People also ask
The program does NOT:
- Help participants change their identities or relocate.
- Remove or delete existing public records.
- Offer legal advice.
- Relieve participants of their legal or financial responsibilities.
The Safe at Home Program will receive all first class and certified mail sent to the substitute address and then forward that mail to the participant at their designated mailing address.
Contact information for APD is provided here
Cases are opened with the Administrative Procedures Division (APD) by the state or local government agency for whom APD is hearing the case. An individual or business who wants to appeal a government agency’s ruling will file an appeal with that agency. The agency then refers that appeal to APD. Individuals do not open cases directly with APD.
- For example, if a property owner wants to appeal their county property tax, the owner will file an appeal with the respective county’s board of equalization. If the property owner wants to appeal further, beyond the county, then the property owner will file an appeal with the State Board of Equalization. It is the State Board of Equalization that then refers the appeal and opens a case with APD.
- For another example, if someone is denied coverage of a medical service by TennCare and wants to appeal that denial, that individual will appeal to TennCare. TennCare will then refer the appeal and open a case with APD.
- There are two exceptions to this process: 1) an individual property owner and a municipality disagree as to whether the property has been annexed by the municipality (TCA 8-3-102). For these cases, the property owner or the municipality may file a complaint against the opposing party with the secretary of state. 2) a public official challenges a fraudulent lien against his or her property (TCA 47-9-513). For these cases, the office where the lien is being filed forwards the challenge to APD.
Generally, APD gets its authority from the Tennessee General Assembly through the laws they adopt, specifically the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act (UAPA) (Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-101, et seq.) In addition, many Tennessee statutes require state agencies to comply with the UAPA in conducting certain types of cases. For example, the TEAM Act requires that certain state employee disciplinary cases be conducted in accordance with the UAPA (Tenn. Code Ann. §8-30-318) and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security must conduct procedures about property that might be forfeited to the State under the provisions of the UAPA (Tenn. Code Ann. §8-30-318). APD also contracts with local governments to conduct employee disciplinary proceedings and with colleges and universities to hold hearings required by Title IX.
If you want to appeal the decision made in your case, then you should follow the instructions given here and as attached to your order.
If you are concerned about the ethics, demeanor, or conduct of APD employees, including APD support staff or ALJs, then please send your complaint in writing to the Director of APD.
Military personnel, their family members and overseas voters (UOCAVA voters) may receive their absentee ballot via e-mail or by-mail upon request. UOCAVA voters may track when the ballot was received by their local county election commission office. The voted ballot must be received by the local county election commission office by the close of polls on election day to be counted. Please see our complete guide on How to Vote Absentee for Military and Overseas Voters.
You can file form SS-4800 to change the mailing address by mail or in person. A change in Registered Agent or principal address requires filing Articles of Amendment and paying the statutory $20 filing fee. Forms can be found on our the Forms & Fees page for mail and in person filings.
APD is a division of the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, which is within the Legislative Branch of Tennessee state government. APD employs a central panel of judges who are independent of the Executive Branch and the agencies whose cases are heard before them. This independence ensures that an extra layer of due process protection is afforded to all parties involved in each case.
Normally poll workers report to work one hour before polls open and leave one hour after the poll closes. Check with your county election commission for more information.
To be a poll worker, a person must:
- Be at least 16 years old
- Be a registered voter in the county if 18 or older
- Be able to read and write in the English language
- Not be supervised by a county or municipal elected official on the ballot
- Not be a candidate or close relative of a candidate. Close relatives are defined as the spouse, parent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of a candidate on the ballot or a write-in candidate
Government Employees Who Can Serve as Poll Worker:
- All City, County and Metro employees (unless working directly under the supervision of an elected official on the ballot)
- State of Tennessee employees
- Federal employees – consult your Human Resources Department to ensure eligibility
A poll worker shall also:
- Have strong clerical skills
- Be able to solve problems
- Be an effective communicator
If you are interested in becoming a poll worker, apply by filling out an application form. Poll workers are appointed locally based on need.
APD is partially funded through the Secretary of State’s budget as allocated by the Tennessee General Assembly. In addition, APD charges government agencies $200 to open a case and $100 per hour, after the first two hours, for a judge’s time spent on an individual case. Each government agency and type of case may have specific rules that determine if and how that government agency may recoup some of the costs of a case from the other party.
County Election Commissions are required by state law to provide training. This training provides all the necessary information and knowledge to be a successful poll worker.
The Office of the Secretary of State has developed an application form that must be used to apply for the program, which captures all required information and must be completed with the assistance of a Certified Application Assistant, who must also sign the application. The application must be submitted to the Safe at Home Program by a certified application assistant.
For more information see our Applicant Guide.
Poll workers are compensated for working at polling places at a rate determined by the county election commission and are also compensated for attending any required training sessions. Poll workers may also choose to volunteer their services, but most are paid.
