Tennessee, county records
Find the right office in Washington County. Court cases, deeds and parcels, sheriff and jail records, vital records and county filings, each linked to the office that keeps them.
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Every card below goes to the government office responsible for that record. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
County court
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee hears bankruptcy cases in Chattanooga, Greeneville, Knoxville and Winchester, with dockets and claims available through PACER.
Open official site Tennessee Federal CasesProperty records
Obtain property tax info by contacting the TN Comptroller of the Treasury.
Open official site Tennessee Property RecordsVital records
Request birth and death certificates from the TN Dept. of Health.
Open official site Tennessee Birth RecordsState records
Find active and inactive corporations by name from the Tennessee Department of State.
Open official site Tennessee Business & Corporation SearchState records
Search property and claim status by individual name or business through the Treasury Dept.
Open official site Tennessee Unclaimed PropertyPolice & jail
The Tennessee Department of Correction publishes its own list of offenders now under a sentence of death in Tennessee, with related facts on the state's death penalty.
Open official site Tennessee Death RowVital records
Request a copy of a marriage certificates from the TN Department of Health.
Open official site Tennessee Marriage SearchLocal record guide
County profile
Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Washington County Sheriff's Office is responsible for maintaining law and order in Washington County's unincorporated areas.
Police Departments. Washington County is served by several law enforcement agencies, including Washington County Sheriff's Office and municipal police departments such as the Johnson City Police Department and the Jonesborough Police Department.
Law Enforcement & Arrests. Law enforcement in Washington County, Tennessee, is primarily provided by Washington County Sheriff's Office, headquartered at 112 West Jackson Boulevard in Jonesborough, Tennessee 37659. Washington County Detention Center, located adjacent to the Sheriff's Office, houses inmates awaiting trial or serving sentences. Inmate lookup services are available through the Sheriff's Office website, providing booking information, charges, bond amounts, and projected release dates. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 10-7-503 and § 10-7-504, arrest records and booking information are considered public records subject to inspection and copying, though certain exemptions may apply for ongoing investigations or sealed juvenile records. Response times and service quality vary by location, with rural areas primarily served by the Sheriff's Office and incorporated municipalities served by local police departments.
Arrest Records. They are maintained by the arresting agency, primarily the County Sheriff's Office and municipal police departments.
Abandoned mine records
Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.
From the old mine records
The mine records hold 34 mine sites inside the county: 24 past producers, now closed, 2 prospects or occurrences that were never worked, 7 sites producing when the record was made, 1 processing plant, which is not a working; the old survey maps add 16 holes drawn inside the county, 0 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are Iron; Zinc; Barium-Barite.
A point in either file is a location, not a property line: the sheet shows the opening on the surface, not the rooms under it. The record that shows what runs under a parcel is the mine map. The OSMRE National Mine Map Repository holds scanned underground mine maps and answers requests for a named mine or an area. Tennessee's coal regulatory program was run by OSMRE until the state took it back; the state AML program is in TDEC.
Tennessee abandoned mine maps ranks every county and town in the state by the workings recorded inside it, names the office that holds the mine maps, and says what to do if the ground moves.
Disclaimer: The mine information here is for general information only. Old mine records can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and finding nothing here does not mean there is nothing there. Check with the mine map office named here before you rely on it, and have a qualified engineer look at any ground you are worried about. PublicRecordCenter.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of this information.
Labor Department file
The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division closed 135 investigations in Washington County since fiscal 2005 and recorded $1,391,124 in back wages agreed for 2,334 workers. The county is the one the Census Bureau puts each employer's ZIP code in. Snapshot of April 22, 2026; a case here is a finding by the Division, not a court judgment.
