Are Flock Cameras Legal in Tennessee? Yes, within the rules below. Flock’s license plate readers are lawful to operate in every state; the real question — the one this page answers — is what rules Tennessee puts on them: how long your plate data can be kept, who can search it, whether a warrant is needed, and what rights you have to see the record.
The rules exist, they have teeth, and knowing them is the difference between guessing and acting. All details are for general guidance, verified against Tennessee sources as of September 2026.
In This Tennessee Guide:
Are Flock Cameras Legal in Tennessee? The Short Answer
YES — Tennessee is one of the roughly half of states that DOES have an ALPR-specific statute. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-302, “Automated license plate recognition system — Limitation on storage of data,” enacted 2014 (still in the 2024/2025 code). A related 2021 law (the Caitlyn Kaufman Act, adding Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-198(f), passed House April 22, 2021 and Senate April 28, 2021) authorizes but does not require TDOT to permit law enforcement ALPR cameras on state highway right-of-way.
Important limit: the statute governs only data storage and confidentiality — it does NOT regulate who may run a search, does not require a warrant, does not restrict sharing, and does not require audits. On everything except retention and secrecy, local agency policy governs.
Because state law is thin, Tennessee is effectively governed city by city, and 2026 saw the local rules swing hard. Knox County: on August 31, 2026, the County Commission voted unanimously to order removal of all 143 Flock license plate readers within 30 days, passed as an emergency ordinance effective immediately (WATE, WIVK).
This followed Mayor Glenn Jacobs’ August 12, 2026 letter issuing a 30-day cancellation and questioning whether KCSO’s agreement with Flock was even valid, after an hours-long August 24, 2026 workshop revealed KCSO had bought cameras in batches priced just under the 25000 threshold that triggers mayoral review.
Knoxville: city LPRs went dark in February 2026 after a contract lapse; KPD’s chief said on July 30, 2026 that the department has “strict policies” governing ALPR use.
Nashville: the Metro Council approved LPRs in 2022 while expressly disallowing facial recognition; the earlier pilot ended, and citywide rollout remains stalled with no LPR money in the mayor’s budget. Mt. Juliet: runs the long-standing “Guardian Shield” ALPR program with a published policy and public transparency portal — currently the most documented local framework in the state. Maryville/Blount County: active organized opposition (Maryville Residents for Privacy). Roughly 3,355 Flock/ALPR cameras have been reported statewide, ranking Tennessee about 11th nationally.
What Tennessee Law Actually Requires
| Question | Rule in Tennessee |
|---|---|
| ALPR statute | YES — Tennessee is one of the roughly half of states that DOES have an ALPR-specific statute. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-302, “Automated license plate recognition system — Limitation on storage of data,” enacted 2014 (still in the 2024/2025 code). A related 2021 law (the Caitlyn Kaufman Act, adding Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-198(f), passed House April 22, 2021 and Senate April 28, 2021) authorizes but does not require TDOT to permit law enforcement ALPR cameras on state highway right-of-way. Important limit: the statute governs only data storage and confidentiality — it does NOT regulate who may run a search, does not require a warrant, does not restrict sharing, and does not require audits. On everything except retention and secrecy, local agency policy governs. |
| Data retention | 90 days maximum. Under § 55-10-302, captured plate data collected or retained by any governmental entity through an ALPR system may not be stored for more than 90 days, unless it is retained as part of an ongoing investigation. Investigation-retained data must be destroyed at the conclusion of either (1) an investigation that results in no criminal charges, or (2) any criminal action involving the captured plate data. Note the gap drivers should understand: Tennessee’s legal ceiling (90 days) is LONGER than Flock’s own 30-day default deletion setting, and Flock told Fox News in August 2026 that its data is auto-deleted at 30 days by default “unless an agency establishes a different retention period.” So a Tennessee agency may lawfully set retention up to 90 days. “Captured plate data” is statutorily defined to include GPS coordinates, date and time, photograph, and plate number. |
| Who can search | No state-law standard — this is the biggest hole in Tennessee law. § 55-10-302 says nothing about who may query ALPR data or on what showing. There is no Tennessee statutory warrant requirement, no statutory reasonable-suspicion requirement, and no state certification requirement for operators. Access limits come only from each agency’s own written policy (Mt. Juliet’s Guardian Shield policy, for example, requires a documented investigative reason and, where applicable, reasonable suspicion, and requires that any hit be visually confirmed and verified through an authorized database before an officer acts). On the constitutional side, Sixth Circuit precedent — which controls in Tennessee — has held there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a license plate displayed in public, so officers generally do not need a warrant to view or query plate reads (reported by WVLT, August 20, 2026). Whether long-term aggregated ALPR tracking violates the Fourth Amendment remains unsettled and is being actively litigated nationally. |
