Small Claims Complaint - Preparation Worksheet - Tennessee

Tennessee Litigation & Court Documents Updated August 29, 2026 Free Word and PDF

TENNESSEE SMALL-CLAIMS CLAIM INTAKE AND FILING-DOCUMENT TRANSFER PACKET

Important Use Gate

DO NOT FILE THIS PACKET. It does not commence a case, preserve a claim, request process, serve a party, satisfy a limitation period, or comply with a court deadline.

Use current official materials for the exact Tennessee court and the proposed claim to determine the accepted initiating document, eligibility, amount treatment, filing location, signature requirements, service process, and hearing procedure. Transfer only attorney-approved content to the filing document that the selected court accepts.

Do not assume that a demand, settlement discussion, clerk inquiry, incomplete submission, or this packet extends or changes any legal or court-controlled date.

1. Matter Control

Item Entry
Client or proposed plaintiff [________________________________]
Prepared by [________________________________]
Preparation date [__/__/____]
Tennessee attorney [________________________________]
Attorney contact [________________________________]
Matter number [________________________________]
Earliest known limitation, notice, or filing date [__/__/____] at [TIME / TIME ZONE]
Deadline owner [________________________________]
Current packet status [INTAKE / COUNSEL REVIEW / READY FOR TRANSFER / HOLD]

2. Current Court and Procedure Profile

Complete every row from current official materials for the exact court and from claim-specific authority. If two sources conflict, mark the item UNRESOLVED and obtain attorney direction before acting.

Required determination Current official source Matter-specific conclusion Checked on
Exact court, county, division, address, and clerk contact [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Accepted initiating document and current revision [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Eligible claim types and exclusions [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Amount limit and treatment of interest, fees, costs, and other relief [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Plaintiff and defendant eligibility or representation restrictions [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Subject-matter authority and geographic filing location [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Limitation period, presuit notice, exhaustion, or other prerequisite [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Filing method, fee or waiver, copies, and attachments [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Signature, certification, oath, verification, or notarization [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Issuance, service, proof, and service recipient [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Hearing, appearance, response, default, and continuance procedure [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Jury procedure, if any [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Judgment, review, enforcement, and satisfaction procedure [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Local standing order, administrative order, or clerk instruction [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]

☐ The accepted initiating document and its revision date were confirmed for the exact court.

☐ An attorney confirmed the proposed claim, parties, amount, requested relief, and filing location fit the selected procedure.

3. Party and Capacity Information

Field Proposed plaintiff Proposed defendant
Full legal name [________________________________] [________________________________]
Individual or entity classification [________________________________] [________________________________]
Address [________________________________] [________________________________]
Phone and email [________________________________] [________________________________]
Entity status and formation jurisdiction [________________________________] [________________________________]
Registered agent or other possible service recipient [________________________________] [________________________________]
Attorney or authorized representative [________________________________] [________________________________]
Capacity, guardianship, estate, bankruptcy, or military issue [________________________________] [________________________________]

Identity-source record: [________________________________]

Name variants or assumed names: [________________________________]

Related party that may need to be joined or excluded: [________________________________]

4. Court and Claim Classification

Do not use a generic “small claims” label to decide court authority, amount, filing procedure, or available relief.

Classification question Facts Current primary authority or official instruction Attorney conclusion
Court type and division [________] [________] [________]
Claim type and required elements [________] [________] [________]
Amount or property at issue [________] [________] [________]
Proposed relief [________] [________] [________]
Plaintiff and defendant type [________] [________] [________]
Geographic filing location [________] [________] [________]
Personal-jurisdiction basis [________] [________] [________]
Subject-matter authority [________] [________] [________]
Arbitration, agency, bankruptcy, probate, family, or other proceeding [________] [________] [________]
Local or case-specific restriction [________] [________] [________]

Classification unresolved: ☐ No ☐ Yes — explain: [________________________________]

5. Working Caption and Filing Identity

Transfer names exactly as verified from reliable identity records unless the attorney approves a different presentation.

Party Role
[PLAINTIFF / CLAIMANT NAME], Plaintiff / Claimant
v.
[DEFENDANT / RESPONDENT NAME], Defendant / Respondent
Filing field Verified entry
Exact court [________________________________]
County [________________________________]
Division or part [________________________________]
Accepted title of initiating document [________________________________]
Case number, if assigned [________________________________]
Plaintiff's filing capacity [________________________________]
Defendant's exact legal identity [________________________________]

6. Event Chronology

Date and time Person or entity Event Exact communication or conduct Record or witness Disputed?
[________] [________] [________] “[________]” [________] [YES / NO]
[________] [________] [________] “[________]” [________] [YES / NO]
[________] [________] [________] “[________]” [________] [YES / NO]
[________] [________] [________] “[________]” [________] [YES / NO]

Separate firsthand knowledge, business records, witness statements, assumptions, and attorney conclusions.

