The Tennessee Divorce Kit
See a different stateTennessee
Tennessee gives you the forms for free — but only if you already agree on everything and own no real property. It doesn’t tell you whether that’s Circuit Court or Chancery Court in your county, which of two very different waiting periods applies to you, or that a divorce with kids legally cannot finish without a document most people have never heard of. That’s this.
Put in the day you filed and this page works out every date in your case, then hands you a calendar file that reminds you a week before each one and again the day before. It opens in the calendar you already use. Free, no account, nothing stored.
1 · The two routes, and what the rule requires
Everything in a Tennessee divorce runs off one distinction: whether there is a minor child of the marriage. It sets the waiting period — 60 days or 90 — and it decides whether a Permanent Parenting Plan is legally mandatory. A second distinction decides something different: whether Tennessee’s free, Supreme Court-approved forms apply to a case at all. Those forms are limited by their own terms, and a filing that does not meet those limits has to be drafted rather than filled in.
Residency comes first. Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-104 requires one spouse to have lived in Tennessee for 6 months before filing. There is no way around it.
The waiting period runs from the day of filing, per Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-101(b): 60 days where there is no minor child of the marriage, 90 days where there is. Tennessee’s automatic statutory injunction and the Circuit-versus-Chancery question in Section 3 apply on both routes, whichever forms a case uses.
Agreed divorce on the Supreme Court-approved forms
Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-101(b); forms approved by the Tennessee Supreme Court and published by the Administrative Office of the Courts
Tennessee publishes two complete, pre-approved packets — one for cases with no minor children, one for cases with them. They are free, they are accepted statewide, and they are filled in rather than drafted.
Available only where all of these are true:
- Neither spouse owns any real property — a house, land, a mobile home permanently attached to the ground, a condo, or a co-op — alone or together.
- The spouses have already agreed on everything: dividing belongings and debts, and, where there are children, custody, parenting time, and child support.
Where there is a minor child, a Permanent Parenting Plan and a Child Support Worksheet are legally required and are filed separately from the packet — see Section 7. The waiting period on this route is 90 days with a minor child, 60 without. Which court hears the case still has to be confirmed with the county clerk: some Tennessee counties route divorces through Circuit Court and some through Chancery Court — see Section 3.
Everything else — no statewide packet
Tenn. Code Ann. Title 36
Tennessee’s Supreme Court-approved forms are explicitly limited to fully agreed cases with no real property. There is no separate statewide “regular” packet the way some states publish one. A case outside those limits is drafted, not filled in.
This is the position wherever either of these is true:
- One or both spouses own real property.
- The spouses have not agreed on everything.
A circuit or chancery court clerk may have locally-drafted forms or a self-help packet — several counties, including Davidson, publish their own. Real property or unresolved terms are also the two facts that most often make a case worth taking to a family law attorney. Everything else in this kit still applies either way: the 60- or 90-day waiting period, the automatic statutory injunction, the mandatory Parenting Plan where there are children, and the Circuit-versus-Chancery question in Section 3.
2 · Every form Tennessee publishes for a divorce
The complete list, not a shortlist — because which forms a case needs depends on facts only you and, if you need one, your lawyer can weigh. Each row says which route it belongs to and carries the revision date clerks check. Tennessee’s Supreme Court-approved packets are free from the Administrative Office of the Courts. Tennessee does not publish a statewide form set for cases outside the agreed, no-real-property limits — for those, a circuit or chancery court clerk is the place to ask about a local packet.
The Cusp is not a law firm and cannot tell you which forms are right for your case. Everything here is general information about how Tennessee handles divorce, and every form below is published free by Tennessee itself — you do not have to buy anything from anyone to get them. If your situation is not straightforward, a consultation with a Tennessee family lawyer costs far less than fixing a filing that went wrong.
| Form | What it is | Route | Rev. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packet | How to Get an Agreed Divorce in Tennessee — No Kids (Forms 1–8A) | Agreed, no minor children | 01/18 | Download |
| Packet | How to Get an Agreed Divorce in Tennessee — With Children (Forms 1–9) | Agreed, with minor children | 01/18 | Download |
| PPP | Permanent Parenting Plan Form — required, filed separately | Agreed, with minor children | 01/21 | Download |
| CSW | Tennessee Child Support Worksheet — required, filed separately | Agreed, with minor children | — | Download |
Every one of these is free. Download fresh each time rather than reusing an old copy — clerks can reject outdated revisions. Full catalog: tncourts.gov.
3 · Getting the forms, filing them, and Tennessee’s biggest trap
Nobody explains this part, so here it is — including the one thing about Tennessee’s court system that trips up almost everyone who wasn’t born here.
You may e-file, but you do not have to Your choice
- Portal
- No single statewide portal. eFileTN (Tyler/Odyssey) in some courts; eFlex in Davidson and Shelby; Tybera/TNCIS elsewhere. Appellate courts have their own system.
