Tennessee ban-the-box rules: state jobs, Memphis and private employers

Tennessee has no ban-the-box law for private employers, as of October 2026. Its statute, Tennessee Code 8-50-112 (Public Chapter 813 of 2016), applies only to state government: it keeps criminal history questions off the initial application for most state jobs and lets the state ask after the first screening of applications. A separate 2016 law, Tennessee Code 7-51-1802(d), stops cities and counties from imposing ban-the-box rules on private employers through business rules or city contracts, so Memphis's well-known rule covers only Memphis's own hiring. For a private client, the timing of the question is set by federal law and the client's own policy.

Does Tennessee have a ban-the-box law for private employers?

No. The only statewide timing rule is in Title 8 of the Tennessee Code, which governs public officers and employees. Section 8-50-112 defines "employer" as "the state and any agency, authority, branch, bureau, commission, corporation, department, or instrumentality of the state," and then says the term "does not include a contractor, subcontractor, a political subdivision of the state, the department of education, the state board of education, or the Tennessee bureau of investigation." A private company, a staffing firm and a state vendor are all outside it.

Cities cannot fill the gap with a civil rights ordinance either. Section 7-51-1802(a), enacted in 2011, bars a local government from imposing on any person an anti-discrimination standard that adds to or varies from the state's definition of discriminatory practices. So the state-law answer for a private employer is short: it may ask on the application. The federal answer is longer, and it is below.

What does Tennessee's law require for state jobs?

Senate Bill 2440 became Public Chapter 813 when Governor Bill Haslam signed it on April 14, 2016, and it took effect on signing. It splits state jobs into two groups.

Covered positions

A "covered position" is one "for which a criminal background check is required under federal law or for which the commission of an offense is a disqualifying event for employment under federal or state law." The job announcement for a covered position must carry this notice: "This position requires a criminal background check. Therefore, you may be required to provide information about your criminal history in order to be considered for this position."

All other state positions

• The employer "shall not inquire about an applicant's criminal history on the initial application form."
• It "may inquire about an applicant's criminal history after the initial screening of applications."
• If it asks, it must give the applicant "an opportunity to provide an explanation."
• When it considers an applicant with a record, it must weigh seven factors: the duties of the position; the bearing, if any, of the record on fitness to do them; the time since conviction or release; the applicant's age at each offense; the frequency and seriousness of each offense; any information the applicant gives about rehabilitation and good conduct; and the public policy benefits of employing people with records.

The section also makes criminal history the state obtains confidential and outside the open records law, unless other law requires or permits disclosure, and says the employer is held harmless from damages for refusing to hire based on criminal history information it obtained. Agencies could use up existing application forms before switching. There is no complaint procedure or penalty in the section.

Can Tennessee cities ban the box for private employers?

Not through local business rules or city contracts. Senate Bill 2103, Public Chapter 606, signed March 17, 2016, added subsection (d) to section 7-51-1802, part of the Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act: "Except as otherwise provided by state or federal law, a local government shall not, as a condition of doing business within the jurisdictional boundaries of the local government or contracting with the local government, prohibit an employer from requesting any information on an application for employment or during the process of hiring a new employee."

Subsection (e) says the limits "shall not apply with respect to employees of a local government." That is why a Tennessee city can keep the box off its own applications but cannot require its vendors or local businesses to do the same.

What does Memphis require?

Memphis Code 3-4-4, added by Ordinance 5363 on June 22, 2010, is a fair chance process for city employment only:

1. Except as state and federal law dictate, the city "shall not inquire about an applicant's conviction history until after it has been determined that the applicant is otherwise qualified," and city applications "shall not contain a 'box.'" Police, fire and emergency medical services positions are excluded.
2. An otherwise qualified applicant receives a conditional offer, completes a form listing criminal history, and gets written notice that a check will happen, that they can rebut a decision, and what evidence they can present.
3. If the city finds a reason to withdraw the offer, it sends a copy of the report with the relevant conviction highlighted, and the applicant has ten business days to respond.
4. The city weighs the nature of the crime and its relationship to the job, rehabilitation, time elapsed, the applicant's age at the offense, the gravity of the offense and the city's policy of encouraging employment of people with convictions. Erased records may not be used.

