Tennessee
Tennessee Court Records: How to Search, What's Public, and How to Seal Them (2026)
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 10, 2026). · 6 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
Tennessee does not run a single website where you can search every court case in the state. What exists instead is a patchwork: an appellate-only state tool, and a set of county systems that vary widely in what they cover and what they charge. This guide walks through what is actually searchable, county by county, and where Tennessee's own tools stop short.
Information last verified on 2026-08-10. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
What Tennessee Law Makes Public, and Who Can Ask
Court filings are public records in Tennessee as a matter of statute. Tennessee Code Annotated § 10-7-403(2) defines county public records to include the pleadings, documents, and other papers filed with the clerks of all courts, including the courts of record and general sessions courts, along with the minute books and other records of those courts.
The right to inspect them is narrower than most readers expect. Under the Tennessee Public Records Act, § 10-7-503(a)(2)(A), state, county, and municipal records are open during business hours for personal inspection by "any citizen of this state." The Comptroller's Office of Open Records Counsel states the consequence directly: only citizens of Tennessee hold that statutory right, though a governmental entity may make records accessible to individuals who are not Tennessee citizens.
That distinction matters if you are asking from out of state. A clerk who declines your request is not necessarily misapplying the law, and you have no Public Records Act right to fall back on at the counter. In practice, many offices will fill an out-of-state request anyway, the county online portals described below are reachable by anyone, and a Tennessee resident or a Tennessee attorney can make the request on your behalf. Note also that a record being public by classification does not guarantee access to a particular file, because a court can seal a file and other state laws make specific categories confidential.
Tennessee Has No Statewide Trial Court Search Tool
The Administrative Office of the Courts publishes Public Case History (PCH) as its official online case-lookup tool, and its scope is narrower than the name might suggest. PCH identifies itself on-page as an "Appellate Case Search," and its sample case numbers follow an appellate citation format, both of which confirm that PCH covers appeals-level cases only. Tennessee's appellate courts are the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Court of Criminal Appeals, though PCH's own page does not itemize which of these a given result belongs to. If you are looking for a trial-court record, a General Sessions case, a Circuit Court filing, or a criminal case at the county level, PCH will not have it. There is no statewide substitute.
That gap is why Tennessee court records access is, in practice, a county-by-county exercise. Two of the state's largest counties have built their own tools; most others have not.
Davidson County (Nashville): CaseSearch and CaseLink
The Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk's office describes its free CaseSearch tool plainly: it "is a platform designed for searching filed case information based on parties' names." Through CaseSearch, the public can access details related to cases in "General Sessions - Civil Court, Circuit Court, and Probate Court, with the exclusion of images," meaning you get docket and party information but not the underlying filed documents.
For fuller, 24/7 access to those same case types, Davidson County also offers CaseLink, a subscription service priced at $25.00 per month. CaseLink is the paid upgrade for anyone who needs regular or ongoing access rather than an occasional lookup.
Shelby County (Memphis): CourtConnect
Shelby County runs a separate system, CourtConnect, for Circuit Court records. The Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk's office confirms the tool's existence and purpose on its official site, though the search portal itself sits on a subdomain that is not always reachable directly. If you cannot get the search tool to load, contact the Circuit Court Clerk's office for Shelby County directly rather than assuming the records do not exist online.
Every Other County: Contact the Clerk Directly
Outside Davidson and Shelby counties, Tennessee generally has no dedicated online case-search tool at the county level. For a case filed anywhere else in the state, or for a trial-level criminal record in general, the reliable path is contacting the clerk of the court where the case was filed, by phone or in person, with the party's full name and, where possible, a case number or date of birth. Some clerks maintain limited public terminals for in-person lookups; availability varies by county and was not itemized here, so confirm directly with the clerk's office you are contacting.
Sealing Your Record: Expungement in Tennessee
Tennessee's expungement law sits in Tennessee Code Annotated Title 40, Chapter 32. That chapter has been reorganized: the old omnibus § 40-32-101 was replaced with a set of separate sections, and the cross-references to it elsewhere in the code were renumbered to match. The current numbering is settled, so an older source citing subsections of § 40-32-101 is simply out of date.