- Paper
- Still accepted — you can file over the counter.
- What it costs
- Shelby County: no membership or usage fee for the e-filing system — 'normal Court filing fees still apply.' Davidson/Nashville: not stated on the official pages read.
- Worth knowing
- Tennessee approves e-filing court by court, so what applies depends on which court your case is in — and in Nashville that is true within the same county. Davidson County Circuit Court lists self-represented and indigent litigants as authorized e-filers; Davidson County Chancery Court limits e-filing to attorneys and court staff. Shelby County offers it free to self-represented filers. Hamilton County states plainly that traditional paper filing continues. In none of them is it forced on you.
Pro se litigants are expressly authorized e-filers; the e-filing portal instructs self-represented users to 'create an account and select the option indicating you are filing Pro Se.' Conventional (paper) filings are accepted and scanned by the clerk. No pro se mandate found. source
Narrower: the Chancery Court's e-filing rules limit e-filing to 'Attorneys licensed to practice law in Tennessee; Attorneys admitted or who seek to be admitted pro hac vice; Chancellors of the Court and their staff; The clerk and all deputy clerks,' and say 'E-filing and e-service of documents is strongly encouraged by this Court' — encouraged, not required. Self-represented parties are not granted independent e-filing authority in that appendix, which implies paper filing for them. source
E-filing is offered free to attorneys, process servers AND pro se filers; certain matters (sealed cases, some post-judgment) go to the Circuit/Chancery filing counters at 140 Adams. No pro se mandate stated. source
Explicitly optional: 'Litigants may continue to engage in Traditional Filing'; pro se litigants may register as e-filers. source
Not confirmed. No official Knox County Circuit or Chancery Court page stating whether e-filing is mandatory or how pro se filers must file was retrievable; knoxcounty.org pages found were forms indexes only. source
Step one — download them free
Tennessee’s court-approved divorce packets live here, at no cost:
tncourts.gov — Court-Approved Divorce Forms
The Tennessee Supreme Court’s pre-approved forms are built for one scenario only: both spouses agree on everything, and neither owns real property. If that’s not your situation, these forms aren’t yours to use — see Section 1. There’s no separate statewide “regular” packet the way some states offer; contested or property-owning cases are handled with locally-drafted forms that vary by county, or with an attorney.
Step two — figure out which court: Circuit or Chancery
This is the single most Tennessee-specific point of confusion in the whole process. Tennessee’s 95 counties are split into 32 judicial districts, each with both a Circuit Court and a Chancery Court — and per Tennessee’s own courts administration, “a number of matters, such as divorces, adoptions, and workers’ compensation, can be heard in either chancery or circuit court.” Divorce is not assigned to one court statewide the way it is in most states.
Which court handles divorce depends on your specific county and judicial district — in some districts Circuit and Chancery have equal, overlapping (“concurrent”) jurisdiction; a few districts even route certain divorces through General Sessions Court as well. Filing in the “wrong” one rarely kills your case outright, since jurisdiction usually overlaps, but it can mean delays, a case transfer, or a clerk who won’t accept your filing at their counter. Before you file, call your county’s circuit court clerk and chancery court clerk (or clerk & master) and ask which one handles divorce cases in your county — don’t assume, and don’t guess from what a neighboring county does.
Step three — fill them in and get them notarized
The Complaint for Divorce, the Divorce Agreement (Marital Dissolution Agreement), and — if you have children — the Permanent Parenting Plan all require notarized signatures, signed in the notary’s presence, not in advance. Tennessee has permitted remote online notarization since 2018 under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-16-310; national services (Proof, BlueNotary, Notarize, OneNotary) and many Tennessee banks and UPS Stores also notarize in person, typically for $10–$25 per document.
Per the instructions that accompany Tennessee’s approved forms, if more than roughly 180 days pass between the last signature on your Divorce Agreement and the day you file the motion to set your final hearing, the agreement is treated as stale and typically has to be re-signed and re-notarized. Don’t sign it early and let it sit — confirm this window with your clerk, since some counties apply it slightly differently.
Step four — file, and know what happens automatically
You file with the clerk of the court you confirmed in Step two. The moment your Complaint is filed, Tennessee’s statutory injunction (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-106(d)) takes effect automatically on both spouses — no signature or separate court order needed. It bars either of you from transferring, hiding, or borrowing against marital property; canceling insurance; harassing or disparaging the other, especially in front of the children; or relocating a child more than 50 miles or out of state without the other parent’s permission or a court order. Violating it is contempt of court.
4 · Your waiting period, calculated
Everything downstream in a Tennessee divorce counts from the day you file. Put in your dates and we’ll turn Tennessee’s rules into actual dates on your calendar — then add them to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook in one click.
