Tennessee
Tennessee’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission certifies officers and may suspend or revoke certification on listed grounds. Since 2023 the State has required agencies to check the National Decertification Index before seeking certification, barred officers decertified elsewhere for misconduct, replaced community oversight boards with advisory review committees, set procedures for prosecutor Brady lists, made the names of officers in immigration enforcement confidential in listed cases, and adopted a point system for certifying out-of-state officers.
- Sources checked
- Part of
- Officer Ledger
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, administratively attached to the Department of Commerce and Insurance (Tenn. Code Ann. 38-8-102, 38-8-104; Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1110). Its sunset date is June 30, 2031 (2025 Pub. Ch. 37).
- Statute
- Tenn. Code Ann. Title 38, ch. 8, part 1 (POST and certification, 38-8-105 to 38-8-107) and part 3 (officer rights, police advisory and review committees, and, since April 21, 2026, Brady-list procedures). Rules: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1110-01 to 1110-10. The State’s free online code is hosted by a commercial publisher, so statute text on this page comes from the Secretary of State’s public chapters.
- Minimum standards
- By rule, full-time officers must, among other things, be at least 18; be U.S. citizens (or permanent residents who are honorably discharged veterans); hold a high school diploma or equivalent; have no felony or listed force, violence, theft, dishonesty, gambling, alcohol, or drug convictions; pass TBI fingerprinting, a physical exam, a thorough “good moral character” investigation, and a psychological evaluation within 6 months before the academy; and never have been decertified by the Commission or voluntarily surrendered certification (1110-02-.03). The basic course is at least 488 hours (1110-07-.01). By statute, the Commission “shall not issue a certificate” to a person decertified in another state for criminal or other misconduct (38-8-107).
- Decertification
- The Commission “shall deny” certification to officers who do not comply and “may suspend or revoke” it for: conviction of a crime punishable by imprisonment; felony or force, violence, theft, dishonesty, gambling, alcohol, drug, domestic violence, or weapons offenses; a pattern of misdemeanors; a suspension of 30 days or more, resignation in lieu of termination or with discipline pending, or disciplinary discharge; false information; failing the 40-hour in-service requirement; losing pre-employment qualifications; or failure to report. Agencies must report suspensions of 15 days or more, disciplinary discharges, and resignations in lieu of termination within 10 days. The officer gets written notice and may request a hearing within 30 days; otherwise the action becomes final (1110-02-.04).
- Public decertification list
- No list or lookup, and no statute requires one. Individual decertification, surrender, and suspension outcomes are named in the POST Commission’s monthly meeting decisions documents, for example the August 21, 2026 decisions.
- National Decertification Index
- Check required by statute since March 10, 2023: “Prior to requesting certification for a person, an employing agency must complete a check of the National Decertification Index, or other database, as part of a thorough investigation” (38-8-107, added by 2023 Pub. Ch. 27). Rule 1110-02 does not mention the Index.
- Continuing training
- Certified full-time officers must complete a Commission-approved 40-hour in-service session each calendar year; failure is a ground for suspension or revocation (1110-04-.01). Since September 24, 2026, an officer who moves to a reserve or part-time role within 6 months must keep 40 annual hours to avoid a break in service.
Changes, 2023 to 2026
POST rules: a point system for out-of-state officers, 488-hour multi-agency academies, and break-in-service rules
Out-of-state officers may be certified only with at least 10 points on a matrix: basic-training hours as a share of Tennessee’s curriculum (0 to 9 points), years of full-time experience (1 to 8), and education (1 to 4). There is no equivalency if the break in service exceeds the allowed maximum, and the Commission “shall not grant waivers” to applicants below 10 points. Qualifying officers must complete a transition school or an approved agency lateral course. Certification stays active when an officer moves to a full-time academy or UT-LEIC instructor post, or to a reserve or part-time role within 6 months while keeping 40 hours of in-service. Academies serving more than one agency must now provide at least 488 hours, up from 480; the general basic-course minimum was already 488 hours. Basic emergency medical training must cover recognizing and responding to medical crises of people in custody.
For officers: If you transfer from another state, you need 10 points on the matrix and a transition or lateral course; no waiver is available below 10.
Public safety employees may see their full employment records and mental health evaluations
A public safety employer that requires mental health evaluations “shall grant” employees and applicants reasonable access to their “full employment record,” including evaluation results and evaluator reports. An applicant rejected because of an evaluation may obtain the results and submit an alternative evaluation at the applicant’s own expense; the employer must permit it and may reevaluate using it. Employees may sue for declaratory or injunctive relief, with fees. Released records stay confidential under the public records law. The definition of public safety position covers law enforcement.
For officers: You can ask for your full employment record, including any mental health evaluation, and answer a rejection with your own evaluation.
