Open Records

Tennessee’s public records law is the Tennessee Public Records Act (TPRA), Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503 et seq. It establishes a presumption that all government records held by state, county, and municipal agencies are open for inspection unless a law specifically authorizes withholding them.

Who can request records

Tennessee is more restrictive than most states here: only Tennessee citizens have the legal right to inspect and receive copies of public records under the TPRA (Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(A)). Anonymous requests are generally not permitted – agencies may require proof of Tennessee citizenship and contact information before processing a request. A requester can limit some identifying details, but a custodian may deny or delay the request without required verification.

What’s covered

Public records are broadly defined as all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, microfilm, electronic data files, films, sound recordings, or other material, regardless of physical form, made or received in connection with official business by a governmental entity. This can extend to private contractors performing government work, when the records are made or received in connection with official business and controlled by a public agency.

How to request

Submit a written request with a sufficiently detailed description – type of record, timeframe/dates, and subject matter or keywords – to enable the agency to identify the specific records sought. The TPRA doesn’t require an agency to compile information or create/recreate a record that doesn’t already exist.

Response timeline

If it’s not practicable to make records promptly available, the custodian has 7 business days to: make the information available, deny the request in writing (citing the exemption relied on), or provide a completed response form estimating the time reasonably necessary to produce the records. Failure to respond within this window is itself treated as a denial, giving the requester the right to bring a court action. There’s no statutory provision governing how much additional time an agency can take after this initial 7-day response – it depends on the specific estimate given.

Fees

– No fee for inspecting records – fees apply only to copies. – Common rates (per the Office of Open Records Counsel’s suggested schedule): $0.15/page black-and-white, $0.50/page color, actual cost for electronic media. – Labor charges may apply for copy requests after the first hour of staff time. – Requesters have the right to receive a cost estimate before charges are incurred, unless they choose to waive that right and agree to a cap. – No fee can be charged for the time a staff member spends simply supervising an in-person inspection (as long as it’s not being used to intimidate the requester). – The TPRA doesn’t distinguish fees based on the requester’s intended use of the records.

Exemptions

The TPRA carries more than 500 statutory exemptions spread across the Tennessee Code – agencies must determine on a record-by-record basis whether a specific exemption applies before releasing information.

If your request is denied

A Tennessee citizen denied access may petition the Chancery or Circuit Court for copies or inspection. The burden of proof is on the government official or employee to justify the denial by a preponderance of the evidence, and courts are instructed to construe the TPRA broadly in favor of “the fullest possible public access.” If a court finds a violation, the government entity may be assessed costs, and if the denial was “willful,” attorney’s fees as well. The Office of Open Records Counsel (within the Comptroller of the Treasury) also provides informal advisory opinions and mediates disputes before litigation becomes necessary.

A note on terminology

Tennessee’s law is officially the “Tennessee Public Records Act” (TPRA) – locally and commonly referred to as “Public Records Laws,” distinct from how other states label the same basic type of law (an “Open Records Act,” or South Carolina’s “FOIA Laws”).