Hands free Tennessee law — Tennessee Permit Test

Hands free Tennessee law on the Tennessee permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Under Tennessee's hands-free law, it is illegal for a driver to hold a cellphone or mobile device with any part of their body.

A phone in your hand, even at your ear, takes a hand off the wheel and your mind off the road.

hold a cellphone or mobile device with any part of their body,

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.30

It is illegal for a driver to write, send or read any text-based communication.

Reading a text takes your eyes off the road for seconds, long enough to cross a whole intersection blind.

write, send, or read any text-based communication,

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.30

It is illegal for a driver to reach for a phone in a way that takes them out of a seated driving position or out of their seat belt.

Leaning over to grab a dropped phone pulls you off the wheel and away from the pedals.

reach for a cellphone or mobile device in a manner that requires the driver to no longer be in a seated driving position or properly restrained by a seat belt,

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.30

It is illegal for a driver to watch a video or movie, or to record or broadcast video, on a phone or mobile device.

A video pulls your eyes to the screen again and again, which is how drivers miss a stopped car ahead.

watch a video or movie on a cellphone or mobile device,

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.30

On the test

Under Tennessee's hands-free law, may a driver hold a phone in their hand?

No, not with any part of the body. A phone in your hand, even at your ear, takes a hand off the wheel and your mind off the road. Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.30: “hold a cellphone or mobile device with any part of their body,”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, published by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-03.