If you live in Manchester and need to renew your driver's license, you're either driving to Tullahoma or heading to Warren County. Either way, you're leaving town for something routine.
Jenna Amacher thinks that's a problem the County Clerk's office could fix — if someone decided to fix it.
The Idea Came From the Race
Amacher is running for Coffee County Clerk in the Republican Primary. In Episode 1 of Unfiltered with Berry, she laid it out plainly:
"In some parts of Tennessee, the county clerk's office, you can actually renew your ID and they offer some like driver's license renewal and ID services. So ours doesn't currently, although that may be something I would be looking into — because I know Manchester doesn't like to drive to Warren County or down to Tullahoma for something."
That's not a campaign promise. It's a candidate noticing a gap and saying she'd look into it. But the gap is real, the program exists, and other counties are already using it.
How It Works
Tennessee law — T.C.A. § 55-50-331 — authorizes county clerks to enter into a formal contract with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to offer driver's license services locally. Participation is voluntary.
Counties that sign on can handle:
Standard Class D and Class M renewals
Duplicate licenses for lost or stolen cards
REAL ID applications
Photo ID renewals and duplicates
Address and name changes on existing licenses
What they can't do: written or road tests, new-to-state licenses, or commercial driver's licenses from scratch. Those still go to a state Driver Services Center.
The setup requires state-connected terminals, strict photo and fraud protocols, and trained staff. In exchange, the county clerk is authorized under state law to collect a $4.00 service fee per transaction on top of the standard state fee — revenue that stays local.
Other Counties Are Already Doing This
This isn't a new idea.
Union County has been running a driver's license express center through the clerk's office for years — renewals, duplicates, REAL ID, motor voter registration. Residents handle it all without leaving the county.
Loudon County offers the same: renewals, REAL ID, duplicates, name changes. All through the clerk's office.
Roane County participates. Dozens of Tennessee counties do.
Coffee County doesn't.
What It Costs to Not Participate
Every Coffee County resident who drives to Tullahoma or Warren County to renew a standard license is making a trip that didn't need to happen. For someone in the north end of the county, that's not a minor inconvenience — it's a half-day.
The $4.00 per-transaction service fee isn't a windfall, but it adds up. More to the point, it's revenue that currently goes nowhere because the service isn't offered here.
The county clerk's office handles car tags, marriage licenses, and business taxes. Driver's license renewals fit the same profile: routine, high-volume, and better served locally.
The Bottom Line
The state program exists. The legal authority exists. The fee structure is already written into Tennessee law. Other counties made the call to participate. Coffee County hasn't.
Amacher raised this in a conversation about what the clerk's office could be doing better. Whether it actually happens depends on who wins the clerk's race in the Republican Primary — and whether the current office sees a reason to move before then.