Tennessee: Juvenile Court Records (TN-CR-1)

A record relating to a delinquency adjudication can be expunged upon motion so long as the person is at least 17 years of age, at least one year has passed since their most recent delinquency adjudication, and they have not been subject to a disqualifying event. Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-153(f)(1)(A).

Record Detail(s)

Charges adjudicated

Previous Conviction Disqualifying

Potentially, see statute

Mandatory / Discretionary

Mandatory

Hearing

No statutory language

Clearance Process

Petition-based

Remedy

Expunge

Ineligible Category or Citation

Any offenses listed under Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-153(f)(1)(A) are ineligible for expungement and will also disqualify the juvenile for expungement for other offenses.

Procedure General

A motion must be filed with the juvenile court to request the expungement of all court files and records. Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-153(f).

Fees

There is no statutory language regarding fees.

Effect

The order of expungement, the original delinquent petition, and the order of adjudication and disposition will be sealed and maintained by the clerk of the court in a locked file cabinet and kept separate from all other records. In courts that maintain a case management system capable of expunging a record and only allowing access to the system administrator, paper copies need not be maintained. Any person whose records are expunged will be restored to the status that the person occupied before arrest, citation, the filing of a juvenile petition, or referral. For more information on the effect, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-153(f)(9).

Waiting Periods

The motion can be filed if the person is at least 17 years old and at least one year has passed since the person's most recent delinquency adjudication.

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