The other half of the plate question. Because a Tennessee plate belongs to the owner and moves from car to car, a plate that has been lost, stolen or corroded past legibility is a problem that follows you rather than the vehicle you sold. Ten dollars at a county clerk, and one section of the form applies only where law enforcement has been involved.
Written against F-1315301 (Rev 4-23), issued under Tenn. Code Ann. 55-4-103(g).
The plate is registered to you and it is what the state's insurance verification looks at. A plate that has quietly become unreadable is a stop waiting to happen on your record, not on the car's.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank F-1315301 from the tn.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual F-1315301, rendered from the PDF the Tennessee Department of Revenue publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below
A mutilated plate rather than a lost one, which is why section C is greyed from end to end - the law enforcement block is required only where a plate has been lost or stolen and reported.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Block A, you and the vehicle
Name, phone, address, then the vehicle identification number, make and year of the car the plate is currently on.
Watch out: The vehicle here is where the plate lives now, not where it lived when it was issued. In Tennessee those are often different cars.
2
You fill this in
Duplicate or replacement
Two boxes at the head of block B, and they are different transactions.
Watch out: A duplicate reproduces a plate you still hold; a replacement issues one for a plate that has gone or is no longer legible. Tick the one that describes what is actually in your hand.
3
You fill this in
Lost, stolen or mutilated
The Please Select row, and it decides whether section C applies.
Watch out: Mutilated covers a plate that has corroded, faded or bent past legibility. It is the option that keeps you out of the law-enforcement block.
4
You fill this in
The plate number and class code
Plate format and number, then the class code and issue year, both from the registration.
Watch out: The class code says what kind of plate it was - passenger, motorcycle, a specialty design - and it decides what you are issued in its place.
5
You fill this in
Section C, only if it was lost or stolen
Agency name, officer's name and the date the loss or theft was reported.
Watch out: Report it before you fill this in, not afterwards. The block asks for a date reported, which means a report that already exists.
6
You fill this in
Sign, and take it to the clerk
Block D under the penalties-of-perjury line, then the form and $10 to your local county clerk's office.
Watch out: Unlike the cancellation form, this one is a counter transaction. The clerk hands the new plate over, so go in person if you want it the same day.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
A. Applicant and vehicle information
Name, phone, street address, city, state and ZIP; then vehicle identification number, make and year.
B. Plate and decal information
Duplicate plate or replacement plate, then a Please Select row with three options - lost, stolen, mutilated - followed by the plate format and number and the class code and issue year. Underneath, a separate replacement decal box with a decal number line.
C. Law enforcement information
A certification that the plate has been lost or stolen and that the loss or theft has been reported, with the agency name, the officer's name and the date reported.
D. Applicant certification
Under penalties of perjury, a signature and a date.
What gets this one rejected
•Section C completed for a mutilated plate, or left empty for a lost or stolen one. The instruction line says section C is only required for lost or stolen license plates.
•No plate number. The class code and issue year go with it, and both are on the registration.
•A plate that should be cancelled rather than replaced. If it went with a car you sold, the form is the cancellation, not this one.
•Neither duplicate nor replacement ticked. They are different transactions and the boxes are not interchangeable.
•Sending it to Nashville. This one goes to your local county clerk, unlike the cancellation form.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•Ten dollars, plus county fees. The instruction line prices the replacement plate at $10.00 and says additional county fees may apply.
•Defaced counts. The statute the form cites covers a plate that becomes defaced or mutilated such that it no longer meets the requirements of Tennessee law, as well as one lost or stolen.
Every line here was read off F-1315301 (Rev 4-23) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Tennessee Department of Revenue pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