| Immigration use | NONE. Tennessee has no statute restricting ALPR use for immigration enforcement, and no state-law firewall between ALPR networks and ICE/DHS. Tennessee law runs the other direction on cooperation generally: the state bans local “sanctuary policies,” and HB 2219 (114th General Assembly, introduced February 2, 2026; recommended for passage as amended by House State & Local Government and referred to Finance, Ways & Means on March 31, 2026) would require local entities to comply with a court order concerning an unlawful sanctuary policy within 120 days. Reporting is mixed on actual practice: the Nashville Scene reported ALPR queries in Tennessee tied to immigration enforcement, and EFF (June 2026) documented Flock lookups nationally logged with reasons like “ICE” and “Wanted by DHS,” with more than 4,000 immigration-purpose lookups reported nationally; separately, some Middle Tennessee outlets reported no confirmed evidence of Flock cameras there being used to track immigrants for ICE. Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell cited potential federal misuse when he dropped LPR funding and the FUSUS camera-network push. |
| Data sharing | NONE in state law. Tennessee has no statute limiting whether an agency may share ALPR data with out-of-state agencies, with federal agencies, or through a vendor’s national lookup network. Sharing is set entirely by each agency’s Flock/vendor settings and local policy. This is exactly the issue State Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) raised in July–August 2026, saying Flock operates as “an open system where data can be accessed” and that if the cameras are used in Tennessee, the system “must be closed.” |
| Search audits | NONE required by Tennessee statute. No state law requires search logs, audit trails, annual reporting, or independent review. In practice, audit logs exist because the vendor generates them: some Tennessee agencies publish dashboards with camera counts, search counts, and audit data on Flock’s transparency portal (for example, Mt. Juliet PD at transparency.flocksafety.com/mt-juliet-tn-pd), and third-party sites aggregate audit logs that others have obtained through open-records requests. Because the logs are a policy/vendor artifact rather than a legal mandate, coverage and detail vary widely from agency to agency. |
The retention number is the one to watch. Flock’s national default is 30 days; some states now force shorter windows by statute, and where Tennessee law is silent, the local contract decides. When people ask “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee,” the retention and search rules above are usually what they actually need to know.
Misuse penalties: NONE specific to ALPR. Section 55-10-302 sets storage and confidentiality duties but contains no criminal penalty, no civil fine, and no private right of action for a violation. Misuse would have to be charged under general Tennessee law — for example official misconduct (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-402) or unlawful access to computer data (§ 39-14-602) — or handled as an internal discipline matter, or brought as a federal civil-rights suit.
The exact charge that would apply in any given misuse incident is UNVERIFIED, as no reported Tennessee prosecution of an officer for ALPR misuse was found.
Your Rights: Seeing What Tennessee Has on Your Plate
Knowing whether are flock cameras legal in Tennessee is only half the question — the other half is what you can see about your own plate. Use the Tennessee Public Records Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503 et seq.), filed with the records custodian at the specific city police department or county sheriff’s office that operates the cameras — there is no central state ALPR office.
Expect a partial denial: § 55-10-302 and § 10-7-504(a) make captured plate data confidential and NOT open to public inspection, and Tennessee agencies routinely cite those sections to withhold the plate reads themselves.
What you may be able to get instead is the surrounding material — the agency’s ALPR policy, the Flock contract and purchase records, camera locations, and in some agencies the search/audit log showing what queries were run and the stated reason.
Ask specifically for “ALPR audit logs and search records, including user, date, and stated reason,” rather than for plate data. Requesters must generally be Tennessee citizens, and agencies must respond within 7 business days. If your goal is a defense in a ticket or criminal case, the stronger route is usually discovery through your attorney rather than a TPRA request — check with your court.
A records request is the single most useful lawful move for a driver asking are flock cameras legal in Tennessee: it is free or cheap, it forces the agency to state its rules on paper, and the answers feed every other channel — council testimony, comments on pending bills, or a lawyer if the logs show misuse. If a camera-based citation is the concern, the Flock camera ticket guide for Tennessee covers that side.
