Pawn Software Built for Tennessee's 2% + 20% Rules

Tennessee pawn law, set by the 1988 Pawnbrokers Act (TCA Title 45, Chapter 6), lets a pawnbroker charge 2% interest plus a separate 20% service fee per month — a combined 22% monthly charge — on a loan with a 30-day minimum maturity, while requiring transaction records to reach law enforcement within 48 hours and capturing 19 distinct elements per transaction. Knox County (Knoxville) and Shelby County (Memphis) additionally require a thumbprint under the 1994 fingerprint pilot. PawnSmarts ships with all of that already built in, so a clerk in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville or Chattanooga just enters the loan and the software handles the math and the deadlines.

Tennessee's 2% interest + 20% service fee

Under the Tennessee Pawnbrokers Act of 1988 (TCA Title 45, Chapter 6, §45-6-201 et seq.), the charge on a pawn is additive, not either/or. A pawnbroker may charge 2% interest per month on the principal plus a 20% service fee — one-fifth of the amount financed — each month. The service fee covers title investigation, storage, insurance, application processing and the daily police reporting the state requires. These are two distinct charges that must be tracked and disclosed separately.

That trips up generic pawn programs, which offer a single "monthly charge" field. PawnSmarts keeps them apart. Enter the principal once and both amounts populate every month, separated on the ticket and the receipt exactly the way Tennessee law expects.

30-day maturity and redemption

The Act sets a 30-day minimum maturity on a Tennessee pawn. PawnSmarts calculates the maturity date the moment you write the ticket and tracks each loan through renewal, redemption and forfeiture. On Professional, the pledgor gets three automatic SMS and email reminders before the loan comes due, each with a secure payment link — so more loans get redeemed and fewer items are forfeited.

The 48-hour police reporting deadline

Tennessee requires pawnbrokers to deliver transaction records to law enforcement within 48 hours of the transaction — not "next business day," not "weekly," and the clock runs through weekends. Miss it and you are exposed to a violation.

PawnSmarts runs the 48-hour countdown automatically. It flags any transaction approaching its deadline, generates the report daily, and exports in the required format. The same export feeds LEADS Online and other electronic reporting systems, so your police reports go out on time without anyone doing the arithmetic.

19-element transaction records

Tennessee's recordkeeping standard (§45-6-209) requires nineteen elements on every pawn transaction. PawnSmarts gives each one a dedicated field so nothing is left to a clerk's memory:

• Consecutive transaction numbering (pawn and buy-sell numbered independently — no gaps, no duplicates)
• Pledgor name, address and date of birth, captured by scanning the license
• Physical description (height, weight, sex, race)
• Property description including make, model and serial number
• Amount advanced and maturity date
• The monthly charges, broken out as 2% interest and 20% service fee

Knox and Shelby County thumbprints

Tennessee's 1994 fingerprint pilot project designated Knox County (Knoxville) and Shelby County (Memphis) as thumbprint counties. The right thumb is required — a clear impression with no smears. If the right thumb isn't usable, the left thumb or another finger may be used and is identified on the ticket. Prints carry a five-year retention period, and firearm transactions get privacy protection: the pledgor's name, address and ID numbers are excluded from the police report.

PawnSmarts supports USB fingerprint capture in both counties. One click captures the print inside the transaction screen and associates it with the record, the five-year retention is tracked for you, and a firearm-privacy toggle automatically excludes the protected fields from exports when it applies.

Licensing, net assets and bonding

Tennessee licenses pawnbrokers at the state level. The Act sets a net-assets requirement (§45-6-206) of $75,000 for a license. Notably, Tennessee has no statewide bond requirement — the 2012 SB2811/HB2608 bill that proposed a $100,000 bond was introduced and then withdrawn, so unlike some states there is no surety bond to maintain. Always confirm current licensing details with the state before you open or renew; see our US state licensing guide for the broader picture.

What PawnSmarts does for a Tennessee shop

• Splits 2% interest and 20% service fee on every loan, separated on the ticket and receipt
• Calculates the 30-day maturity date and tracks renewals, redemptions and forfeitures
• Runs the 48-hour reporting countdown and flags transactions before they lapse
• Exports to LEADS Online and other electronic police-reporting systems
• Captures Knox/Shelby thumbprints with five-year retention and firearm-privacy handling
• Holds all 19 record elements in dedicated fields with consecutive numbering
• Scans the pledgor's license to auto-fill name, address, DOB and ID number
• Works offline and auto-syncs when you reconnect — the front counter never stops
• Runs on Windows, Mac, iPad, Android or any phone in a browser

Pricing and switching

PawnSmarts is $89/month for the Essential plan or $129/month for Professional — month to month, cancel anytime, no contract of any kind. Prefer to own it outright? Professional is also a one-time purchase of $2,995. On Professional, pledgors get three reminders before each due date and can pay online, which updates the loan instantly. Moving from another system takes under 24 hours and we migrate your data for you for $395.