This site contains both compilations of the private acts of Tennessee counties as well as historical information to provide context for those acts. This Introduction section of the website is intended to provide helpful guidance to using the private acts compilations. Please keep in mind that this website is provided as a convenience and does not replace sound legal advice.
You can search for a private act by keyword ("budget"), by county, or by year and chapter number. You may also search keywords in one county or across multiple counties. To start a search, type your keyword or year/chapter number into the search box at the top of the page.
On every page in this website, a small "PDF version" button appears. Click this button to generate a PDF of the page, from which you can then print or save the page to your computer. You may also print a page by clicking the "Printer-Friendly Version" button and selecting your web browser's Print function. You can print a county's entire private acts compilation, a chapter of the compilation for a county, or even just a single private act. To print or save a PDF of the entire compilation with a table of contents, click on the county name in the list to the left, then click on PDF version.
The content presented on this website and will be maintained and updated on a regular basis. When new acts are passed or amended by the Tennessee General Assembly, we will work to update the information presented on this website as quickly as possible. Please note that this website is edited by hand and therefore updates may not be instantaneous.
The historical notes are those acts which are no longer in effect. We provide them as a means to give context and historical perspective for the currently effective private acts. They can be used as a research resource, but no longer have legal effect for the counties. These notes follow the chapter under which they used to reside (e.g., Administration - Historical Notes is located under the Chapter I: Administration section of a county's private acts compilation).
Need technical help with the website? Please contact Liz Gossett, CTAS Marketing Director, at liz@tennessee.edu.
Need help with understanding a private act or historical note? Contact your County Government Consultant or CTAS directly at CTAS.support@tennessee.edu.