Tennessee

Overview

Original Birth Certificates. Tennessee is a Compromised State. While nearly all Tennessee-born adopted people have a right at age 21 to obtain their “adoption records”—which will include the original birth certificate—there are limited exceptions. Documents will be withheld “if such records indicate that, with respect to the adopted person, the biological parent was the victim of rape or incest.” In such cases the written consent of the birth parent is required for release.

Cost/Fees. The fee to request adoption records in Tennessee is $150, plus 25 cents per page for copying costs. The fee may be waived upon proof of a lack of sufficient income to pay the fee.

Court Records and Identifying Information. Copies of court records, like original birth certificates, are available upon request through the Adoption Records process. The definition of an adoption record generally includes most court, vital, and other adoption-related records, with the exception of: home studies (and records connected with home studies) as well as information relating to crisis pregnancy counseling of a birth mother.

Descendant Rights. Lineal descendants, siblings, lineal ancestors, and birthparents do not have a right to obtain the adopted person’s records without the written consent of the adoptee. If the adopted person is deceased, a court order is required for anyone to obtain the adoption records. Birthparents whose rights were involuntarily terminated or who have been guilty of a crime against the adoptee do not have a right to request the adopted person’s records. Adoption records are public 100 years after the date of finalization of the adoption.

Adult Adoption. Tennessee law provides for the adoption of adults. The law provides only that “[a]n adult may be adopted.” Consent is required of the adopted person.

Context. For more information about Tennessee law, including recent amendments and why the state is categorized as Compromised, see the Notes below.

Tennessee Law: Vital Records and Birth Certificates

Relevant parts of Tennessee vital records law. Because Tennessee uses a proprietary service to host its state statutes, links to the entire vital records law as well as to the specific provisions below are difficult if not impossible to provide.

68-3-307. Infants of unknown parentage — Foundling registration
(a) Whoever assumes the custody of a live-born infant of unknown parentage shall report on a form and in a manner prescribed by the state registrar within ten (10) days to the office of vital records the following information:

(1) The date and place of finding;
(2) Sex, color or race, and approximate birth date of the child;
(3) Name and address of the person or institution with whom the child has been placed for care;
(4) Name given to the child by the custodian of the child; and
(5) Other data required by the state registrar.

(b) The place where the child was found shall be entered as the place of birth.

(c) A report registered under this section shall constitute the certificate of birth for the child.

(d) If the child is subsequently identified and a certificate of birth is found or obtained, the report registered under this section shall not be subject to inspection, except upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction or as provided by regulation.

68-3-310. New certificate of birth—Prerequisites
The state registrar shall prepare a new certificate of birth for a person born in Tennessee, upon receipt of required legal documents, as provided in the following cases:

(1) Adoption. A certified copy of adoption or certified copy of final decree of adoption and request for new certificate of birth by adoption;

(2) Legitimation by Court Order in Cases Where the Parents Have Never Married. A certified copy of an order of legitimation that establishes the relationship of parent and child between the petitioner and child named in the petition, decrees the name the child is to bear, and a request for new certificate of birth by legitimation on a form provided by the state registrar that furnishes information for locating the certificate of birth in the original name and information concerning parents to be entered on the new certificate;

(3) Legitimation by Subsequent Marriage of Parents. A certified copy of the marriage certificate or certificate of marriage of parents, and affidavits of the mother and father acknowledging paternity on a form provided by the state registrar. The form shall furnish information for locating the certificate of birth in the original name and information concerning the parents to be entered on the new certificate. If the father is deceased, in lieu of the father’s affidavit, the state registrar shall accept a certified copy of a bill or petition for divorce or sworn answer to a bill or petition for divorce properly filed, in which the husband, by oath, acknowledged himself as father of the child or children named in the bill or petition for divorce or the answer, or a certified copy of an order, judgment or decree in which the court determined the deceased husband to be the father of the child or children and had acknowledged paternity of the child or children, whether heard on an ex parte or contested proceeding;

(4) Order of Paternity. A certified copy of an order of paternity or a certificate of paternity on a form provided by the state registrar that furnishes information for locating the certificate of birth in the original name, establishes the name of the father, and decrees the name the child is to bear; and

(5) Report of Foreign Birth. The state registrar shall prepare a report of foreign birth for a child not born in any state, territory or possession of the United States whose adoptive parents are residents of Tennessee when required adoption papers have been received from a court of competent jurisdiction in Tennessee.

68-3-311. New certificate of birth — Adoptions, legitimations, and orders of paternity — Preparation and filing
(a)(1) New certificates of birth shall be prepared on adoptions, legitimations and orders of paternity only.

(2) All orders of adoption, legitimation and paternity shall be final, and all required legal papers placed on file in the office of vital records.

(3) The certificate of birth in the original name shall be removed from the volume and a record inserted that shall show the original certificate number, date removed and code citation.

(4) The birth shall have occurred in Tennessee and a certificate of birth in the original name shall be on file in the department.

(b)(1) The new certificate shall be prepared on a standard form in current use in the department and shall be signed by the state registrar in the space provided for the signature of the attendant at birth.

(2) The new certificate shall show the date of birth, place of birth, sex, and date of filing as shown on the certificate of birth in the original name.

(3) A new certificate of birth by adoption shall show the residence of the adoptive parent or parents as at the time the final order of adoption was granted.

(c)(1) When a final order of adoption has been granted to only one (1) petitioner and upon receipt of a certified request of the petitioner, the word “adoption” may be entered on the new certificate of birth in the space provided for the information concerning the other parent.

(2) The certified request shall be furnished to the state registrar prior to the preparation of the new certificate.

(3) A new certificate of birth by adoption shall not be prepared if so requested by the court that granted the adoption, the adoptive parent or parents, or the adopted person.

(d)(1) A certificate of birth in the original name that indicates a legitimate birth and another person as father shall not be removed for the preparation of a new certificate of birth by legitimation, unless an order from a court of competent jurisdiction refuting such facts as set forth by regulation is furnished to the state registrar.

(2) A new certificate of birth shall not be prepared for the person in the instance where the person’s father and mother were married prior to the birth of the person and the original certificate indicates another person as father or an illegitimate birth.

(3) The certificate of birth in the original name shall be amended in accordance with regulations to show correct facts at the time of the birth.

(e) Upon receipt from the juvenile court clerk of an order of legitimation as provided in § 36-2-206 [repealed], or an order of paternity, a new certificate of birth shall be issued, regardless of the age of the person named in any such order.

(f) When an order of paternity has been granted on an unborn infant, the original certificate of birth shall be prepared and filed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the department, and a new certificate by paternity shall be prepared upon receipt of the required legal papers from the court.

68-3-312. New certificate of birth — Court report of adoption
(a) For each final decree of adoption by a court of competent jurisdiction in Tennessee, the court shall require the preparation of a report of adoption on a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar.

(b) For each amendment or annulment of an order of adoption, the clerk of the court shall prepare a report thereon, which shall include such facts as are necessary to identify the original report of adoption and those facts amended in the adoption decree, and forward a certified copy of the report to the state registrar.

(c) The child-placing agency or, in family adoptions, the attorney or petitioners, shall complete, on a form furnished by the state registrar, the request for a new certificate of birth by adoption and shall file this form with the clerk of the court to be forwarded to the state registrar with the certified report of adoption when the final order has been granted. This form shall furnish information for locating the certificate of birth in the original name and information concerning the adoptive parent or parents to be entered on the new certificate. The form shall be signed by the petitioner or petitioners to whom the final decree was granted and, in stepparent adoptions, the adoptive and natural parent.

