Section 0145-01-.03 - LICENSING(1) No person, firm, or corporation shall promote any contest of unarmed combat, or participate in any contest of unarmed combat as a promoter, matchmaker, combatant, manager, second, announcer, referee, judge, ringside physician or timekeeper without a valid license issued by the Commission.(2) Applications for licenses shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the Commission. The applicant shall completely and truthfully respond to all questions or requests for information propounded on, or in connection with, the application. The license shall be denied if the applicant fails to respond to all questions or to provide any requested information. The Commission, or the Commission's administrator, may require any applicant to demonstrate his competence by submission of references or successful completion of a written or oral examination.(3) Applications for new licenses or the renewal of existing licenses shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) as well as a license fee as stipulated below. License fees are as follows:
Announcer $ 100.00
Promoter $ 500.00
Matchmaker $ 100.00
Boxer $ 25.00
Mixed Martial Artist $ 25.00
Kickboxer $ 25.00
Manager $ 100.00
Second $ 25.00
Referee $ 75.00
Judge $ 50.00
Timekeeper $ 50.00
If the license is applied for within twenty-four (24) hours of the schedule start of the contest, the applicant shall pay a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) penalty in addition to the nonrefundable application fee for a total of seventy-five dollars ($75.00).
Such fee shall not be prorated for any portion of a year. Every license shall expire two (2) years following the date of issuance. No license fee shall be charged for a Ringside Physician license.
(4) No license issued by the Commission under this chapter shall be transferable.(5) All combatants applying for a license, or the renewal thereof, shall be required to submit, upon application, on a form approved by the Commission, a report of a medical examination, including but not limited to a dilated eye exam performed by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist and a blood test for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV, performed no earlier than ninety (90) days prior to applying for such license or renewal thereof. Professional combatants who are thirty-five (35) years of age or older shall have a neurological examination by a neurologist or neurosurgeon and submit a medical report thereof within thirty (30) days of applying for a license or renewal thereof. The Commission will not issue a license until it has the opportunity to review the report.(6) The Commission's administrator shall have the authority to examine the combatant's record, experience, skill and physical condition and may deny the issuance of a license if, in the administrator's opinion, the combatant's record, experience, skill and physical condition indicate the combatant is unqualified to participate in professional contests of unarmed combat. The applicant may appeal the administrator's decision to deny the issuance of a license to the Commission. Any such appeal will be heard at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission.(7) No person shall be permitted to compete in any contest of unarmed combat unless the person: (a) Is at least eighteen (18) years of age; and(b) Furnishes satisfactory identification (including photograph) to the Commission.(8) No promoter's license shall be issued or renewed unless the applicant presents a good and sufficient surety bond executed to the state of Tennessee in an amount no less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00.)(9) Conviction of a felony or a misdemeanor by any applicant for a promoter, matchmaker, manager, judge or referee license or, in the event the applicant is a corporation, partnership or limited liability company, the partner or any party in responsible charge of the company, may disqualify the applicant from licensure.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0145-01-.03
Emergency rules 0145-01 through 0145-05 filed November 7, 2008; effective though April 21, 2009. Emergency rule filed April 20, 2009; effective through October 2, 2009. New rule filed March 17, 2009; effective May 31, 2009. Amendments filed May 8, 2019; effective August 6, 2019. Amendments filed July 13, 2023; effective 10/11/2023.Authority: Chapter 1149 of the Public Acts of 2008, § 2; Tennessee Athletic Commission Act of 2016; and T.C.A. §§ 68-115-201, 68-115-204, and 68-115-206 [effective July 1, 2008].