5 · The order it actually happens in
6 · The rejection-proofing checklist
These are the specific things that stall or bounce a Tennessee filing — every one of them costs weeks you don’t get back.
Signing and notarizing
The 60/90-day waiting period runs from when you filed and counts toward when a judge can hear your case. The 180-day Divorce Agreement staleness window runs from your signature date and counts toward when your paperwork goes out of date. They’re unrelated clocks measuring different things — track both separately.
Forms people forget
Timing
A court cannot finalize a divorce with minor children without an approved Permanent Parenting Plan on file — it’s not optional paperwork, it’s a legal precondition under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-404. Skipping the Parenting Education Seminar won’t block your decree by itself, but a parent who never completes it — even after the divorce is final — can still be held in contempt of court, which can mean a jail sentence.
7 · The Permanent Parenting Plan — what T.C.A. § 36-6-404 requires
Mandatory in every Tennessee divorce involving a minor child. This isn’t a form you can leave mostly blank — the statute specifies what it has to accomplish.
Parents who agree on everything still file a Permanent Parenting Plan — it just reflects what you’ve already worked out rather than what a judge imposed. You’ll also need the Child Support Worksheet, which uses the state’s income shares guidelines and must be consistent with what the Plan says about parenting time, since parenting time changes the support calculation.
8 · What this costs
| County (Circuit / Chancery) | No minor children | With minor children |
|---|---|---|
| Davidson (Nashville) | $234.50 | $309.50 |
| Shelby (Memphis) | $356.50 | $431.50 |
| Knox (Knoxville, Chancery) | $289.50 | $364.50 |
Fees above are the clerks’ published schedules effective January 1, 2026, and include state and county litigation taxes. Add roughly $40–$52 if you use the sheriff for service of process — most agreed cases skip this since the responding spouse signs on voluntarily. Every county sets its own fee: confirm your county’s current fee with your circuit or chancery court clerk before filing.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Parenting Education Seminar, per parent (if minor children) | Varies — no set statewide fee, some sliding-scale |
| Notary or remote online notarization, per document | $0–$25 |
| Certified copy of the Final Decree, per document | ~$5–$10 |
| Typical all-in filing costs, doing it yourselves, uncontested | ~$250–$450 |
File the Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency (bundled as the “Request to Postpone Filing Fees” form in Tennessee’s approved packets) with your clerk. If the court finds you indigent, filing costs can be waived or deferred. Ask the clerk — they cannot give legal advice, but they can walk you through this form.
Among Cusp members who’ve shared numbers, an uncontested Tennessee divorce handled by an attorney has commonly run $900–$2,500 flat-fee, and a contested case with disputes over property or custody has commonly run $4,000–$15,000+ depending on how much is contested. This is illustrative demo data from member reports, not a market survey or a quote — get actual quotes from Tennessee family law attorneys for your situation.
What this is. A guide to Tennessee’s own process, built from the Tennessee Code Annotated (Title 36, chapter 4 — including §§ 36-4-101, 36-4-103, 36-4-104, and 36-4-106 — and Title 36, chapter 6, § 36-6-404), the Tennessee Supreme Court-approved divorce forms and instructions published by the Administrative Office of the Courts at tncourts.gov, and published county circuit/chancery clerk fee schedules and filing instructions. Where the state’s own legislative portal did not offer a browsable, citable copy of the code text, statute language was cross-checked against Justia and FindLaw’s verbatim reproductions of the Tennessee Code. The forms themselves are free from tncourts.gov and this kit links you to them rather than reselling them.
What this is not. The Cusp is not a law firm and does not practice law. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here tells you which choice is right for your particular situation — only what Tennessee requires of each path. If you own real property, don’t fully agree, have a business, hidden assets, domestic violence in the relationship, or a spouse with a lawyer, Tennessee’s pre-approved forms don’t cover you and you should talk to your circuit or chancery court clerk’s self-help resources, or an attorney. Many offer free consultations, and one hour of advice is cheaper than a filing sent to the wrong court or a decree that can’t finalize because a Parenting Plan was never filed.
Numbers that vary by county. Filing fees, which court (Circuit, Chancery, or both) hears divorces, Parenting Education Seminar providers and their deadlines, and local motion-hearing practices are all set at the county or judicial-district level in Tennessee, not statewide. Where this kit could not verify an exact figure or local practice with confidence, it says so and points you to your clerk rather than guessing.
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The most expensive mistakes in a divorce are made in the year after it, by people who thought the case was over. After the divorce is the checklist for that year — the health-coverage clock, the retirement order a decree cannot replace, and the beneficiary form that outranks your will.
Filing is one household becoming two, and the second one starts empty. The two-household list is what to send the people who keep asking how they can help — the second of everything, and the half of it that costs nothing. Some people call it a divorce registry.