Prosecutor Brady lists: required policy, notice, input, and reconsideration; lists closed to the public
A prosecuting agency that keeps a “Brady list” of officers with sustained untruthfulness, criminal convictions, or other credibility issues “shall adopt a policy,” circulated to local agencies for comment, on placement criteria, notice and input before placement, reconsideration, and timelines. Before placing an officer, the agency must send written notice with a summary of its reasons “as soon as practicable.” After placement it must give notice of the right to reconsideration, and a name must be removed if reconsideration is granted. Brady lists and their files “are confidential and not subject to a public records request,” except release to the officer or counsel, to another law enforcement or prosecuting agency in another district, or by court order. Constitutional and rule-based Brady disclosure duties are not limited. The act creates no private cause of action.
For officers: A prosecutor must notify you before placing you on a Brady list and let you seek reconsideration.
Names of officers in immigration enforcement made confidential in listed cases; felony for negligent release
State and local entities “shall maintain ... as confidential” the name of any federal, state, or local officer engaged in federal immigration enforcement when it comes with contact, address, or other identifying information; the name itself when release would endanger safety during an operation, the officer is undercover, or a documented threat assessment shows ongoing risk; and details of future operations. Names may still be disclosed for misconduct investigations “to the extent required by law,” after an operation when safe, and in warrants and court records. From July 1, 2026, negligent release by a state or local official is a Class E felony and grounds for ouster. The act also makes undercover officers’ names confidential under 10-7-504 during and for a reasonable time after the assignment, when the agency determines that disclosure would risk the officer’s safety or current or future operations (POST training and certification records excepted), and adds criminal penalties for releasing certain other officer information that 10-7-504 keeps confidential, unless the officer consents or a court orders release.
For officers: In immigration enforcement, your name is confidential when it comes with your contact or other identifying details; the exception for misconduct investigations applies only to the name-alone cases (safety risk, undercover work, or a documented threat).
Civil immunity for officers when the injured person is convicted of resisting
An officer who causes property damage or personal injury in official duties “is immune from civil liability” if the injured person was engaged in conduct that led to the person’s conviction for resisting a stop, frisk, halt, arrest, or search (39-16-602). The immunity does not cover gross negligence or willful misconduct, or injury to bystanders.
For officers: The immunity depends on a resisting conviction and does not cover gross negligence, willful misconduct, or bystanders.
Private special deputies must be POST-certified
The Commission “shall also issue a certificate of compliance” to a private special deputy appointed on or after January 1, 2026 who meets police officer qualifications and completes an approved recruit training program. To keep it, the deputy must complete annual in-service training suited to the role.
For officers: Private special deputies appointed since 2026 need POST certification and annual in-service training.
Community oversight boards replaced by advisory police review committees
Existing community oversight boards had 120 days after July 1, 2023 to comply or be terminated. A local governing body may create a 7-member “police advisory and review committee” by a two-thirds vote at two meetings; the mayor appoints members, who must finish the citizen police academy. Committees review only closed internal affairs investigations, not incidents before January 1, 2023 or matters in civil service appeals or threatened litigation. They may recommend but “shall not direct” discipline. They have no subpoena power; the governing body may issue specific subpoenas by majority vote, but not for confidential records. Members must keep internal affairs and personnel files confidential.
For officers: A local review committee can look only at closed internal affairs cases and cannot order discipline.
No certification for officers decertified elsewhere for misconduct; National Decertification Index check required
The Commission “must evaluate” an out-of-state certified officer’s training, experience, and education, and “may issue a certificate” if all other requirements are met. New subsection: the Commission “shall not issue a certificate or otherwise certify a person who is decertified in another state if the person’s decertification is the result of criminal or other misconduct,” and the employing agency “must complete a check of the National Decertification Index, or other database” before requesting certification.
For officers: A misconduct decertification in another state bars certification in Tennessee.
Not yet in force and pending
- Later parts of the 2026 POST rules: some reserve, part-time, and records provisions in filing 06-25-26 take effect January 1, 2027. They were not reviewed in detail. Rulemaking filing 06-25-26
Tenn. Code Ann. sections were not read directly; statute text comes from public chapters and the POST rules. A search of public chapter abstracts found no 2023–2026 change to 39-11-620 (officer deadly force) or 38-8-113, but full act texts were not swept.
Checked and unchanged
- 2025 Pub. Ch. 37 extended the POST Commission’s sunset date to June 30, 2031; no change to standards.
- 2026 Pub. Ch. 1100 (SB 1847) changes the deadly-force rule for defending property; it is a general justification rule, not specific to officers.
- Immigration acts (2024 Pub. Ch. 716; 2025 First Extraordinary Session SB 6002; 2026 Pub. Chs. 1001 and 1015) require cooperation, detainer compliance, and 287(g) agreements; they do not change certification or officer accountability.
- Not counted: 2024 Pub. Ch. 527 (POST guidelines on medical crises in custody); 2026 Pub. Ch. 847 (POST certification for fire investigators with arrest powers); 2026 Pub. Ch. 711 (non-residents’ access to law enforcement records about themselves).
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Tennessee officer certification: Officer Ledger,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/tennessee (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.