As the chapter now reads, § 40-32-101 carries the chapter's definitions. Section 40-32-106 governs expunction of records after a charge is dismissed, a grand jury returns no true bill, a nolle prosequi is entered, the person is arrested and released without being charged, or a verdict of not guilty is returned. Section 40-32-107 defines who counts as an eligible petitioner to expunge a conviction. Section 40-32-108 sets out the petition and the procedure, including service on the district attorney general and the sixty-day window for recommendations. Section 40-32-109 covers expunction of an arrest record when the court has no history of the arrest in its own records. Section 40-32-110 states the effect of an expunction order, which restores the petitioner, in contemplation of law, to the status held before the arrest and conviction.
Which section applies to you depends on how your case ended and what the offense was, and eligibility for conviction expunction is limited by a specific list of offenses. Confirm your own situation with the clerk of the convicting court or a Tennessee attorney. For a full walkthrough of who qualifies and how the process works, see the Tennessee expungement laws guide.
Certified Copies and Courthouse Access
Because Tennessee's court clerks operate at the county level, certified-copy fees and whether a courthouse offers in-person terminal access both vary by county. Contact the clerk of the court where the case was filed to confirm current fees and options before making a trip or a request.
Using Tennessee Court Records the Right Way
These tools are built for checking your own case or verifying information about a matter you are personally involved in, not for compiling background information on someone else. If a court record is being used to screen a job applicant or tenant, that use falls under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act rather than any of the portals described here. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, records of criminal convictions are exempt from the standard seven-year reporting limit and can be reported indefinitely unless Tennessee has expunged them. Given how fragmented Tennessee's county systems are, treat a blank search result with caution. It may mean there is no record, or it may mean you searched the wrong county's system.
Related Resources
Court Records by State covers the full 50-state picture. See also How to Look Up Court Records, Are Court Records Public?, Tennessee Expungement Laws, Tennessee Background Check Laws, Tennessee Warrant Search, and Tennessee Public Records Laws.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about how Tennessee's court record tools are organized. It is not legal advice. County systems, fees, and statute numbering change; verify current details with the relevant court clerk or a Tennessee attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.
Last updated: 2026-08-10. Portal facts and fees reflect their published status as of August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there one website to search all Tennessee court records?
No. Tennessee has no statewide trial-court search tool. Public Case History covers only the appellate courts, and access to trial-level records depends on the county where the case was filed.
What does Tennessee's Public Case History (PCH) tool actually cover?
PCH identifies itself as an Appellate Case Search and covers appellate-level cases only. It does not include trial-court cases from General Sessions, Circuit, or Criminal Court. Tennessee's appellate courts are the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Court of Criminal Appeals, though PCH's own page does not break its results down by specific court.
How do I search Davidson County (Nashville) court records?
Use CaseSearch, a free tool covering General Sessions Civil, Circuit, and Probate Court party information. For fuller 24/7 access, Davidson County also offers CaseLink for $25 per month.
How do I search Shelby County (Memphis) court records?
Shelby County runs CourtConnect for Circuit Court records. If the online tool is unavailable, contact the Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk's office directly.
What if my county has no online court records portal?
Most Tennessee counties outside Davidson and Shelby have no dedicated online search tool. Contact the clerk of the court where the case was filed with the party's name and, if possible, a case number.
Can someone from out of state request Tennessee court records?
The Tennessee Public Records Act, T.C.A. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(A), gives the right of personal inspection to any citizen of this state, and the Comptroller's Office of Open Records Counsel confirms that only Tennessee citizens hold that statutory right. A governmental entity may still make records accessible to someone who is not a Tennessee citizen, and county online portals are reachable by anyone, but an out-of-state requester has no Public Records Act right to invoke if a clerk declines.
What does expungement cover in Tennessee?
Tennessee's expungement process sits in Tennessee Code Annotated Title 40, Chapter 32, which now runs from § 40-32-101 through § 40-32-110. Expunction after a dismissal, acquittal, no true bill, or nolle prosequi is governed by § 40-32-106. Who may petition to expunge a conviction is set out in § 40-32-107, the petition and procedure are in § 40-32-108, and § 40-32-110 states the effect of an expunction order. Eligibility depends on how the case ended and what the offense was, so confirm your own situation with the clerk of the convicting court or a Tennessee attorney.
Can I use Tennessee court records to screen a job applicant or tenant?
You can search public records, but using them to make an employment or housing decision is separately governed by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. This guide addresses personal lookups, not screening compliance.
