Tennessee Background Check Laws for Employers (2026)
Tennessee background check laws stay light for private employers, yet several state rules still shape every hire. The federal FCRA sets the process, while state statutes cover public-sector hiring, expungement, driving records, drug testing, E-Verify and regulated industries.
This guide explains each statute, names the agency behind it, and shows what a Tennessee job application may ask. It also lists what changed for 2026 and 2027, including the E-Verify expansion and the EEOC’s rescinded arrest and conviction guidance.
Tennessee Background Check Laws at a Glance
Tennessee has no state version of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Instead, private employers follow the federal FCRA, plus a short list of targeted state statutes.
Meanwhile, state law blocks cities and counties from adding their own hiring rules for private businesses. The table below lists each law, what it does, and the agency that administers it.
| Topic | Statute or Regulation | What It Does | Administered By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer reports | FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. (no Tennessee mini-FCRA) | Sets disclosure, authorization, accuracy and adverse action rules for every background report. | Federal Trade Commission and CFPB |
| State criminal records | T.C.A. § 38-6-109 | Governs fingerprint checks for authorized requesters; TORIS sells name-based checks. | Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) |
| Fair chance / ban the box | T.C.A. § 8-50-112 (2016) | Bars criminal history questions on initial state government job applications. | Tennessee state agencies as employers |
| Local preemption | T.C.A. § 7-51-1802(d) | Stops local governments from limiting what private employers ask applicants. | Tennessee General Assembly; enforced in court |
| Sealed and expunged records | T.C.A. §§ 40-32-101 et seq.; § 40-35-313 | Treats expunged convictions and diversion dismissals as if they never occurred; no automatic sealing. | Tennessee courts; TBI updates state records |
| Certificate of employability | T.C.A. § 40-29-107 | Gives employers negligent hiring immunity when they hire a certificate holder. | Tennessee circuit and criminal courts |
| Lookback | 15 U.S.C. § 1681c (federal only) | No state cap; seven-year federal limit on non-convictions, lifted at $75,000 salary. | Federal Trade Commission and CFPB |
| Credit reports | FCRA (no state limit) | No Tennessee restriction; FCRA consent and adverse action rules apply. | Federal Trade Commission and CFPB |
| Salary history | None | Tennessee has no salary history ban or pay transparency law. | Not applicable |
| Drug and marijuana testing | T.C.A. § 50-9-101 et seq. | Sets testing rules for employers that join the voluntary Drug-Free Workplace Program; no marijuana protection. | Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (TDLWD) |
| Application questions | Title VII, ADEA, ADA, INA (federal); T.C.A. § 4-21-101 et seq. | Federal law governs pre-hire inquiries; the Human Rights Act bars discrimination at eight or more employees. | EEOC; Attorney General’s Civil Rights Enforcement Division |
| E-Verify | T.C.A. §§ 50-1-702, 50-1-703 | Requires E-Verify at 35 or more FTE employees; smaller employers use E-Verify or keep document copies. | Department of Labor and Workforce Development |
| Social media | T.C.A. § 50-1-1003 | Bars employers from requesting passwords to personal internet accounts. | Tennessee courts |
| Driving records | T.C.A. § 55-25-101 et seq. | Limits release of personal information from motor vehicle records. | Department of Safety and Homeland Security |
How the FCRA Applies to Tennessee Employers
Because Tennessee has no mini-FCRA, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the core process. The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforce it.
Follow these four steps for every applicant, whatever the job or location. As a consumer reporting agency, BCS Background Screening LLC follows FCRA accuracy and dispute rules on every report, and you can preview the format in our FCRA employment screening sample report.
Clear Disclosure
Give the applicant a clear, standalone written disclosure before you order any report. Keep extra terms, such as liability waivers, off that form.
Written Authorization
Get the applicant’s written authorization next. Store it with the disclosure so you can prove consent later.
Pre-Adverse Action
Send a copy of the report and the CFPB Summary of Rights before you decide. Then give the applicant a fair chance to respond or dispute.
Adverse Action Notice
Send a final notice that names the consumer reporting agency. It must also state that the agency did not make the decision and explain dispute rights.