| Employer | City | Cases | Back wages | Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCT Holdings, LLC | Johnson City | 1 | $214,451 | 1,003 |
| El Torito | Johnson City | 2 | $181,458 | 53 |
| Ashland Development Company, Inc. | Johnson City | 2 | $154,918 | 194 |
| Dawn of Hope, Inc. | Johnson City | 4 | $152,610 | 107 |
| World Wireless LLC | Johnson City | 2 | $98,738 | 77 |
| Amigo Mexican Restaurant, Inc. | Johnson City | 1 | $75,733 | 17 |
| Ming Dynsasty LLC | Johnson City | 1 | $45,546 | 16 |
| Advanced Call Center Technologies, LLC | Johnson City | 3 | $38,206 | 87 |
| Maids Extraordinaire, Inc. | Johnson City | 2 | $36,639 | 140 |
| S & S Hospitality, LLC | Johnson City | 2 | $31,223 | 18 |
| Counseling & Consultation Services, Inc | Limestone | 1 | $28,851 | 22 |
| Cyrus T. G. Inc | Johnson City | 1 | $28,500 | 22 |
| Granite Depo, LLC | Johnson City | 1 | $21,758 | 26 |
| Kundi Shah Corporation | Johnson City | 1 | $21,463 | 6 |
| D Johnson Trucking, LLC | Jonesborough | 1 | $20,710 | 6 |
| American Homepatient, Inc. | Johnson City | 2 | $20,382 | 51 |
| Energy Systems Group LLC | Mountain Home | 1 | $14,616 | 11 |
| Tentex Coporation | Johnson City | 1 | $13,379 | 23 |
| Vertical Solutions Inc. | Limestone | 1 | $12,699 | 10 |
| D.P. Preiss Company,Inc. | Johnson City | 2 | $12,291 | 79 |
| Frontier Health | Johnson City | 3 | $11,579 | 117 |
| Tri-Cities Nissan Inc. | Johnson City | 1 | $10,972 | 25 |
| Veshno, Inc | Johnson City | 1 | $10,371 | 8 |
| Permasteelisa North America Corp. | Johnson City | 1 | $9,283 | 13 |
| Hulsing Hotels, Inc | Johnson City | 1 | $7,902 | 65 |
The 25 employers with the most back wages agreed, of 108 on the Washington County record; 41 employers have a page of their own and open from the table, the rest show their whole record here. The 83 more with smaller records are on the Tennessee wage theft records page, whose search answers for every employer in the state.
Washington County records land instruments in the Historic Courthouse at Jonesborough. The Register accepts deeds, mortgages, liens, leases, plats and other recordable documents, and keeps the related indexes. Its office closes at 4:30 p.m. on regular weekdays, but recording stops at 4 p.m. Check the Register of Deeds schedule before arranging a submission visit. For research, identify the parties and recorded reference, and distinguish the original mortgage from any later release. An instrument's execution date can differ from its recording date; retain both when constructing a transaction history. Ask for the document itself when an index entry does not contain the terms needed for the inquiry.
The Circuit Court information provides the county's authorized online court-record link and a contact for upcoming case status. The Circuit Clerk also serves Criminal, General Sessions and Juvenile courts, so specify the division and document when asking for records. A docket entry locating an upcoming hearing is different from a filed judgment or complete case copy. Save the case reference and party role before requesting an order, particularly where the same name appears in more than one proceeding. The published Circuit contact is at the George Jaynes Justice Center on West Jackson Boulevard, separate from land recording and County Clerk business in the Historic Courthouse.
Washington County's Chancery Court description identifies both Chancery and Probate divisions. Chancery handles matters including boundary disputes, contracts, divorces, guardianships and conservatorships; Probate receives wills and estate-administration filings. Give the decedent's name and estate reference for a probate inquiry rather than sending an unspecified request for family records. The office publishes different telephone numbers for Chancery and Probate, and separate suite addresses within the Justice Center. A will, fiduciary appointment and closing document are distinct parts of an estate file. Name the item needed and whether certification is required, then obtain the current copy total for that product before mailing payment.
The County Clerk records description identifies the official records of the county legislative body as part of the Clerk's responsibility. For a commission action, specify the meeting date, agenda subject and the document wanted, such as the adopted minutes or a filed resolution. The County Clerk office information lists Jonesborough and Johnson City service locations, each with a published weekday schedule ending at 4:30 p.m. Ask which location should receive a particular historical-record or copy inquiry before traveling. County commission records should not be confused with judicial proceedings merely because both may use the terms minutes, clerk or order. Preserve the originating body in every research reference.
The Property Assessor discovers, classifies and values taxable property, including land and buildings as well as taxable business personal property. Match a request to the parcel and valuation year rather than relying on the owner name alone. If comparing a tax bill with an assessment record, retain the field labels and dates so the office can identify the source of the difference. A physical characteristic, ownership mailing address and assessed value are separate data elements. Request the supporting card or valuation explanation appropriate to the question. For the terms of a recorded transfer or lien, carry the parcel research back to the Register's instrument rather than inferring those terms from a valuation entry.