Because "applicant" means a person considered for employment by the city, the section does not reach private employers or city contractors, consistent with section 7-51-1802(d). We did not review the personnel rules of Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga or Shelby County for this page; ask the government's human resources office if you recruit for one of them.

What federal rules still apply in Tennessee?

• Title VII. The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, but Title VII and its disparate impact provision, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k), still apply. A job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) is still the safe practice, and Tennessee's own seven factors for state jobs cover the same ground.
• Federal contractors. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, 41 U.S.C. 4714, bars contractors from requesting criminal history before a conditional offer for positions related to work under a federal contract, for contracts awarded under solicitations issued after its effective date, with exceptions for positions where the law requires earlier review or that involve classified information or sensitive law enforcement or national security duties.
• The FCRA. Any report from a screening company needs a stand-alone disclosure, written authorization and the adverse action steps.

How does it fit with FCRA adverse action?

Tennessee adds no notice or waiting period for private employers, so the federal process is the one to follow: get authorization before ordering a report, send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the summary of rights, wait a reasonable period, then send the final notice. The steps and templates are in the FCRA background check process. Tennessee's TBI record searches, expunctions, negligent hiring limits and certificates of employability are covered in Tennessee background check laws.

Tennessee criminal history rules at a glance

What should staffing agencies and recruiters do in Tennessee?

• State agency roles: the statute covers the agency's application, not yours, but do not reintroduce a criminal history question the agency itself may not ask before its initial screening, and keep the covered-position notice in any posting you repost.
• Memphis city roles: plan on the city's sequence: no question until the candidate is otherwise qualified, then the city's own conditional offer and notice.
• Private clients: state law lets them ask early, but many run multi-state hiring. A candidate whose job is in Illinois or Colorado is covered by that state's law, so one consistent practice is easier to defend.
• Federal contractors: ask whether the role is related to work under a federal contract before anyone raises criminal history.

Questions to settle with a Tennessee client at intake

• Is the client a state agency, a city or county, a federal contractor or a private employer?
• For state roles, is the position a covered position, and does the announcement carry the notice?
• Does any law disqualify people with specific convictions from this job, or require a check? Which one?
• At what stage does the client ask about criminal history, and is it the same for every candidate?
• Who orders the background check, who reviews it against the job, and who sends the FCRA notices?

A script for Tennessee screens

Candidate volunteers a conviction: "Thanks for telling me. Background isn't part of my screen, so I won't note it. If the employer runs a check, that's a separate step and you'd see anything they rely on."

Private client wants a "no felonies" line in the ad: "Tennessee law doesn't stop you asking, but a blanket exclusion is hard to defend under federal law. Is there a law that disqualifies people for this job? If not, let's handle records in your background check with a job-related review."

State agency role: "This position isn't a covered position, so the agency doesn't ask on the initial application. I'll leave it to their process after screening."

A Tennessee checklist for recruiting desks

1. Record whether each client is a state agency, local government, federal contractor or private employer.
2. For state roles, keep criminal history off the initial application and keep the covered-position notice where it applies.
3. Keep criminal history out of recruiter screens and submittals as a consistent practice. If a candidate volunteers a case, leave it out of your notes; see what not to write in interview notes.
4. Route every screening company report through the FCRA steps and write down the job-related reason for any decision.
5. For the rest of the state's hiring rules, including agency licensing, see hiring employees in Tennessee and Tennessee staffing agency licensing.
6. For neighboring states, see Kentucky and Missouri, and for the federal picture and scripts used in stricter states, ban-the-box laws and interview questions.