(d) No later than the tenth day of each calendar month or as directed by the state registrar, the clerk of the court shall forward to the state registrar the certified report of adoption, annulment or amendment to the adoption decree and the request for a new certificate of birth by adoption.

(e) When the state registrar receives a report of adoption, annulment or amendment to the decree of adoption from the clerk of the court for a person born in another state, the report shall be forwarded to the state registrar in the state of birth. If the birth occurred in a foreign country, the report of adoption shall be returned to the attorney or agency handling the adoption for submission to the appropriate federal agency.

(f) Upon receipt of a certified copy of the final decree of adoption, or certified report of adoption prepared in accordance with the laws of another state or foreign country, and the request for a new certificate of birth by adoption, the state registrar shall prepare and file a new certificate of birth in the adopted name for a person born in Tennessee, if not in conflict with Tennessee adoption laws.

68-3-313. New certificate of birth— Sealing of documents
(a) (1) All legal documents pertaining to the adoption, legitimation or order of paternity, together with the certificate of birth in the original name, shall be placed in an envelope and sealed following the preparation of the new certificate.

(2) These sealed documents shall be preserved in a fireproof vault in the department and shall not be removed from that office, except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(3) The sealed documents shall be opened by the state registrar for the purpose of issuing a copy of the certificate in the name at birth, upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of the court that granted the adoption, legitimation, or order of paternity or in legitimations by subsequent marriage of the parents or upon receipt of a directive from the department of human services consistent with § 36-1-126, § 36-1-127 or § 36-1-130.

(4) Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order from the court of competent jurisdiction ordering the annulment of an order of adoption, legitimation, or order of paternity or the replacement of a certificate of birth in the original name on file, the state registrar shall open the sealed documents, replace the certificate of birth in the original name in the volume of births in which originally filed, remove the new certificate, and place it under seal with the legal documents and the certified copy of the court order.

(b) When a new certificate of birth has been filed by the state registrar, all copies of the record of birth in the original name in the custody of any other party shall be forwarded to the state registrar upon receipt of the state registrar’s request.

Tennessee Law: Sealed Adoption Records

Relevant parts of Tennessee’s adoption law related to adoption records. The entire Tennessee adoption statute is not easily available online except through this link.

36-1-102. Part definitions (excerpt of definitions)
(3) “Adopted person” means:
(A) Any person who is or has been adopted under this part or under the laws of any state, territory, or foreign country; and

(B) For purposes of the processing and handling of, and access to, any adoption records, sealed adoption records, sealed records, post-adoption records, or adoption assistance records pursuant to this part, “adopted person” also includes a person for whom any of those records is maintained by the court, other persons or entities or persons authorized to conduct a surrender or revocation of surrender pursuant to this part, or which records are maintained by the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, or the department of health or other information source, whether an adoption petition was ever filed, whether an adoption order was ever entered, whether the adoption was ever dismissed, whether the adoption was ever finalized, or whether the adoption was attempted or was otherwise never completed due to the abandonment of any necessary activity related to the completion of the adoption;

(6) “Adoption record” means:
(A)(i) The records, reports, or other documents maintained in any medium by the judge or clerk of the court, or by any other person pursuant to this part who is authorized to witness the execution of surrenders or revocations of surrenders, which records, reports, or documents relate to an adoption petition, a surrender or parental consent, a revocation of a surrender or parental consent, or which reasonably relate to other information concerning the adoption of a person, and which information in such records, reports, or documents exists during the pendency of an adoption or a termination of parental rights proceeding, or which records, reports, or documents exist subsequent to the conclusion of those proceedings, even if no order of adoption or order of dismissal is entered, but which records, reports or documents exist prior to those records, reports, or documents becoming a part of a sealed record or a sealed adoption record pursuant to § 36-1-126; or

(ii) The records, reports, or documents maintained in any medium by the department’s social services division, or by a licensed or chartered child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker, and which records, reports, or documents contain any social, medical, legal, or other information concerning an adopted person, a person who has been placed for adoption or a person for whom adoptive placement activities are currently occurring, and which information in such records, reports, or documents exists during the pendency of an adoption or termination of parental rights proceeding, or which exists subsequent to the conclusion of those proceedings, even if no order of adoption or dismissal of an adoption has been entered, but which records, reports, or documents exist prior to those records, reports, or documents becoming sealed records or sealed adoption records pursuant to § 36-1-126;

(B) The adoption record is confidential and is not subject to disclosure by the court, by a licensed child-placing agency, by a licensed clinical social worker or by any other person or entity, except as otherwise permitted by this part; however, prior to the record’s becoming a sealed record or a sealed adoption record pursuant to § 36-1-126, the adoption record may be disclosed as may be necessary for purposes directly related to the placement, care, treatment, protection, or supervision by the legal custodian, legal guardian, conservator, or other legally authorized caretaker of the person who is the subject of the adoption proceeding, or as may be necessary for the purposes directly related to legal proceedings involving the person who is subject to the jurisdiction of a court in an adoption proceeding or other legal proceeding related to an adoption, including terminations of parental rights, or as may otherwise be necessary for use in any child or adult protective services proceedings concerning the person about whom the record is maintained pursuant to titles 37 and 71;

(C) The adoption record shall not, for purposes of release of the records pursuant to §§ 36-1-127 – 36-1-141, be construed to permit access, without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138, to home studies or preliminary home studies or any information obtained by the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, or other family counseling service, a physician, a psychologist, or member of the clergy, an attorney or other person in connection with a home study or preliminary home study as part of an adoption or surrender or parental consent proceeding or as part of the evaluation of prospective adoptive parents, other than those studies that are expressly included in a report to the court by such entities or persons. Information relating to the counseling of a biological mother regarding crisis pregnancy counseling shall not be included in the adoption record for purposes of release pursuant to this part without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138;

(34) “Lineal ancestor” means any degree of grandparent or great-grandparent, either by birth or adoption;

(35) “Lineal descendant” means a person who descended directly from another person who is the biological or adoptive ancestor of such person, such as the daughter of the daughter’s mother or granddaughter of the granddaughter’s grandmother;

(41) “Post-adoption record” means:
(A) The record maintained in any medium by the department, separately from the sealed record or sealed adoption record and subsequent to the sealing of an adoption record or that is maintained about any sealed record or sealed adoption record. The post-adoption record contains information, including, but not limited to, adopted persons or the legal or biological relatives of adopted persons, or about persons for whom sealed records or sealed adoption records are maintained, or about persons who are seeking information about adopted persons, or persons on whom a sealed record or sealed adoption record is maintained. The post-adoption record contains information concerning, but not limited to, the written inquiries from persons requesting access to records, the search efforts of the department, the response to those search efforts by those persons sought, information that has been requested to be transmitted from or on behalf of any person entitled to access to records pursuant to this part, any updated medical information gathered pursuant to this part, court orders related to the opening of any sealed adoption records or sealed, and personal identifying information concerning any persons subject to this part;

(B) The limited record maintained by the licensed or chartered child-placing agency or a licensed clinical social worker pursuant to § 36-1-126(b)(2), that indicates the child’s date of birth, the date the agency received the child for placement, from whom the child was received and such person’s last known address, with whom the child was placed and such person’s or entity’s last known address, and the court in which the adoption proceeding was filed and the date the adoption order was entered or the adoption petition dismissed; and

(C) This record is confidential and shall be opened only as provided in this part;

(46)(A) “Sealed adoption record” means:
(i) The adoption record as it exists subsequent to its transmittal to the department, or subsequent to its sealing by the court, pursuant to the requirements of § 36-1-126; or

(ii) The limited record maintained by the licensed or chartered child-placing agency or a licensed clinical social worker pursuant to § 36-1-126(b)(2);

(B) This record is confidential and shall be opened only as provided in this part;

