If the Secretary of State is notified of an unapproved event, the Division will notify the local district attorney general. Conducting an unapproved game of chance may be a violation of the criminal gaming statute, and local law enforcement has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute the individuals responsible for the event.

Yes. The individuals who are not allowed to purchase tickets include:

• Any member of the board of directors of a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organization authorized by the general assembly to operate an annual event for such organization.
• Any officer or employee of a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organization authorized by the general assembly to operate an annual event for such organization.
• Any immediate family member residing in the same household as the board of directors or an officer/employee of the organization. (The Charitable Gaming Law defines immediate family as spouse, child, step-child, brother, sister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, parent or grandparent)
• Any member of the general assembly during such member's term of office as a member of the general assembly.
• The Secretary of State or any employee of the Secretary during the Secretary's term of office and such employee's term of employment with the Secretary.
• Any vendors including employees, agents, or subcontractors (also includes immediate family members of the same household) who provide printing services, telephone services, and any records, devices, or other gaming-related supplies and those who provide prizes for the authorized annual gaming event.

A raffle is a game of chance in which a participant is required to purchase a ticket for a chance to win a prize, with the winner to be determined by random drawing.

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 State of Tennessee only offers notaries and remote online notaries.

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.

Organizations with an approved gaming event can begin selling tickets 120 days before the event.

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.”

Yes, each vendor that you are utilizing their software to remotely notarize documents should be listed in your dashboard under your vendor technologies.  You have the option to add new vendor technologies in your dashboard for free.  The same documents are required to be uploaded.

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.

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.

In April of 2018, the Tennessee Legislature passed Senate Bill 1758 known as the “Online Notary Public Act”. This Act went in effect as of July 1, 2019. The Act defines “Online Notarization” as “a notarial act performed by means of two-way video and audio conference technology…”. This means that the notary and the principal whose signature is notarized are not in the same place but interact remotely over the internet. All regular notary rules apply to these transactions including the requirement for the notary to confirm the identity and state of mind of the principal, the voluntary nature of the act and the legality of the document. This will require online notaries to have access to significant technological resources via a contract with a third-party online notary vendor. This Act authorizes Tennessee notaries to perform remote online notarizations after the completion of an application and approval from the Tennessee Secretary of State.  The steps which must be taken for a notary to perform online notarizations can be found in the  Online Notary Public Guide.

The third-party vendor you have chosen should provide you with the certificate.

The portion of a notarized electronic document that is completed by the notary public, bears the notary public's electronic signature and official electronic seal, official title, commission expiration date, any required information concerning the date and place of the electronic notarization, and states the facts attested to or certified by the notary public in a particular electronic notarization.

The application fee is $75.  

Tennessee Rule 1360-07-03-.03 states

1. The records shall be retained in a safe and secure manner, for five years following the date of the notarization.
2. A backup of the electronic records shall also be maintained for five years following the date of the notarization.
3. A notary can elect to store such recordings with a custodian, or a repository and such recordings may be stored separately from the journal if it is cross-referencing the place of storage and how the record is stored.
4. The original records and backup shall be protected from unauthorized use.

1. The name of your vendor and a description of the technologies it uses to provide the services listed in the Tennessee Rules [1360-07-03-.02(h), (i), (l ), (m), (n)]
2. An explanation of the method or technology you will use to maintain an electronic notary journal as required by the Rules;[1360-07-03-.03(12)]
3. A copy of your unique electronic seal; [1360-07-03-.03(k)]
4. A copy of your unique electronic notarial certificate or other technology for rendering a notarized electronic document tamper-evident;[1360-07-03-.04(13)]
5. A copy of the instructions or techniques supplied by the vendor that allows the online notary public's electronic notarial certificate to be read and authenticated;[1360-07-03-.04(8)]
6. A copy of the instructions or techniques supplied by the vendor that allow the online notary public to conduct identity proofing and credential analysis. [1360-07-03-.02(m)]

No, the Tennessee Secretary of State does not recommend nor endorse any third-party vendors.  Whatever platform you choose should provide identity proofing, credential analysis, and storage for your video recordings of notarial acts.  It should also be capable of attaching your electronic seal, electronic signature, and electronic notarial certificate to an electronic document.

A Notary is considered a public official and may be removed from office just as any other official. Complaints concerning official misconduct should be directed to local Law Enforcement in the county in which the Notary is elected or in which the alleged misconduct occurred.

