Tennessee Criminal Records Check

Choose the Tennessee check the recipient actually needs

TBI offers several products. The general-public Tennessee adult-history check is name-based, costs $29 per request and requires no fingerprint submission. Its current page allows online or mailed requests but says results are electronic and a valid email address is required. This Tennessee-only response is different from an FBI product or a qualified organization’s fingerprint check.

Ask a hiring, licensing, volunteering or adoption recipient which product it accepts before paying. A receipt for a personal public check may not satisfy that program. Also confirm whether the recipient needs a background report or a certified disposition from a specific court; neither product automatically supplies the other.

Prepare the name-based request accurately

Start through TBI’s Online Request Form link to Tennessee Open Records Information Services, or use its public request form for the mail route. TORIS explains that the repository is based on misdemeanor and felony arrest fingerprints submitted by arresting agencies. The public request itself is name-based; accuracy of the information entered is essential to the result.

The paper form asks for the subject’s last, first and middle names, birth date, birthplace, demographic and address information, and requester contact details. Review every field before sending it. Keep the transaction reference and a copy of the identifiers used. Supply sensitive identifiers only through the official request process, not in an ordinary public message or an unrelated lookup site.

Understand the fee and the older form’s limits

TBI’s memo identifies the $29 fee as non-refundable. Do not send fingerprint cards with the ordinary name-based request. The form provides space for other names, while its explanatory memo says aliases will not be included in a possible-match response. If another name is central to your search, ask TORIS how it must be submitted rather than assuming one request checks every alias.

The February 2023 form lists mail, fax, email and in-person return choices and says results will be sent within three to five business days. The current TBI web page instead requires electronic results and a valid email. Use the current email requirement; confirm any non-electronic arrangement or urgent deadline directly rather than relying on an old checkbox or treating that printed estimate as a guarantee.

Keep public FBI and organization-directed checks separate

TBI’s current public page lists an FBI-only nationwide fingerprint product at $50 through its contractor. For qualified organizations it lists Tennessee-and-FBI applicant checks at $37.15, volunteer checks at $33.15, and international-adoption or state-only checks at $23.90. These published categories were reviewed October 2, 2026; confirm the selected service and final appointment price with the recipient and contractor.

For organization-directed fingerprinting, get the agency’s instructions and ORI before booking. TBI’s ORI guidance ties access to a qualified agency and legal authority; an individual should not invent an ORI or borrow an unrelated organization’s number. The agency, not the applicant’s guess, determines which program and destination the fingerprints belong to.

An FBI personal Identity History Summary is also distinct from authorized employment or licensing submissions. The FBI describes personal summaries as tools to review and correct your own record and directs employment or licensing questions to the relevant state identification bureau. Buying a nationwide personal copy does not by itself satisfy an organization’s required check.

Read a response within its actual coverage

A possible record match from TORIS must be checked against the subject and case details. A name-based response is not fingerprint confirmation of identity merely because the repository receives arrest fingerprints. A no-record result concerns the supplied identifiers and Tennessee data; it does not prove that other states, federal cases or every recent event were checked.

When a reported charge needs explanation, use its agency and court references to request the actual disposition from the handling court. Read the outcome for every relevant charge instead of labeling an arrest as a conviction. For formal use, ask whether a certified court copy is needed and keep it with the repository response so the recipient can see what each document establishes.

Challenge a mistaken identification through TORIS

For someone disputing a Tennessee check conducted in their own name, TBI’s published process offers a fingerprint comparison. Send fingerprints, a letter explaining the dispute, and a $24 cashier’s check or money order under the memo’s instructions. TORIS says it will report whether the history matches and help correct inaccuracies found through that comparison. Confirm current submission instructions before paying.

A missing or wrong court outcome may also require evidence from the court that handled the prosecution. Describe the exact arrest, case and count you believe is inaccurate, retain the response, and check the revised record. A fingerprint comparison addresses whether the record belongs to you; it should not be assumed to rewrite a court’s substantive decision.

Follow up with the request reference

The TORIS form lists 615-744-4057 and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation–TORIS Unit, 901 R.S. Gass Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37216. Use that contact to clarify the mail route, a delivery conflict or a disputed check. For an organization’s fingerprint submission, first use that organization’s routing and contractor instructions rather than purchasing another public check.