(C) The sealed adoption record shall not, for purposes of release of the records pursuant to §§ 36-1-127 – 36-1-141, be construed to permit access, without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138, to home studies or preliminary home studies or any information obtained by the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, or other family counseling service, a physician, a psychologist, or member of the clergy, an attorney or other person in connection with a home study or preliminary home study as part of an adoption or surrender or parental consent proceeding or as part of the evaluation of prospective adoptive parents, other than those studies that are expressly included in a report to the court by such entities or persons. Information relating to the counseling of a biological mother regarding crisis pregnancy counseling shall not be included in the adoption record for purposes of release pursuant to this part without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138;

(47)(A) “Sealed record” means:
(i) Any records, reports, or documents that are maintained at any time by a court, a court clerk, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, licensed clinical social worker, the department, the department of health, or any other information source concerning the foster care or agency care placement, or placement for adoption, of a person by any branch of the Tennessee children’s home society authorized by Public Chapter 113 (1919); or

(ii) Any records, reports, or documents maintained by a judge, a court clerk, the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, the department of health, or any other information source that consist of adoption records or information about an adoption proceeding or a termination of parental rights proceeding about an adopted person, or that contain information about a person who was placed for adoption but for whom no adoption order was entered or for whom an adoption proceeding was dismissed or for whom an adoption was not otherwise completed, or that contain information concerning persons in the care of any person or agency, and which records have otherwise been treated and maintained by those persons or entities under prior law, practice, policy, or custom as confidential, nonpublic adoption records, sealed adoption records, or post-adoption records of the person, or that may be otherwise currently treated and maintained by those persons or entities as confidential, nonpublic adoption records, sealed adoption records or post-adoption records of the person; or

(iii) The limited record maintained by the licensed or chartered child-placing agency or a licensed clinical social worker pursuant to § 36-1-126(b)(2);(B) This record is confidential and shall be opened only as provided in this part;

(C) The sealed record shall not, for purposes of release of the records pursuant to §§ 36-1-127 – 36-1-141, be construed to permit access, without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138, to home studies or preliminary home studies or any information obtained by the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, or other family counseling service, a physician, a psychologist, or member of the clergy, an attorney or other person in connection with a home study or preliminary home study as part of an adoption or surrender or parental consent proceeding or as part of the evaluation of prospective adoptive parents, other than those studies that are expressly included in a report to the court by such entities or persons. Information relating to the counseling of a biological mother regarding crisis pregnancy counseling shall not be included in the adoption record for purposes of release pursuant to this part without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138;

(48) “Sibling” means anyone having a sibling relationship;

(49) “Sibling relationship” means the biological or legal relationship between persons who have a common biological or legal parent;

36-1-125. Confidentiality of records — Penalties for unauthorized disclosure — Protected orders.
(a) All adoption records, sealed adoption records, or sealed records held by a court, the department, a licensed child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker or any other person, and not yet under seal, or any sealed adoption records or sealed records that have been unsealed for any reason, any post-adoption records, and any adoption assistance records are confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure except as provided in this part.

(b) Adoption records, home studies or preliminary home studies may be utilized by the judge of the court, by the clerk of the court, or by the department, or by a licensed child-placing agency or a licensed clinical social worker, in any act consistent with the litigation of the adoption, custody or guardianship proceedings involving a person in any court, or for the placement, study, or supervision of a person for whom an adoption or custody or guardianship proceeding is pending in any court, and which records may be necessary to carry out such judge’s, clerk’s, department’s, agency’s, or social worker’s duties consistent with the law.

(c) If any adoption records, sealed adoption records, sealed records, post-adoption records, adoption assistance records, home studies, preliminary home studies or information obtained in connection therewith are required by court order under this part to be disclosed for any legal proceeding other than the adoption proceeding or termination of parental rights proceedings, the court in which they are to be utilized shall enter a protective order to restrict their further disclosure or dissemination. Such records, studies, or information shall not become a public record in any legal proceeding.

(d) Unauthorized disclosure of any records, studies or information protected as confidential under this part is a Class A misdemeanor. Unauthorized disclosure of such records for personal gain or for a malicious purpose is a Class E felony.

36-1-126. Record kept under seal—Confidential records—Access to certain records—Preservation of records
(a) All adoption records, court reports, home studies, preliminary home studies, other reports or other documents or papers or other information concerning the placement or attempted placement of a person for adoption, or other information concerning the litigation of the adoption or attempted adoption of a person, which information is in the office of the judge or clerk of the court where the adoption was filed, or any such records, reports, or documents in the offices of a licensed child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, or in the county, regional or state offices of the department of health, or in the county, district, and state offices of the department of children’s services, shall be placed and remain under seal, except as provided herein or in § 36-1-118(e)(4), or in title 68, and shall be confidential and shall be disclosed only as provided in this part.

(b) (1) Upon the granting or dismissal of an adoption petition, or after entry of the final order dismissing the adoption all records and reports, home studies, and preliminary home studies or other information described in subsection (a) relating to the adoption proceeding and all records, reports and other documents related to the child’s placement with the department or the licensed or chartered child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker and with the adoptive or prospective adoptive family that are in the offices of the department or in the offices of any Tennessee licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker, shall be forwarded by the county and district offices of the department’s social services division and by the licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker involved in any such proceedings to the state office of the department, which shall place the records under seal and ensure their safekeeping; provided, that copies of any records that relate to a child who is placed or retained in the custody or guardianship of the department or a licensed child-placing agency after the dismissal of an adoption proceeding without further adoption of the child by any person or pursuant to any guardianship or other order of the court pursuant to this part shall be retained as confidential foster care records pursuant to title 37, chapter 2, part 4 and shall be utilized by the department or licensed child-placing agency for the care, supervision, protection, and treatment of that child as may be necessary.

(2) The licensed child-placing agency, chartered child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker shall, however, maintain a limited record that indicates the child’s date of birth, the date the agency received the child for placement, from whom the child was received and their last known address, with whom the child was placed and their last known address, and the court in which the adoption proceeding was filed and the date the adoption order was entered or the adoption petition dismissed.

(3) The information in the limited record shall be confidential and not open to inspection by any person, except as provided in this part. These records shall be maintained in a locked file or other secure depository by the agency or by the licensed clinical social worker or, if kept in electronic media, shall be maintained in a method that restricts access only to authorized agency personnel or the licensed clinical social worker. The limited record shall only be accessible to authorized agency personnel or the licensed clinical social worker or to authorized personnel of the department in the performance of its duties under this part or for inspection under the department’s licensing duties, or as otherwise authorized by this part.

(4) Upon entry of an order of adoption or dismissal of a petition for adoption the clerk of the court where the adoption proceeding was initiated or filed shall forward a certified copy of the order to the adoptions unit in the state office of the department in Nashville.

(5) (A) Any licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker that or who plans to cease conducting its activities related to the adoptive placement of children, the conduct of home studies, or any other such adoption-related services, shall notify the adoptions unit of the state office of the department in Nashville by certified mail, return receipt requested, thirty (30) days in advance, and shall forward all records related to any adoption-related services it has performed to the department.

(B) The department is specifically authorized to file a complaint and seek any necessary court orders, including injunctive relief of any kind, from any chancery or circuit court to preserve those records from loss or destruction and to obtain possession of those records for their preservation.

(C) Upon receipt of the records, reports, home studies and other information, the department shall take any necessary steps to preserve the records, reports, home studies and other information in accordance with this part. These records, reports, home studies and other information shall be filed as a sealed adoption record or sealed record, and all such records shall be confidential, and shall be otherwise subject to the provisions for access as provided pursuant to this part.

