treat these figures as verified until an official source is read.

Cite Reported effect Why it matters
§ 28-3-109(c) Demand notes — ten (10) years Would override the 6-year note assumption for demand paper
§ 47-3-118 UCC Art. 3 statute of limitations (Tennessee's 3-118 analog) The negotiable-instrument track; note that § 62-20-102(3) excludes note collection from the Board's jurisdiction entirely
§ 28-3-111 Limitations do not apply to merchant-to-merchant open accounts while current Commercial, not consumer — but a trap for any generic "open account" rule
§ 28-3-112 Mutual accounts between non-merchants — time runs from the last item Accrual rule for running accounts
§ 28-1-111 Absence from the state suspends the running of limitations Tolling
§ 28-1-112 Borrowing statute — another state's expired bar is "equally effectual" in Tennessee Out-of-state paper

Also UNVERIFIED: whether the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act reaches debt collection generally, and the scope of any repossession-related exclusion in the TCPA case law. The 2025 addition to § 47-18-104(b) (quoted above) shows the General Assembly legislating collection-shaped misrepresentations into the TCPA list, but that is not the same as a holding that the TCPA covers collection as such. No official Tennessee authority on the point was located.

FLAGGED — the 2021 deregulation the Board reports but the session laws do not show

The Collection Service Board told the General Assembly, in its official 2023 sunset filing:

In 2021, legislation passed to reduce barriers for businesses and eliminate old laws no longer relevant to the industry. The first item eliminated was the need for companies to have a branch license for locations physically in Tennessee. The law also eliminated the need for companies to pay for and maintain solicitor cards for their employees who were seeking to get new business for the collection agency. The solicitor cards were $25 per employee and served no purpose in protecting the public. — Sunset Public Hearing Questions for Collection Service Board (2023), Q25 (Source B, capitol.tn.gov)

Those two items map to § 62-20-105(c) (registration of each in-state place of business) and § 62-20-111(a) (solicitor identification cards) — both of which Source A still carries, because Source A stops at 2015. No corresponding public chapter could be located. The complete official Public Acts tables for the 111th and 112th General Assemblies were exported from the Secretary of State and searched offline for collection service, collection agency, debt collect, solicitor, branch, identification card, regulatory boards, 62-20 and deregulat — zero hits touching this chapter. The Board's rules are consistent with the repeal having happened (the Sept-2025 rule set contains no branch or solicitor rule; old rule 0320-01-.02 was repealed effective 2025-09-24, and 0320-02-.02 with it), but rules cannot repeal a statute.

Consequences to carry forward:

  • Treat § 62-20-105(c) (branch registration) and § 62-20-111(a) (solicitor cards) as probably repealed or amended, text unconfirmed. Do not treat a branch-registration or solicitor-card requirement as current on the strength of the 2016 text.
  • Treat § 62-20-111(b) — the "this agency is licensed by the collection service board" legend required on every collection letter — as status unknown. It sits inside the same section as the solicitor cards, so an amendment aimed at the cards could have taken it along, or left it standing. This is the single highest-value open question on the page: it is the only Tennessee letter-content requirement, and a validation/disclosure checker's Tennessee branch depends on it.
  • Next verification step: read Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-105 and § 62-20-111 on advance.lexis.com/tncode (browser session required), or ask the Board directly (Collection.Service@tn.gov, 615-741-1741). Either resolves this in one look.

Plain English

Interpretation — the quotes above win on any conflict.

  • Tennessee licenses collection agencies. No license, no collecting: § 62-20-105(a). The gate is a $150 application, a $600 issuance fee, a CPA-prepared financial statement, and a surety bond of $15,000 / $20,000 / $25,000 keyed to headcount (1–4 / 5–9 / 10+). Licenses last two years. Roughly 705 agencies held Tennessee licenses as of 2023.
  • Debt buyers: it depends on who does the calling. "Collection service" expressly covers purchased paper (§ 62-20-102(3)), so a debt buyer that collects on its own account is a collection service and needs the license. But § 62-20-103(a)(9) exempts a buyer that only collects through a licensed agency or a Tennessee-licensed attorney. Passive buyer = exempt; buyer with an in-house collection floor = licensed. This was settled by 2014 Public Chapter 996 and has not changed since.
  • Original creditors are out. § 62-20-103(b) — an entity collecting only its own unpaid accounts is not licensed or regulated by the Board. Banks, credit unions, thrifts and mortgage servicers are separately exempt under (a)(4)–(8). The Board's rules, however, define "debt collector" as someone acting for a collection service licensed or required to be licensed, so the conduct rules follow the licensing line rather than extending past it.
  • The real rulebook is 0320-05, not the statute. Everything an operator would look for in a mini-FDCPA — harassment, false representations, unfair practices, mini-Miranda, validation, payment application — is Board rule text, and it tracks the FDCPA almost word for word. A Reg F violation is automatically a state violation under 0320-05-.10, and the collection service is vicariously liable for its collectors' violations.
  • No state call-frequency cap. 0320-05-.04(1)(e) is an intent-to-annoy standard. Reg F's 7-in-7 presumption is the operative frequency limit in Tennessee.
  • Call window is 8am–9pm local, restated in state rule. No stricter than federal, but now independently enforceable by the Board.
  • Validation is a state-law delta. Tennessee's rule is the pre-Reg F § 1692g: a written notice within 5 days of initial communication, a 30-day dispute window, and a cease-collection obligation on a written dispute until verification is mailed. Reg F's model validation notice satisfies the content but the five-day-send framing and the "written dispute" trigger are what the Board will measure against.
  • SOL is six years for every consumer contract — written, oral, credit card, open account. Tennessee has no written/oral split. Judgments and the residual catch-all run ten years (§ 28-3-110).
  • Revival is loose. No writing required; an acknowledgment plus an expressed willingness to pay — which may be implied from acts — restarts the six years from the revival conduct.
  • No time-barred-debt disclosure exists in Tennessee statute or Board rule. Reg F § 1006.26 and the FDCPA govern; the state adds nothing.
  • No medical-debt collection statute. A full search of the official Public Acts tables for the 110th–114th General Assemblies (2017–2026) found no medical-debt collection legislation.
  • Dialer configuration is a criminal-law question in Tennessee. Since 2024-07-01, transmitting caller ID that does not match the collector's area code — or that is not toll-free — with intent to defraud or cause harm is an offense under § 47-18-2302(a)(2).

