What types of gaming events are 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organizations allowed to hold?
Raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks, cake wheels, and bingo.
Raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks, cake wheels, and bingo.
You can file form SS-4800 to change the mailing address by mail or in person. A change in Registered Agent or principal address requires filing Articles of Amendment and paying the statutory $20 filing fee. Forms can be found on our the Forms & Fees page for mail and in person filings.
Yes. The individuals who are not allowed to purchase tickets include:
An organization that fails to submit the report by 90 days will be responsible for a $10.00 per month late fee. If a report is not filed at all, action may be taken against the organization. Failure to timely file in 2 of 3 consecutive gaming event periods could result in disqualification from conducting future events.
Yes. A financial report is due 90 days after the annual event date stated in your application. If gross revenue from an event exceeds $75,000 an audited financial statement is also required. Also, organizations must return at least 25% of its gross proceeds of the event back to its stated charitable purpose or program.
No. The law only allows qualified 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) organizations to hold gaming events. Political candidates and campaigns for public office are not considered 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) tax exempt organizations.
Please contact the district attorney for the county in which you believe the game of chance is taking place or contact Charitable Solicitations at (615) 741-2555 and the Division will notify the appropriate authorities.
No. If someone is required to pay for a chance to win a prize, it is considered a raffle. Only qualified and approved 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) organizations may hold a raffle. It does not matter that the payment is called a “donation.”
Organizations with an approved gaming event can begin selling tickets 120 days before the event.
Poker games and/or tournaments, pull-tabs, punchboards, video lottery games, instant and online lottery games, keno, and games of chance associated with casinos including, but not limited to slot machines, roulette wheels, and the like. Events such as bingo or “casino nights” that are purely recreational in nature and in which participants are not required to pay to participate with the promise of a prize, jackpot, or “winner-takes-all” would not fall into this category.
Yes, however each participating organization must file an application and each pay the required fee. All applicants must qualify. If one organization fails to qualify, then participants will be rejected.
The nonprofit must file a notice with the Division stating the reason less than 25% was returned to its charitable purpose or program. If this happens in two (2) consecutive years, the nonprofit will be disqualified from applying or holding future gaming events for a period of five (5) years.
The Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming maintains a list of approved events on its website at Gaming Events.
Raffles and games of chance are considered gambling, which is prohibited in Tennessee. However, certain charitable organizations are allowed to apply to have one raffle, reverse raffle, cakewalk or cakewheel each year if that event is conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Tennessee Charitable Gaming Implementation Law.
An Administrative dissolution occurs for the following reasons:
A certificate of existence is a document issued by our office that certifies that an entity is active and in good standing.
An assumed name is a name other than the true entity name under which it conducts business. Tennessee does not recognize 'DBAs' (doing business as) or fictitious names. The assumed name is good for 5 years and can be renewed.
A business entity that has failed to file its annual report on a timely basis may be administratively dissolved and placed in inactive status. The filing history of every business is shown in the Business Information Search. Click on “filing history” for details on your business.
No. An event is considered a raffle if someone must pay for a chance to win a prize and would be a violation of law. It does not matter that the payment is called a “donation.”
A qualified 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organization is a group that has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for at least five years as a tax-exempt organization and which has been in continuous and active existence in the State of Tennessee. 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) tax-exempt status can only be granted by the IRS. To learn more about the application process for tax-exempt status, please visit the IRS's web page for Charities & Nonprofits.
A registered agent is a person or company who agrees to accept legal mail on behalf of your entity. Tennessee requires that all entities (except General Partnerships (GP) to maintain a registered agent/office in the State of Tennessee at all times.
Tax clearances are required to obtain a certificate of existence, to reinstate, and to terminate, cancel or withdraw an entity from Tennessee.
We index information in the UCC system based upon the name of the debtor.
The required indebtedness language is “Maximum principal indebtedness for Tennessee recording tax purposes is $____________________________.” Tennessee law imposes a recording tax on any instrument evidencing indebtedness, including, but not limited to, mortgages, deeds of trust, conditional sales contracts, and financing statements.
