All courts, including municipal courts, are required to submit a Court Action Report to the Tennessee Department of Safety. (The report was formerly called the Court Abstract.) This report, along with accident reports, creates a driver's history file at the Department of Safety. Using this information, the state can identify drivers who habitually violate traffic laws or have several traffic accidents. Drivers often receive traffic citations in different jurisdictions, and, without a central repository for traffic violation data and traffic accident data, it would be difficult or impossible to identify poor drivers.

Drivers are assigned “points” for most violations. Higher point values are assigned for more serious offenses. When a driver accumulates a certain number of points in a given period of time, he will receive a warning letter from the Tennessee Department of Safety. The driver may be required to complete a driver improvement program to avoid losing driving privileges. In extreme cases, when a driver continues to accumulate points because of violations or at-fault accidents, the driver may lose driving privileges.

It is important to note that not every motor vehicle or equipment violation results in points on a person's license. While most violations of the Rules of the Road or motor vehicle laws result in the assessment of points, some offenses may result in a conviction in a city or state court, but does not result in points on a license. For example, if a vehicle has window tint that is too dark, that does violate T.C.A. 55-9-107 and that is a Class C Misdemeanor and that conviction would require the payment of fines, costs, and litigation taxes, but the Department of Safety will not assign points on a person's license for that particular violation. For a quick guide of what violations result in points on a person's license, please see the Department of Safety's Schedule of Points website found at: https://www.tn.gov/safety/driver-services/reinstatements-and-moving-violations/reinstatements/values.html.

Reporting deadlines for Court Action Reports

For defendants with a regular driver's license, the Court Action Report must be reported to the Department of Safety within 30 days of final adjudication of the case. T.C.A. § 55-10-306. Typically this is when the defendant is found guilty.

For defendants with a commercial driver's license, the court action report must be submitted within five days of adjudication. T.C.A. § 55-50-409. The report is to be submitted for any finding of guilt or forfeiture. It does not have to be submitted when the case is dismissed or the offender is found “not guilty.”

The clerk should submit the guilty disposition to the Department of Safety within 30 days. This reporting requirement still applies when the court allows additional time for the defendant to pay the fine and costs. If the defendant ultimately does not make payment, the clerk can modify the court action report to indicate that the defendant failed to satisfy the fine and costs.

Again, this 5 day and 30 day reporting requirement is based on the conviction date, not the citation issuance date. If a ticket was issued on January 1, but the case is not heard until March 1, that is fine. The reporting deadline clock does not start until the conviction on the court date of March 1.

However, if a person pays the entire citation prior to the court date, that payment date is considered the conviction/guilty date and that starts the 5 day (CDL drivers) and 30 day (regular drivers) deadline clock. For example, if the citation was issued on Day 1, but court is on Day 30, and the person shows up on Day 15 and pays the entire ticket, then the reporting deadline period starts on Day 15.

The Department of Safety relies on T.C.A. 55-10-207(f) to consider the payment date prior to the court hearing as the conviction date. The statute reads in part, "Prior to the time set for the person to appear in court to answer the charge, the person cited may elect not to contest the charge and may, in lieu of appearance in court, submit the fine and costs to the clerk of the court." T.C.A. 55-10-207(f) (emphasis added). When a person submits to the fine and costs, that constitutes a guilty finding.

All courts are encouraged to submit court action reports electronically. The Department of Safety has created a free online court portal to allow court action reports to be filed directly to the Department, eliminating the requirement for paper forms. This Court Portal was updated in 2025 and can be found at this link. https://dl.safety.tn.gov/CourtPortal/_/.

If a court or new user needs access to the portal, they should contact the Department of Safety at DOSHS_court.reporting@tn.gov. The DOSHS will send the appropriate documentation for the users to sign and the user could subsequently access the portal.

Some third party court software programs will allow the court action reports to be submitted electronically. There are various vendors who can provide this service for a subscription fee.

Lastly, a city court can also report these Court Action Reports to the Department of Safety via regular mail but be advised it could take a week or more for the Department of Safety to process paper records. The mailing address listed on the back of the Court Action Report (as of 2025) is as follows:

Ticket Evaluation Unit
Department of Safety and Homeland Security
PO Box 945
Nashville, TN 37202