The Tennessee State Library and Archives has microfilmed copies of older deeds for every county in Tennessee. The deeds records are arranged by the name of the seller/buyer  (grantor/grantee).  We do not have a means to search for a deed record by knowing the area, address, or longitude & latitude of the property. Information for ordering deed records can be found in Ordering Records. To see inventories of what deed year coverage we have for each county, see our county inventories of microfilmed records.

When a deed search is requested, we follow these procedures:

• We locate the cumulative index (if available), usually in a book separate from the deed books. If there is no cumulative index, we use the index appearing in each volume of deeds.
• We check to see if the index indicates the date of the deed. If it does, we search the portion of the index covering the dates requested for the name requested.
• If the dates are not shown in the index entries, we determine which deeds books were in use during the dates requested in the search. For example: if the request is for a deed dated 1860-1865, and we find that Deed Book C covered 1856-1861 and Deed Book D covered 1861-1866, we would search that portion of the index that includes entries for Deed Books C and D.
• Within the time period requested, we look for deeds matching the name of the person requested. Both grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer) indexes are searched. Deed indexes are not always completely alphabetized, but only grouped under each letter of the alphabet. For example: to locate deeds for Jasper Bates, we scan the entire letter & #8220;B” in the index.
• If an entry matching the request is found, we copy the deed and mail it to the client.
• If more than one matching entry is found, we copy the index pages containing them and mail them to the client, with instructions to select one to be copied at the standard fee.
• If no related entry is found, we advise the client that the index was searched, indicating the dates covered by the search.

 Deeds are not always recorded in the year they are written, so a deed written in 1865 but not recorded until 1875 will not be located using this search strategy. We have no way of ascertaining whether a deed was recorded when it was written. Name of grantor is not always the expected name; some properties are sold by power of attorney, sheriff or court clerk to satisfy a legal judgment, so the deed would be indexed under the name of that person.  

Please note: Archival materials are available for retrieval between the hours of 8:00 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. If you know you will need materials between 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, please call ahead to the Public Services section at 615-741-2764 or visit the Ask Us a Question! web page. We will do our best to accommodate your request.

• If needed, the Library and Archives can certify a copy of a record held in our collection.  There is a fee of $5.00 to certify one copy of the document, in addition to the initial search fee. If you wish for more than one copy of a record to be certified, each additional certification is $5.00.
• If you think certification may be needed, please indicate this when the initial copy order is placed, as we cannot certify after-the-fact any copies that have left our facility.  We cannot certify copies of items that we have not copied ourselves.  If you decide at a later date that you need items certified that you have already received, we will have to charge you for the order a second time and re-copy all the materials.
• The Library and Archives cannot certify electronic copies (scans) of documents.
• If you pay in advance for a record search and certification and the record is not located, neither the search fee nor the certification fee are refundable.  For this reason, when searching for a record that you wish to have certified, the Library and Archives suggests that you use our downloadable forms and pay by credit card.  If you pay by credit card and a record is not located, then you will not be charged the additional $5.00 certification fee.

The incorporator is the person that files the charter of the corporation. The incorporator must be of legal age to enter into contracts. Once the charter has been filed, the incorporator’s function is complete.

If you are unsure as to what type of business (i.e. Corporation, Limited Liability Company, Partnership, etc.), you may need to contact an attorney or tax professional, as this office is unable to assist in that determination. For information on types of business entities and tax, treatments consult the IRS, Tennessee Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration or the Business Enterprise Resource Office (BERO) at the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives has copies of the court minutes for circuit, chancery and county courts in Tennessee. The document Courts Where Tennessee Court Cases Were Tried will explain which court heard a particular type of case during a specified time period. You may wish to check the Index to County Microfilm Reels or the Genealogical Fact Sheets About Tennessee Counties to see what records we have available for a specific county.

The Library and Archives will, for a fee, search a five year date span in the indexed minutes from the County or Quarterly Court, Circuit Court, or Chancery Court. Please go to Ordering Records for instructions on ordering a court record.

The records at the Tennessee State Library and Archives are open to the public. You are welcome to come in 8:00am - 4:30pm (Central Time) Tuesday through Saturday to search the court records yourself & make your own copies for research. Please see the Tennessee State Library and Archives Visitors Page for information on directions, parking, and holiday hours.

Please note: Archival materials are available for retrieval between the hours of 8:00 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. If you know you will need materials between 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, please call ahead to the Public Services section at 615-741-2764 or visit the Ask Us a Question! web page.  We will do our best to accommodate your request.

You can find information about divorce records in our Guide to Vital Records.

You can find information about marriage records in our Guide to Vital Records.

• Corporations*
• Limited Liability Companies (LLC’s)*
• Limited Partnerships (LP’s)*
• Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP’s)*
• General Partnerships+ 

*All of the above business entities file formation documents.

+Filings by general partnerships are not for the purpose of forming or maintaining a general partnership in Tennessee. Document filing is for the purpose of providing public notice of basic information about a general partnership, such as the agency authority of its partners, and such filings are optional and voluntary.