How to Find Tennessee Court Records (2026)

Tennessee court records at a glance
Statewide case search	No single statewide portal — search by county
Criminal history check	Tennessee Bureau of Investigation — TORIS (Tennessee Open Records Information Services)
Appellate opinions	Tennessee Courts Public Case History (appellate case search)
Federal cases	PACER (3 districts)
Plain copy fee	Set by each clerk — ask when you request
Certified copy fee	Set by each clerk — ask when you request
Who keeps trial records	Appellate Court Clerk's Office (Nashville, Knoxville, and Jackson); Appellate Court Clerk's Office

Tennessee does not have one place to search court records. Trial-court files stay with the clerk of the court that heard the case, in the county where it was filed, and Tennessee splits that job among more offices than most states: a Circuit Court Clerk, a Chancery Court Clerk and Master, a General Sessions clerk, and — in the state's larger, urban counties — a separate elected Criminal Court Clerk. Smaller counties often fold criminal and General Sessions duties into the Circuit Court Clerk's office instead. There is no substitute for checking how a specific county has organized its clerks before you search.

Two statewide tools cover narrower slices of what people look for. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's TORIS (Tennessee Open Records Information Services) is a paid, name-based search of adult criminal history reported to the TBI. The Administrative Office of the Courts runs a Public Case History lookup, but it only covers appeals at the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals — not trial-court cases. Neither one searches circuit, chancery, criminal, or General Sessions case files; for those you must go to the county clerk.

The most common mistake is assuming a name search at the TBI or the appellate courts will surface a local case. It will not. A pending criminal charge, a civil lawsuit, a divorce, or a probate matter only shows up with the clerk in the county where it was filed, and in Tennessee's bigger counties that may mean checking two or three different clerk websites before you find it.

How Tennessee courts are organized

Which court heard a case decides who keeps the file. Use this table to pick the right clerk before you search, and see the guides to criminal, civil, family, and probate records for what each court's file contains.

Court	Handles	Who holds the records
Supreme Court of Tennessee	Discretionary civil and criminal appeals Attorney discipline and judicial ethics Rules of practice and procedure	Appellate Court Clerk's Office (Nashville, Knoxville, and Jackson) Five justices; the court of last resort for both civil and criminal matters in Tennessee.
Court of Appeals	Civil appeals from circuit and chancery courts Appeals from certain state boards and commissions	Appellate Court Clerk's Office 12 judges sitting in three-judge panels in Jackson, Knoxville, and Nashville; decided on briefs and oral argument, without witnesses or juries.
Court of Criminal Appeals	Felony and misdemeanor appeals Post-conviction petitions	Appellate Court Clerk's Office 12 judges, panels of three, same three sitting cities as the Court of Appeals. Death-penalty direct appeals go straight to the Supreme Court.
Circuit Courts	Civil lawsuits Divorce and other domestic relations matters Appeals from General Sessions, Juvenile, and Municipal Courts Felony and misdemeanor criminal cases where no separate Criminal Court exists	Circuit Court Clerk of the county Tennessee's courts of general jurisdiction, one per judicial district; the Circuit Court Clerk is an elected county official serving a four-year term.
Chancery Courts	Contract and equity disputes Probate and estate administration (in most counties) Name changes Injunctions and declaratory judgments Divorce (concurrent jurisdiction with Circuit Court in many counties)	Clerk and Master The Clerk and Master is appointed by the Chancellor to a six-year term, not elected — Tennessee's main court of equity.
Criminal Courts	Felony prosecutions Some misdemeanor appeals from General Sessions	Criminal Court Clerk where a separate office exists; otherwise the Circuit Court Clerk The legislature has created standalone Criminal Courts (and elected Criminal Court Clerks) only in higher-caseload districts such as Shelby, Davidson, Knox, and Hamilton; most Tennessee counties route criminal cases through Circuit Court instead.
General Sessions Courts	Civil claims up to the county's statutory limit Preliminary hearings in felony cases Misdemeanor trials where a jury is waived Evictions and small claims	Varies by county — a dedicated General Sessions clerk, the Criminal Court Clerk, or the Circuit Court Clerk Every county has a General Sessions Court, but which office keeps its records is set county-by-county, often by private act. Always check the specific county.
Juvenile Courts	Delinquency Dependency and neglect Custody and parentage Child support	Juvenile Court Clerk (often the same office as General Sessions or Circuit Court in that county) 98 juvenile courts statewide; most are presided over by the county's General Sessions judge sitting as juvenile judge. Records are confidential with narrow exceptions.
Municipal Courts	City ordinance violations Traffic tickets issued by city police	City court clerk for that municipality Not covered by any county portal; contact the city directly. Fines are capped well below General Sessions civil limits.