7. Claim-Element Worksheet

The attorney must identify the proposed legal theory and current authority. This packet does not select a claim or state its elements.

Proposed claim or element Facts supporting it Contrary fact or gap Evidence or witness Current authority Include?
[________________________________] [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
[________________________________] [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
[________________________________] [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
[________________________________] [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐

Attorney-approved concise claim statement for transfer:

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

8. Amount and Relief Register

Do not request interest, attorney fees, filing costs, penalties, enhanced damages, possession, injunctive relief, or any other remedy unless current claim-specific authority and the Court Profile support it.

Component or remedy Proposed amount or relief Calculation and facts Supporting record Current authority Approved?
Principal loss $[________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Payment, credit, refund, or offset ($[________]) [________] [________] [________] ☐
Property value or repair $[________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Contractual charge $[________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Interest $[________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Fees or costs $[________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Other monetary relief $[________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Nonmonetary relief [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Attorney-approved requested relief [________] ☐

9. Filing-Location and Defendant-Identity Facts

Fact to document Evidence or source Attorney conclusion
Defendant residence or entity address [________________________________] [________________________________]
Transaction or event location [________________________________] [________________________________]
Property location [________________________________] [________________________________]
Contract-selected forum, if any [________________________________] [________________________________]
Correct defendant and name variants [________________________________] [________________________________]
Registered agent or possible service recipient [________________________________] [________________________________]
Government, tribal, foreign, or immunity issue [________________________________] [________________________________]
Related case or proceeding [________________________________] [________________________________]

10. Documents and Witnesses

Documents

  • ☐ Contract, estimate, purchase order, or account terms
  • ☐ Invoice, statement, receipt, or payment record
  • ☐ Communications and demand
  • ☐ Photograph, video, inspection, estimate, or repair record
  • ☐ Title, registration, ownership, or entity record
  • ☐ Medical, expert, business, or other supporting record
  • ☐ Assignment, authorization, or capacity record
  • ☐ Other: [________________________________]

Witnesses

Witness Contact Firsthand facts Record foundation Attendance or subpoena review
[____________] [____________] [____________] [____________] [____________]
[____________] [____________] [____________] [____________] [____________]
[____________] [____________] [____________] [____________] [____________]

11. Defense and Counterclaim Screen

Potential issue Facts or response Evidence Attorney review
Payment, credit, settlement, or release [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Wrong party, capacity, assignment, or standing [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Contract formation, modification, or performance [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Defect, warranty, offset, or recoupment [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Limitation, notice, delay, or condition precedent [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Causation, mitigation, or amount [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Service, filing location, court authority, or capacity [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Counterclaim or separate action [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

12. Filing-Document Transfer Map

Transfer only attorney-approved content to the accepted filing document. Do not copy this packet's headings or warnings into a court filing unless the court's format calls for them.

Accepted field or attachment Approved entry Source in this packet Reviewer initials
Court and caption [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Parties, capacities, and addresses [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Claim statement [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Amount and requested relief [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Signature, certification, or verification [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Process or service information [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Exhibits [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Other required field [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]

13. Filing, Process, and Hearing Control

Control item Deadline or date Responsible person Completion evidence
Limitation, notice, exhaustion, or prerequisite [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Filing and fee or waiver [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Issuance of process or notice [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Service and proof [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Hearing, appearance, or response [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Exhibit and witness preparation [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Defense or counterclaim response [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Judgment or review date [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Enforcement or satisfaction [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

14. Final Attorney Approval

☐ Current official court materials and claim-specific authority were reviewed.

☐ Court, claim eligibility, amount, filing location, filing method, process, service, and hearing requirements were completed in the Court Profile.

☐ Party identity, capacity, and service information were independently checked.

☐ Each proposed claim element and requested remedy has factual and legal support.

☐ The accepted filing document—not this packet—was reviewed and approved.

Approved by: [________________________________]

Role: [TENNESSEE ATTORNEY / AUTHORIZED REVIEWER]

Date: [__/__/____]

Notes: [____________________________________________________________]

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About this template

Last updated
August 29, 2026
Last reviewed
August 29, 2026
Jurisdiction
Tennessee
Category
Litigation & Court Documents

These are the filings that drive a lawsuit through the system: complaints, answers, motions, briefs, discovery requests and responses, and post-judgment papers. Each has its own format requirements under federal and state procedural rules, and each has a deadline that cannot be missed without consequences. Clean, procedurally correct filings move a case forward; sloppy ones invite motions to strike, amended responses, and avoidable delays.

Not legal advice

This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.

Checked against the law it cites

A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on August 29, 2026.

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