(6) (A) The clerks of the courts of this state are specifically authorized to undertake efforts to locate in any public building in their respective counties any records of adoptions or attempted adoptions of any person by any court, including former county courts or any court that previously had adoption jurisdiction, which records may be in the control or possession of any person or entity. Upon location of these records, if it is determined that the information therein was the result of an adoption that was filed or consummated and the clerk has no prior record of the adoption, the clerk shall record the existence of this adoption record in a special docket book for this purpose, shall maintain the adoption petition, consents or surrenders, and the order in a file for that purpose under this part, and shall transmit to the department certified copies of the adoption petition, the surrenders and consents and the order of adoption, and the originals of any remaining documents in the record that have been located.

(B) Upon receipt of the record, the department shall take any necessary steps to preserve the record, and the record shall be treated as sealed adoption records pursuant to this part.

(c) (1) The sealed adoption record shall be registered by the department in such a manner as to record the names of the adopted person, the adopted person’s birth name, the person’s date of birth and social security number, the names of the adoptive parents, and, if possible, any information concerning the names of birth parents of the child that is readily accessible to the department, the court where the adoption was filed, the docket number of the court proceeding, and the date of the adoption decree or the order of dismissal of the adoption petition; provided that sealed records may continue to be registered and maintained under prior departmental procedures. The department may record such other information as it shall deem necessary to maintain adequate information concerning the location of the sealed adoption record or sealed record and the means by which to locate such record.

(2) Such registration record shall be maintained in a secure manner so that no unauthorized persons may obtain access to the records. The sealed adoption record shall be placed in a separate sealed folder or in a suitable electronic media format wherein the record can be held under a separate file name, and shall be stored with the division of records management of the department of state, which shall carefully protect and preserve the sealed adoption records or sealed records and shall maintain proper security for the confidentiality of the sealed adoption records or sealed records.

(3) If electronic methods of recording the information contained in the sealed adoption records or sealed records are employed, the departments of children’s services and general services shall utilize any necessary methods to ensure the preservation and confidentiality of the electronic records.

(d) (1) The department may open the adoption records, the sealed adoption records, sealed records, or post-adoption records, adoption assistance records, or limited records in subsection (b) in order to perform any duties required under this part, and any specific provision for access to such records contained herein shall not be construed as a limitation on the ability of the department to access such records for such purposes.

(2) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, including ง 68-3-313, the department shall, upon its request, be granted access to and shall be provided a copy of the original birth certificate or any order or record of adoption of the adopted person in the custody of the division of vital records.

(3) For purposes related to any federal or state audit relative to an adoption assistance program or an adoption assistance grant, the department may open any record for the sole and limited purpose of complying with the audit requirements of the federal or state program.

(4) For purposes related to the determination of eligibility of any child for adoption assistance, the departments of children’s services and finance and administration, or any successor agencies responsible for the care of children in state custody or guardianship or for administration of the finances for children in state custody or guardianship, may open any adoption record, sealed adoption record, sealed record, post-adoption record, sealed home study records, or adoption assistance record for that limited purpose and may utilize any information in such records in any manner necessary for eligibility determination or adjudication of a claim for such assistance.

(5) (A) For purposes related to the determination of eligibility of any adopted person or any person placed for adoption for any federal or state benefit or any other benefits to which they may be entitled, or to provide to a Title IV-D child support office information necessary to verify the status of an adoption for purposes of determining a current or past child support obligation or for terminating a future obligation for child support, the departments of children’s services and finance and administration, or any successor agencies responsible for the care of children in state custody or guardianship or for administration of the finances for children in state custody or guardianship, may open any adoption record, sealed adoption record, sealed record, post-adoption record, sealed home study records or any adoption assistance record and disclose any information contained in those records that may be necessary to permit determination of:

(i) Eligibility for or correction of payments made to or on behalf of an adopted person; or
(ii) The status of current, past or future child support obligations that are, or may be, due on behalf of any adopted person.

(B) Any information released for any purpose of this subdivision (d)(5) shall be used only for the purposes stated in this subdivision (d)(5), and shall otherwise remain confidential in any agency or court records in which it may appear; and the information shall not be open to the public, except as otherwise provided by this part.

(6) The department may open or utilize for any purpose the adoption record, sealed adoption record, sealed record or the post-adoption record at any time in order to obtain any information concerning any person who may be placed in the custody or guardianship of the department or any other agency of the state or service provider of the state by any court or by the adopted person’s parents, or who may be placed with the department or any other agency of the state or service provider of the state due to any re-surrender of the adopted person to the department by the adopted person’s adoptive parents or the person’s prospective adoptive parents.

(7) The department may open the sealed adoption record or sealed record when a birth certificate in the adopted name was not issued and it becomes necessary to open the sealed adoption record to provide any information to the office of vital records to complete the birth certificate.

(8) The department, the department of general services, or their specifically authorized agents, may open the sealed adoption records, sealed records, or post-adoption records at any time it becomes necessary to perform any tasks related to the preservation of the records, and each department is specifically authorized to utilize any methodology that now exists or that may be developed in the future for the permanent preservation of a sealed adoption record, sealed record or post-adoption record, and they may open the records for the limited purpose of undertaking these preservation methods. This subdivision (d)(8) shall not authorize the release of any information contained in the records to any other person or entity except as specifically authorized by this part, or as may be directly related to the preservation of the records.

(9) After use of the records pursuant to this subsection (d), they shall be re-sealed and returned to storage.

(e) In the event of an appeal from any ruling of the trial court in the adoption proceeding, the clerk shall place the court’s record of the adoption proceedings in a sealed file in a locked file or other secure depository or, in the event of the use of electronic storage, the records shall be maintained in a secure method of storage that restricts access only to the clerk and other persons authorized by the court. These records shall remain confidential and shall not be open to inspection by anyone other than the trial or appellate courts, the clerk, the parties to the proceeding, or the licensed child-placing agencies, or the licensed clinical social worker, or the department or other governmental agencies that have been involved in the case, except by order of the court.

36-1-127. Availability of records to adopted persons and certain other persons for adoptions finalized or attempted prior to certain dates
(a) (1) On March 16, 1951, Chapter 202 of the Public Acts of 1951 became effective. As a result, all records related to persons who had been adopted, all records concerning a person for whom any records were maintained and that may have related to an adoption or attempted adoption and that were treated by the department of human services, the former department of public welfare, the courts, the department of health, or any other information sources as a sealed record or sealed adoption record involving an adoption or attempted adoption of a person, became confidential, non-public records that were not made readily available to persons about whom the records were kept.

(2) It is the intent of the general assembly that all adoption records, court records, sealed records, or sealed adoption records, and post-adoption records and other records or information, except as may otherwise be provided in this part, and that are contained in any information source on and after January 1, 1996, and that were in existence on March 16, 1951, be made available to eligible persons as provided in this part, and that to that end this is remedial legislation.

(3) It is the further intent of the general assembly, in view of the testimony before the adoption study commission established by Senate Joint Resolution 17 of the Ninety-Eighth General Assembly (1993 session), which testimony demonstrated the great concern by many persons regarding the practices of certain Tennessee adoption agencies in earlier years, that any adoption records, sealed records, sealed adoption records or post-adoption records, or other records maintained at any time by the Tennessee children’s home society or its branches or divisions, chartered on June 24, 1913, and authorized under Chapter 113 of the Public Acts of 1919; and any branch or division thereof, including an organization known as the Tennessee children’s home society-Shelby County division, which was referenced in the report of the Tennessee department of public welfare to Governor Gordon Browning dated June 12, 1951, shall also be made available to eligible persons in accordance with this part, whether such records were completed or sealed before, on, or after March 16, 1951, and whether any persons subject to the care and supervision of such agency or its branches were ever actually adopted, and to that end this is remedial legislation.