Washington County Archives organizes material by record groups, including Circuit, Chancery, Probate, County Clerk, property-assessment and trustee records. Its collection directory warns that the general search box does not search the individual guides, which must be examined separately. Begin with the office that created the record and then its guide. The research-visit instructions give weekday hours of 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. at the West Main Street archive. Send the likely collection, names and date range in advance. A guide is a description of holdings, so retain the specific volume or file reference when the actual document is located.
The Sheriff publishes 112 West Jackson Boulevard for its office and 114 West Jackson Boulevard for the Detention Center. Its contact instructions send public-record requests to the County Attorney rather than the Sheriff website message form. The same resource menu links to current inmates, weekly bookings and court records, which answer different questions. Use a custody entry to identify the relevant person and booking, then ask for the particular record needed. If the question concerns a prosecution result, obtain the court disposition. Keep the date and source of a custody search with the result, because a roster and a judgment describe different stages of a matter.
The county open-records instructions direct requests to the County Attorney and require its written form with evidence of Tennessee citizenship. Identify existing records, the responsible office and a bounded period. Under the linked county records policy, prompt access is expected; when more time is needed, a response is due within seven business days. That response can explain the reason and estimated production period. Inspection is free under the policy, while copies, delivery and eligible labor can generate charges. Ask for the itemized estimate before a large order and retain the response showing what will be produced. Those administrative terms should not be assumed to replace specialized court-copy or certificate fees.
Where to go
Each office below was read on its own site. A field the office does not publish is left out rather than filled in from a directory.
Recorded land instruments and indexing.
Office page: washingtoncountytn.org
Circuit case status and court records; Clerk also serves related court divisions.
Office page: washingtoncountytn.org
Marriage licensing, county legislative records and Clerk services.
Office page: washingtoncountytn.org
Historical county record groups, collection guides and research copies.
Office page: wctnarchives.org
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Washington County Sheriff's Office or a city police department in Washington County. Ask that agency for its record.
The Tennessee criminal history record comes from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). Request a Tennessee name based criminal history check online through Tennessee Open Records Information Services (TORIS), paying by credit card. Fee: $29.00 for each name based check.
Search the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry (TBI), or every state at once on the National Sex Offender Public Website run by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Register with the county election commission or through the Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections. You can also register online with the state online registration. You must be registered no later than 30 days before the election; mailed forms must be postmarked at least 30 days before.
Deeds and other recorded land documents in Washington County are kept by the Washington County register of deeds. Property values are set by the county assessor of property, and tax bills come from the county trustee.
Certified birth and death certificates for Tennessee come from the Tennessee Department of Health, Office of Vital Records. All county health departments can issue any birth or death certificate registered statewide with the Tennessee Office of Vital Records; you do not need to go to the county where the event occurred. In person with no appointment at Tennessee Vital Records, 1st Floor, Andrew Johnson Tower, 710 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243, or at any county health department; by mail to that address with a check or money order payable to Tennessee Vital Records; or online through VitalChek. Fee: $15.00 for each birth or death certificate, first and additional copies.
Business entity filings are searched with the Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations. Business licenses are issued by the county clerk, and by the city if it imposes the business tax, where the business is located; businesses with taxable receipts over $3,000 need one.
The Register stops recording at 4 p.m. on weekdays even though the office remains open until 4:30 p.m. Plan around the recording cutoff.
The Probate Division of Chancery Court receives wills and estate filings. Its published number is 423-753-1623 under the division contact information.
No. Archives says its individual collection guides must be searched separately. Select the originating office from the record-group list.
The published research schedule is Monday to Friday, 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Check the visit instructions for closures before traveling.
The Sheriff specifically directs records requests to the County Attorney instead. Use the referral in the Sheriff contact instructions.
The office is listed at 112 West Jackson Boulevard, while detention is listed at 114. Use the department address listing for the intended destination.
The county asks for its written request form and proof of Tennessee citizenship, directed to the County Attorney. See the published submission process.
Its policy calls for a response within seven business days when prompt access is impracticable. That can provide a reason and production estimate, as described in the county response procedure.
Same county
Use the city page when a record was created by a municipal police department or city office; use the county page for courts, deeds, vital records and jail custody.