Tennessee Criminal Public Records

Use the Tennessee-only adult name-check product

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation background-check page offers the public an adult Tennessee criminal history on an individual for $29. This name-based product does not require fingerprints and can be requested online or by mail. It is a Tennessee repository check, not a nationwide search of every court file or a list of everyone currently in custody.

The same page advertises separate fingerprint products, including an FBI-only nationwide option and checks for qualified organizations. If an employer, licensing body or other recipient gave you an agency-specific instruction, verify that product before buying the public name check. Do not assume that submitting fingerprints with an ordinary $29 request upgrades its scope.

Keep the requester and record subject separate in TORIS

Enter online through TBI’s official request link. The first TORIS Requestor Information Form asks for your name, mailing address, phone and email. It explicitly says those are the requester’s details, not the details of the person being checked. Confirm your email accurately because the site uses it for confirmation and the current TBI page requires an email for the result.

Proceed to the subject-search step only after completing the requester information. Use the correct subject name and date of birth and follow the demographic fields shown. The posted mail form separates these roles too, including subject middle name, birth information and other identifiers. Recheck spelling and dates before submission; the memo says the search uses the information supplied.

Use the mail form and distinguish the payment choices

For mail, TBI publishes Form BI 0238 with its explanatory memo. The address is Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, TORIS Unit, 901 R.S. Gass Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37216. Complete the request, indicate payment and include the $29 fee. The published form lists cashier’s check or money order as well as specified card choices. Use the agency’s secure payment instructions for any card transaction.

The memo calls the $29 fee nonrefundable. Although its narrative also mentions personal and business checks, the form’s selection boxes are narrower; a cashier’s check or money order avoids that discrepancy for mail. For an uncertain payment method or a request already submitted, call the TORIS Unit at 615-744-4057 before sending another paid search.

Follow the current electronic-delivery rule

TBI’s current background-check webpage says results are electronic and a valid email address is required. Its older February 2023 form still shows mail, fax and Nashville pickup options. Those instructions conflict, so rely on the current email requirement and confirm any alternative delivery directly with TORIS rather than expecting an old checkbox to guarantee it.

The posted form describes results within three to five business days, but that is not a live status estimate for your order. Retain your confirmation, submission date and requester information for a status inquiry. Ask about the original request before duplicating it, especially when a delivery-address mistake could explain why the response has not arrived.

Read the report without overstating a name match

TBI describes its criminal-history information as misdemeanor and felony arrests supported by fingerprint submissions from arresting agencies; the public lookup itself is still by name. A possible history should be compared with the intended person’s identifiers and the outcome of each relevant charge. An arrest entry alone is not a finding of guilt.

The memo says aliases are not included, while the attached form contains AKA/maiden-name fields. Provide accurate requested information, but ask TORIS how alternate names are handled if that matters to your search. A no-record result under one set of identifiers should not be presented as a fingerprint-confirmed nationwide clearance.

Use the fingerprint-comparison procedure for your own dispute

If a check on you appears inaccurate, the posted TORIS memo describes a fingerprint comparison: send fingerprints and a letter explaining that you dispute the name-check findings, with $24 by cashier’s check or money order. TORIS compares the prints and reports whether the history matches; it assists with inaccuracies identified through that comparison. Confirm the current submission details at 615-744-4057 before mailing.

Identify whether the problem is a wrong-person match, a missing court outcome or another entry. Keep the disputed report and any supporting order available. A second ordinary name check is not the same as this challenge process and may simply reproduce the information you are questioning.

Go to the filing court for its actual judgment

For a particular order, the court clerk is the records custodian. Identify the filing county, court and case number, then request the document and any needed certification. Local systems differ: Shelby County, for example, directs users to a registered case-history portal and separately to Sheriff custody information. Use the court named on your paperwork instead of assuming a TBI response includes every filed document.