For a car whose identity has physically come off it. Two different requests share one sheet: a replacement VIN, where the vehicle already has a number and the plate carrying it has been lost, destroyed, defaced or made illegible; and a TNVIN, a Tennessee-issued number for something homemade, rebuilt or specially constructed that has never had one. Ten dollars, filed at a county clerk, and the paperwork it needs differs by which you tick.
Written against RVR-00115 (Rev 6-20), issued under Tenn. Code Ann. 55-3-116(a).
Do not stamp, re-stamp or move a number yourself while waiting. The whole point of the process is that the Department issues and records the replacement, and a number applied by anybody else is what an anti-theft inspection is looking for.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank RVR-00115 from the tn.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual RVR-00115, 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
The replacement side, ticked and evidenced. The TNVIN column beside it is greyed because it is the opposite case - a vehicle that has never had a number rather than one that has lost the plate carrying it.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Which of the two
Replacement VIN for a vehicle that has a number and has lost the plate. TNVIN for something homemade, rebuilt or specially constructed that never had one.
Watch out: Each box prints its own evidence list beside it. Read both lists before ticking, because the difference is whether a bill of sale will do.
2
You fill this in
Reason for request
One line explaining what happened to the number.
Watch out: Be concrete - a replaced door pillar, a corroded firewall plate, a dash pad changed after an airbag deployment. Vague answers on an anti-theft form generate letters.
3
You fill this in
Block II, who you are
Name, physical address, mailing address, telephone and email.
Watch out: Both addresses. The physical one is where the vehicle can be looked at, and on this form somebody may want to.
4
You fill this in
Block III, the vehicle
The vehicle identification number as the record holds it, year, make, model, and the previous title number and state.
Watch out: On a replacement application the number goes on the form even though it has come off the car - it is on the title, and matching the two is the whole exercise.
5
You fill this in
Sign it and take it to the clerk
Block IV, then the form with $10 and the proof of ownership to your county clerk's office.
Watch out: Send copies, not originals. The instruction is that original paperwork will not be returned, and a surrendered title you still need is an expensive way to learn that.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
I. Make selection
Two boxes side by side, each printing its own document list. TNVIN wants the completed form and proof of ownership - a copy of a title or a bill of sale. Replacement VIN wants the completed form and proof of ownership by copy of title.
Reason for request
A single wide line under the two boxes.
II. Requesting party information
Applicant or owner's name, physical address with city, state and ZIP, a mailing address with its own set, telephone and email.
III. Vehicle information
Vehicle identification number, year, make, model, and the previous title number with its state.
IV. Applicant certification statement
The true-and-correct statement, then the applicant's signature and a date.
What gets this one rejected
•Both boxes ticked. They are different applications with different evidence and different outcomes.
•A replacement VIN with a bill of sale instead of a title. The replacement column asks specifically for a copy of the title; only the TNVIN column accepts a bill of sale.
•A blank reason line. It is the only place on the form to say what happened to the number, and it is what the anti-theft unit reads.
•Sending originals you want back. The instruction says original paperwork will not be returned.
•Assuming a TNVIN is a formality. The form warns that an applicant may be contacted to provide additional documentation, and these go to the anti-theft unit.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•Ten dollars per completed form. The instruction line prices it that way and sends the application, with payment, to the local county clerk's office.
•It comes before the title, not after. A vehicle whose identifying number cannot be read is a vehicle nothing else can be filed against. Certification of ownership, a bond, even a duplicate - all of them need a number that matches the record.
Every line here was read off RVR-00115 (Rev 6-20) 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.