With regard to criminal conduct of a notary, Attorney General Opinion No. 07-157 states:

"Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-7-103, the District Attorney General has the duty of prosecuting all violations of state criminal statutes which occur in his or her district. This duty includes prosecutions of criminal acts committed by notaries. A citizen who wishes to file a criminal complaint against a notary public may do so by contacting the District Attorney General of the judicial district in which the alleged criminal conduct occurred and proceeding through the complaint process."

Additionally, as explained in the above opinion of the Attorney General, a notary may be removed from office through the ouster proceedings set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-17-101.

A directory of District Attorneys can be found at Tennessee District Attorneys General Directory.

A fee can be required not to exceed $25 for each online notarization per Tennessee Rule 1360-07-03-.03.

In e-notarization, the notarization uses digital signatures but must occur in the physical presence of the notary, similarly to a traditional/pen and paper notarization.  In remote notarization, the person is not in the physical presence of the notary but is present through audio and visual equipment such as a webcam.

Only a qualified 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organization that has submitted an application to the Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming and that has been approved by the Tennessee General Assembly can hold a raffle.

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.

No. Only qualified 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organizations that have applied and been approved are allowed to hold a raffle. Holding a raffle would be a violation of law and subject to criminal prosecution.

Charitable Solicitations and Gaming Rules

The Secretary of State’s Absentee By-Mail Ballot Status Tracker tool allows voters to track the status of their absentee by-mail ballot.

You must mail your ballot in time for your county election commission to receive it no later than the close of polls on Election Day.

You must return your ballot by mail (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.). Hand delivery or handing it to a poll worker during early voting or on Election Day is not permitted.

Learn more about voting absentee by-mail.

Find your early voting and Election Day polling place and hours in the GoVoteTN app.

Tennesseans voting early or on Election Day must bring valid photo identification with them to the polls. A driver's license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, by Tennessee state government or by the federal government are acceptable even if they are expired. College student IDs are not acceptable.

Learn more about what types of ID are acceptable here or call the Division of Elections at 1-877-850-4959.

Yes.  If you cannot afford a copy of the documents required to obtain a free photo ID, you may sign a form stating under oath that you are indigent and have been unable to obtain an acceptable photo ID for voting without paying a fee.

No.  If you already have a valid government-issued photo ID for voting purposes, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security will not issue a free photo ID to you.

No, but if you do not have another form of valid photo ID, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security will reissue your license with your photo for free upon request.

You will need:

• Proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate), and
• Two proofs of Tennessee residency (such as a voter registration card, a utility bill, vehicle registration or title, or bank statement).
• If your name differs from that on your primary ID, proof of the changed name (such as a certified marriage certificate, divorce decree, court order, etc.)

Learn more about the required documents at the Department of Safety and Homeland Security's Voter Photo ID page.

Visit the Department of Safety and Homeland Security's Driver Service Center Locations page for information about locations and hours, closure advisories, and self-service kiosks and online renewal.

You may obtain a free photo ID to vote from the Department of Safety and Homeland Security at any participating driver service center across the state. You may use the “express service” line at the driver service center to obtain your photo ID to minimize wait times. Visit the Department of Safety and Homeland Security's Voter Photo ID page for more information.

If you don’t bring a photo ID, you will vote a provisional ballot. You will then have two (2) business days after Election Day to return to the election commission office to show a valid photo ID. Upon returning to the election commission office, the voter will sign an affidavit and a copy of the voter’s photo ID will be made to be reviewed by the counting board.

If you are unsure or have questions about your photo ID, contact your county election commission or the Division of Elections at 1-877-850-4959.

Yes, as long as it was validly issued by the federal or Tennessee state government and contains the name and photograph of the voter.

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.”

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.

The Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming maintains a list of approved events on its website at Gaming Events.

Raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks, cake wheels, and bingo.

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.

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.

In accordance with Tennessee Rule 1360-07-03-.04, an online notary public shall use an electronic seal that substantially conforms to the following design: a circular, square, or rectangular seal with the notary public's name as it appears on the commission printed at the top, the county of election printed at the bottom, the words 'Tennessee Notary Public' printed in the center, and the words "Online Notary Public" printed below.  The electronic seal must also be accompanied by a statement of the date upon which the online notary public's commission expires.

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