# Tennessee HB 0487: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8; Title 18; Title 55 and Title 67, relative to court clerks. Tennessee HB 0487, AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8; Title 18; Title 55 and Title 67, relative to court clerks., is a 114th General Assembly (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2025-05-27 (Effective date(s) 01/01/2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB0487-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Tennessee HB 0487 - State: Tennessee - Session: 114th General Assembly (2025-2026) - Title: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8; Title 18; Title 55 and Title 67, relative to court clerks. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-29 - Last action: 2025-05-27, Effective date(s) 01/01/2026 - Sponsors: no sponsor on record - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Clerks, Court - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 8 (247 yes, 30 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 10 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Filing fees reserve money for court technology: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, clerks set aside $7 from each standard filing fee for technology expenses. This is part of the filing fee, not an extra $7 charge. Clerks can use the money only for technology and necessary related expenses. Unspent money stays available for those purposes instead of retu… - Clerk service charges add court costs: cost, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, clerk commissions include 5% on specified receipts and payments, or 10% in counties over 700,000 people under the law’s census rule. Listed commissions also include 6.75% on litigation taxes, 3% on court-ordered property sales, and 5% of investment earnings. Service charg… - Court delays cost litigants ten dollars: cost, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, each requested continuance costs $10, collected when the court case ends. When several litigants request a delay, the judge may assign the charge to one or more parties. The clerk deposits $5 of each charge into the county general fund exclusively for court-facility secur… - Rising filing fees for civil and estates: cost, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, Tennessee sets civil and estate court fees by case type and year. General civil filings, probate estates, conservatorships, and guardianships cost $275 in 2026, $300 in 2027, and $325 in 2028. Divorces with minor children cost $250, $275, and $300; those without minor chi… - Set costs for criminal and traffic cases: cost, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, criminal courts of record charge $300 per case per defendant. Criminal general sessions costs include $62 per conviction per defendant without traffic citations and $42 for traffic-citation cases. Failures to appear and specified process cost $40, and expunction charges c… - Set fees for juvenile and sessions filings: cost, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, listed juvenile and civil general sessions filing fees stay the same through 2028. Juvenile fees include $100 for specified support and parentage actions, $75 for child-support enforcement or changes, and $62 for delinquency, unruly, felony, or misdemeanor proceedings. Sp… - New court tax pays for clerk education: cost, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, county civil and criminal cases carry an added $2 litigation tax. Cases filed in juvenile or municipal courts are excluded. The money goes into the state Court Clerk Continuing Education Fund, where investment interest and unused balances stay. The court clerks’ conferenc… - Electronic filing fees have caps and exemptions: mixed, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, local rules may authorize electronic filing fees that cover setup and maintenance costs. Electronic filing must meet state supreme court technology standards, and the fees must appear in the local rule. Charges can reach $5 per filing, capped at $50 per court proceeding,… - New payment protections for civil litigants: mixed, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, civil-case fees are due when clerk services are requested; criminal cases are excluded. Clerks must notify parties and their lawyers about unpaid fees and allow 10 business days to correct the problem. After that, clerks may seek court action, including striking or dismis… - Clerks gain power to invest court funds: mixed, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, clerks may invest qualifying idle court funds unless an order or rule specifically directs their investment. Investments must use federally insured or properly secured financial institutions, or the state treasurer’s local government investment pool. Earnings generally be… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - (none) ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-21 | Senate | FLOOR VOTE: Third Consideration 4/21/2025 | pass | 31 | 2 | | | 2025-04-16 | House | FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PREVIOUS QUESTION AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/16/2025 | pass | 69 | 20 | | | 2025-04-16 | House | HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2025-04-16 | House | FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/16/2025 | pass | 82 | 8 | | | 2025-04-15 | House | HOUSE FINANCE, WAYS, AND MEANS COMMITTEE | pass | 26 | 0 | | | 2025-04-14 | House | HOUSE FINANCE, WAYS, AND MEANS SUBCOMMITTEE | pass | 12 | 0 | | | 2025-04-09 | House | HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE | pass | 21 | 0 | | | 