(b) Effective January 1, 1996, pursuant to the requirements of subsections (g) and (h), and subject to the restrictions in the following sections or subsections:

(1) (A) All adoption records, sealed records, sealed adoption records, post-adoption records, home studies, or any other records or papers, existing prior to March 16, 1951, and relating to the adoption or attempted adoption of a person, which adoption was finalized by completion of the adoption by the entry of an order of adoption or an order of dismissal of the adoption proceeding prior to March 16, 1951; or which adoption was otherwise never completed due to the abandonment, prior to March 16, 1951, of any further necessary activity related to the completion of the adoption, and which records were sealed or closed by the court before that date, or where the record or other evidence demonstrates that a person was surrendered for adoption prior to March 16, 1951; or

(B) Any adoption records, sealed records, sealed adoption records, post-adoption records, or any other records or papers, existing prior to March 16, 1951, and relating to the adoption or attempted adoption of a person that before the effective date of Chapter 532 of the Public Acts of 1995 [see Compiler’s Notes], have been treated as, or have been determined by the department or any other information source to be, cases of adoptions finalized by the completion of the adoption by the entry of an order of adoption or by entry of an order of dismissal of the adoption prior to March 16, 1951; or that have been treated by or are determined by the department as finalized adoptions due to the abandonment, prior to March 16, 1951, of any further necessary activity related to the completion of the adoption, or where the record or other evidence demonstrates that a person was surrendered for adoption prior to March 16, 1951; or

(2) All adoption records, sealed records, sealed adoption records, post-adoption records, or any other papers or records, existing either before or after March 16, 1951, concerning a person who was subject to the care and supervision, or subject to placement for foster care or adoption, by any agency described in subdivision (a)(3), or which records were maintained by any child care or child-placing agency that had, either before or after March 16, 1951, subsequently assumed the care and supervision of a child who had previously been subject to the care and control of an agency described in subdivision (a)(3), whether or not the adoption of such person was the plan, whether the person was placed for the purpose of adoption or whether the adoption was finalized by entry of an order of adoption or by order of dismissal of the adoption, whether the adoption was attempted, or was otherwise never completed due to failure to file an adoption petition or due to the abandonment of any further necessary activity related to the completion of the adoption, either before or after March 16, 1951; and

(3) Which records are in the office of the clerk of the adoption court, in the offices of the department of health, in the office of any child-placing agency, whether or not it is chartered or licensed, in the state, district, or county offices of the department of children’s services, or in any other information source, shall be made available to the following eligible persons:

(A) An adopted person or a person subject to subdivision (b)(1) and (2) who is twenty-one (21) years of age or older for whom an adoption record, sealed record, sealed adoption record, post-adoption record, or other record or paper is, nevertheless, maintained;
(B) The parents of any person described in subdivision (b)(3)(A);
(C) The siblings of any person described in subdivision (b)(3)(A);
(D) The lineal descendants, twenty-one (21) years or older, of any person described in subdivision (b)(3)(A);
(E) The lineal ancestors of a person described in subdivision (b)(3)(A); or
(F) The legal representatives of the person described in subdivisions (b)(3)(A)-(E).

(c) Effective July 1, 1996, pursuant to the requirements of subsections (g) and (h), and subject to the restrictions in the following sections or subsections:

(1) (A) All adoption records, sealed records, sealed adoption records, post-adoption records, or any other records or papers for a person relating to the adoption or attempted adoption of a person, which adoption was finalized by the completion of the adoption by the entry of an order of adoption or an order of dismissal of the adoption proceeding on or after March 16, 1951, or which records relate to an adoption or attempted adoption where the adoption petition was filed on or after March 16, 1951, or that was otherwise never completed, due to the abandonment, as determined by the department, on or after March 16, 1951, of any further necessary activity related to the completion of the adoption, and which records are in the office of the clerk of the adoption court, in the offices of the department of health, in the office of any child-placing agency, whether or not it is chartered or licensed, in the state, district, or county offices of the department of children’s services, or in any other information source, shall be made available to the following eligible persons:

(i) An adopted person or a person subject to subdivision (c)(1)(A) who is twenty-one (21) years of age or older on whom an adoption record, sealed record, sealed adoption record, post-adoption record, or other record or paper is maintained;
(ii) The legal representative of a person described in subdivision (c)(1)(A)(i).

(B) Information from any records of an adopted person, or any person otherwise subject to subdivision (c)(1)(A) for whom records are otherwise maintained, shall be released by the department or any other information source only to the parents, siblings, lineal descendants, or lineal ancestors, of the adopted person or of a person for whom records are maintained as described in subdivision (c)(1)(A), and only with the express written consent given to the department by the adopted person or of a person for whom records are maintained as described in subdivision (c)(1)(A), twenty-one (21) years of age or older, or such person’s legal representative; provided, that nothing herein shall be construed to prevent access to identifying information in the records of the adopted person as otherwise permitted or required pursuant to §§ 36-1-125, 36-1-126 and 36-1-138.

(C) If an adopted person or a person for whom records are maintained as described in subdivision (c)(1)(A) is deceased or is disabled as defined for purposes of appointment of a conservator under title 34, the lineal descendants of such person may petition the court pursuant to § 36-1-138(c)(7), to be given access to the records of such person.

(2) On July 1, 1996, the records access procedure established pursuant to subdivision (c)(1) and subsections (d)-(h) and other sections of this part shall become effective for access to records and contact by eligible persons under this part as set forth in subdivision (c)(1) and any other provisions of this part.

(3) Effective January 1, 1996, the basis for judicially-ordered opening of all records pursuant to this part shall be the provisions set forth in § 36-1-138 and any other relevant provisions of this part.

(d) (1) Except in cases arising pursuant to subsection (b) or § 36-1-138, no access to identifying information in any adoption record, sealed record, sealed adoption record, post adoption record or adoption assistance record shall be granted:

(A) To any parent, pre-adoptive guardian, sibling, lineal descendant or lineal ancestor of a person under twenty-one (21) years of age; or

(B) At any time to any parent or pre-adoptive guardian, or to a sibling, lineal ancestor, or spouse or legal representative of the person whose rights were involuntarily terminated for cause in a termination of parental rights proceeding; or

(C) To any persons whom the sealed record, sealed adoption record or the post adoption record indicates were guilty of a crime of violence or neglect involving the person who was placed for adoption or who was the subject of the termination of parental rights by court action or by surrender or parental consent.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no identifying information from the sealed records, sealed adoption records or post adoption records shall be released without the written consent of the biological parent if such records indicate that, with respect to the adopted person, the biological parent was the victim of rape or incest. If a biological parent for whom records contain such information is deceased or if a conservator of the person and property of such person has been appointed under title 34, the lineal descendants of such person may petition the court pursuant to the same procedures established pursuant to § 36-1-138(c)(7) to be given access to identifying information of the biological parent.

(f) (1) Access by any eligible person under any subsection of this section to any records held by the department, the court, the department of general services or health, or any licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker may only be had after verification of the identity of the requesting party and written authorization by the department is received by those information sources from the department.

(2) If the department does not have a sealed record, sealed adoption record, or post-adoption record, and if the person seeking information concerning the history of an adopted person has a copy of the order of adoption from a Tennessee court, or in cases where the adoption was handled by any agency described in subdivision (a)(3), a copy of an order of adoption from any other court and/or any other proof of the person’s care, supervision, or placement for adoption by any agency described in subdivision (a)(3), and any other proof of the adoption of the person in Tennessee, any of which, in the discretion of the department is satisfactory to prove that the person is an eligible person, the department may issue a statement to that person permitting that person to obtain access to any records held by any other information source.

