# Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-105: Certificate of authority required - Exceptions > Tennessee · Statutes · In force URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-105 ## Section - **Citation:** Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-105 - **Heading:** Certificate of authority required - Exceptions - **Jurisdiction:** Tennessee - **Kind:** Statutes - **Status:** In force - **Text as of:** August 14, 2026 - **Source:** Compiled text - **Location:** TN Code / Title 56 / Chapter 2 / Section 56-2-105 ## Text It is unlawful for any company to enter into a contract of insurance as an insurer or to transact insurance business in this state without a certificate of authority from the commissioner; provided, that this section shall not apply to: (1) Contracts procured by agents or brokers under the authority of the Surplus Lines Insurance Act, compiled in chapter 14 of this title; (2) Contracts of reinsurance; (3) Transactions in this state involving policies lawfully solicited, written and delivered outside of this state covering only subjects of insurance not resident, located or expressly to be performed in this state at the time of issuance or covering property in the course of transportation by land, air or water, to, from or through this state and including any preparation or storage incidental thereto, and which transactions are subsequent to the issuance of those policies; (4) Transactions in this state involving group or blanket insurance and group annuities where the master policy of the groups was lawfully issued and delivered in a state in which the company was authorized to transact insurance business; (5) Transactions in this state involving a policy issued prior to April 3, 1968; (6) Any life insurance or annuity company that holds a certificate of exemption from the commissioner as provided in § 56-2-106 ; or (7) (A) The procuring of contracts of insurance issued to an industrial insured; (B) For the purposes of subdivision (7)(A), an "industrial insured" is an insured: (i) Who procures the insurance of any risk or risks by use of the services of a full-time employee acting as an insurance manager or buyer; (ii) Whose aggregate annual premiums for insurance on all risks total at least twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000); and (iii) Who has at least twenty-five (25) full-time employees. Acts 1968, ch. 536, § 1; 1969, ch. 270, § 19; T.C.A., § 56-205. It is unlawful for any company to enter into a contract of insurance as an insurer or to transact insurance business in this state without a certificate of authority from the commissioner; provided, that this section shall not apply to: (1) Contracts procured by agents or brokers under the authority of the Surplus Lines Insurance Act, compiled in chapter 14 of this title; (2) Contracts of reinsurance; (3) Transactions in this state involving policies lawfully solicited, written and delivered outside of this state covering only subjects of insurance not resident, located or expressly to be performed in this state at the time of issuance or covering property in the course of transportation by land, air or water, to, from or through this state and including any preparation or storage incidental thereto, and which transactions are subsequent to the issuance of those policies; (4) Transactions in this state involving group or blanket insurance and group annuities where the master policy of the groups was lawfully issued and delivered in a state in which the company was authorized to transact insurance business; (5) Transactions in this state involving a policy issued prior to April 3, 1968; (6) Any life insurance or annuity company that holds a certificate of exemption from the commissioner as provided in § 56-2-106 ; or anket insurance and group annuities where the master policy of the groups was lawfully issued and delivered in a state in which the company was authorized to transact insurance business; (5) Transactions in this state involving a policy issued prior to April 3, 1968; (6) Any life insurance or annuity company that holds a certificate of exemption from the commissioner as provided in § 56-2-106 ; or (7) (A) The procuring of contracts of insurance issued to an industrial insured; (B) For the purposes of subdivision (7)(A), an "industrial insured" is an insured: (i) Who procures the insurance of any risk or risks by use of the services of a full-time employee acting as an insurance manager or buyer; (ii) Whose aggregate annual premiums for insurance on all risks total at least twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000); and (iii) Who has at least twenty-five (25) full-time employees. (A) The procuring of contracts of insurance issued to an industrial insured; (B) For the purposes of subdivision (7)(A), an "industrial insured" is an insured: (i) Who procures the insurance of any risk or risks by use of the services of a full-time employee acting as an insurance manager or buyer; (ii) Whose aggregate annual premiums for insurance on all risks total at least twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000); and (iii) Who has at least twenty-five (25) full-time employees. (i) Who procures the insurance of any risk or risks by use of the services of a full-time employee acting as an insurance manager or buyer; (ii) Whose aggregate annual premiums for insurance on all risks total at least twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000); and (iii) Who has at least twenty-five (25) full-time employees. Acts 1968, ch. 536, § 1; 1969, ch. 270, § 19; T.C.A., § 56-205. ## Nearby sections - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-101 Applicability to foreign and domestic companies](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-101.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-102 Requisites for commencing business - Foreign insurance companies qualifying as domestic corporations - Foreign credit life reinsurance companies](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-102.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-103 Qualifications necessary to do business - Commissioner to accept process - Deposit of securities](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-103.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-104 Contents of statement - Deposits](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-104.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-105 Certificate of authority required - Exceptions](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-105.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-106 Certificate of exemption](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-106.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-107 Acts of unauthorized insurers constituting doing business in state](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-107.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-108 Violation of Section 56-2-105 - Penalty](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-108.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-109 No action to be maintained without certificate of authority](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-109.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-110 Injunction to prevent violation of Section 56-2-105](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-110.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-111 Liability for tax on gross premium](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-111.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-112 Deposits in trust to secure policyholders](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-112.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-113 Period of organization before admission of foreign companies - Exceptions](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-113.md) - [Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-2-114 Capital requirements for insurance combinations and reinsurance](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-114.md) --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_TN_T56_C2_S56-2-105. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.