Updates
Replaced the outdated note that Tennessee's expungement chapter was mid-renumbering with the settled current citations (T.C.A. 40-32-101 through 40-32-110) and added Tennessee's own public-records access rule, including the statutory limit of the inspection right to Tennessee citizens.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Tennessee Code Annotated
§ 10-7-503Records open to public inspection — Schedule of reasonable charges — Costs — Destruction of public records.In forcecited in 3 of our articles
(a)(1) As used in this part and title 8, chapter 4, part 6: (A) “Public record or records” or “state record or records”: (i) Means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, microfilms, electronic data processing files and output, films, sound recordings, or other material,…
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-02 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at publications.tnsosfiles.com
Cited in 132 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
In the courts (editorial summary, independently checked):Tennessee courts treat section 10-7-503 as a presumption of openness qualified by its "unless otherwise provided by state law" clause. Memphis Publishing Co. v. City of Memphis (1994) held unfiled deposition transcripts were open records; The Tennessean (2016) held Rule 16 shields investigative files during a pending prosecution.
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- The Tennessean v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (Tennessee Supreme Court 2016, 485 S.W.3d 857)✓News organizations asked to inspect Nashville police files on the Vanderbilt rape investigation while the prosecutions were pending; the court held Criminal Procedure Rule 16 is a state law exception under 10-7-503(a)(2), so the records stayed closed.
- Swift v. Campbell (Court of Appeals of Tennessee 2004, 159 S.W.3d 565)✓A federal public defender sought a prosecutor's file from a concluded state coram nobis case for a death row inmate; the court applied the state law exception in 10-7-503(a) and held Rule 16 shielded the file while a federal collateral challenge was pending.
- Memphis Publishing Co. v. City of Memphis (Tennessee Supreme Court 1994, 871 S.W.2d 681)✓A newspaper sought unfiled deposition transcripts held by lawyers for Memphis and Shelby County in a bankruptcy case; the court held the transcripts were records under 10-7-503, not attorney work product, and had to be open for inspection.
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Tennessee Police Bodycam Laws: Access & Records Rules, Tennessee Public Records Act: Who Can Request and How
United States Code Title 15
§ 1681cRequirements relating to information contained in consumer reportsIn forcecited in 54 of our articles
Except as authorized under subsection (b), no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information: Cases under title 11 or under the Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may be, antedate the report by more than 10 years. Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that, from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period. Paid tax liens which, from date of payment, antedate the report by more than seven years. Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years. Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov
Cited in 383 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
In the courts (editorial summary, independently checked):Katz v. Donna Karan Co. (2017) addressed the FACTA truncation rule in 1681c(g) and affirmed dismissal for lack of Article III standing, treating material risk of harm as a fact question. Edward Seamans v. Temple University (2014) held the seven-year window in 1681c(a)(4) is extended for an education loan only until that loan is repaid.
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Katz v. Donna Karan Co. (Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 2017, 872 F.3d 114)✓A shopper sued two stores whose receipts printed the first six digits of his credit card number; the Second Circuit affirmed dismissal for lack of standing, seeing no clear error in the finding that those digits show only the card issuer, not a material risk of identity theft.
- Edward Seamans v. Temple University (Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 2014, 744 F.3d 853)✓A defaulted university loan kept appearing on a borrower's credit reports after he repaid it because the school never reported the delinquency date; the Third Circuit held the Higher Education Act suspends section 1681c(a)(4)'s aging-off rule only until repayment.
- Gonzales v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC (Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2011, 660 F.3d 1055)✓A debt buyer offered to settle health club debts over seven years old, saying that if it was reporting the account the bureaus would be told it was settled; the Ninth Circuit, treating those debts as unreportable under section 1681c(a)(4), called that implication misleading.
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: How Long Does a Felony Stay on Your Record? (2026), Alabama Background Check Laws (2026 Guide), Louisiana Background Check Laws (2026 Guide)
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Sources and References
- Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, Public Case History (PCH)(tncourts.gov).gov
- Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, Supreme Court(tncourts.gov).gov
- Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk, CaseSearch(circuitclerk.nashville.gov).gov
- Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk(shelbycountytn.gov).gov
- Cornell Legal Information Institute, 15 U.S.C. § 1681c (FCRA obsolete information)(law.cornell.edu)
- Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Office of Open Records Counsel, Tennessee Public Records Act FAQs (only Tennessee citizens hold the inspection right under T.C.A. 10-7-503(a)(2)(A))(comptroller.tn.gov).gov
- Tennessee General Assembly, Amendment SA0362 (reorganizing T.C.A. Title 40, Chapter 32 and adding sections 40-32-106 through 40-32-110)(capitol.tn.gov).gov