2025-04-02 | House | HOUSE CIVIL JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE | pass | 6 | 0 | | ## Actions (35) - 2025-05-27: Effective date(s) 01/01/2026 - 2025-05-27: Pub. Ch. 486 - 2025-05-21: Signed by Governor. - 2025-05-09: Transmitted to Governor for his action. (House) - 2025-05-08: Signed by Senate Speaker (Senate) - 2025-04-30: Signed by H. Speaker (House) - 2025-04-24: Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker. (House) - 2025-04-21: Passed Senate, Ayes 31, Nays 2 (Senate) - 2025-04-21: Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0356) (Senate) - 2025-04-21: Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill. (Senate) - 2025-04-17: Received from House, Passed on First Consideration (Senate) - 2025-04-16: Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen. (House) - 2025-04-16: Passed H., as am., Ayes 82, Nays 8, PNV 1 (House) - 2025-04-16: H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0381) (House) - 2025-04-16: Sponsor(s) Added. (House) - 2025-04-15: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/16/2025 (House) - 2025-04-15: Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/15/2025 (House) - 2025-04-15: Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee (House) - 2025-04-14: Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/15/2025 (House) - 2025-04-14: Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee (House) - 2025-04-09: Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025 (House) - 2025-04-09: Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee (House) - 2025-04-09: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee (House) - 2025-04-02: Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/9/2025 (House) - 2025-04-02: Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee (House) - 2025-03-26: Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 4/2/2025 (House) - 2025-03-26: Action Def. in s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee to 4/2/2025 (House) - 2025-03-19: Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 3/26/2025 (House) - 2025-03-19: Action Def. in s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee to 3/26/2025 (House) - 2025-03-12: Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 3/19/2025 (House) - 2025-03-12: Assigned to s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee (House) - 2025-03-12: Ref. to Judiciary Committee (House) - 2025-02-05: P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt. (House) - 2025-02-03: Intro., P1C. (House) - 2025-01-29: Filed for introduction (House) ## Bill text - HA0381 (Substitute), 2025-04-16: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/HA0381.pdf) - Enrolled / Public Chapter: [PDF](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0486.pdf) - Fiscal Note: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Fiscal/SB0409.pdf) - Introduced: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/HB0487.pdf) - SA0356: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/SA0356.pdf) ## Related bills - HB 0489: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38; Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55, relative to criminal law. (failed) - HB 0162: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 67, relative to taxes. (failed) - SB 2733: AN ACT to amend Chapter 33 of the Private Acts of 1985; as amended by Chapter 85 of the Private Acts of 2004; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative t… (failed) - SB 2690: AN ACT to make appropriations for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the state government for the fiscal years beginning July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026,… (signed) - SB 2702: AN ACT to amend Chapter 154 of the Private Acts of 1955; as amended by Chapter 158 of the Private Acts of 1988; Chapter 204 of the Private Acts of 1990; and an… (failed) - SB 2716: AN ACT to amend Chapter 325 of the Private Acts of 1945; as amended by Chapter 335 of the Private Acts of 1968; Chapter 282 of the Private Acts of 1972; Chapte… (failed) ## Sources - [HA0381 (Substitute) (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/HA0381.pdf) - [Enrolled / Public Chapter (PDF)](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0486.pdf) - [Fiscal Note (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Fiscal/SB0409.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/HB0487.pdf) - [SA0356 (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/SA0356.pdf) ## Related - [HB 0489: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38; Title 39; Title 40 and Titl…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB0489-2025-2026) - [HB 0162: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 67, relative to taxes.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB0162-2025-2026) - [SB 2733: AN ACT to amend Chapter 33 of the Private Acts of 1985; as amended by Chapter 8…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB2733-2025-2026) - [SB 2690: AN ACT to make appropriations for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB2690-2025-2026) - [SB 2702: AN ACT to amend Chapter 154 of the Private Acts of 1955; as amended by Chapter…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB2702-2025-2026) - [SB 2716: AN ACT to amend Chapter 325 of the Private Acts of 1945; as amended by Chapter…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB2716-2025-2026) - [Tennessee bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/tennessee/bills) - [Tennessee state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/tennessee) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB0487-2025-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).