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HB2478 • 2026

Registers of Deeds

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 10; Title 66 and Title 67, relative to registers of deeds.

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Parkinson, Akbari
Last action
2026-03-18
Official status
Failed in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee of State & Local Government Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not explicitly state what happens if a person does not have an ID, but it implies that the document can still be filed without the ID information being copied or recorded.

Shelby County Property Transfer Identification Requirement

This bill requires Shelby County's register of deeds to verify and record government-issued photo identification for individuals transferring real property in person.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the Shelby County Register of Deeds to ask people who want to transfer real property in person to show a valid government ID with their name, address, and picture.
  • The register must copy or record information from this ID before filing the document.
  • Prohibits charging fees for copying or recording the ID information.
  • Keeps the copied or recorded ID information confidential.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People transferring real property in Shelby County who must show a government-issued photo ID.
  • The Shelby County Register of Deeds and their staff.

Terms To Know

Government-issued identification card
A valid ID issued by the government that includes the person's name, address, and photograph.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only applies to Shelby County.
  • It is a two-year pilot program starting from when it becomes law.
  • Other counties in Tennessee are not affected by this requirement.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate State and Local Government Committee

  2. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee of State & Local Government Committee

  3. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

  4. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 3/24/2026

  5. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  6. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  7. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  8. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee

  9. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  10. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  11. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  12. 2026-03-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  13. 2026-03-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Approved by Delayed Bills Committee

  14. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  15. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee

  16. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  17. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  18. 2026-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  19. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Refer to Senate Delayed Bills Committee

  20. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

For two years, this bill requires a
register of deeds
in Shelby County to
require a person presenting a document to transfer real property in person for filing in the real property records of the county to present a government-issued identification card prior to recording the document.

The register
must
copy or record information from the presented government-issued identification card.

Information copied or recorded from the presented government-issued identification card is confidential.

This bill prohibits the register from charging
a person a fee to copy or record the information from the presented government-issued identification card. A document filed with a county clerk is not invalid solely because the county clerk did not copy or record the information from the presented gover
nment-issued identification card.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 2389
By Akbari

HOUSE BILL 2478
By Parkinson
HB2478
012644
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5;
Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 10; Title 66 and Title
67, relative to registers of deeds.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 66, Chapter 24, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) As used in this section, "government-issued identification card" means a
valid, government-issued identification card that bears the cardholder's name, address,
and photograph, and that contains a unique identifying series of numbers or letters, or
both, as applicable to the type or category of government-issued identification card.
(b) A register of deeds shall require a person presenting a document to transfer
real property in person for filing in the real property records of the county to present a
government-issued identification card prior to recording the document.
(c) The register shall copy or record information from the presented government-
issued identification card.
(d) The register shall not charge a person a fee to copy or record the information
from the presented government-issued identification card.
(e) Information copied or recorded from the presented government-issued
identification card is confidential.
(f) A document filed with a county clerk is not invalid solely because the county
clerk did not copy or record the information from the presented government-issued
identification card.
(h) This section is repealed two (2) years from the effective date of this act.

- 2 - 012644

(i) This section applies to a county having a population of no less than nine
hundred thousand (900,000), according to the 2020 federal census or any subsequent
federal census.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.