The “indebtedness” is the principal debt or obligation which is reasonably contemplated by the parties to be included within the terms of the agreement. "Indebtedness" does not include any amount of interest, collection expense including, but not limited to, attorney's fees and expenses incurred in preserving, protecting, improving, or insuring property which serves as collateral for the indebtedness, or any other amount, other than the principal debt or obligation, for which a debtor becomes liable unless such amount is added to the principal debt or obligation, and is used to calculate additional interest pursuant to refinancing, reamortization, amendment or similar transaction or occurrence.
Request a search by filing an Information Request (UCC11). The fee for a copy search is $15.00 for each filing plus $1.00 per page.
Our online search (https://TNBEAR.TN.gov/UCC) displays summary information about a financing statement (debtors, secured parties, dates). Information Requests (UCC11) can now be submitted online and as soon as payment is complete, you are able to retrieve a .pdf file of the images.
Please note that a financing statement fling will not appear in a UCC11’s search results until the processed-through date in the office has passed the online filed date and time. The processed-through date appears in red at the top of the UCC Online Services page
Currently, credit cards, debit cards, and e-check payments are available for web filed documents. File online at https://TNBEAR.TN.gov/UCC
We do not accept faxed or emailed filings. However, you may file online at https://TNBEAR.TN.gov/UCC.
UCC forms are available online on our Business Forms & Fee page.
Use the online UCC search tool or file a UCC11 Information Request.
T.C.A. § 47-9-516(b) provides a list of rejection reasons. The following are some examples:
Please be sure that any filing not submitted on a Secretary of State form (especially search requests) includes all of the required information. Our forms contain all of the required information.
A UCC financing statement is effective for a period of five (5) years. A financing statement lapses or terminates at the end of the five-year period. A continuation statement can be filed to extend the lapse date if it is filed within six (6) months before the security interest expires. An initial financing statement filed in connection with a public-finance transaction or manufactured-home transaction is effective for a period of thirty (30) years after the date of filing if it indicates that it is filed in connection with a public-finance transaction or manufactured-home transaction. If a debtor is a transmitting utility and a filed initial financing statement so indicates, the financing statement is effective until a termination statement is filed.
A UCC financing statement is valid until it lapses.
If the recording tax on the stated indebtedness has been paid at the county level, the following are required:
Make sure any receipt that you provide is readable. If you request an exemption from the indebtedness tax, you MUST request it in writing with an explanation for the request.
A recording tax of eleven and one-half (11.5¢) cents for each one hundred ($100) dollars of indebtedness is due on any financing statement or amendment to a financing statement. You must state the “maximum principal indebtedness for Tennessee recording tax purposes” on either the face of the instrument or on an attached sworn statement “ The first two thousand ($2,000) dollars of total indebtedness is exempt from the recording tax; however, the exemption can only be taken once in relation to a financing statement. This tax is often referred to as the indebtedness tax.
The filing fee is fifteen dollars ($15.00) per debtor. When there are multiple debtors listed on a single financing statement, a fifteen dollar ($15.00) fee is required for each debtor. If multiple statements are filed, be sure to include the fifteen dollars ($15.00) fee for each debtor. Each different address listed for a debtor is considered a separate debtor for filing fee purposes.
The UCC Section provides public notice that a security agreement (the document that grants the security interest) exists between a specific debtor and creditor (called a secured party) and describes the collateral involved. The Secretary of State’s office is the central filing office for certain financing statements and other lien documents provided for in the Uniform Commercial Code. Filing a financing statement with our office allows a creditor to perfect a security interest in the collateral and establish priority in case of debtor default or bankruptcy. Documents filed include initial financing statements, amendments, assignments, and other UCC filings authorized by Tennessee statutes.
A UCC-1 is a “financing statement” filed to provide notice that a creditor has a security interest in a debtor’s personal property. It is not an agreement. It is just notice to the world that one person claims an interest in someone else's property, usually as collateral for a debt.
UCC stands for Uniform Commercial Code. It is a uniform law that governs commercial transactions, including sales of goods, secured transactions and negotiable instruments. It is a comprehensive set of statutes created to provide consistency among the states. It is called a uniform law because the same law exists in many states.