(g) (1) A request for access to an adoption record, sealed adoption record, sealed record, or a post-adoption record, pursuant to this section, shall be made in writing to the department.

(2) The writing shall include the following information:

(A) The name, date of birth, address, and telephone number of the person requesting the access;
(B) Information, including legal documents or affidavits, if available, that establish the person’s legal relationship to any person under this section or that otherwise establishes the person’s right to request access;
(C) Any other information that the department requires to establish the person’s identity, to locate records involving the requesting parties or the persons with whom contact may be sought, and to establish the person’s right to request access; and
(D) Identification of any person or persons or class of persons, if any, with whom the requesting party seeks contact; provided, that this provision shall not apply to persons seeking information pursuant to subsection (b).

(3) If the information in the written request does not establish the person’s right to have access to the records, the department will search the sealed adoption and post-adoption records, including those of other alleged siblings, if available, for information that may establish the person’s right to have such access.

36-1-133. Release of nonidentifying information concerning biological or legal family
(a) Upon written request of an adopted person eighteen (18) years of age or older or of the adoptive parents or guardian of an adopted person under eighteen (18) years of age, the biological or legal relatives of an adopted person, the lineal descendants of the adopted person, or the legal representatives of such persons, the department shall provide to such persons, upon proper identification of such persons by the department, nonidentifying information about the adopted person and such person’s biological or legal relatives as may be contained in the adopted person’s sealed adoption record, sealed record or post-adoption record.

(b) The information that may be released shall include only the following; provided, that nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize or require the release of any information from a sealed adoption record, sealed record or post-adoption record if such information would lead to the discovery of the identity or whereabouts of the biological or legal relatives of the adopted person, or unless § 36-1-138 is applicable:

(1) The date and time of the birth of the adopted person and such person’s weight and other physical characteristics at birth;
(2) The age of the adopted person’s biological relatives at the time of such person’s birth;
(3) The nationality, ethnic background, race and religious preference of the biological or legal relatives;
(4) The educational level of the biological or legal relatives, general occupation and any talents or hobbies;
(5) A general physical description of the biological or legal relatives, including height, weight, color of hair, color of eyes, complexion and other similar information;
(6) Whether the biological or legal parent had any other children, and if so, any available nonidentifying information about such children; and
(7) Available health history of the adopted person, and the person’s biological or legal relatives, including specifically, any psychological or psychiatric information that would be expected to have any substantial effect on the adopted person’s mental or physical health.

(c) Whenever the department releases information pursuant to this section and it appears from the record that the adopted person who has sought information has been adopted two (2) or more times, the department shall specify whether the information released pertains to the adopted person’s birth parents or to any intervening adoptive parent or parents.

36-1-138. Court orders for the release of information from adoption and sealed records
(a)(1) Any necessary information in the files or the record of an adoption proceeding or in an adoption record, sealed adoption record, sealed record, post-adoption record or adoption assistance record may be disclosed pursuant to the requirements of subsection (c), to the party requiring it, upon a written, sworn motion before the court of original jurisdiction of the adoption proceeding, or, where the adoption proceeding is not yet filed, in the chancery or circuit court of the county where the record is located, or in the chancery or circuit court of any county that has a population of one hundred thousand (100,000) or greater, according to the 1990 federal census or any subsequent census.

(2) Jurisdiction for motions filed pursuant to subdivision (c)(5) shall be in the chancery court for Davidson County.

(3) If the court that had original jurisdiction was a county court or is a court that no longer exists, the chancery court for the county in which such court was established shall have jurisdiction to hear the motion, in addition to the circuit or chancery courts in counties with a population of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more, as established by the 1990 federal census or any subsequent census.

(4) The department, licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker shall, upon request of the party seeking such information, disclose to the party the court in which such proceeding was filed and the docket number, if known to the department, or the licensed child-placing agency, or the licensed clinical social worker, or shall disclose the county in which the adoption record, sealed adoption record, or sealed record is located.

(b) The motion must be served upon the commissioners of children’s services and health by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal service upon the commissioners or a duly designated agent of either commissioner. The hearing shall not be held sooner than fifteen (15) days after the return receipt is dated or the date of personal service. Failure to obtain service on both commissioners, or any hearing held prior to the expiration of the fifteen-day service period, shall result in the order entered in the proceeding being void and of no effect whatsoever. Each commissioner shall be permitted to file a response and may appear through counsel to respond in writing or orally, and may appeal any resulting order.

(c) The record of the adoption proceeding, the adoption record, sealed adoption record, sealed record, post-adoption record or adoption assistance record may be opened, under whatever conditions the court shall determine necessary, if the court finds, for good cause shown, that the best interests of the adopted person or of the public require such disclosure, and that one (1) or more of the following requirements are met:

(1) The movant must show that information is needed for purposes of treating or preventing a physical, psychological or psychiatric condition affecting any person, which is clearly and specifically described by testimony or affidavit of a qualified treatment professional. For purposes of this section, “qualified treatment professional” means a person licensed by any state or federal authority or the duly authorized licensing body of any other government to provide treatment for physical, psychological or psychiatric conditions;

(2) The movant must show that the information is needed for purposes of establishing legal status or standing for inheritance or for property rights determinations or for the determination of legal relationships for third parties;

(3) The movant must show that the information is necessary for the movant to prosecute or defend a legal proceeding and that alternative information sources or other means of accomplishing this end are not available;

(4) The movant is any public agency that requires the disclosure of the information in such record for purposes directly related to its authorized duties and that such information cannot be obtained by any other method, or that further delay in obtaining information that may be contained in such record may result in harm to the adopted person, the adopted person’s biological parent or parents or biological or legal relatives, or to the public;

(5) The movant is an individual who has sought disclosure under §§ 36-1-127, 36-1-133, 36-1-134 and 36-1-135, and claims to have been improperly denied access to the information so requested by the departments of children’s services or health pursuant to those sections;

(6) The movant is an individual who alleges wrongful denial of access pursuant to § 36-1-127(e)(1)(B) or (C); or

(7) The movant is a lineal descendant of a deceased adopted person or a person for whom records are maintained as described in § 36-1-127(c)(1)(A) or is the lineal descendant of such a person who is disabled as defined for purposes of appointment of a conservator under title 34.

(d) In determining whether to order disclosure of information contained in the sealed adoption record, sealed record or the post-adoption record, the court shall conduct an in camera inspection of the records and shall permit disclosure of only such information as shall be necessary to fulfill the requirements of subsection (c).

(e) The departments of children’s services or health may consent to the release of any sealed adoption records, sealed records or post-adoption records or records of birth under this section by an agreed order that is approved by the court if any of the conditions of subdivisions (c)(1) — (4) have been met or if the departments determine that they have been in error in refusing to release requested information pursuant to §§ 36-1-127, 36-1-133, 36-1-134 and 36-1-135.

(f)(1) The court may, upon notice to the department of children’s services pursuant to subsection (b), order the department to attempt to establish contact with any person or entity for the purpose of obtaining any updated medical information necessary to assist in the treatment of the adopted person or the adopted person’s biological or legal relatives or any person who has filed a motion under this section.

(2) If the department obtains the information sought under this subsection (f), it will report this fact to the court and shall send such information directly to the qualified treatment professional who is providing care and treatment for the person who sought the information, unless the court, for good cause entered in the record, shall order otherwise.

(g) [Deleted by 2021 amendment.]

(h) This section is supplemental to the previous provisions of this part permitting access to records by eligible persons without court orders and shall not be construed to be restrictive of those provisions.

