Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-103 (2026)
Surety bond
✓ current as of May 2026
Before entering into the duties of the office, the sheriff shall take an oath to support the constitutions of this state and of the United States, and an oath of office pursuant to § 8-8-104. The sheriff shall execute an official bond in an amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), or such greater amount as the county legislative body by resolution may determine. The bond must be prepared, executed, filed, and recorded in accordance with title 8, chapter 19.
Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 207, s 5, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 315, s 8, eff. 4/29/2013.
Code 1858, §§ 354, 355 (deriv. Acts 1777 (Nov.), ch. 8, § 2; 1839-1840, ch. 63, §§ 1, 5); Shan., §§ 443, 444; Code 1932, §§ 690, 691; Acts 1977, ch. 270, § 2; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 8-803; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, §§ 7, 36; Acts 1998, ch. 677, § 6.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1985–2025 · leading case: Jenkins v. Loudon Cnty., 736 S.W.2d 603 (Tenn. 1987).
Jenkins v. Loudon Cnty., 736 S.W.2d 603 (Tenn. 1987). “To provide security for the sheriff's personal liability, the sheriff obtained a bond pursuant to the requirements of what is now T.C.A. § 8-8-103. Originally, this bond was "a private bond, payable to the sheriff, and for his protection against liability for the official…”
Willis v. Barksdale, 625 F. Supp. 411 (W.D. Tenn. 1985). “Section 8-8-303(a) provides: The governmental immunity of the county in which the said sheriff serves is waived for purposes of Section 8-8-302, but to an extent not in excess of the surety bond executed for that county’s sheriff pursuant to Section 8-8-103. 11 . T.C.A. Section…”
Hensley v. Fowler, 920 S.W.2d 649 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1995). “— (a) The governmental immunity of the county in which the sheriff serves is waived for purposes of § 8-8-302, but to an extent not in excess of the amount of the surety bond executed for that county’s sheriff pursuant to § 8-8-103. (b) Anyone incurring any wrong, injury, loss,…”
Jenkins v. Loudon Cnty., 736 S.W.2d 599 (Tenn. 1987). “To provide security for the sheriffs personal liability, the sheriff obtained a bond pursuant to the requirements of what is now T.C.A. § 8-8-103. Originally, this bond was “a private bond, payable to the sheriff, and for his protection against liability for the official…”
Rayfield (E.D. Tenn. 2025). “RONNIE GREER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 13 A county’s exposure under § 8-8-302 is based on the minimum amount required for a bond for the county sheriff in Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-103 , which requires a minimum bond of $100,000.”
Tawanna Currie v. Haywood Cnty., Tennessee (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-103 . 3 In Grundy County, the Supreme Court clarified that the sheriff and his surety are not actually liable for the acts of the deputy.”
Lester Eugene Siler v. Charles Scott (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019). “-20- The governmental immunity of the county in which the sheriff serves is waived for purposes of § 8-8-302, but to an extent not in excess of the amount of the surety bond executed for that county’s sheriff pursuant to § 8-8-103. The interpretation of this provision is at…”
Thomas Patterson v. Tennessee Dep't of Saf. & Homeland Sec. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2025). “…an oath, including sheriffs, coroners, constables, county trustees, surveyors, registers, and notaries public. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 8-8-103 , -104 (sheriffs); § 8-9-104 (coroners); §§ 8-10- 106, -108 (constable); § 8-11-102 (county trustees); § 8-12-102 (surveyors); §…”
Cheryl Merolla v. Wilson Cnty., Tennessee (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019). “§ 8-8-302 (a) (“The governmental immunity of the county in which the sheriff serves is waived for purposes of § 8-8-302, but to an extent not in excess of the amount of the surety bond executed for that county’s sheriff pursuant to § 8-8-103.”). In interpreting this statutory…”
Keller v. Metro. Gov't of Nashville & Davidson Cnty. (M.D. Tenn. 2022). “The scope of such liability is limited to an amount “not in excess of the amount of the surety bond executed for that county's sheriff pursuant to § 8-8-103.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-303 . Under the Sheriff’s Statute, a county may, for example, be liable for a deputy’s intentional…”
John Doe v. Randall Pedigo (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003). “8-8-303 (a) The governmental immunity of the county in which the sheriff serves is waived for purposes of § 8-8-302, but to an extent not in excess of the amount of the surety bond executed for that county's sheriff pursuant to § 8-8-103. At the outset we note that T.C.”
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.