Search Tennessee court records online

Criminal history (convictions)

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation — TORIS (Tennessee Open Records Information Services)

Official Paid Account required

Cost: $29.00 per name search, non-refundable
Coverage: Adult Tennessee criminal history — arrests reported to the TBI through fingerprint submission at booking, and their dispositions when reported
Records: Criminal

Name-based only, not a fingerprint search. Common names can return multiple possible matches. Juvenile records are not included unless the case was transferred to adult court.

Appellate courts

Tennessee Courts Public Case History (appellate case search)

Official Free search

Cost: Free
Coverage: Case dockets and filings for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals; only covers appeals with records filed after September 1, 2006, and documents from August 26, 2013 forward
Records: Appeals

For the text of published opinions (including older ones), use the separate opinions search instead of this docket tool.

Federal court records in Tennessee

Federal cases (bankruptcy, federal crimes, lawsuits under federal law) are not in state portals. They live in PACER, organized by district. Tennessee has 3 federal judicial districts.

District	Main courthouse	Court website
Eastern District of Tennessee	Knoxville	www.tned.uscourts.gov
Middle District of Tennessee	Nashville	www.tnmd.uscourts.gov
Western District of Tennessee	Memphis	www.tnwd.uscourts.gov

Read our PACER guide for registration, the per-page fee, and the quarterly fee waiver.

Tennessee county court records

Trial-court records are kept by the clerk in the county where the case was filed. These are the largest counties in Tennessee; each guide covers the circuit court clerk and other court offices, their addresses, and what is searchable online.

Request records in person or by mail

In person. Go to the clerk that keeps the file: the Circuit Court Clerk for circuit cases, the Clerk and Master for chancery cases, the Criminal Court Clerk (where one exists) for felony criminal cases, and the General Sessions clerk for General Sessions matters. Larger counties keep these offices in separate buildings or wings of the courthouse, so confirm the address before you go. Most clerks provide a public terminal or index for looking up cases at no charge, with copies paid at the counter.

By mail. Write to the clerk with:

the case number, or the full names of the parties and the approximate year filed;
which documents you need (for example, "the final decree of divorce" or "the judgment");
whether you need plain or certified copies; and
a check or money order for the fee, or a request for a fee quote.

Call ahead to confirm the current per-page fee. Turnaround varies by county and by whether the file has to be pulled from off-site storage.

Online. Coverage is inconsistent county to county. Some clerks — Shelby's Circuit, Chancery, and Criminal Court Clerks, Davidson's Circuit and Criminal Court Clerks, Knox's Circuit and Criminal Court Clerks, and Hamilton's Circuit Court Clerk (TNCaseFinder) among them — offer a free online case search. Others, including Rutherford County's Circuit Court Clerk, have no public online case lookup at all and require a phone call or an in-person visit.

Criminal background checks. For a statewide, TBI-based check of adult convictions, use TORIS. It is not a substitute for a county clerk search if you need the actual case file or pending-charge information.

Fees

Item	Typical cost
Plain copy	Set by each clerk — ask when you request
Certified copy	Set by each clerk — ask when you request

Clerk fees are set by Tenn. Code Ann. Title 8, Chapter 21, Part 4 (the general schedule, including a per-page copy fee and a certification fee) and Part 5 for appellate clerk fees. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-409 sets a separate, often higher, fee schedule for clerks in Tennessee's charter-government counties, which is why offices in Shelby and Davidson can charge different amounts than smaller counties. Confirm the current per-page and certification fee with the specific clerk before sending payment.

Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.

Sealed, expunged, and restricted records

Tennessee court records are presumed open under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 34 (Public Access to Court Records), which sets the general presumption of access and lists the categories courts must treat as confidential.

Expunged records. Tenn. Code Ann. Title 40, Chapter 32, Part 1 (starting at § 40-32-101) allows expunction of many arrests and, for a defined list of lower-level convictions, a single eligible conviction after a waiting period and a filing fee. Once a record is expunged, the clerk and other agencies must remove it from public access.
Juvenile records. Juvenile Court files are confidential by statute, with narrow exceptions for certain serious offenses or cases transferred to adult court.
Adoption records. Adoption case files are sealed.
Mental health and certain family-law filings. Courts routinely seal or restrict access to psychological evaluations, financial affidavits with account numbers, and similar sensitive filings within otherwise public family-law cases.
Records sealed by court order. A judge can seal an individual case or specific documents in it for good cause shown, consistent with Rule 34.

Tennessee's Public Records Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503 and § 10-7-504) governs records held by executive-branch and local government agencies; the judiciary's own access rules run through Rule 34 and the common-law right of access instead, and requests for case records go to the clerk, not through a public-records request to the county.

To remove your own record from public view, read how to expunge or seal a criminal record.

Frequently asked questions

Is there one statewide website to search Tennessee court records?

No. Tennessee has no unified statewide trial-court search. Each county's Circuit, Chancery, Criminal, and General Sessions clerks run their own systems — some with free online lookups, some with none at all. The Administrative Office of the Courts' Public Case History tool only covers appellate cases, not trial-court files.

Which office keeps criminal court records in Tennessee?

It depends on the county. In larger counties such as Shelby, Davidson, Knox, and Hamilton, an independently elected Criminal Court Clerk keeps felony records. In most other counties, criminal cases are heard in Circuit Court and kept by the Circuit Court Clerk instead.

How do I run a Tennessee criminal background check?

Use the TBI's TORIS system for a statewide, name-based search of adult criminal history for $29 per name. It only shows arrests reported to the TBI and their dispositions when reported; it does not show pending local charges, which you would need to check with the county clerk.

Who keeps Tennessee divorce records?

Divorces are filed in Circuit Court or Chancery Court, depending on the county's practice, so the Circuit Court Clerk or the Clerk and Master in the county where the divorce was filed has the file. Ask the specific clerk which court handles domestic relations cases locally if you are unsure.

How do I find a Tennessee appellate court opinion?

Use the Tennessee Courts opinions search, which covers the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals and is free to search and download. For the docket and filing history of a pending appeal, use the separate Public Case History tool instead.

Can I get a certified copy of a Tennessee court record by mail?

Yes, from the clerk of the court that heard the case. Include the case number or party names and year, specify that you need a certified copy, and send payment or a request for a fee quote. Call the clerk first to confirm the current fee, since it varies by county.

Sources

Tennessee Courts — Circuit, Criminal, and Chancery Courts — https://www.tncourts.gov/courts/circuit-criminal-chancery-courts
Tennessee Courts — General Sessions Courts — https://www.tncourts.gov/courts/general-sessions-courts
Tennessee Courts — Court Clerks — https://www.tncourts.gov/courts/court-clerks
Tennessee Courts — Find a Court Clerk — https://www.tncourts.gov/programs/self-help-center/find-court-clerk
TBI TORIS — Background Checks — https://tbibackgrounds.tbi.tn.gov/Toris/
Tennessee Courts — Opinions Search — https://www.tncourts.gov/opinionsview/all
Tennessee Courts — Public Case History (appellate docket search) — https://www.tncourts.gov/courts/supreme-court/public-case-history
Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 34 — Public Access to Court Records — https://www.tncourts.gov/rules/supreme-court/34
Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-32-101 — Expunction of records (via Justia) — https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-40/chapter-32/section-40-32-101/
Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-401 — Clerk fee schedule (via Justia) — https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-21/part-4/section-8-21-401/