TBI Criminal Records and Real-Time Tennessee Statewide Searches
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) maintains the state’s central criminal history repository. Through its TORIS system, TBI sells a name-based Tennessee adult criminal history check for $29.
Fingerprint-based checks, meanwhile, run through the IdentoGO contractor for $50 and search FBI records. Under T.C.A. § 38-6-109, TBI processes fingerprint checks only for requesters that the law authorizes.
For most private hires, a real-time court-based search offers a practical alternative. BCS Background Screening LLC offers a real-time Tennessee statewide criminal search for exactly that purpose.
Our quality review team then checks each reportable record before it reaches your report. Pair the statewide search with a county criminal court search when you need full case details and dispositions from the court file.
Tennessee Criminal Background Check Lookback Rules
Tennessee sets no state lookback limit for criminal records in employment screening. Therefore, the federal FCRA controls how far back a report may reach.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, reports may not list arrests or other non-conviction records older than seven years. Convictions carry no federal time limit, and the seven-year cap lifts when the job pays $75,000 or more a year.
Non-Convictions (Federal)
Maximum reach for arrests, dismissed charges and other non-convictions under the FCRA.
Convictions (Federal)
Federal rule for convictions, with no state cap in Tennessee.
Salary Exemption (Federal)
Annual salary that lifts the seven-year cap on non-convictions.
Expunction Wait
Waiting period before an eligible conviction qualifies for expunction under T.C.A. § 40-32-107.
In practice, expunction works as Tennessee’s main time filter. Once a court grants it, the record should drop out of every compliant report.
The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026. Title VII still bars using criminal history as a proxy for race or national origin, and the disparate-impact rule in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k) remains law. So keep weighing the nature of the offense, the time elapsed, and the duties of the job before you act on any record.
Expungement, Diversion and Certificates of Employability
Sealed, expunged and set-aside records
Tennessee’s expunction rules sit in T.C.A. §§ 40-32-101 through 40-32-110. Under § 40-32-107, eligible people may clear certain misdemeanors and Class C, D or E felonies.
Misdemeanors and Class E felonies need five years after the sentence ends. Class C and D felonies, by contrast, need ten years.
Once a court grants expunction, § 40-32-110 treats the conviction as if it never occurred. As a result, the person may lawfully decline to acknowledge the record in response to any inquiry.
Tennessee has no automatic clean-slate sealing, so expungement happens by petition only. Employers should never ask about, or act on, expunged records.
| Record Type | Waiting Period | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible misdemeanors and Class E felonies | Five years after the sentence ends | T.C.A. § 40-32-107 |
| Eligible Class C and D felonies | Ten years after the sentence ends | T.C.A. § 40-32-107 |
| Judicial diversion dismissals | After successful completion of probation | T.C.A. § 40-35-313 |
Judicial diversion
Judicial diversion lets a court defer judgment while the defendant completes probation. After successful completion, the court dismisses the case, and the person may seek expunction.
The same right to decline acknowledgment then applies under § 40-35-313(b). Consequently, a pending diversion case may appear on a report, while a completed and expunged one should not.
Arrests and non-convictions
Tennessee adds no state restriction on reporting or considering arrest records. The federal seven-year limit on non-convictions in 15 U.S.C. § 1681c is the only reporting cap.
Even so, an arrest alone does not prove conduct. Consider the facts behind an arrest only when they relate to the job, and never act on a record that has been expunged.
Certificates of employability
Tennessee courts may issue a certificate of employability to people with qualifying convictions. When you hire a certificate holder, § 40-29-107 gives you immunity from negligent hiring claims.
That immunity applies when you knew of the certificate at the time of hire. Liability returns only if you willfully keep a worker you know became dangerous or committed a felony, and a new felony conviction presumptively revokes the certificate.
Pending diversion versus expunged diversion
A diversion case that is still open may lawfully appear on a Tennessee report. Once the court dismisses and expunges it, the applicant may deny it, so exclude it from every hiring decision.
Tennessee Ban the Box Rules for Public and Private Employers
State government jobs: T.C.A. § 8-50-112
Tennessee banned the box for state government jobs in 2016. Under T.C.A. § 8-50-112, state employers may not ask about criminal history on the initial application.