36-1-149. Confidential adoption record as public records and open to inspection after 100 years have elapsed.
Notwithstanding §§ 36-1-102, 36-1-125, 36-1-126, 36-1-127, 68-3-313, or another law to the contrary, all adoption records, sealed adoption records, and unsealed adoption records deemed to be confidential pursuant to this part will be a public record and open to inspection when one hundred (100) years have elapsed since the date the adoption was finalized. If an adoption was not finalized, or the date the adoption was finalized is not clearly indicated in the adoption record, then the adoption record will be a public record and open to inspection when one hundred (100) years have elapsed since the creation of the oldest dated item in the adoption record.

Tennessee Law: Adoption Generally

Relevant parts of Tennessee’s adoption law related to adoption generally. The entire Tennessee adoption statute is not easily available online except through this link.

36-1-106. Readoption
(a) Any minor child who was previously adopted under the laws of any jurisdiction may be subsequently readopted in accordance with this part.

(b) With respect to a child sought to be adopted a second time or subsequent time by new adoptive parents, all provisions in this part relating to the biological parents or legal parents or guardians shall apply to the prior adoptive parents, except that in no case of readoption shall a biological or legal parent or guardian whose rights were previously terminated before the child was initially adopted and whose rights were not subsequently restored be made a party to the new adoption proceeding, nor shall such person’s surrender, parental consent, or waiver of interest be necessary. The prior adoptive parents whose rights have not been previously terminated and any other persons who otherwise would be entitled to notice pursuant to this part subsequent to the previous adoption of the child shall be the only necessary parties to the new termination or adoption proceedings and only their surrenders or parental consent, or the termination of their rights, shall be necessary.

(c)(1) With respect to a child sought to be readopted under the laws of this state who has been previously adopted pursuant to the laws of a foreign country, the circuit and chancery courts are specifically authorized to enter new orders of adoption as they may be required for purposes of compliance with any requirements of the government of the United States for children who were adopted in foreign countries. In such instances, if an adoption was conducted in accordance with the laws of the foreign jurisdiction, no further termination of parental rights of the child’s parents or guardians need be made, no home study need be conducted, no court report need be made and no time period for which an adoption petition must be on file before a final adoption order is entered shall be required. Further, no consultation of the putative father registry maintained by the department shall be required, and the affidavits otherwise required by § 36-1-120(b)(1) and (2) need not be filed, if the attorney, social worker, or child-placing agency, as the case may be, that provided professional services in the underlying foreign adoption, does not maintain an office in the United States.

(2)(A) When a Tennessee resident adopts a child in a foreign country in accordance with the laws of the foreign country and such adoption is recognized as full and final by the United States government, such resident may file, with a petition, a copy of the decree, order or certificate of adoption that evidences finalization of the adoption in the foreign country, together with a certified translation of the decree, order or certificate of adoption, if it is not in English, and proof of full and final adoption from the United States government, with the clerk of the chancery or circuit court of any county in this state having jurisdiction over the person or persons filing such documents.

(B) The court shall assign a docket number and file and enter the documents referenced in subdivision (c)(2)(A) with an order recognizing such foreign adoption without the necessity of a hearing. Such order, along with the final decree, order or certificate from the foreign country, shall have the same force and effect as if a final order of readoption were granted in accordance with this part.

(C) When the order referenced in subdivision (c)(2)(B) is filed and entered, the adoptive parents may request a report of foreign birth pursuant to § 68-3-310 by submitting an application for report of foreign birth.

(D) Individuals obtaining a report of foreign birth under subdivision (c)(2)(C) are exempt from the disclosure of fees requirements of § 36-1-116(b)(16).

36-1-107. Persons to whom this part is applicable
(a) Any person, irrespective of place of birth, citizenship, or place of residence, may be adopted or readopted in accordance with this part.

(b) A single person may file a petition for the adoption of a child.

(c) An adult may be adopted.

36-1-110. Parent under eighteen years of age — Surrender
(a) A parent who has not reached eighteen (18) years of age shall have the legal capacity to surrender a child or otherwise give parental consent to adoption or execute a waiver of interest and to release such parent’s rights to a child, and shall be as fully bound thereby as if the parent had attained eighteen (18) years of age.

(b) The court shall have the authority to appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor parent of a child who may be surrendered or for whom a parental consent or waiver of interest is given if deemed necessary to advise and assist the minor parent with respect to surrender, parental consent, waiver, or termination of the minor parent’s parental rights.

36-1-115. Persons eligible to file adoption petition — Residence requirements — Preference for foster parents
(a) Any person over eighteen (18) years of age may petition the chancery or circuit court to adopt a person and may request that the adopted person’s name be changed.

(b) The petitioners must have physical custody or must demonstrate to the court that they have the right to receive custody of the child sought to be adopted as provided in § 36-1-111(d)(6) at the time the petition is filed, unless they are filing an intervening petition seeking to adopt the child.

(c) If the petitioner has a spouse living, competent to join in the petition, such spouse shall join in the petition; provided, that if the spouse of the petitioner is a legal or biological parent of the child to be adopted, such spouse shall sign the petition as co-petitioner, and this shall be sufficient consent by the legal or biological parent for the petitioner’s spouse to adopt the child of the legal or biological parent, and no surrender shall be necessary by such co-petitioning legal or biological parent. Such action by the legal or biological parent shall not otherwise affect the legal relationship between that parent and the child.

(d) The petitioner or petitioners shall live and maintain their regular place of abode in this state when the adoption is filed. Nonresidents may also file a petition to adopt a child in this state if they file the petition in the county where a court granted the nonresidents, a licensed child-placing agency, or the department of children’s services partial or complete guardianship or legal custody of the child, or where the child was placed in the legal custody of the licensed child-placing agency or the department of children’s services.

(e) If one (1) or both of petitioners is an active duty service member in the United States military, the service member and any co-petitioner with the service member may file a petition for adoption in this state without actual residency in this state, if the service member has lived, or maintained a regular place of abode, within this state for six (6) consecutive months immediately prior to entering military service or if this state is the service member’s state of legal residence as identified to the United States military.

(f) Where the petitioner is seeking to adopt a child that is related, the residency requirement in subsections (d) and (e) shall not apply if the petitioner is an actual resident of this state at the time the petition is filed.

(g)(1) When a child is placed in a foster home by the department or otherwise, and becomes available for adoption due to the termination or surrender of all parental or guardianship rights to the child, those foster parents shall be given first preference to adopt the child if the child has resided in the foster home for twelve (12) or more consecutive months immediately preceding the filing of an adoption petition.

(2) In becoming adoptive parents, the foster parents shall meet all requirements otherwise imposed on persons seeking to adopt children in the custody of the department, and shall be subject to all other provisions of this part.

36-1-120. Final order of adoption — Contents — Report of foreign birth
(a) The final order of adoption must state:

(1) The full name of the child used in the proceeding;

(2) The full names of the petitioners and their county of residence and whether the petitioner is a stepparent of the adopted person;

(3) The fact and date of the filing of the petition;

(4) The date when the petitioners acquired physical custody of the child and from what person or agency or by which court order;

(5) The fact and date of the filing of a guardianship order, if such order has been entered;

(6)(A) That all persons entitled to notice of the proceedings have been served with process and the status of those persons in the proceedings and that all necessary parties were properly before the court;

(B) That the time for answering the petition has expired;

(C) That termination of all parental or guardian rights to the child by court order or surrenders or parental consents that are necessary to proceed with the adoption have occurred; and

(D) That orders reflecting the termination of parental rights pursuant to actions filed by the prospective adoptive parents, orders confirming parental consents, or the consents of the department or a licensed child-placing agency with authority to place and consent to the child’s adoption, the consent of the child who is over fourteen (14) years of age, the consent of the guardian ad litem of an incompetent adult or mentally disabled child, or of any other person or entity required by law have been filed in the court record;

(7) That if the child has been brought into Tennessee from another state or foreign country, there has been compliance with the ICPC, if applicable, or with the requirements of the foreign government or legal authorities in the foreign country for the petitioners to have custody of the child and with all requirements of the United States government for the immigration of the child to this country, unless good cause has been shown to excuse such compliance;

(8) That the child’s adoption is in compliance with or is not subject to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.);

(9) Whether the child has been the subject of an adoption decree in a foreign country in which the petitioners were given the child in adoption by such decree and whether this adoption is a readoption for the purpose of complying with the requirements of the United States government for the purposes of the child’s immigration or naturalization;

(10) That the petitioners are fit persons to have the care and custody of the child;

(11) That the petitioners are financially able to provide for the child;

(12) That the child is a suitable child for adoption; and

(13) That the adoption is for the best interest of the child.

