A_P_E_R_S_O_N
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Tennessee
I want to know if it's legal for a parent to stop their child from getting a driver's license entirely in Tennessee if the other parent is okay with it.
Is it legal for a parent to restrict their child from getting a license if the other parent is ok?
- Thread Starter A_P_E_R_S_O_N
- Start date
Zigner
Well-Known Member
Sure it is. But one parent can authorize the child to get the license even if the other parent doesn't agree.
Zigner
Well-Known Member
To be clear, one parent can forbid their child to get one, while the other signs the affidavit for the DMV. The DMV will issue the license based on that, but the other parent can still prohibit the child from driving.
zddoodah
Well-Known Member
You haven't provided nearly enough information to permit an intelligent response to this question.
Are the parents in question married and living together? Divorced? Never married? If never married, was the father's paternity established, and is there a custody order? If they're divorced or were never married but a custody order is in place, who has legal custody over the child? How old is the child? What discussions have the parents had about the subject? What does "getting a driver's license entirely in Tennessee" mean?
There may be other questions, but let's start with those.
Zigner
Well-Known Member
I am going to disagree on this. TN allows a minor to get a driver's license if a "parent" (without further explanation) signs the required affidavit (https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/safety/documents/minor.pdf). There are no questions about marital status or custody arrangements. I will admit that I haven't dug deeper to find out if "parent" is specifically defined as "legal parent" vs. "biological parent" as it relates to this code section, and it may be.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-312
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
How is the parent stopping the child from getting the license? That matters since there are all kinds of ways a parent might do that, some legal and some not. Tennessee only requires, however, that one parent execute the affidavit of responsibility for the minor, which may be a parent, step-parent living with the child, or a grandparent (with the consent of a parent). See Minor/Teenage Affidavit & Proof of School Attendance
There is no requirement that a parent agree to sign on to having their kid get a license, and that parent may refuse to let the child drive while in his/her custody. If the parents are divorced, then the other parent could help the kid get a license and let the kid drive when he/she has the kid unless there is a court order saying otherwise.
army judge
Super Moderator
As a minor, no court recognizes your personhood
Minors are legal incompetents in the eyes of our law
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
Maybe that is true in the ROT (Republic of Texas) but it is not true in my state nor in the OP's state of Tennessee. In both those states, a minor is specifically defined as a person who has not yet reached age 18. As a Tennessee court states: "Throughout the Tennessee Code, with only two exceptions, we have found that 'minor' means any person who has not attained the age of 18 years." Scott v. Scott, No. 03A01-9708-CH-00305, 1999 WL 39506, at *2 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 29, 1999). So Tennessee law, and thus the courts, do recognize minors as persons.
However, that said, I agree that in general, minors do not have the full rights of adults and thus:
A_P_E_R_S_O_N
New Member
Ok thanks that makes sense
A_P_E_R_S_O_N
New Member
Perfect, this was exactly what I was looking for
Ask a Question
Share this page