The bills and rulings below are what will change the answer to are flock cameras legal in Tennessee next — each item is dated, and this section is refreshed as they move.
Tennessee ALPR Bills and Rulings in Motion
State level — NONE currently moving. The 114th Tennessee General Assembly (2025–2026) adjourned sine die without passing ALPR restrictions, and Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) said in August 2026 that the General Assembly will take up LPR regulation in the 2027 session convening in January; specific state bill numbers do not yet exist and are UNVERIFIED.
Federal, filed by a Tennessee member — Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) introduced the Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act in July 2026, which would bar federal agencies from purchasing, deploying, operating, or accessing automated surveillance systems that identify, track, or record individuals, including Flock cameras (WATE, July 2026); Flock Safety publicly responded to the bill (NewsChannel 9).
A separate federal PRIVACY Act would require federal law enforcement to get a warrant before querying covered surveillance data collected by state and local systems, including ALPRs (Washington Times, August 20, 2026; Daily Caller, August 27, 2026). No federal bill has passed.
Where communities have pushed back, it shows up here: cancellations, lawsuits, and documented cases — the practical backdrop to are flock cameras legal in Tennessee, reported as cases and charges only.
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The Backlash in Tennessee: Cancellations, Lawsuits & Cases
February 2026 — Knoxville’s city license plate readers went dark after the contract lapsed (Hoodline). July 14–22, 2026 — four Flock cameras were shot and damaged, three in Blount County and one in Maryville; Blount County Sheriff’s Office announced felony vandalism charges on July 31, 2026 against Adam Lee Heimerman, 37, a candidate for Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District, who was held on 40000 bond pending court appearance (NBC News, The Register, Hoodline).
Charges were pending as of reporting; no conviction has been reported and he remained on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot.
July 28, 2026 — Knox County Commission voted unanimously to continue review of the sheriff’s proposed rollout of nearly 300 cameras; KCSO paused new installations (WVLT, WBIR). August 12, 2026 — Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs issued a 30-day cancellation of the county’s Flock agreement and asked the Commission to ban ALPRs until state or federal rules exist (WATE, WVLT).
August 24, 2026 — public workshop disclosed the sub-25000 batch purchasing that avoided mayoral review; no vote taken (WVLT). August 31, 2026 — Knox County Commission voted unanimously to remove all 143 Flock cameras within 30 days (WATE, WIVK). Knox County Mayor-elect Betsy Henderson publicly backed removal in August 2026.
Nationally for context, NPR reported in February 2026 on cities canceling Flock contracts, and reporting counted more than 20 cancellations in July 2026 alone and over 50 for the year, with Knoxville among the localities listed. No Tennessee civil lawsuit over ALPR data has been verified.
What Flock and Other Vendors Are Saying
August 1–3, 2026 — a Flock Safety spokesman told the Tennessee Star the company is ready to work with Knox County officials and Tennessee lawmakers on privacy safeguards for the cameras. August 2026 — in a statement to Fox News, Flock said data it collects is automatically deleted after 30 days by default unless an agency sets a different retention period. July 2026 — Flock Safety publicly responded to Rep.
Tim Burchett’s federal surveillance bill (NewsChannel 9). August 2026 — Flock did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment on Mayor Jacobs’ August 12 letter challenging the KCSO contract’s validity. Flock has separately published a company blog post addressing whether it shares data with ICE. No Axon or Motorola Solutions statement specific to Tennessee was verified.
Key Takeaways: Are Flock Cameras Legal in Tennessee
- Start with the statute question: the honest answer to “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee” begins with whether Tennessee has any ALPR law at all — and where it does not, vendor defaults and local contracts are the only rules.
- Retention is the number that matters: when drivers ask “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee”, what they usually need is how long a plate read is kept and who can search it, both covered in the table above.
- Your city may answer differently than your state: because local policy fills the gap, “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee” can have one answer in one town and another across the line.
- A records request is the lawful lever: for anyone asking “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee”, the search logs and the written policy are obtainable under the public-records law, and they are what changes council votes.
- Bills move monthly: the dated sections above are refreshed because the answer to “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee” is being rewritten in real time by legislation and court rulings.
- Cancellations are facts, not rumors: the backlash section records which Tennessee communities have ended contracts and why — the practical backdrop to “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee”.
- Damaging a camera is a crime: the lawful channels are the ones that work, and the cases above show the charges that follow the other route.
