Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 41-21-817 (2026)

Grievance resolution system

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a) The department shall develop and maintain a system for the resolution of grievances by inmates housed in facilities operated by the department that qualifies for certification under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e, and the department shall obtain certification under that section. A remedy provided by the grievance system is the exclusive administrative remedy available to an inmate for a claim for relief that arises while the inmate is housed in a facility operated by the department, other than a remedy provided by writ of habeas corpus challenging the validity of an action occurring before the delivery of the inmate to the department.

(b) The grievance system must provide procedures for an inmate to identify evidence to substantiate the inmate's claim and for an inmate to receive copies of all formal written responses to the inmate's grievance.

Acts 1996, ch. 913, § 1.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2000–2023 · leading case: Pendleton v. Mills, 73 S.W.3d 115 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001).

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Pendleton v. Mills, 73 S.W.3d 115 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 2× “While these cases are certainly persuasive authority with regard to the issues they actually addressed, they are not controlling on us in this case.”

Hawkins v. Tennessee Dep't of Corr., 127 S.W.3d 749 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “The statutes specifically refer to a system for resolving inmate grievances, requiring that the department maintain such a system, Tenn.Code Ann. § 41-21-817, and requiring that an inmate utilize such grievance system, where applicable, as a prerequisite to a lawsuit, Tenn.”

Loyde v. Tehum Care Servs., Inc. (M.D. Tenn. 2023). · cites it 2× “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 41-21-817 . Importantly, regulations promulgated pursuant to PREA allows states both to determine their own respective reporting procedures in sexual abuse cases and to create a grievance process, applicable only to situations specifically implicated by…”

Lucas v. Chalk (W.D. Tenn. 2020). · cites it 2× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 41-21-817 (a). The remedy provided by the TDOC’s grievance procedure “is the exclusive administrative remedy available to an inmate for a claim for relief that arises while the inmate is housed in a facility operated by the department.”

Barton Hawkins v. Dept of Corr. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “The statutes specifically refer to a system for resolving inmate grievances, requiring that the department maintain such a system, Tenn. Code Ann. § 41-21-817 , and requiring that an inmate utilize such grievance system, where applicable, as a prerequisite to a lawsuit, Tenn.”

Jabari Mandela v. Jim Rose (Tenn. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 2× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 41-21-806 requires that an inmate who files a claim that is subject to review by the grievance procedures established by the Department pursuant to Tenn.”

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