Tennessee Code Title 20. Civil Procedure § 20-2-203

(b) The agency of the secretary of state to accept service of process in actions for both personal injuries and property damages shall continue for such period of time or so long as the cause of action is not barred by the statute of limitations of this state and shall not be revoked by the death of the nonresident during that period of time. The agency shall continue so long after the expiration of such time as may be necessary to enable the secretary of state to complete the service of process, sued out prior to the expiration of the time and forwarded to the defendant with reasonable dispatch.

(c) The secretary of state shall keep a docket in which the secretary of state enters the style of the cause, the date of issuance of such process, the date of its receipt by the secretary of state and the date on which it was forwarded by the secretary of state to the person named as defendant in the cause.

(d) For the purpose of venue as set out in § 20-4-101, the secretary of state may be considered by the plaintiff as either a resident of the county in which the cause of action arose or the county in which the plaintiff resides.

(e) Any owner, chauffeur or operator of any motor vehicle that is not licensed under the laws of this state, or any nonresident who, acting in behalf of the owner of any such vehicle, uses or causes to be used any such motor vehicle in this state, or any nonresident who hires or procures the use of a motor vehicle licensed under the laws of this state, for temporary use in the state, and who is duly served with process under this section and §§ 20-2-204 -- 20-2-207, in connection with any civil action brought by any person against the owner, chauffeur or operator, or nonresident arising out of any accident or injury occurring in this state in which the vehicle is involved, shall be required, upon receipt of the proper notice as required in title 24, chapter 9 to appear at the time and place specified in the notice, which shall be in the county in which the action is pending, for the purpose of giving a pretrial discovery deposition as authorized by the rules of civil procedure and title 24, chapter 9. The written notice required by § 20-2-205 to be sent to any person served under §§ 20-2-204 -- 20-2-207, along with a certified copy of the original summons, shall include a notification to the effect that the person shall be subject to appearance in this state for the purpose of giving a pretrial discovery deposition if subsequently served with proper notice to do so.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed as a prohibition on the exercise of jurisdiction over or service of process on a person who is deemed by this section to constitute the secretary of state as the person's agent, pursuant to §§ 20-2-214 -- 20-2-219.