Does Tennessee law require government officials to let me inspect court and administrative records on request, and to give me certified copies?

Plain-English summary

Sen. Mark Pody asked AG Slatery two everyday public records questions.

First, must a state or local government official identify and make available records of court or administrative proceedings when someone asks (in writing or out loud)?

Yes, with conditions. The Tennessee Public Records Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(A), says "all state, county and municipal records shall at all times, during business hours, be open for personal inspection by any citizen of Tennessee, and those in charge of such records shall not refuse such right of inspection to any citizen, unless otherwise provided by state law." The custodian must "promptly make available for inspection any public records not specifically exempt from disclosure" if it is practicable to do so. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(B). If immediate production isn't practicable, the custodian must respond within seven business days in one of three ways: (a) make the records available, (b) deny the request in writing with a reason, or (c) tell the requester the estimated time needed to produce the records.

A "records custodian" is "any office, official, or employee of any governmental entity lawfully responsible for the direct custody and care of a public record." § 10-7-503(a)(1)(C). So the duty falls on whoever actually holds the file, not on every public official.

Several layers of state and federal law can carve out particular records. The opinion lists examples:

• Statutory confidentiality exceptions, such as those collected in § 10-7-504.
• The Tennessee Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure (Arnold v. City of Chattanooga, 19 S.W.3d 779 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2000); Appman v. Worthington, 746 S.W.2d 165 (Tenn. 1987)).
• The Tennessee Supreme Court Rules (Coats v. Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority, 2001 WL 1589117 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 13, 2001)).
• The common law (Swift v. Campbell, 159 S.W.3d 565 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005)).
• Federal law via the Supremacy Clause (Seaton v. Johnson, 898 S.W.2d 232 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1995)).

The Public Records Act also does not require an official to "sort through files to compile information" or "to create a record that does not exist." Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(4), (5). So a request for "everything you have on subject X" can be denied if it would require compiling or creating a record. The custodian must produce records that exist; the custodian is not a research assistant.

Second, must the custodian provide certified copies?

No. The Public Records Act does not require certified copies, and the AG could not identify any other statute requiring them either. Court clerks specifically are authorized to charge a five-dollar fee for "making certification and seal" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-401(i)(5), but that is a fee schedule for a service the clerks may perform, not a duty to perform certification on demand.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2018. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

The Tennessee Public Records Act and § 10-7-504's exception list have been amended frequently. Anyone making a current public records request or evaluating one should pull the latest versions.

Common questions

Q: I made an oral request and the clerk said I have to put it in writing. Is that allowed?
A: The Public Records Act does not require requests to be in writing. Many local governments have request forms or written-request preferences for record-keeping reasons, but the statute itself permits oral requests. Practically, written requests are easier to track and to challenge if denied, so most experienced requesters write them down anyway.

Q: How long can the custodian wait to give me records?
A: The custodian must respond promptly if practicable. If not, the seven-business-day clock kicks in. The response can be the records themselves, a written denial with reason, or an estimated production timeline. Saying nothing for weeks is not a permitted response.

Q: Does the custodian have to provide a certified copy, and is there a fee?
A: The opinion says the Public Records Act does not require a custodian to provide certified copies at all. Where a court clerk does certify, § 8-21-401(i)(5) authorizes a five-dollar fee for "making certification and seal." The opinion does not address fees for plain inspection or copying.

Q: I asked for "all emails about Project X." The custodian said no. Why?
A: Likely because that request asks the custodian to "sort through files to compile information." § 10-7-503(a)(4), (5). The custodian is not required to do that work. A more targeted request, naming specific senders, recipients, dates, or attaching a search-term list, is more likely to be honored.

Q: What if the record is sealed or confidential under a court rule?
A: Court rules and Supreme Court Rules can override the Public Records Act for the records they cover. Sealed court records, juvenile case files, attorney disciplinary materials, and similar records are governed by the rule that creates the confidentiality, not by the Public Records Act.

Q: I need a certified copy for use in another state's court. Can I demand one?
A: Probably yes, but not under the Public Records Act. Court clerks have authority to certify under § 8-21-401(i)(5) and routinely do so for a fee. Check with the specific clerk's office. For non-court records, certification practices vary by agency.

Q: I am not a Tennessee citizen. Can I still request records?
A: The text of the Public Records Act says "any citizen of Tennessee." § 10-7-503(a)(2)(A). The opinion does not address whether non-citizens have the same statutory right, and case law on this point is limited. As a practical matter, many custodians fulfill out-of-state requests, but they may decline if pressed.