After that first screen, they may ask, but they must let the applicant explain the record. Agencies also weigh the specific duties, time elapsed, rehabilitation and the applicant’s age at the offense.
Some positions fall outside the rule. Specifically, the law exempts jobs where state or federal law already requires a criminal background check, and those postings must state that the position requires one.
City and county government jobs
Memphis, Shelby County, Nashville-Davidson County, Chattanooga and Hamilton County apply fair chance policies to their own jobs. These policies govern public hiring within each local government only.
Private employers: T.C.A. § 7-51-1802(d)
Private employers face no ban the box law in Tennessee. In fact, T.C.A. § 7-51-1802(d) stops local governments from limiting what employers ask on applications.
That limit applies to rules tied to doing business or contracting with a city or county. Even so, many employers delay the question until after a conditional offer, which widens the talent pool and limits Title VII risk.
Best practice for private employers
Ask about records after a conditional offer, review each record against the job’s duties, and invite the applicant to explain before you decide. Then document your individualized assessment.
Title VII still applies at 15 or more employees, and the Tennessee Human Rights Act applies at eight. The What Changed section explains why the EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance in October 2026 and what that means for your assessment.
What a Tennessee Job Application May Ask
Tennessee has no statute that lists the questions a job application may not ask. The Tennessee Human Rights Act, T.C.A. § 4-21-101 et seq., bars discrimination by employers with eight or more employees, and the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Enforcement Division handles complaints.
Federal law therefore sets the rules for Tennessee applications. The four cards below cover the questions that cause the most trouble, and what to ask instead.
Sex, marital status, religion and photographs
Title VII permits a question about sex only where sex is a bona fide occupational qualification (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(e)), which almost no position meets. The EEOC treats questions about sex, race, national origin, age and religion as evidence of intent to discriminate.
Questions about a spouse, children, childcare, pregnancy, church membership or religious holidays raise the same claim under Title VII and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The EEOC also says employers should not ask for a photograph before hire.
Ask instead: whether the applicant is available for the schedule, travel and overtime the job requires, asked of every applicant the same way. Request a photograph only after the offer, for an ID badge.
Date of birth and age
The ADEA protects applicants 40 and older at employers with 20 or more employees (29 U.S.C. §§ 623, 631). Under 29 C.F.R. § 1625.5, asking for a date of birth on the application is not itself a violation, but it is closely scrutinized because it deters older applicants.
Your screening company needs the date of birth to match criminal and other records. Collect it on the FCRA authorization form or a separate identification form completed after the conditional offer, never on the application.
Ask instead: “Are you at least 18 [or 21] years old?” where the job has a legal minimum age, such as alcohol service or commercial driving.
Disability, health and workers’ compensation
The ADA prohibits disability-related inquiries and medical examinations before a conditional offer at employers with 15 or more employees (42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(2)). Questions about health, medical history, prescription drugs, prior workers’ compensation claims or sick-leave use are all disability-related inquiries.
GINA separately bars requesting genetic information, including family medical history (42 U.S.C. § 2000ff-1(b)). Medical inquiries are permitted after the conditional offer only if required of every entering employee in the job category and kept in a separate confidential file.
Ask instead: describe the essential functions and ask whether the applicant can perform them with or without reasonable accommodation.
Citizenship, national origin and military discharge
The Immigration and Nationality Act bars citizenship-status discrimination at employers with four or more employees (8 U.S.C. § 1324b). The Department of Justice treats pre-hire questions about citizenship, birthplace, immigration status or a “green card” as evidence of discrimination.
USERRA bars discrimination because of uniformed service (38 U.S.C. § 4311). Do not ask the type of military discharge on an application; ask about it only after the conditional offer where a law, license or contract requires it.
Ask instead: “Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?” and “Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for an employment visa?” Form I-9 and E-Verify begin only after the offer is accepted.
Collect race, ethnicity, sex and any veteran or disability status on a separate, voluntary self-identification form that states its purpose, offers a decline-to-answer option, and is kept where decision-makers cannot see it. Private employers with 100 or more employees file the EEO-1 report each year (29 C.F.R. § 1602.7).
