SB2353 • 2026

Registers of Deeds

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 66-24-101, relative to writings eligible for registration.

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Seal, Martin G
Last action: 2026-04-14
Official status: Passed H., Ayes 90, Nays 1, PNV 0
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on the consequences for missing signatures or how existing documents will be affected by these changes.

Law for Registering Real Estate Documents

This bill changes Tennessee's laws to allow certain documents related to real estate transactions to be registered with county officials if they meet specific requirements.

What This Bill Does

Allows bonds for the transfer of real or personal property to be registered in counties if they have all party signatures and an expiration date.
Permits agreements, notices, affidavits, memoranda, and abstracts about real estate sales to be registered if they include the owner's signature (or their legal representative) and the buyer’s signature along with an expiration date.

Who It Names or Affects

County registers who will handle these new types of documents.
People buying or selling real estate who need to submit agreements and other related papers.
Legal representatives involved in property transactions.

Terms To Know

Authenticated signatures: Signatures that are officially verified, often through a notary public.
Expiration date: The specific day when an agreement or bond is set to end.

Limits and Unknowns

It does not specify what happens if the required signatures are missing from documents.
Does not explain how existing registered documents will be affected by these changes.
Does not provide details on penalties for non-compliance with registration requirements.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA1087

Amendment 1-0 to HB2261

Plain English: The amendment changes Tennessee's laws about which documents can be registered by adding new types of agreements and contracts related to real property sales.

Adds new subdivision (29) to Section 66-24-101(a), allowing registration of agreements, memoranda, abstracts, or affidavits for the sale of real property if they meet certain requirements.
Modifies existing subdivision (1) by adding specific details about bonds for conveyance of real estate that must be included in order to register them.

The amendment text does not specify all possible types of agreements and contracts covered under the new subdivision (29), leaving some uncertainty about what exactly can be registered.
It is unclear from the provided information how this change will affect existing registration processes or if there are any additional requirements beyond those listed.

SA0877

Amendment 1-0 to SB2353

Plain English: The amendment changes Tennessee's laws about which documents can be registered by adding new types of agreements and contracts related to real property sales.

Adds new subdivision (29) to Section 66-24-101(a), allowing registration of agreements, memoranda, abstracts, or affidavits for the sale of real property if they meet certain requirements.
Modifies existing subdivision (1) by adding specific signature and expiration date requirements for bonds related to conveyance of real estate.

The amendment text does not specify all details about how these changes will be implemented or enforced, which may require further clarification.

Bill History

2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., Ayes 90, Nays 1, PNV 0
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA1087)
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Subst. for comp. HB.
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. SB subst.
2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 31, Nays 0
2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0877)
2026-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/13/2026
2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/13/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/9/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 4/8/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 4/8/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/25/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/31/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/31/2026
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/25/2026
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate State & Local Government Committee to 3/25/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/24/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/24/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/24/2026
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 3/24/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/18/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/11/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee to 3/11/2026
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/4/2026
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law authorizes all agreements and bonds for the conveyance of real or personal estates to be registered with the county register. This bill also authorizes notices, affidavits, memoranda, or abstracts related to such agreements to be so register
ed. However, all agreements, and notices, affidavits, memoranda, and abstracts related to such agreements, must contain the authenticated signatures of all parties subject to the agreement and the expiration date of the agreement, including the day, mont
h,
and year.

ON APRIL 13, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2353, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, authorize all bonds for the conveyance of real or personal estate to be registered only if the bond contains the signatures of all parties subject to the bond and the expiration date of the bond. Further, this
amendment authorizes all agreements for the conveyance of real property or contracts, memoranda, abstracts, or affidavits for the sale of real property, or similar documents by whatever similar or other name, to be registered if such documents contain th
e
signature of the owner of the property or the owner's attorney-in-fact or court-appointed representative, the signature of the proposed purchaser, and the expiration date of the agreement.

This amendment requires any affidavit submitted to the county register to be registered by sworn to in front of a notary public.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HOUSE BILL 2261
By Martin G

SENATE BILL 2353
By Seal
SB2353
012145
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section
66-24-101, relative to writings eligible for
registration.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 66-24-101(a), is amended by
deleting subdivision (1) and substituting:
(1) All agreements, and notices, affidavits, memoranda, or abstracts related to
the agreements, and bonds for the conveyance of real or personal estate; provided, that
all agreements, and notices, affidavits, memoranda, and abstracts related to the
agreements must contain:
(A) The signatures of all parties subject to the agreement, authenticated
pursuant to § 66-22-101; and
(B) The expiration date of the agreement, which includes the day, month,
and year;
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.