State records guide

Property title search in Tennessee

Facts below are taken from Tennessee statutes and official sources, each linked, each checked on the date shown. General information, not legal advice.

What a Tennessee title search has to account for

Where are Tennessee deeds recorded?

With 95 counties, the parcel's county decides where the search runs, and deeds are recorded with the register of deeds. The Hamilton County page linked above describes the office's principal duty as recording deeds and other instruments required or allowed to be filed by law, as stated in Tennessee Code 66-24-101, a list that includes mortgages, powers of attorney, marriage settlements and plats.

The report traces the chain of title as far back as the county's records go, with document images of the key instruments, and verifies findings with the assessor, tax office, recorder and courts.

How is a Tennessee deed of trust foreclosed?

Public Chapter 515, the 2025 act, rewrote Tennessee Code 35-5-101. In a sale of land to foreclose a deed of trust, mortgage or other lien, the advertisement must run at least two times in a newspaper published in the county where the sale is to be made, with the first publication at least 20 days before the sale, and by a posting online by a third-party internet posting company for at least 20 continuous days. The section has exceptions for debts of two hundred dollars or less and for notices published under a contract's terms.

The trustee or other seller also sends the debtor and any co-debtor a copy of the notice, on or before the first publication date, by the mail service the section specifies. A sale may be adjourned and rescheduled without another newspaper publication on the section's conditions. An auction title report for a Tennessee trustee's sale reports the foreclosing lien's position and the liens that would survive, in dollars, for the bidder's attorney.

How are delinquent property taxes collected in Tennessee?

The Nashville Clerk and Master page linked above explains that when property taxes are delinquent and suit has been filed, the Metropolitan Government seeks a court order to sell the property, that the Clerk and Master conducts the sales by open public auction, that properties are not sold over the counter, that the office does not issue tax certificates, and that the auction is a judicial sale. That is one county's practice. In 2024, Public Chapter 967 amended Tennessee Code 67-5-2501 to say that a sale may be conducted by internet sale in lieu of public outcry.

The same page describes the purchaser recording the Final Decree Confirming Sale with the Register of Deeds, and says purchasers warrant that they have researched the property. It points bidders to other offices too, including the assessor, the Trustee and Codes. The report states the surviving liens, taxes and assessments in dollars, and the bidder's attorney reads the chancery file for who was named as a party.

How long does a Tennessee owner have to redeem after a tax sale?

It depends on when the sale was confirmed and how long the taxes were delinquent. Public Chapter 971, effective July 1, 2026, applies to orders confirming a sale entered on or after that date. If the period of delinquency is three years or less, the redemption period is one year from the entry of the order, and if it is more than three years, the period is 90 days from the entry of the order.

Older orders follow earlier law. In 2015, Public Chapter 486 set a scale of one year, 180 days and 90 days, with 30 days on a showing that property is vacant or abandoned, and said the right to redeem vests in all interested persons and the period is stated in the order confirming the sale. Whether a 30 day period remains in the current code is for an attorney to confirm, so the order itself is the document to read. The Blount County Clerk and Master says a sale is not complete until the Chancellor signs the Order Confirming Sale, that a redeemed purchaser is refunded the purchase price plus interest, and that the office will not reimburse improvements. The report verifies tax sales and redemptions with the tax office.

How does title pass when a Tennessee owner dies?

A probate title search in Tennessee finds the decedent's property by name and reports vesting at death, how title passes and the liens to pay, with court-ready exhibits. Where the record leaves the question open, the heirs' attorney reads the recorded documents attached to the report.

Which package fits a Tennessee property?

Every package covers Tennessee property wherever it is recorded. Pick by situation:

• Probate law firm: Find every property a decedent held, how it was vested and what has to be paid before it passes. $595 per estate.
• Real estate law firm: A preliminary report with schedule-style exceptions and print-ready exhibits for your matter. $695 per property.
• Builders and developers: Multi-parcel research on access, easements, restrictions, mineral reservations and entity ownership. $995 first parcel.
• Auction buyer: Know the total cost to own, which liens survive the sale and whether to bid at all. $395 for 1 property.
• Home buyer: Confirm the seller owns the home and learn what has to be cleared before you pay. $449 per property.
• Home seller: Find the old mortgage, judgment or name mismatch before a buyer's title company does. $449 per property.

Questions about a title search in Tennessee