Section 55-31-305 - Demolishers(a) A person, firm, corporation, or unit of government, upon whose property or in whose possession is found an abandoned, immobile, or unattended motor vehicle, or a person being the owner of a motor vehicle whose title certificate is faulty, lost, or destroyed, may apply to the police department of the jurisdiction in which the vehicle is situated for authority to sell, give away, or dispose of the vehicle to a demolisher.(b) The application must set out the name and address of the applicant, the year, make, model, and vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle, if ascertainable, together with any other identifying features, and must contain a concise statement of the facts surrounding the abandonment, or that the title of the motor vehicle is lost or destroyed, or the reasons for the defect of title. The applicant must execute an affidavit stating that the facts alleged therein are true and that no material fact has been withheld.(c) If the police department finds that the application is executed in proper form and shows that the motor vehicle has been abandoned, immobile, or unattended upon the property of the applicant or if it shows that the motor vehicle is not abandoned, immobile, or unattended but that the applicant appears to be the rightful owner, then the police department shall follow the notification procedures set forth in § 55-31-302.(d) If an abandoned, immobile, or unattended motor vehicle is not reclaimed in accordance with § 55-31-302, then the police department shall give the applicant a certificate of authority to sell the motor vehicle to any demolisher for demolition, wrecking, or dismantling. The demolisher shall accept the certificate in lieu of the certificate of title to the motor vehicle.(e) Notwithstanding this part to the contrary, a person, firm, corporation, or unit of government upon whose property or in whose possession is found an abandoned, immobile, or unattended motor vehicle, or a person being the owner of a motor vehicle whose title certificate is faulty, lost, or destroyed, may dispose of the motor vehicle to a demolisher without that title and without the notification procedures of § 55-31-302, if the motor vehicle is over ten (10) years old and has no engine or is otherwise totally inoperable.(f)(1) If a vehicle does have an engine, and is properly licensed but otherwise fits the description of this section, then such vehicle left on a public highway or street and pulled in at the direction of local or state law enforcement officials must be held at least ten (10) days. If, at the end of that period, no claim has been received for the vehicle, then the vehicle may then be disposed of in accordance with this section.(2) Subdivision (f)(1) does not apply in counties with a metropolitan form of government, in which counties subsection (e) remains in full force and effect.Added by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1017,s 4, eff. 7/1/2024.