Tennessee People Search

Tennessee has 95 counties and no statewide trial court search, but several statewide records help find the county where a person lives: these six are the usual first stops before the county court clerks.

• Tennessee Felony Offender Information (FOIL)Current and former state felony offenders of TDOC
• Tennessee Secretary of State business entity searchCorporations and LLCs with registered agents and officers
• Tennessee Property Assessment Data, ComptrollerProperty owners and values across the state
• TN Voter Registration LookupYour county, precinct and polling place
• TBI Sex Offender RegistrySearch by name, address, county or offense
• Tennessee Office of Vital RecordsBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates

The Tennessee Public Records Act (TPRA), T.C.A. 10-7-503 and following, gives Tennessee citizens the right to inspect public records. It is unusual in limiting that right to citizens of the state, though most agencies also serve others. Agencies must respond promptly, within seven business days, and a requester who wins a lawsuit over an improper denial can recover costs.

Common exemptions are open criminal investigations, juvenile records, sealed or expunged cases, sensitive parts of personnel records (Social Security numbers, addresses, medical data) and victim information. Crime victims' rights are in Article I, Section 35 of the constitution. Motor vehicle records are restricted under the federal DPPA.

• TN.govDirectory of state agencies and services
• Verify, TN Department of Commerce and InsuranceLicense verification for most state licensed professions

Tennessee's court structure has four trial-level court types, some overlapping: Circuit Court (general civil, criminal, and appellate from General Sessions), Criminal Court (felony criminal, present in larger counties, otherwise merged into Circuit), Chancery Court (equity, probate, some civil), and General Sessions Court (misdemeanors, civil cases up to $25,000, preliminary hearings for felonies). TN also has Juvenile Court and Municipal Courts for specialized matters.

The Public Case History covers only the appellate courts. For trial court records, go to the court clerk of the county; Shelby (Memphis), Davidson (Nashville), Knox (Knoxville) and Hamilton (Chattanooga) have online case searches, while smaller counties often need an in-person visit.

• Tennessee CourtsAppellate and trial courts with local court contacts
• TN Appellate Courts Public Case HistorySupreme Court, Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals cases

Common Mistake

Searching only Circuit Court records in TN. Most misdemeanor arrests, traffic tickets, and smaller civil cases are handled in General Sessions Court, not Circuit. Always check General Sessions dockets separately at the county Clerk level.

The Comptroller of the Treasury runs a statewide property assessment search, linked in Where to Look. Counties also publish property records through the assessor of property (values and parcels) and the trustee (tax bills and payments), and deeds are recorded by the county register of deeds.

Researcher Tip

Start with the statewide property assessment search to find where a person owns real estate, then check the register of deeds of that county for deed history and the trustee for tax payments.

The Secretary of State business entity search, linked in Where to Look, finds entities by name, officer or registered agent. The business services pages add UCC filings and trademark searches.

• TN Secretary of State business servicesCorporate filings, UCC, trademarks and notaries

TDOC runs the state prisons and publishes FOIL, linked in Where to Look. County jails are run by the sheriffs, and most large counties post rosters online. Federal prisoners are in the Bureau of Prisons locator. TBI keeps the statewide sex offender registry and runs TORIS, its public criminal history check.

• TBI Tennessee Open Records Information Services (TORIS)Name based state criminal history check, for a fee

The TN Office of Vital Records maintains state birth records from 1908 forward and death records from 1914 forward. Marriage licenses are issued and recorded by the county Court Clerk (Circuit or General Sessions, depending on county). Divorce decrees are in Circuit or Chancery Court records.

The Secretary of State voter lookup, linked in Where to Look, is free and checks basic registration. The full voter file can be bought by campaigns and researchers under state law.

• Tennessee State Library and ArchivesVital, military, land and Civil War records

Digitized Tennessee newspapers are also in Chronicling America at the Library of Congress.

The most populous counties:

• Shelby CountyMemphis, the most populous county
• Shelby County Assessor of PropertyProperty values and owners for Memphis

• Metro Nashville and Davidson CountyNashville, the state capital, with one city and county government
• Knox CountyKnoxville and East Tennessee
• Hamilton CountyChattanooga, on the Georgia border

Other large counties are Rutherford (Murfreesboro), Williamson (Franklin), Montgomery (Clarksville), Sullivan (Kingsport and Bristol), Washington (Johnson City) and Sumner (Gallatin and Hendersonville).

Understand General Sessions: A huge share of TN criminal history lives in General Sessions Court, not Circuit. Always check General Sessions first for misdemeanors.

Use the statewide property search: the Comptroller's search covers the whole state, so use it first to find every county where a person owns real estate.

TDOC FOIL is deep: Includes current and former state felony offenders, making it excellent for historical background research.

Davidson is consolidated: Metro Nashville-Davidson's consolidated government means unified city-county records, unlike other TN metros.

The TPRA is limited to citizens: if an agency refuses a request because you are not a Tennessee citizen, use the online searches on this page, which are open to everyone.

Cross-reference TBI registry: The sex offender registry is statewide and independent of the court case databases.

The TPRA is broad but limited to citizens. The Tennessee Information Protection Act, passed in 2023, took effect on July 1, 2025; it sets rules for how businesses handle personal data, not public records. In November 2026 voters decide on a Marsy's Law amendment to the crime victims' rights section of the constitution. Expungement is governed by T.C.A. 40-32-101 and following.

Privacy Note

The TPRA limits the right to inspect records to Tennessee citizens. Most agencies also answer requests from other states, but they may lawfully refuse them.