- Check the date on everything: including this page — the verification date is printed above, because “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee” is a moving answer.
- Vendor statements are not law: a company’s retention promise can change by press release; “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee” is answered by statute and contract, which is why both are quoted above.
- Sharing is the quiet issue: a plate read in Tennessee can be searchable by agencies elsewhere by default, and “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee” includes whether the local contract turned that off.
Bottom line on are flock cameras legal in Tennessee: confirm the current rule at the official sources below, keep every notice and envelope, and treat the dated sections of this page as the record of what changed and when.
Tennessee FAQ: Are Flock Cameras Legal in Tennessee
Can I find out if police searched my plate in Tennessee?
Often, yes. ALPR search logs are records, and public-records laws reach many of them — the request path in the rights section above is the route. Some state statutes require agencies to keep audit logs precisely so this question is answerable. Expect exemptions for active investigations, but the policy, the retention schedule, and aggregate search data are routinely producible.
Do Flock cameras use facial recognition?
No — the cameras photograph vehicles and plates, not faces, and the company states the system does not identify drivers or passengers. The privacy concern is different and real: a network of timestamped plate captures builds a movement history of your vehicle, which is why retention limits and search rules are where every serious legal fight is happening.
Is it illegal to block or damage a Flock camera in Tennessee?
Damaging one is criminal property destruction — and prosecutions are real: vandalism cases around the country in 2026 have drawn felony charges, including over a police decoy camera. Blocking or obscuring one on public land can also draw obstruction or tampering charges depending on state law. The lawful channels — records requests, council testimony, pending bills — are covered above, and they are the ones actually cancelling contracts.
Why the Answer to “Are Flock Cameras Legal in Tennessee?” Keeps Changing
ALPR law is the rare corner of traffic law being written in real time. The cameras spread faster than legislatures could react, so the first rules were whatever the vendor’s defaults and each city’s contract said. Now the statutes are arriving — retention caps, search standards, immigration-use bans, audit duties — and every session moves the line somewhere. A page that answered “are flock cameras legal in Tennessee” correctly last year can be wrong this year.
The fights driving it are concrete: officers caught running personal searches, federal agencies reaching into local data, cities discovering their contracts allowed sharing they never intended. Each scandal produces a bill; each bill resets the rules. That is why the dated sections on this page exist and get refreshed — the statute table is the stable part, and everything else is a moving front.
For a driver, the takeaway is to check the date on anything you read about are flock cameras legal in Tennessee — including this page, which is why its verification date is printed above — and to anchor on the statute citations, which are the one part of this fight that is always checkable at the source.
Official Tennessee Sources & Resources
- Tennessee Legislature: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx
- Tennessee DMV: https://www.tn.gov/safety
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: nhtsa.gov
- Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex
Statute reference: Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-302 (2014) — Automated license plate recognition system; limitation on storage of data. Related: Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-198(f) (2021, TDOT right-of-way permitting) and Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(a) (confidentiality/public-records exemption for captured plate data).
Other Tennessee rules to know: (1) Tennessee’s confidentiality rule cuts both ways for drivers — it keeps your plate reads out of a nosy neighbor’s records request, but it also blocks you from obtaining your own plate data through the Tennessee Public Records Act. (2) The 2021 highway-camera law was named for Caitlyn Kaufman, a nurse fatally shot on Interstate 440 in Nashville; the authorizing framework expressly contemplates ALPR use for criminal investigations and missing/endangered-person searches, and TDOT-permitted right-of-way ALPRs are not to be used for traffic enforcement.
So in Tennessee an ALPR read by itself is generally not the basis for a speeding citation — speed enforcement runs on separate statutes. (3) Sixth Circuit precedent controlling in Tennessee means no warrant is required to query plate reads, which is why the entire 2026 fight has played out in county commissions rather than in court.
(4) TDOT permitting is discretionary — an agency needs TDOT’s approval for cameras on state right-of-way, which is a practical check that does not exist for cameras on city streets or private property. (5) Because Knox County’s removal ordinance is local and emergency-passed, it binds only Knox County; cameras in neighboring jurisdictions still operate and may still capture Knox County drivers.
If ALPR evidence appears in your case, many drivers can challenge whether the read was retained beyond the 90-day limit or destroyed as required — check with your court and your attorney.
This guide to are flock cameras legal in Tennessee was last verified against official sources in September 2026. ALPR law is the fastest-moving area of traffic law — the dated sections above are refreshed as developments land.
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