Credit Reports, Salary History, Drug Testing and More
Employment credit reports
Tennessee adds no state limit on employment credit checks. Nevertheless, FCRA disclosure, consent and adverse action rules still apply in full.
Salary history and pay transparency
Tennessee has no salary history ban and no pay transparency law. Federal law adds no ban either, so employers may ask, although many skip the question to limit Equal Pay Act risk.
Drug and marijuana testing
Tennessee’s Drug-Free Workplace Program, T.C.A. § 50-9-101 et seq., is voluntary. Employers that join may earn lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums, and the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development runs the program.
In return, covered employers must follow T.C.A. § 50-9-106. That section requires applicant testing after a conditional offer, plus reasonable-suspicion, post-accident, routine fitness-for-duty and follow-up testing.
Employers outside the program may still test, although they should apply written policies consistently. Tennessee gives no employment protection for marijuana use, so pre-employment THC testing remains allowed, and DOT rules still require marijuana testing for commercial drivers.
Motor vehicle records
Tennessee’s Uniform Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act, T.C.A. § 55-25-101 et seq., mirrors the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. It limits who may receive personal information from driving records, and why.
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security administers these records and issues three-year and ten-year driving histories for $5 each. For employment use, you also need FCRA disclosure and written authorization.
Commercial drivers add another layer, because federal DOT rules require an annual MVR review. BCS Background Screening LLC runs motor vehicle record searches alongside criminal checks in one order.
E-Verify and Form I-9
Private employers with 35 or more full-time equivalent employees must use E-Verify for new hires under T.C.A. §§ 50-1-702 and 50-1-703. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development enforces it, with penalties from $500 to $2,500 per violation.
Smaller private employers, with six or more employees, must use E-Verify or keep copies of listed identity and work-authorization documents. For hires on or after January 1, 2027, Public Chapter 622 (2026) lowers that floor to one employee.
From January 1, 2027, the commissioner may also ask local authorities to suspend your business license when you do not cure a violation within 45 days of a final order. After a third violation, the suspension becomes permanent.
Meanwhile, Public Chapter 772 (2026) requires all state agencies and local governments to use E-Verify for new hires from July 1, 2026. Every employer must still complete Form I-9 for each new hire: Section 1 by the first day of work and Section 2 within three business days.
Social media and passwords
The Employee Online Privacy Act, T.C.A. § 50-1-1003, bars requests for passwords to personal internet accounts. Likewise, employers may not force applicants to add them as social media contacts.
Automated and AI hiring tools
Tennessee has no statute regulating automated or AI hiring tools. Title VII, the ADA and the ADEA still apply to any screening tool’s results, so test resume filters and ranking tools for disparate impact and keep a human decision-maker on every rejection.
Polygraphs, references and the Human Rights Act
Under T.C.A. § 62-27-128, employers may not take personnel action based solely on polygraph results. Bass, Berry & Sims flags this rule in its Tennessee background check survey.
Employers that give truthful, fair references gain qualified immunity under T.C.A. § 50-1-105. The Tennessee Human Rights Act, T.C.A. § 4-21-101 et seq., bars discrimination at eight or more employees, and since July 1, 2025 the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Enforcement Division handles complaints.
Industry-Specific Background Check Requirements in Tennessee
Some Tennessee jobs require checks by law, regardless of employer size. In most cases, these checks use fingerprints and run through TBI and the FBI.
Schools and Child Care Programs
T.C.A. § 49-5-413
Workers in schools and child care programs need fingerprint-based TBI and FBI checks.
Child Care Agencies
T.C.A. §§ 71-3-507, 37-5-511
Agency staff and volunteers need criminal checks, and abuse histories bar employment.
Nursing Homes and Assisted Care
T.C.A. § 68-11-256
Facilities must run criminal background checks on covered employees before they start. Roles paid with federal healthcare funds also need HHS-OIG exclusion screening before hire and monthly afterward.
Mental Health Providers
T.C.A. § 33-2-1202
Providers must check the vulnerable persons abuse registry before they hire.
Youth-Serving Organizations
T.C.A. § 37-1-414
Charitable, religious, educational and athletic groups may request fingerprint checks.
