Tennessee Code Title 45. Banks and Financial Institutions § 45-15-105

(a) No person shall engage in the business of title pledge lending without having first obtained a license. A separate license shall be required for each location from which the business is conducted. Any person engaged in the business of title pledge lending on November 1, 2005, under a license issued by the county clerk, may continue to engage in the business without a license issued by the commissioner, until the commissioner has acted upon the application for a license, if the application is filed by December 31, 2005.

(b) Any loan made without a license is void, in which case the person making the loan forfeits the right to collect any moneys, including principal, interest, and any other fee paid by the pledgor in connection with the title pledge agreement or property pledge agreement. The person making the loan shall return to the pledgor the pledged property, the titled personal property pledged, or the fair market value of the titled personal property, and all principal, interest, and any other fees paid by the pledgor. The pledgor is entitled to receive reasonable attorney's fees and costs in any action brought by a pledgor to recover from the person making the loan, the pledged property, the titled personal property, and the principal, interest and any fees paid by the pledgor.