Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-403 (2026)
"Public records" defined
✓ current as of May 2026
"Public records" within the county shall be construed to mean:
- (1) All documents, papers, records, books, and books of account in all county offices, including, but not limited to, the county clerk, the county register, the county trustee, the sheriff, the county assessor, the county mayor and county commissioners, if any;
- (2) The pleadings, documents, and other papers filed with the clerks of all courts, including the courts of record, general sessions courts, and former courts of justices of the peace, and the minute books and other records of these courts; and
- (3) The minutes and records of the county legislative body.
Acts 1959, ch. 253, § 2; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, §§ 7, 16, 22, 36; T.C.A., § 15-503; Acts 1991, ch. 369, § 1; 1994, ch. 884, § 2; 1999, ch. 167, § 2; 2003, ch. 90, § 2.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1996–2021 · leading case: Ballard v. Herzke, 924 S.W.2d 652 (Tenn. 1996).
Ballard v. Herzke, 924 S.W.2d 652 (Tenn. 1996). “”); Tenn.Code Ann. § 10-7-403 (“public records” means “the pleadings, documents, and other papers filed with the Clerks of all courts”) (emphasis added).”
In Re NHC-Nashville Fire Litig., 293 S.W.3d 547 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008). “2d at 661 (emphasis in Ballard) (quoting Tenn.Code Ann. § 10-7-403). If discovery responses are required to be filed with the clerk of the court, those responses “are ‘public records’ within the meaning of the law.”
John Doe By His Next Friend Jane Doe v. Brentwood Academy Inc., 578 S.W.3d 50 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2018). “1996) (emphasis in Ballard ) (quoting Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-403 )). Thus, all documents filed with the trial court clerk are public records and are open to the public unless they are protected from disclosure by a statute, rule, or court order.”
Pamela Moses v. Terry Roland (Tenn. Ct. App. 2021). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-403 (defining the “[p]ublic records” of the county as “[t]he pleadings, documents, and other papers filed with the clerks of all courts, including the courts of record, general sessions courts, and former courts of justices of the peace, and the minute…”
State of Tennessee v. Letalvis Cobbins In Re: Gary Christian (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “Tennessee Code Annotated section 10-7-101 states that “records .”
In Re Est. of Juanne Jennings Thompson (2021). “In relevant part, the trial court found: [T]he Court notes the standards for entering a protective order and for sealing the records at issue in this case.”
Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-403(2): 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Letalvis Cobbins In Re: Gary Christian (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “Tennessee Code Annotated section 10-7-101 states that “records .”
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