School Bus and Commercial Drivers
T.C.A. § 49-6-2117; 49 C.F.R. Parts 40, 382 and 391
Private school bus drivers with DUI, vehicular assault or drug convictions in the past five years may not drive. CDL roles need DOT drug testing, Clearinghouse queries and an MVR review.
What Changed for Tennessee Employers in 2026
Tennessee’s 2026 session expanded E-Verify for private and public employers, and civil rights enforcement moved to the Attorney General in 2025. The federal layer moved too: the EEOC rescinded its arrest and conviction guidance and DEA rescheduled medical marijuana.
E-Verify or document retention expands to the first employee
Public Chapter 622 (2026) amends T.C.A. §§ 50-1-702 and 50-1-703. For hires on or after January 1, 2027, private employers with one or more employees must either use E-Verify or keep copies of listed identity and work-authorization documents.
The 35-employee E-Verify mandate stays in place. From the same date, the commissioner may ask local authorities to suspend the business license of an employer that does not cure a violation within 45 days of a final order, permanently after a third violation.
What to do: enroll in E-Verify now if you have fewer than six employees, or set up a document-copy file for every new hire, and calendar any cure deadline the moment a notice arrives.
Source: T.C.A. § 50-1-703, as amended by Public Chapter 622 (2026). Read the law
All public employers must use E-Verify for new hires
Public Chapter 772 (2026) requires every state agency and local government to use E-Verify for new hires from July 1, 2026. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development administers the E-Verify statute.
What to do: public employers should confirm E-Verify enrollment and run every new hire within three business days of the start date.
Source: T.C.A. §§ 50-1-702, 50-1-703, as amended by Public Chapter 772 (2026). Read the law
Human Rights Act complaints now go to the Attorney General
Since July 1, 2025, the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Enforcement Division handles complaints under the Tennessee Human Rights Act, T.C.A. § 4-21-101 et seq. The Act still bars employment discrimination by employers with eight or more employees.
What to do: update your EEO policy and poster references to name the new enforcement office, and keep application questions free of protected characteristics.
Source: Tennessee Attorney General, July 1, 2025 announcement. Read the announcement
EEOC rescinds its 2012 arrest and conviction guidance
The Commission voted October 28, 2026 to rescind its 2012 Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records, effective immediately. The rescission does not revive the 1987 and 1990 policy statements the 2012 guidance had replaced.
The EEOC says employers need not abandon lawful practices adopted under the rescinded guidance, and it will keep enforcing Title VII. Disparate-impact claims under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k) remain available to private plaintiffs and under state law.
What to do: keep the individualized assessment and the written job-related criteria; they come from the courts (Green v. Missouri Pacific) and from state and local fair-chance laws, not from the rescinded guidance.
Source: EEOC press release, Oct. 29, 2026. Read the release
Medical marijuana moved to Schedule III; DOT testing is unchanged
DEA’s final rule of April 28, 2026 moved FDA-approved marijuana drug products and marijuana dispensed under state medical-marijuana licenses to Schedule III (91 FR, Doc. 2026-08176). All other marijuana remains Schedule I.
DOT testing is unchanged: 49 C.F.R. Part 40 still tests for marijuana. DOT’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance stated in May 2026 that state medical-marijuana use is not a “legitimate medical explanation” for a positive result (49 C.F.R. § 40.137).
What to do: keep your DOT panel and Clearinghouse queries as they are, and remember that Tennessee gives marijuana users no employment protection.
Source: DEA final rule, Apr. 28, 2026; 49 C.F.R. Part 40. Read DOT’s guidance
Tennessee Employment Screening Services
BCS Background Screening LLC builds each order around Tennessee law and the FCRA. Choose single searches, or bundle them into one package.
Real-Time Tennessee Statewide Search
Search Tennessee criminal records in real time for faster hiring decisions, with every reportable record checked by our quality review team.
County Criminal Court Search
Researchers check county court files for full case details and dispositions, $18 plus any court fees.
Nationwide Criminal Database
Locate records across thousands of sources, then verify each hit at the source before it is reported.
Federal Criminal Search
Find federal cases, such as fraud and drug trafficking, that state and county searches miss.
