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.
Where can I find permanent Certificate of Title and Other Motor Vehicle Lien information?
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 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
Who issues Apostilles and Authentications?
The Tennessee Department of State, Business Services Division, issues an Apostille or an Authentication under the authority of the Tennessee Secretary of State with respect to documents executed, issued or certified by Tennessee County Clerks, the Tennessee State Registrar, and the Tennessee Secretary of State.
If a document needs an Authentication, the United States Department of State must also certify the Tennessee Secretary of State’s signature on the Authentication. This step is not necessary for an Apostille.
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
An Apostille or an Authentication certifies the authenticity of the signature, seal and position of the official who has executed, issued or certified a copy of a public document. An Apostille or an Authentication enables a public document issued in one country to be recognized as valid in another country. While they accomplish the same objective, there are differences between Apostilles and Authentications.
An Apostille is a certification form set out in The Hague Convention abolishing the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents (1961).
An Apostille may be obtained to transmit public documents executed in one signatory country to another signatory country in which the documents need to be produced. The Hague Convention defines a “public document” as:
Those originating in a court, clerk of a court, public prosecutor or process server;
Administrative documents;
Notarial acts; and
Official certificates are placed on documents.
An Authentication may be obtained to transmit public documents to countries that have not subscribed to The Hague Convention.