Background and statutory framework

The Tennessee Public Records Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503 et seq., is the state's open-records statute. It presumes openness and requires the custodian to identify the legal basis for any denial. Its central duties are:

• Open inspection during normal business hours.
• Prompt availability or, if not practicable, a seven-business-day response that produces, denies in writing, or estimates a production timeline.
• A records custodian is the entity actually responsible for the record, not just any public official.

The Act's exceptions live in § 10-7-504 and across the Tennessee Code. Court rules and common-law privileges (work product, attorney-client, deliberative process to a limited extent) supplement those exceptions. Federal statutes that classify records as confidential preempt the Act under the Supremacy Clause; HIPAA, FERPA, and certain federal grant-program confidentiality rules are common examples.

The "no duty to compile or create" rule in § 10-7-503(a)(4), (5) is a frequent friction point. Tennessee custodians may decline to assemble new records, run database queries the office does not normally run, or hunt through unindexed files. A targeted request that asks for documents the agency already maintains in a recognizable form has a much higher chance of success.

Citations

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-401(i)(5)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(1)(C), (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), (a)(4), (5)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504
• Arnold v. City of Chattanooga, 19 S.W.3d 779 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2000)
• Appman v. Worthington, 746 S.W.2d 165 (Tenn. 1987)
• Coats v. Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority, 2001 WL 1589117 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 13, 2001)
• Swift v. Campbell, 159 S.W.3d 565 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005)
• Seaton v. Johnson, 898 S.W.2d 232 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1995)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2018/op18-23.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
May 30, 2018
Opinion No. 18-23

Duties Under Tennessee Public Records Act

Question 1
Does a state or local government official have any statutory duty to identify and make available for inspection or copying records of court or administrative proceedings in response to a written or oral request?

Opinion 1
If the state or local government official is the records custodian of the requested public records, then Tennessee's Public Records Act generally requires that, if practicable, the records custodian make the public records available for inspection during normal business hours, unless a state law provides otherwise with respect to the openness of the requested records.

Question 2
Does a state or local government official have any statutory duty to provide certified copies of public records in response to a written or oral request?

Opinion 2
No. Tennessee's Public Records Act does not require a records custodian to provide certified copies of public records in response to an oral or written request.

ANALYSIS

Tennessee's Public Records Act provides that "all state, county and municipal records shall at all times, during business hours, be open for personal inspection by any citizen of Tennessee, and those in charge of such records shall not refuse such right of inspection to any citizen, unless otherwise provided by state law." Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(A). The Act specifically requires a records custodian to "promptly make available for inspection any public records not specifically exempt from disclosure" unless it is not practicable to do so. Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(B). If it is not practicable to promptly make the record available for inspection, the records custodian is required to respond within seven business days by either making the records available to the requestor, by denying the request in writing and including the basis for the denial, or informing the requestor of the estimated time reasonably necessary to produce the requested records. Id. A "records custodian" is defined as "any office, official, or employee of any governmental entity lawfully responsible for the direct custody and care of a public record." Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(1)(C).

Accordingly, if a state or local government official is lawfully responsible for the direct custody and care of records of court or administrative proceedings, then the Tennessee's Public Records Act generally requires that, if practicable, the official make such records available for inspection during normal business hours, unless a state law provides otherwise with respect to the openness of the requested records. Tennessee courts have recognized that state law includes state statutes (e.g., Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504); the Tennessee Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure (Arnold v. City of Chattanooga, 19 S.W.3d 779 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2000); Appman v. Worthington, 746 S.W.2d 165 (Tenn. 1987)); the Supreme Court Rules (Coats v. Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority, 2001 WL 1589117 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 13, 2001)); and the common law (Swift v. Campbell, 159 S.W.3d 565 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005)). In addition, Tennessee courts have recognized that federal law can provide exceptions to Tennessee's Public Records Act by virtue of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution. See Seaton v. Johnson, 898 S.W.2d 232 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1995). To the extent any state or federal law provides otherwise with respect to the openness of a record, then the Public Records Act does not require the records custodian to make that record available for public inspection.

The Public Records Act does not, however, require a public official "to sort through files to compile information" or "to create a record that does not exist." Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(4) and (5).

The Public Records Act also does not require a records custodian to provide certified copies of public records in response to a written or oral request, and we are not aware of any other statute requiring a state or local government official to provide certified copies of public records. Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-21-401(i)(5) does authorize the clerks of all general sessions, juvenile, probate, circuit, and chancery courts to a charge a fee of five dollars ($5.00) for "making certification and seal."

HERBERT H. SLATERY III
Attorney General and Reporter

ANDRÉE SOPHIA BLUMSTEIN
Solicitor General

JANET M. KLEINFELTER
Deputy Attorney General

Requested by:
The Honorable Mark Pody
State Senator
425 5th Avenue No., Suite 754
Cordell Hull Building
Nashville, TN 37243