Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-13-207 (2026)
Time of offense
✓ current as of May 2026
The time at which the offense was committed need not be stated in the indictment, but the offense may be alleged to have been committed on any day before the finding of the indictment, or generally before the finding of the indictment, unless the time is a material ingredient in the offense.
Code 1858, § 5124; Shan., § 7087; Code 1932, § 11632; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-1808.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 55
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1983–2024 · leading case: State of Tennessee v. Lemaricus Devall Davidson, 509 S.W.3d 156 (Tenn. 2016).
State of Tennessee v. Lemaricus Devall Davidson, 509 S.W.3d 156 (Tenn. 2016). “T.C.A. § 40-13-207; see also Byrd, 820 S.”
State v. Shelton, 851 S.W.2d 134 (Tenn. 1993). “See T.C.A. § 40-13-207. Moreover, such a requirement would make impossible the prosecution of criminal acts committed against young children who are the frequent victims of cognate crimes and crimes involving the age of consent.”
State v. Byrd, 820 S.W.2d 739 (Tenn. 1991). “The Charging Instrument The rule of law is well-established in Tennessee that the exact date, or even the year, of an offense need not be stated in an indictment or presentment unless the date or time “is a material ingredient in the offense.”
State v. Kennedy, 10 S.W.3d 280 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “§ 39-13-506(a), 1 nor a required component of the indictment, see Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-13-207. 2 The state further argues that the proposed amendment does not prejudice the defendant because the defendant was informed of the new date well in advance of trial and because the…”
State v. Vickers, 985 S.W.2d 1 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997). “See Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-13-207 (1990). The appellant was indicted in counts four and five for class C and E felonies, respectively, and the proof addressed at trial supports these convictions.”
State v. Brown, 53 S.W.3d 264 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000). “Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-13-207, entitled “Time of offense,” provides, “The time at which the offense was committed need not be stated in the indictment, but the offense may be alleged to have been committed on any day before the finding thereof, or generally before…”
State v. West, 737 S.W.2d 790 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1987). “T.C.A. § 40-13-207 provides: “Time of offense — The time at which the offense was committed need not be stated in the indictment, but the offense may be alleged to have been committed on any date before the finding thereof, or generally before the finding of the indictment…”
State v. Sowder, 826 S.W.2d 924 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1991). “T.C.A. § 40-13-207, 208 and 210. The test for determining the sufficiency of an indictment is not whether it could have been written in a more clear and defined manner, but is “whether it contains the elements of the offense to be charged and sufficiently apprises a defendant of…”
State v. Ealey, 959 S.W.2d 605 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997). “*609 § 40-13-207). In general, a variance between an indictment and the proof at trial is not fatal if (1) the defendant is sufficiently informed of the charges levied against him so that he can adequately prepare for trial and, (2) the defendant is protected against a…”
State v. Lane, 673 S.W.2d 874 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1983). “T.C.A. § 40-13-207; Jeffries v. State, 640 S.”
State of Tennessee v. Jose Reyes, 505 S.W.3d 890 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “” The trial in this matter began approximately two months later, on June 30, 2014. An indictment is not required to state the exact date an offense is alleged to have occurred unless the date of the offense is a material ingredient to the offense.”
State v. Woodall, 729 S.W.2d 91 (Tenn. 1987). “See T.C.A. § 40-13-207 (time of offense need not be stated in indictment unless it is a “material ingredient” in the offense).”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.