TCA 55-8-113
Display or sale of unauthorized signs, signals or markings
MISDEMEANOR CClass C Misdemeanor
Sentence enhancement may apply
What does this charge mean?
Display or sale of unauthorized signs, signals or markings — Class C misdemeanor. Up to 30 days in jail and $50 fine. Penalty may be enhanced for prior offenses or aggravating factors.
Penalty Details
ClassificationClass C Misdemeanor
Maximum Jail30 days
Maximum Fine$50
Penalty SummaryClass C misdemeanor; 30 days; fine up to $50
(a) No person shall place, maintain or display upon or in view of any highway any unauthorized sign, signal, marking or device that purports to be or is an imitation of or resembles an official traffic control device or railroad sign or signal, or that attempts to direct the movement of traffic, or that hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of any official traffic control device or any railroad sign or signal. (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Railroad: means a carrier of persons or property upon cars, other than streetcars, operated upon stationary rails. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Railroad sign or signal: means any sign, signal or device erected by authority of a public body or official or by a railroad and intended to give notice of the presence of railroad tracks or the approach of a railroad train. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Street: means the entire width between boundary lines of every way when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101(b) No person shall sell or offer for sale any traffic control signal or device for use on any street, road, or highway in this state unless the device conforms to the requirements of this chapter. (c) No person shall place or maintain nor shall any public authority permit upon any highway any traffic sign or signal bearing any commercial advertising. (d) This section shall not be deemed to prohibit the erection upon private property adjacent to highways of signs giving useful directional information and of a type that cannot be mistaken for official signs. (e) Every prohibited sign, signal or marking is declared to be a public nuisance and the authority having jurisdiction over the highway is empowered to remove the sign, signal or marking or cause it to be removed without notice. (f) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
View on official sourceLast verified: Feb 25, 2026
Quick Facts
MISDEMEANOR C
TCA Section55-8-113
Max Jail30 days
Max Fine$50