Tennessee Expungement: Clearing Your Record

This is general information, not legal advice. Tennessee expungement eligibility turns on the exact offense, the disposition, and the conviction date — and the statute has been amended several times. Confirm the current rules against T.C.A. § 40-32-101 or with a Tennessee attorney before relying on anything here.

In Tennessee, expungement — the statute calls it “expunction” — removes a criminal record from public access. The controlling law is T.C.A. § 40-32-101, and it actually covers two very different situations.

1. Records that didn’t end in a conviction — free

If your charge did not result in a conviction, the record can usually be expunged at no cost. That includes:

• A charge that was dismissed (for a reason other than diversion),
• A grand jury “no true bill,”
• An acquittal / not-guilty verdict,
• A case ended by nolle prosequi, or
• An arrest with no charge filed.

This is the most straightforward expunction and carries no state fee.

2. Eligible convictions — after a waiting period, with a fee

Tennessee also lets you expunge certain eligible convictions — a limited list of misdemeanors and lower-level felonies. The key conditions:

• You must have completed your entire sentence — incarceration, probation, fines, restitution, and court costs.
• A waiting period must pass — generally at least five years after completing the sentence for a misdemeanor or Class E felony (some higher-level eligible felonies have a longer wait).
• The offense must be on the eligible list — many serious violent offenses, sexual offenses, and offenses against minors are permanently ineligible.

Because the eligible-conviction list and waiting periods have been amended repeatedly, check the current statute rather than assuming.

Completed diversion

If you successfully completed pretrial or judicial diversion (T.C.A. § 40-35-313), the underlying charge can be expunged — though, unlike a simple dismissal, a clerk’s fee generally applies.

The process

1. Confirm eligibility for your specific charge and disposition.
2. File a petition in the court where the case was handled (the court of conviction or origin).
3. Pay the fee if it applies (eligible-conviction and diversion expunctions carry a state fee — confirm the current amount with the clerk; non-conviction expunctions are free).
4. The court orders the records expunged if you qualify.

A pardon can also open a separate expungement path for some non-violent offenses — see executive clemency & pardons. And note expungement is different from getting your rights back — see gun & civil rights restoration. To get matched with a local Tennessee attorney, connect with a lawyer.