What a Tennessee speeding ticket is

A Tennessee speeding ticket handed out by an officer is typically charged under TCA § 55-8-152 (speed limits and penalties) or a related work-zone path under § 55-8-153. It is not the same paper as a mailed Tennessee unmanned camera citation under § 55-8-198 (or a school-bus exterior-camera notice under § 55-8-151(c)). If the paper has photos and names an unmanned / automated / photo / ASE camera program, see Tennessee automated camera notices. Confirm what your paper says.

US overview: What a speeding ticket notice is. Contrast: What an NYC speeding ticket is · What a California speeding ticket is · What a Florida speeding ticket is · What a Pennsylvania speeding ticket is · What a Virginia speeding ticket is.

What the Code / Driver Services describe

Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security “Driver Improvement (Points Accumulation)” (tn.gov, retrieved 1 Oct 2026): Driver Improvement monitors adult and juvenile records based on point values assigned to accidents and/or convictions for moving traffic violations. Adults who accumulate twelve (12) or more points within any 12-month period are sent a notice of proposed suspension and may request an administrative hearing; if they fail to request a hearing, driving privileges are suspended for six to 12 months. In most cases a defensive driving class may be offered in lieu of suspension or for a reduction, to be completed within ninety (90) days, and only once every five (5) years for credit. Drivers under 18 who accumulate six (6) or more points within any 12-month period are placed in the juvenile Driver Improvement path as that page states. That is the Department’s statement, not an instruction from us.

Speed limits and penalty classes (TCA § 55-8-152 / § 55-8-153)

TCA § 55-8-152 (codes.findlaw.com extract, retrieved 1 Oct 2026; FindLaw stamp current as of 2 Jan 2024): except as provided in subsection (c), it is unlawful to drive on a highway or public road of this state in excess of sixty-five miles per hour (65 mph). On controlled-access highways with four or more lanes designated as on the state or interstate system, it is unlawful to drive in excess of seventy miles per hour (70 mph); in the left-hand lane of those highways, it is unlawful to drive less than fifty-five miles per hour (55 mph). Posted or special limits may differ as that section and § 55-8-153 authorize. That is the statute’s statement. Read the limit and charge printed on your citation.

TCA § 55-8-152(f) (FindLaw, retrieved 4 Oct 2026; stamp current as of 2 Jan 2024) states two different texts in the same subsection. First, subdivision (f)(2): notwithstanding any law to the contrary, during the period in which subsection (f) is in effect, a person arrested or cited for driving in excess of 55 mph but less than 75 mph on an interstate and defense highway or a four-lane controlled-access highway that is a federal or state highway, or in excess of 55 mph or less than 65 mph on a highway or road that had an existing speed limit of 65 mph as of March 1, 1974, shall be charged with speeding and upon conviction shall not be fined more than the maximum fine nor less than the minimum fine for speeding as provided by law for that violation, nor shall any costs be imposed or assessed against the person (costs are imposed if the person fails to appear or answer). That conviction shall not be reported to the department of safety under §§ 55-10-306 and 55-12-115; the person shall not be required to attend the driver education course in § 55-10-301; and the conviction shall not result in suspension or revocation of the operator’s or chauffeur’s license unless the excess speed constitutes reckless driving. The same subdivision states that subsection (f) shall not apply to trucks as defined in subsection (b) when traveling in excess of 65 mph on interstate and defense highways and four-laned controlled-access federal or state routes, or in excess of 55 mph on any other highways of this state. UNKNOWN from the FindLaw text alone whether “the period in which this subsection (f) is in effect” is still open; the sentences are still printed. This page does not reconcile them away. Second, the same subsection then states: a violation of subsection (f) is a Class C misdemeanor; however, a violation of reduced speed limits set by the department of transportation pursuant to § 55-8-153 is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by fine only, when employees of the department or construction workers are present, and the fine imposed pursuant to § 55-8-153 shall not be less than $250 nor more than $500. That is the statute’s statement of both texts.

TCA § 55-8-153(e) (retrieved 1 Oct 2026) restates: a violation of speed limits established by TDOT under subsection (a) is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by fine only, when department employees or construction workers are present; the department or its agents shall indicate presence with signs with flashing amber lights; in highway construction zones this penalty applies to speeding violations detected by radar, infrared, or similar devices; the fine shall be not less than $250. That is the statute’s statement.

TCA § 40-35-111(e) (retrieved 1 Oct 2026): a Class C misdemeanor is punishable by not greater than thirty (30) days or a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00), or both, unless otherwise provided by statute; a Class B misdemeanor is punishable by not greater than six months or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), or both, unless otherwise provided. That is the statute’s statement. Where the offense is a Class C misdemeanor and no other statute or the same section provides a different amount, § 40-35-111(e)(3) is the fine ceiling of not more than $50 (or not more than 30 days, or both). Section 55-8-152 itself provides different amounts for the municipal residential path ($200 fine only) and the workers-present work-zone path ($250–$500). Subdivision (f)(2), quoted above, is a further printed text on fines, costs, and reporting for the speed band it describes. Do not collapse those into one statewide “ordinary speeding = $50 plus court costs” total.

TCA § 55-8-152(d)(1)(D) (retrieved 1 Oct 2026): a municipality may establish a special speed limit on a public road within its jurisdiction that is adjacent to or within one-fourth mile of a zone classified for residential use; a violation of that special speed limit is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by fine only of two hundred dollars ($200). That is the statute’s statement of that separate municipal residential path — read the charge on your paper.

UNKNOWN from these statewide Class C / Class B fine texts alone: the exact payable total after court costs, litigation taxes, or other local add-ons that a given General Sessions or municipal court assesses on an ordinary officer speeding citation. Tennessee does not publish a single statewide prepaid fine schedule comparable to some other states’ district-court charts in the sources retrieved for this draft. Confirm the amount printed on your citation and with the court named on it. Do not invent a statewide “Tennessee speeding ticket = $X” customer total.

Driver Services points schedule

Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security “Schedule of Points Values” (tn.gov, retrieved 1 Oct 2026) assigns points for moving traffic violations, including speeding:

Speeding 1 through 5 mph over — 1 point; 6 through 15 — 3; 16 through 25 — 4; 26 through 35 — 5; 36 through 45 — 6; 46 mph and above — 8; tickets and court abstracts where speed is not indicated — 3; reckless driving — 6. That is the Department’s statement.

Same schedule — speeding in a construction zone (non-commercial): speed not indicated — 4; 1–5 over — 2; 6–15 — 4; 16–25 — 5; 26–35 — 6; 36 and above — 8. That is the Department’s statement of the separate construction-zone table. Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1340-01-04-.03 (Cornell LII extract, retrieved 1 Oct 2026) aligns with those bands for TCA § 55-8-152 / § 55-8-153. Confirm the charge and zone named on your citation.

Do not mix this officer points path with unmanned camera citations: TCA § 55-8-198(a) and § 55-8-151(c)(3)(B) classify camera-only citations as nonmoving traffic violations. Camera track: Tennessee automated camera notices.

Paths the paper / courts describe (not which to choose)

Officer citations describe paying or appearing as the citation and the named court state. Work-zone Class B fine-only paths and ordinary Class C paths depend on the charge and zone printed on the paper. We do not tell you whether to pay or appear.

Violation.com does not collect Tennessee fines. If you upload a speeding notice, we summarize what the notice shows. It is not legal advice.

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Sources retrieved 1 Oct 2026:

Not legal advice. Not a law firm. Not affiliated with a government agency. Information Only.