(b) Before the entry of the final order, there shall be filed with the proposed order:

(1) An affidavit by the attorney for the petitioners detailing the fees charged for any services rendered in the placement of the child or for legal services, and any fees paid by the attorney to any other person or entity for services rendered in securing the placement of the child or for providing any services related to securing any home studies to secure a surrender or adoption of the child; and

(2) An affidavit by the licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker that or who placed the child with the petitioners regarding the fees charged by such agency or social worker to the adoptive parents for the placement of the child and for any home studies and supervision of the placement conducted by the licensed child-placing agency or by the licensed clinical social worker.

(c) The court shall review the affidavits required in subsection (b) and shall determine whether all fees set forth therein are reasonable. The court shall retroactively approve such fees or order reimbursement of any fees it determines to be unreasonable.

(d) The court shall, if satisfied that all the requirements necessary for the adoption of the child are present, thereupon decree the adoption of the child by the petitioners and shall order that the name of the child be changed to that requested by the petitioners.

(e) The clerk of the court shall furnish the department a certified copy of all final orders of adoption and the affidavits required under subsection (b) or final orders dismissing the adoption proceedings, and the department shall record pertinent information from the order, and the department shall maintain a copy of the order with all other information in the sealed adoption record.

(f)(1) All final orders of adoption shall be reported by the clerk to the division of vital records of the department of health by sending a certified copy of the order or a certified certificate of adoption, and by reporting the information required by that division for a new certificate of birth or for a Report of Foreign Birth for the child to the registrar of the division of vital records for preparation of a new certificate of birth by adoption or for a Report of Foreign Birth as provided in §§ 68-3-310 — 68-3-313.

(2) The court clerk shall supply the registrar of the division of vital records the following information for the preparation of a Report of Foreign Birth if the child who has been adopted was born in a foreign country:

(A) The full adoptive name of the child;
(B) The adopted child’s date of birth;
(C) The adopted child’s sex;
(D) The city, province and country of the adopted child’s birth;
(E) The full name of the adoptive father;
(F) The full maiden name of the adoptive mother; and
(G) The legal residence of the adoptive parents.

(g) Costs for furnishing certified copies under subsections (e) and (f) shall be taxed to the petitioners.

(h) Notwithstanding the sealing and confidentiality of adoption records pursuant to this part, the clerk of the court in which adoption proceedings have occurred, upon being furnished verification of the identity of the requesting person, shall furnish to the adopted person, adoptive parents or their attorney or attorneys, upon their request at any time, certified copies of the final order of adoption or readoption or final orders dismissing such adoption proceedings. Nothing other than certified copies of the final order of adoption or readoption or final order dismissing such adoption proceedings shall be released pursuant to this subsection (h).

36-1-121. Effect of adoption on relationship
(a) The signing of a final order of adoption terminates any existing guardianship orders and establishes from that date the relationship of parent and child between the adoptive parent or parents and the adopted child as if the adopted child had been born to the adoptive parent or parents and the adopted child shall be deemed the lawful child of such parent or parents, the same as if the child had been born to the parent or parents, for all legal consequences and incidents of the biological relation of parents and children.

(b) The adopted child and the child’s descendants shall be capable of inheriting and otherwise receiving title to real and personal property from the adoptive parents and their descendants, and of succeeding to the rights of either such parent or such parent’s descendants in such property, whether created by will, by other instrument or by law, including, but not limited to, taking as a beneficiary of a remainder interest following a life interest or estate in either such parent or such parent’s ancestor or descendant. The adopted child shall have the same such rights as to lineal and collateral kindred of either adoptive parent and the ancestors or descendants of such kindred, as the adoptive child has as to such parent, and the lineal and collateral kindred of either adoptive parent and the descendants of such kindred shall have the same such rights as to the adopted child and the child’s descendants, but only as to property of the adopted child acquired after the child’s adoption.

(c) In the construction of any instrument, whether will, deed, or otherwise, whether executed before or after August 24, 1995, and whether the testator or other party creating an interest by such instrument died before or after August 24, 1995, or before or after an adoption, a child so adopted and the descendants of such child are deemed included within the class created by any limitation contained in such instrument restricting a devise, bequest or conveyance to the lawful heirs, issue, children, descendants, or the like, as the case may be, of the adoptive parent, or of an ancestor or descendant of one (1) of them, and such adopted child shall be treated as a member of such class unless a contrary intention clearly shall appear by the terms of such instrument or unless the particular estate so limited shall have vested in interest and in possession in and as to the person or persons entitled thereto on August 24, 1995; provided, that this sentence shall not apply in the construction of any instrument as to any child who is over twenty-one (21) years of age at the time of such child’s adoption.

(d) “Contrary intention clearly shall appear,” as set forth in this section, shall not be found by any court to exist by use in such instrument of such terms as “issue,” “children” or similar legal terms, unless the instrument specifically states that adopted children are to be excluded from such class.

(e) An adopted child shall not inherit real or personal property from a biological parent or relative thereof when the relationship between them has been terminated by final order of adoption, nor shall such biological parent or relative thereof inherit from the adopted child. Notwithstanding subsection (a), if a parent of a child dies without the relationship of parent and child having been previously terminated and any other person thereafter adopts the child, the child’s right of inheritance from or through the deceased biological parent or any relative thereof shall be unaffected by the adoption.

(f) A final order of adoption of a child cannot require the adoptive parent to permit visitation by any other person, nor can the final order of adoption place any conditions on the adoption of the child by the adoptive parent. This statute does not prohibit the entry of an order enforcing or modifying a contract for post-adoption contact pursuant to § 36-1-145.

(g) The adoption of a child shall have no effect upon arrearages owed by an obligor of child support for that child that existed prior to the termination of parental rights or to that child’s adoption and that are owed by an obligor to any person or any governmental agency, nor shall it affect any other financial obligations of a person that may be related to the care of the adopted child prior to a surrender, termination of parental rights, or adoption involving that child.

Notes

Why I classify Tennessee as a “Compromised State.” Though almost all adult adoptees in Tennessee have a right to obtain their own OBCs, I list it as a compromised state for two reasons: 1) exceptions remain to receive your own birth certificate; and 2) it uses a fairly complex administrative process that costs a $150 fee plus 25 cents per page for documents.

Access to Tennessee Statutes. Tennessee provides online access to its official statutes through Lexis/Nexis, a proprietary service. Unfortunately, access may be difficult without a Lexis account. To the extent that they can be accessed, Tennessee’s statutes are available on Lexis here.

Prior Repealed Laws. The current law above reflects the repeal of prior contact veto and registry provisions, which occurred in 2022. An unofficial compilation of the changes is here. To view the law as it existed prior to its repeal, I have saved this page on the Wayback Machine and also have a compilation of the prior law here.