Tennessee Statutory Quick Summary
CRITICAL TENNESSEE STATUTORY RULE: Unlike most states, Tennessee STILL PROHIBITS routine service of civil process on SUNDAY! Under T.C.A. § 20-2-105 and § 20-2-106, no civil process shall be executed on Sunday unless the plaintiff or their agent makes an oath to the clerk that the defendant is removing or about to remove themselves or their property beyond the jurisdiction of the court, and the clerk endorses that fact on the back of the process. Without that clerk endorsement, Sunday civil service is illegal and void. However, service IS permitted Monday through Saturday at any reasonable hour (including early mornings, evenings, and legal holidays).
Controlling Tennessee Statutes & Court Rules Cited in This Guide:
- § T.C.A. § 20-2-104 (Date of Receipt Endorsed on Process)
- § T.C.A. § 20-2-105 & § 20-2-106 (Strict Prohibition on Sunday Civil Process Without Special Oath)
- § T.C.A. § 15-1-101 (Legal Holidays in Tennessee — Service Permitted)
- § Tenn. R. Civ. P. 4.01 & 6.01 (Time Computation vs. Service Hours)
1. The Sunday Service Prohibition in Tennessee: T.C.A. § 20-2-105 & § 20-2-106
One of the most dangerous traps for out-of-state attorneys and untrained process servers in Tennessee is Sunday service. While many states repealed their 19th-century Sunday "blue laws" for civil process decades ago, Tennessee Code Annotated § 20-2-105 and § 20-2-106 remain active, binding statutory law.
Specifically, T.C.A. § 20-2-106 states: "Other than as provided in § 20-2-105, no civil process shall be executed on Sunday."
Under T.C.A. § 20-2-105, civil process may be issued and executed on a Sunday ONLY IF:
- 1. Oath of Removal / Flight: Any party, or the party’s agent or attorney, makes an application under oath to the clerk or judicial officer stating that the defendant is removing, or is about to remove, the defendant’s person or property beyond the jurisdiction of the court;
- 2. Clerk Endorsement on the Back of Process: The clerk or judicial officer endorses on the back of the summons or writ that the oath has been made and that the process was issued on Sunday (or is authorized for Sunday execution); and
- 3. Officer’s Duty: Only with that explicit statutory endorsement on the back of the writ is the officer or server authorized to execute the civil process on Sunday.
2. Consequence of Unauthorized Sunday Service in Tennessee
If a process server serves a routine civil summons, divorce complaint, subpoena, or General Sessions civil warrant on a Sunday without the T.C.A. § 20-2-105 flight oath and clerk endorsement, the service is statutorily defective and subject to immediate dismissal or motion to quash under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(5).
At Tennessee Process Servers, our dispatch system strictly blocks routine Sunday field attempts and automatically schedules weekend attempts for Saturday mornings, afternoons, and evenings (which are 100% lawful across Tennessee).
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3. Can Papers Be Served on Legal Holidays or Late at Night in Tennessee?
While Sunday is restricted under T.C.A. § 20-2-106, Tennessee imposes NO statutory ban on serving civil process on Saturdays, weekday evenings, early mornings, or state/federal legal holidays (such as Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, or New Year’s Day, codified at T.C.A. § 15-1-101).
Note on Holidays: Although T.C.A. § 15-1-101 closes public offices and court clerks’ counters on legal holidays (and Tenn. R. Civ. P. 6.01 excludes holidays when calculating the last day of a filing deadline), nothing in Title 20 or Rule 4 invalidates personal service handed to a defendant on a holiday (provided that holiday does not fall on a Sunday).
Early Morning & Late-Night Service Hours: Tennessee statutes do not set a rigid "curfew" hour on Monday through Saturday. Our process servers regularly conduct residential attempts between 6:00 AM and 8:30 AM (before commuters leave for work) and between 5:30 PM and 10:00 PM (when defendants return home), exercising professional judgment to avoid disorderly conduct or trespassing behind locked privacy gates.
4. Workplace & Public Location Service Rules in Tennessee
Because Tennessee prohibits Sunday service and prohibits routine abode service without proof of evasion, serving a defendant Monday through Saturday at their place of employment, business parking lot, or other public venue is completely legal and frequently the highest-probability method of service.
When serving at a Tennessee workplace, our process servers dress professionally, request the individual discreetly at the reception desk or lobby without disclosing the nature of the legal matter to coworkers, and complete personal in-hand delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions: Service Hours & Restrictions in Tennessee
Can an Order of Protection or criminal warrant be served on a Sunday in Tennessee?
Yes. The Sunday prohibition in T.C.A. § 20-2-106 applies strictly to ordinary civil process. Criminal arrest warrants, search warrants, and emergency Domestic Abuse Orders of Protection under T.C.A. § 36-3-605 may be executed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including Sundays.
What if a process server serves someone at 11:45 PM on a Saturday night in Tennessee?
Service completed at 11:45 PM on Saturday is legally valid in Tennessee because it occurred prior to 12:00 AM Sunday. Our servers capture automatic GPS and server-clock timestamps to prove the exact minute of delivery.