The Tennessee Auctioneer Commission announced Nov. 18 that it will resume enforcing licensing requirements for online auctions after the commission is no longer enjoined from doing so, Commission attorney Anna Matlock said.

Matlock told commissioners the commission posted a notice on its website stating that it is enforcing online auctions and advised people to consult the statute and rules for licensing requirements and exemptions. She said the commission is still monitoring litigation in federal district court but that the injunctive barrier preventing enforcement has been lifted.

Matlock recommended that complaints the commission closed previously for lack of jurisdiction during the injunction be handled with warning letters rather than civil penalties, at least initially, because those matters were stayed while the injunction was in effect. "It would probably be most appropriate to issue those individuals a letter of warning, instead of any form of civil penalty," Matlock said.

Matlock and commissioners also clarified statutory exemptions. She recited the statute language that fixed-price or fixed-time online listings that allow bidding but do not constitute a simulcast of a live auction are exempt from the chapter. She further said an operator that earns less than $25,000 in Tennessee in a calendar year is not required to hold a license for online auctions within the state. "So anyone that makes less than $25,000 in revenue related to online auctions is not required to have a license," she said.

Industry representatives asked for practical guidance. Drew Williams, representing the Tennessee Auctioneers Association, asked whether complaints filed as of the meeting date would now be heard; Matlock confirmed those open matters will be brought forward for the commission's consideration. Shane McCarroll asked whether fixed-time listings remain exempt and whether the $25,000 threshold is measured on a calendar‑year basis; Matlock confirmed both points.

Matlock said the commission will continue to process new complaints related to online auctions and bring them before the commission for recommendation and action. She also noted that rule amendments to public automobile-auction rules and other retrospective edits are proceeding through the attorney general's and secretary of state's offices and that some rules may become effective several months after filing.

The commission did not adopt a new rule in the meeting; Matlock described the enforcement direction and recommended a conservative approach to handling complaints that arose while enforcement was stayed.