Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 (2026)
Registration of foreign decrees - Duties of registering court - Contesting validity of registered decree
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) A child-custody determination issued by a court of another state may be registered in this state, with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, by sending to the appropriate court in this state:
- (1) A letter or other document requesting registration;
- (2) Two (2) copies, including one (1) certified copy, of the determination sought to be registered, and a statement under penalty of perjury that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person seeking registration the order has not been modified; and
- (3) Except as otherwise provided in § 36-6-224, the name and address of the person seeking registration and any parent or person acting as a parent who has been awarded custody or visitation in the child-custody determination sought to be registered.
- (b) On receipt of the documents required by subsection (a), the registering court shall:
- (1) Cause the determination to be filed as a foreign judgment, together with one (1) copy of any accompanying documents and information, regardless of their form; and
- (2) Serve notice upon the persons named pursuant to subdivision (a)(3) and provide them with an opportunity to contest the registration in accordance with this section.
- (c) The notice required by subdivision (b)(2) must state that:
- (1) A registered determination is enforceable as of the date of the registration in the same manner as a determination issued by a court of this state;
- (2) A hearing to contest the validity of the registered determination must be requested within twenty (20) days after service of notice; and
- (3) Failure to contest the registration will result in confirmation of the child-custody determination and preclude further contest of that determination with respect to any matter that could have been asserted.
- (d) A person seeking to contest the validity of a registered order must request a hearing within twenty (20) days after service of the notice. At that hearing, the court shall confirm the registered order unless the person contesting registration establishes that:
- (1) The issuing court did not have jurisdiction under this part;
- (2) The child-custody determination sought to be registered has been vacated, stayed, or modified by a court having jurisdiction to do so under this part; or
- (3) The person contesting registration was entitled to notice, but notice was not given in accordance with the standards of § 36-6-211, in the proceedings before the court that issued the order for which registration is sought.
- (e) If a timely request for a hearing to contest the validity of the registration is not made, the registration is confirmed as a matter of law and the person requesting registration and all persons served must be notified of the confirmation.
- (f) Confirmation of a registered order, whether by operation of law or after notice and hearing, precludes further contest of the order with respect to any matter that could have been asserted at the time of registration.
Acts 1999, ch. 389, § 30.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15
cases (4 in the last 5 years), 2002–2025 · leading case: Kelso v. Decker, 262 S.W.3d 307 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008).
Kelso v. Decker, 262 S.W.3d 307 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008). “Although the Trial Court did not have jurisdiction to modify Father’s visitation, Tenn.Code Ann. § 36-6-229 allows a Tennessee court to register a foreign decree regarding child custody.”
Christina Cliburn v. Paul David Bergeron (Tenn. Ct. App. 2002). “Such an amended petition was filed on July 25th seeking then to register the foreign decree under the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 , but in addition thereto seeking to modify the visitation schedule of the Louisiana order, award of past due child support and alimony…”
Lyn S. Summers v. Christopher J. Ryan (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007). “Summers’ motion to dismiss and finding that “Mother did not follow the statutory requirements of Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 ,” the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.”
Patrick Richard Moorcroft v. Flora Templeton Stuart v. Natalie Talmage Moorcroft (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 (d)(1). The Kentucky court found that Mother, Father, and the children still resided in Kentucky when Grandmother filed her petition for visitation on August 30, 2011.”
Stephen G. Butler v. Michele G. Butler (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 (“A child-custody determination issued by a court of another state may be registered in this state, with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, by .”
In re: C.M.B. (N.C. Ct. App. 2019). “]” Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 (2017). T.C.A.”
Felicitas Hayes v. Christopher Daniel Scoggin (2019). “On May 9, 2018, the court entered an order stating that the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 had been met, because, on June 9, 2017, mother had filed her “Petition to Enroll Foreign Decree, For Immediate Injunctive Relief, for Sciare Facias, and Citation for Criminal and…”
In Re Hailey C. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2022). “2001); see also Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 36-6-229 to -232 (2021) (governing the procedures for registration and enforcement of a foreign custody decree).”
Nicole Marie Neuman v. Paul P. Phillips (Tenn. Ct. App. 2024). “]” Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 (d)(1); Tenn. Code Ann.”
Marina Georgopulos v. Zachary Ferrell (Tenn. Ct. App. 2025). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 (permitting registration of a child custody determination from another state under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act).”
Autumn L. v. James C. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2025). “Father also argued that Appellants had failed to include a statement under penalty of perjury that the attached order had not been altered, as required by Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-6-229. Father again argued that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over…”
Dawn Eileen Shannon v. Thomas Rex Shannon (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “Shannon has failed to address in her brief and has, therefore, waived whether she complied with the statutory requirements of § 36-6-229 to register the Mississippi support order.”
Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229(d)(1): 1 case
Patrick Richard Moorcroft v. Flora Templeton Stuart v. Natalie Talmage Moorcroft (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-229 (d)(1). The Kentucky court found that Mother, Father, and the children still resided in Kentucky when Grandmother filed her petition for visitation on August 30, 2011.”
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