Every effort is made to assign a poll workers to their neighborhood voting site. However, poll workers must be willing to be flexible and consider assignments at other sites in the county based on need.
If you are a party in the case, please email apd.filings@tnsos.gov with your request. If you are not a party in the case, then you can submit a public records request.
Program Participants are not subject to selection for state or municipal jury duty. T.C.A. § 40-38-607.
Program participants should not appear on state or municipal jury selection lists. If a program participant is selected for jury service, the summoning court should excuse the program participant.
If a program participant receives a jury summons for either state or municipal jury duty, the Participant must notify the summoning court of the participant's exempt status and provide a copy of the Participant's Certificate of Program Participation, if requested.
Participants may not fail to respond to a jury summons.
APD considers cases from most state agencies, various city and county governmental agencies, and state universities resulting in over 430 different types of cases. On average over 8,100 cases are referred to APD each year. The majority of these cases involve property tax appeals, TennCare appeals, and appeals from the seizure of an individual’s assets.
No. The voter will receive absentee ballots for all regularly scheduled elections for the calendar year in which the request is submitted.
Note that it is the voter’s responsibility to keep the local county election office informed of any changes of address. The ballots will be mailed or e-mailed, depending on the choice of the voter, to the address that is originally submitted to the local county election office until further notice from the voter.
Applications may be received no earlier than January 1 of the year in which the election is to be held unless the election is to be held less than ninety (90) days after January 1 of the calendar year. In that case, the application may be received no earlier than ninety (90) days before the election and no later than seven (7) days before the election.
Certified Application Assistants work with various state and local agencies and/or nonprofit agencies that provide counseling and shelter services to victims of domestic abuse and other crimes. At list of Certified Application Assistants can be found here. Safe at Home is most effective as part of an overall safety plan. Additional information regarding safety plans can be found here.
Yes. State employees may become poll workers.
The voted ballot must be received by mail by the close of the polls on election day. If the ballot is rejected, the registered voter will be notified that the ballot was rejected and why the ballot was rejected.
For some questions you may have regarding your case, you may be instructed that your question is better directed to the government agency that is the opposing party in your case rather than to APD. You should direct those questions to the opposing attorney who represents the government agency or contact the government agency using the contact information contained in your Notice of Hearing or Notice of Hearing and Charges.
One example may be a question regarding how you are to pay the cost for your case. APD charges each government agency based upon the hours spent on each case. Each government agency has different rules and policies on if they can then in turn charge the petitioner. If you have been billed for your case, you would have been billed by the government agency involved in your case, not by APD. Questions regarding those charges should, therefore, be addressed to the government agency involved in your case.
An Administrative dissolution occurs for the following reasons:
- Failure to file an annual report
- Being without a registered agent
- A foreign entity fails to maintain its assumed name due to a name conflict
- Returned payment by a financial institution
A certificate of existence is a document issued by our office that certifies that an entity is active and in good standing.
No. If you meet the qualifications to register to vote in Tennessee but have not registered prior to requesting an absentee ballot and you fall into one of the above categories, your application for absentee ballot will be treated as an application for temporary registration.
Normally, an individual who registers to vote by mail must appear in person in the first election the person votes in after such registration becomes effective. This provision is waived in the case of military personnel, their family members, or overseas citizens. However, since this is only a temporary registration, once you are no longer eligible to vote under this provision of the law, you must complete a voter registration form and submit the form to your local county election commission prior to voting in any subsequent election.
If you are a registered voter prior to requesting an absentee ballot under this provision, the above information does not apply to you.
Tennessee allows you to receive an absentee ballot by mail or e-mail. Please indicate how you would like to receive your absentee ballot on your request. If you indicate e-mail, provide your e-mail address (on the Form 76 your e-mail address should be provided in Block 2) with the request. If you do not indicate how you want your absentee ballot sent, the absentee ballot will be mailed. Tennessee does not allow you to receive your absentee ballot by fax.
Any person who is required by law to be registered under any of the following is not eligible to participate in the program:
- Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration Verification and Tracking Act of 2004, compiled at Title 40, Chapter 39, Part 2;
- Tennessee Animal Abuser Registration Act, compiled at Title 40, Chapter 39, Part 1
- Registry of persons who have abused, neglected, or misappropriated the property of vulnerable individuals, compiled at Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 10; or,
- Drug offender registry under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-436.
If a voter notifies the election commission that he or she has “spoiled” a ballot or has not received the ballot, the election commission shall note on the records that subsequent supplies have been sent and supply the voter with subsequent voting supplies.
After timely requesting an official absentee ballot, Armed Forces personnel and overseas voters who feel that there may not be a sufficient amount of time to receive and then return the voted ballot may also use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB).
Instructions for completing an FWAB, the FWAB ballot and envelopes may be found at FVAP.gov.
Note: If both ballots are received prior to the close of the polls on election day, the county election commission will count the official ballot it provided to the voter.