Motor Vehicle Records
Review license status, violations and suspensions for driving roles, including CDL and DOT-regulated positions.
SSN Trace and Address History
Reported address history that points criminal searches at the right Tennessee counties and prior states.
FACIS® Healthcare Sanctions
HHS-OIG, SAM.gov and state licensing board sanction search for nursing home, assisted care and other healthcare hires.
FCRA Employment Screening
Combine searches into one compliant report with built-in FCRA steps, plus verifications and add-ons from the same account.
Tennessee Employer Compliance Checklist
Use this list to audit your process before the next hire.
- Use a standalone FCRA disclosure and get written authorization.
- Remove sex, age, religion, disability and citizenship questions from the application.
- Collect the date of birth on the FCRA authorization after the conditional offer, never on the application.
- Confirm that each search matches the job’s duties.
- Exclude expunged records and completed diversion cases.
- Honor the seven-year cap on non-convictions below $75,000.
- Accept certificates of employability and note them in the file.
- Get consent before you order a Tennessee MVR.
- Follow § 50-9-106 if you join the drug-free workplace program.
- Prepare for E-Verify or document retention from the first employee on January 1, 2027.
Tennessee Employment Screening Law FAQs
Does Tennessee have a state version of the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
No, Tennessee has no mini-FCRA for employment background checks. Instead, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., governs every report.
The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforce it. State statutes then add targeted rules for expungement, driving records, drug testing, E-Verify and regulated jobs.
How far back can a Tennessee criminal background check go?
Tennessee sets no state lookback limit. Under the federal FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, non-conviction records older than seven years may not appear.
Convictions, however, may appear regardless of age. The seven-year cap also lifts for jobs paying $75,000 or more a year.
Does Tennessee have a ban the box law for private employers?
No, the state’s ban the box law, T.C.A. § 8-50-112, covers state government employers only. It bars criminal history questions on the initial state job application.
Moreover, T.C.A. § 7-51-1802(d) stops cities and counties from limiting what private employers ask. Memphis, Nashville and other local policies therefore apply only to their own government jobs.
Can Tennessee employers use expunged or diverted records?
No, employers should not ask about or act on expunged records. Under T.C.A. § 40-32-110, the law treats an expunged conviction as if it never occurred.
Likewise, T.C.A. § 40-35-313 lets people with expunged diversion cases decline to acknowledge them. Tennessee courts grant these orders, and TBI updates its records afterward.
How do employers get Tennessee criminal records from TBI?
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation sells name-based checks through its TORIS system for $29. Fingerprint checks run through the IdentoGO contractor, and T.C.A. § 38-6-109 limits them to authorized requesters.
Alternatively, BCS Background Screening LLC offers a real-time Tennessee statewide criminal search for private employers.
Must Tennessee employers drug test job applicants?
Only employers in the voluntary Drug-Free Workplace Program must test applicants. For them, T.C.A. § 50-9-106 requires a drug test after a conditional offer of employment.
The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, administers the program. Other employers may test under a consistent written policy.
What may a Tennessee employer ask on a job application?
Tennessee has no statute listing banned application questions, so federal law controls. Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA and the Immigration and Nationality Act make questions about sex, religion, age, disability and citizenship evidence of discrimination, and the EEOC enforces them.
The Tennessee Human Rights Act, T.C.A. § 4-21-101 et seq., adds state coverage at eight or more employees through the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Enforcement Division. Collect the date of birth on the FCRA authorization after a conditional offer, not on the application.
What changes to Tennessee E-Verify rules take effect in 2027?
Public Chapter 622 (2026) amends T.C.A. § 50-1-703 for hires on or after January 1, 2027. Private employers with one or more employees must then use E-Verify or keep copies of listed identity and work-authorization documents.
The Department of Labor and Workforce Development enforces the rule, with penalties of $500 to $2,500 and possible business license suspension after an uncured violation. Public Chapter 772 (2026) separately requires all state agencies and local governments to use E-Verify from July 1, 2026.
Start Screening Tennessee Applicants Today
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This page provides general information about Tennessee background check laws, not legal advice. Laws change often, so consult an employment attorney before you finalize a screening policy. Revised October 29, 2026.