New or Returning Residents May Need MVR To Get New License

Starting this Friday, January 10th, new or returning Tennessee residents who currently had a driver’s license from California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma, Vermont or West Virginia must present a Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) from their former state when applying for a new Tennessee License. Those eight states are the only ones to do not participate in the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators’ State- To State (S2S) Verification Service, or S2S. Through the S2S system, states can share real-time information about individual drivers, including convictions and license withdrawals. According to the Tennessee Department of Safety, by providing a driver’s complete history, states can reduce the risk of fraud and improve safety by keeping dangerous drivers off the roads. Additionally, S2S enhances accuracy and reduces the processing time for obtaining a new license in Tennessee.

Individuals moving from one the other 41 states participating in S2S do not have to obtain a Motor Vehicle Record to qualify for a Tennessee driver’s license, because the service allows participating states to electronically access the complete Driver History Record of anyone applying for a driver’s license from one of 41 states.