Vital records document significant life events. Vital records include:
Marriage Certificates
Divorce Certificates
Birth Certificates
Death Certificates
Where can I request a vital record?
The Tennessee Health Department’s Office of Vital Records reviews, registers, amends, issues and maintains the original certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces that occur in Tennessee in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated.
Office hours are Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Tennessee Vital Records 1st Floor, Andrew Johnson Tower 710 James Robertson Parkway Nashville, TN 37243
“Public record or records’ or ‘state record or records’ means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, microfilms, electronic data processing files and output, films, sound recordings, or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristics made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any governmental agency.” T.C.A. § 10-7-301(6)
The test for determining whether a record is public is “whether it was made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any governmental agency.” Griffin v. City of Knoxville, 821 S.W. 2d 921, 924 (Tenn. 1991).
Can I search the Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien database?
Click here for the Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien database.
How do I record a Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien?
A Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien may be obtained by filing the following information:
A completed Application for Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien, form SS-4258;
Payment of the $10 filing fee
Once the application has been processed a cover letter and the form will be returned for your records.
What is the Records Management Division?
The Records Management Division (RMD) was established by Tennessee Code Annotated 10-7-303 to assist state agencies in establishing systematic controls for the efficient use and sound preservation of state records. The Division serves as the primary records management agency for the state of Tennessee and provides professional consultative and analytical records management leadership to agencies. This guidance aids in the appropriate development, utilization, disposition, retention, and destruction of records.
The Records Management Division is further directed by the Public Records Commission (PRC) to serve as administrative liaison between state agencies and the PRC; to establish procedural guidelines for paper and electronic records oversight and retention; and to coordinate efforts supporting the state's Paperwork Reduction and Simplification Act of 1976 (TCA 4-25-101).
What is the Records Disposition Authorizations process?
Records Disposition Authorizations (RDAs) are record retention guides state agencies follow to maintain their records properly. The Records Management Division oversees the records management process. The Secretary of State’s office online RDA filing system provides users with an easy way to filter, search, and find RDAs and provides retention and destruction method information. Click here to search all effective RDAs.
Where can I find permanent Certificate of Title and Other Motor Vehicle Lien information?
Where do I find the law for the Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien program?
The law relating to the Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien program is found in the Tennessee Code at §55-3-126(f). You can access the Tennessee Code at: Michie/LexisNexis.
Where do I mail my Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien application?
Tennessee Secretary of State
Division of Business and Charitable Organizations
MVTL Section
6th Floor, Snodgrass Tower
312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
Nashville, TN 37243
Where do I find the application to file a Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien?
Click Here to prepare or file the application online.
When does a Motor Vehicle Temporary Lien terminate?
A temporary lien properly filed with the Business Services Division automatically terminates after 180 days or upon being otherwise perfected, whichever occurs first. After 270 days, the temporary lien documents are purged from the filing system and destroyed.
Who do I contact when making a public records request
State agencies are required by law, T.C.A 10-7-503(a)(2)(B), to have a designated Public Records Request Coordinator. This person is the designated contact for receiving public records requests. Contact the appropriate agency’s coordinator to request access to that agency’s records. If you have further questions or need additional assistance, contact: Office of Open Records Counsel
A “Catastrophic Illness Trust” is defined as a trust or custodial account established to benefit those with a catastrophic illness, or a severe illness requiring prolonged hospitalization and/or doctors and medicines. Trustees or a bank or trust company acting as trustee are required to provide notice to the Division of Charitable Solicitations on establishment of the trust. This notice is required before soliciting donations in the State of Tennessee.
The trustees, other than a bank or trust company acting as trustee, are also required to file with the Division of Charitable Solicitations an annual accounting of the trust on the anniversary of the establishment of the trust. This accounting must include all revenue and expenditures of the trust. The trustees must keep true and accurate financial records of the trust for no less than three (3) years. In addition, the Secretary of State may compel additional production of documents, exhibits, or things by any person which the Secretary believes to be pertinent in conducting any investigation.