What to know: Moving to Tennessee with a Judgment, Order, or Decree from Another State’s Court.

            Many people have migrated to the state of Tennessee over the last decade. Tennessee welcomed 6.9 million new residents between 2010 and 2020, according to 2020 census results. [1] If you are one of the many people flocking to Tennessee, or have recently moved to the state and have a judgment, order, or decree from a court of another state that you need to enforce, then here are some things to know to begin that process.

            This process is often referred to as enrolling a foreign order or judgment, or “domesticating” a foreign judgment. Under Article 4, Section 1 of the United States Constitution states that “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other States . . .” In other words, the Constitution provides that courts will recognize the validity of other state judgments by giving other jurisdictions “full faith and credit.” This means that your judgment from the state you moved from will be fully recognized and enforced in Tennessee.

            The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act[2] governs the process to enroll a foreign order in Tennessee. It defines a “foreign judgment” as “any judgment, decree, or order of a court of the United States or any other court which is entitled to full faith and credit in this state[3].”

The Process

            To enroll your foreign judgment with a Tennessee court, you or your lawyer must first obtain a certified copy of your foreign judgment authenticated in accordance with the acts of congress or the statutes of Tennessee[4]. The clerk of court where your foreign judgment originated from will be able to authenticate the judgment.

            A Petition to Enroll Foreign Judgment can now be filed in the appropriate Tennessee court once an authenticated copy of the foreign judgment is obtained, with the authenticated copy attached as a part of the filing. Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 3A.01 states that the enrollment of a foreign judgment under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgment Act does not require the filing of a complaint. Once your foreign judgment is enrolled with a Tennessee court, you may now proceed with enforcing your judgment. This could mean enforcing a Final Decree of Divorce, a Marital Dissolution Agreement or Property Settlement Agreement, a Child Support Order, or a child custody determination or parenting plan. You may also enroll a foreign judgment for the purposes of modifying the foreign order.

[1] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/tennessee/articles/2021-08-12/census-tennessee-sees-big-growth-in-around-nashville

[2] Tennessee Code Annotated § 26-6-101.

[3] Tennessee Code Annotated § 26-6-103

[4] Tennessee Code Annotated § 26-6-104(a).

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