Tennessee Arrest Records

Breaking the law in Tennessee often results in an alleged perpetrator's arrest and subsequent entry into the criminal justice system.

After an arrest, Tennessee law enforcement officers create and maintain an official record of the incident. The record, called an arrest record, contains details about the arrestee, such as their full name, age, date of birth, sex, race, photograph, height, and weight. It also has information about the offense/charge, arresting agency, arrest time and date, the arrest location, bond type and amount, and the presiding court.

Arrest records are vital documents for several reasons. Besides serving as a law enforcement device for tracking criminal activity, the records are also helpful for beginning criminal court proceedings and for background checks. However, an arrest record does not prove a person engaged in illegal activity or was convicted.

In Tennessee, law enforcement agencies, such as a police department or sheriff's office, primarily maintain arrest records. However, these records may be found with other criminal justice agencies, such as a court.

Are Arrest Records Public in Tennessee?

Yes. Under the Tennessee Public Records Act, arrest records are open to the public in Tennessee. The Act furnishes general access to all documents made or received by public agencies that relate to their official business. Consequently, individuals can review or obtain records created or maintained by state, county, or municipal police agencies. A requester does not have to state a reason for their request.

Nonetheless, not all records maintained by law enforcement agencies are subject to the TPRA. Where access is limited by law or court order, a record may be withheld from the public or the applicable portions redacted before release. For example, the results of hepatitis or HIV/AIDS testing of an arrested person's blood are confidential. Further, arrest records that may compromise active law enforcement investigations or reveal juvenile offenders are protected from public dissemination (unless the juvenile was transferred as an adult to criminal court). The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury provides more details about TPRA exemptions online.

How Do I Look Up Arrest Records in Tennessee?

To look up arrest records in Tennessee, a person may query the law enforcement agency that performed an arrest. Often, this will be a local police department or sheriff's office. Upon determining the police agency, the interested party can submit a request (usually a written request) to the agency's records section or unit.

It should be noted that the methods through which these public record requests can be submitted vary. Thus, it is crucial to confirm these procedures from the applicable department before submitting a request. Some agencies ask requesters to fill out a records request form, which may be provided on their official website and submitted by mail to a designated address. Other agencies recommend in-person, online, and telephone requests, usually in addition to mail-in options.

Where no request form is available, a requester may draft a letter, including the names of involved parties, incident dates and locations, record type(s), and any other information to help the records office staff locate the record. Mail requesters should include a self-addressed, stamped envelope to receive the department's response or indicate other delivery methods (if permitted).

Typically, fees are assessed to provide copies of records to the public, and these vary by agency.

Members of the public can also look up arrest records in Tennessee through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The TBI is the central repository for statewide criminal history information, which includes records of misdemeanor and felony arrests submitted by arresting agencies. A member of the public can request the Tennessee adult criminal history of any individual from the TBI for $29 (name-based checks only). The request can be submitted online or by mail. Mail request forms are available on the TBI's Background Checks page.

Meanwhile, requests to the FBI for arrest records made through the TBI (explained on the Background Checks page) or to the FBI must be made by the subject of the record. No other person can request another's record from the FBI. Whereas FBI-direct requests for nationwide arrest records checks cost $18 per person, FBI-only checks through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation cost $50. In both cases, the subject's fingerprints are required.

Free Arrest Record Search in Tennessee

Several local law enforcement agencies in Tennessee maintain online rosters that the public can access to check arrests and bookings for free. Examples include the City of Jackson Police Department's Daily Arrest Reports, the Knox County Sheriff's Office 24-Hour Arrests Log, and Davidson County's Daily Booking List. However, these rosters often only date back to a few days or weeks.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record in Tennessee?

The Tennessee legislature does not specify a fixed period within which arrests will automatically be removed from a person's record. As a result, these incidents remain on one's record for life. Record subjects, however, have the option of expunging their records in Tennessee if they qualify.

How to Seal Arrest Record in Tennessee

Tennessee refers to the act of removing a charge or charges from a person's criminal record as an "expungement" or "expunction." The state has no traditional sealing procedures for arrest records.

Individuals who want to expunge, i.e., remove and destroy, their arrest records in Tennessee (where no conviction was made) must qualify under T.C.A. § 40-32-101(a):

• The charges were dismissed
• The grand jury returned a "no bill" for the charges
• The individual was arrested and released without being charged
• The case went to trial, but the defendant was declared "not guilty."
• The case resulted in a nolle prosequi (the prosecutor opted to discontinue prosecution)

For such petitioners, the state authorizes free expungement. An expungement petition should be submitted to the court in the county where the arrest took place. The petitioner must ensure they do not have any outstanding costs owed to the court or that their charge was not "retired" to submit the expungement petition. Where pending court costs exist, the petitioner must clear those, and where a charge was "retired," the petitioner must request its modification to a "dismissed" charge.

The Tennessee Judiciary provides blank expungement forms for petitioners, but parties can also check the respective local criminal court's website for forms. The Tennessee Courts' Expungement Order Form can also be used to petition for the destruction of juvenile fingerprint and photograph records under T.C.A. § 37-1-155. More information about free expungements in Tennessee is available on the state judiciary's Expungements web page.

Note: The above process is different from expunging a record of conviction in Tennessee under T.C.A. § 40-32-101(g), (h), and (k). Conviction expungements are petitioned to the court in the county where the case originated via an Expungement Order Form. All restitution, fines, court costs, and probation fees (if ordered) must be paid in full before submitting the form. Under T.C.A. § 8-21-401, criminal court clerks charge a fee of $100 for each expungement request.

For details about conviction expungements in Tennessee, one may review the state's Expunction website, contact their local District Attorney's office (or check the office's website), or seek an experienced attorney's assistance. A local court's website may also have information and forms particular to expungements in the court's jurisdiction.

Generally, a petitioner does not need to appear in court for an expungement in Tennessee. Once the court grants an order for expungement, the order is forwarded to the applicable agencies, including the arresting agency, county jail, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the State Department of Correction. These agencies then delete the expunged information from the petitioner's record. A person whose arrest record has been expunged in Tennessee has their status restored to the time before the arrest. As such, to the question of whether such a record exists, the person can answer in the negative.

It is crucial for each petitioner to retain a certified copy of the expungement (obtained from the court clerk's office) as proof. Admittedly, an expunged Tennessee arrest record may still show up through private aggregator websites or background check companies, as a service provider's files may not be updated at the time of inquiry. In such cases, the affected party should seek deletion from the relevant company.