Tennessee Enacts Domestic Violence Offender Registry

Savanna’s Law, enacted as Tennessee Public Chapter 520, creates a public registry maintained by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) for persistent domestic violence offenders—individuals convicted of an offense against a domestic abuse victim who have at least one prior such conviction. The searchable registry is available for free on the internet.

The information contained in the registry is provided to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation by the appropriate clerk in each Tennessee county per state law. The TBI does not independently verify any information provided.

There is created within the TBI a registry of persistent domestic violence offenders. The TBI shall maintain this registry based upon information supplied to the TBI by the court clerks and information available to the TBI from the Department of Correction and local law enforcement agencies. The TBI will make the registry available for public inquiry on the internet. The registry must consist of the persistent domestic violence offender’s name, date of birth, conviction date, county or counties of convictions, and a current photograph of the persistent domestic violence offender.

If a person is convicted of an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim and the person convicted has at least one prior conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim. The court shall, upon proof of any prior convictions committed· against a domestic abuse victim, order the defendant to register as a persistent domestic violence offender.

A defendant required to register under this part must be assessed a registration fee in the amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150), which must be paid to the clerk of the court imposing the sentence,

The TBI shall remove from the registry the name and other identifying information of a persistent domestic violence offender required to register under this part: Five (5) years after the date of the most recent conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has one prior conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim; Seven years after the date of the most recent conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has two prior convictions for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim; Ten years after the date of the most recent conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has three prior convictions for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim; and twenty (20) years after the date of the most recent conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has four or more prior convictions for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim. This section applies only to persons convicted of an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim that occurred on or after January 1, 2026.

This act takes effect January 1, 2026.