Traps / edge cases

  • § 62-20-111(b) is the only Tennessee-specific letter content requirement: every collection letter or notice must state that the agency is licensed by the Collection Service Board. It has no federal analog and it is easy to miss because it is buried in the solicitor identification card section. Its current status is FLAGGED (below) — but if it survives, a Tennessee letter template without the legend is non-compliant on its face.
  • Unlicensed collection is not a consumer defense, and it is curable. § 62-20-105(e)–(f) is unusual and creditor-favorable: payments already collected and judgments already entered cannot be undone for want of a license, the violator may cure by applying for a license at any time (even mid-collection), the Board may not hold the prior unlicensed activity against the application, and the consumer gets no civil action or defense out of it. Exposure is Board sanction and a Class C misdemeanor only. Do not model Tennessee like South Dakota, where an unlicensed money lender's paper is itself uncollectible — in Tennessee the licensing defect never reaches the debt.
  • Notes and guarantees are outside the Board entirely. § 62-20-102(3) excludes collection of "notes or guarantees" from the definition of collection service. A shop that works only note paper in Tennessee is arguably not a collection service at all — while a shop that works both needs the license for the non-note book. The SOL for note paper is also a different track (§ 47-3-118 / § 28-3-109(c)) and is UNVERIFIED here.
  • Suing in the agency's own name has hard dollar ceilings. § 62-20-127 permits assignment for suit, but consolidated actions cap each account at $200 and the aggregate at $500, a sworn denial by the debtor forces dismissal without prejudice (refile within one year, and never consolidated), and the agency must appear by a Tennessee-licensed attorney. Venue is limited — including to the debtor's county of residence at commencement.
  • The bond protects clients, not consumers. § 62-20-110(b) gives the action on the bond to the "injured client." A consumer harmed by a Tennessee licensee does not have a bond claim.
  • NSF pass-through is capped at $9.00 per check (§ 62-20-115(b)(2)) and is the only charge a Tennessee licensee may recover from a debtor beyond what the agreement or law allows. Any other debtor-paid fee is a discipline ground.
  • Client remittance is a licensing obligation, not just a contract term: net proceeds of a calendar month must be reported and paid to the client within 30 days absent mutual agreement (§ 62-20-115(b)(3)), and licensees must keep a separate fiduciary/trust account (§ 62-20-114(3)) and three years of collection records (§ 62-20-114(1)).
  • Change of control triggers a new license. Licenses are nontransferable and a new owner must obtain a new license before continuing business (§ 62-20-113). Rule 0320-01-.04 defines "change in ownership" as any ownership change in a sole proprietorship or partnership, or a 50%-or-more aggregate change in a corporation or LLC.
  • Losing or letting a license lapse starts a 90-day wind-down: return or assign all uncollected accounts and remit all money within 90 days, and charge nothing for doing it (§ 62-20-116).
  • Applicant disqualifiers reach seven years back, including any fraud or felony conviction, any judgment for failure to account to a client, and — unusually — any bankruptcy petition or receivership in the past seven years (§ 62-20-107(5), (9)).
  • § 28-3-111 is a merchant-to-merchant rule, not a consumer open-account rule. It reads as an exception to limitations for current accounts between merchants. Do not let a generic "open account" concept pull consumer credit-card debt into it. (UNVERIFIED text — see above.)

Related

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Compiled from official sources only, with the operative text quoted verbatim. This is information, not legal advice — check it against the source before you act on it.