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SB2389 • 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.

Active

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

Sponsor
Akbari, Parkinson
Last action
2026-03-24
Official status
Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate State and Local Government Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

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 presenting documents for in-person property transfers.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the Shelby County register of deeds to ask people showing up with real estate transfer papers to show a valid ID before filing those papers.
  • The register must copy or write down information from the presented ID without charging a fee.
  • Information copied from IDs is kept private and confidential.
  • Documents filed by individuals are still considered valid even if the county clerk did not record the ID information.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People transferring real property in Shelby County who must show government-issued identification.
  • Shelby County's register of deeds, who must verify and record IDs for property transfers.

Terms To Know

Government-issued identification card
A valid ID issued by the government that includes a person’s name, address, photograph, and unique identifying numbers or letters.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only applies to Shelby County for two years.
  • It does not specify what happens if someone cannot provide a government-issued identification card.

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

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

  3. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

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

  6. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  7. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  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

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  11. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  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 
HOUSE BILL 2478
By Parkinson

SENATE BILL 2389
By Akbari
SB2389
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.