Public Notices
Visit the Tennessee Public Notices statewide website at:
tnpublicnotice.com
Newspapers: Here is the link for posting your notices. Contact TPA if you need your login credentials.
https://tnnewspaper.tnpublicnotice.com/
The Public Notice Law went into effect April 1, 2014 and was amended in 2024 and 2025.
Changes were made to the law regarding the publication of foreclosure notices in 2025. That text also follows or find at Tenn. Code Annotated § 35-5-101.
Tennessee Code Annotated § 1-3-120
(a) Beginning April 1, 2014, in all cases where a public notice or legal notice is required to be published in a newspaper of general circulation, the newspaper shall for the same price post the complete notice:
(1) On the newspaper’s website, where it shall be published contemporaneously with the notice’s first print publication and will remain on the website for at least as long as the notice appears in the newspaper; and
(2) On a statewide website established and maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Tennessee newspapers as a repository for such notices and will remain on the repository website for at least as long as it appears in the newspaper. Any newspaper of general circulation that meets the criteria of this subsection (a) shall have access to the statewide website at no charge.
(b) Any such notice shall be published online in its entirety, including maps and other exhibits, and shall include the date on which it was first printed in the newspaper.
(c) An error in a notice placed on the newspaper website or statewide website, or temporary website outages or service interruptions prohibiting the posting or display of such notice shall be considered harmless error and proper legal notice requirements shall be considered met if the notice published in the newspaper is correct.
(d) Each newspaper of general circulation publishing public notices shall include on its website home page a link to its public notice section and shall include on its public notice home page a link to the statewide public notice website.
(e) Any notice published on a website pursuant to subdivisions (a)(1) and (2) shall be accessible to the public at no charge.
(f)
(1) Beginning July 1, 2024, when legal notices are required to be published in a newspaper of general circulation, the notice must also be published on a news and information website that has a URL, if such a website exists, that:
(A) Has been published continuously for the previous twelve-month period;
(B) Has been published using recognized standards of professional journalism;
(C) Must have content revised on a regular basis not less than three (3) times per week;
(D) Bears a fixed title or name and date lines and complies with and abides by all copyright laws;
(E) Does not serve primarily as a platform to promote the interests or opinions of a special interest group, individual, or cause;
(F) Is principally devoted to the dissemination of local or general news with at least fifty percent (50%) of all editorial content reported being original, excluding advertisements;
(G) Exists and is registered pursuant to state law with the secretary of state. The news and information website must have an office of publication known to be based in the county in which the notice is required to be published and that is available and open to the public where business is transacted during usual business hours, that maintains a telephone number and email listing, and that includes in each updated publication the contact information of the news and information website;
(H) Does not require a fee or a subscription for a person to view the website; and
(I) Is a separate and distinct website from the newspaper of general circulation that is owned by an entity other than the newspaper of general circulation.
(2) The owner of a website where legal notices are published pursuant to subdivision (f)(1) shall:
(A) Charge a rate for such publication that is calculated by the word. The rate for each word must be comparable, but must not exceed, the established rates the owner charges other advertisers; and
(B) Include on the invoice to the person or entity paying for such publication an affidavit listing the number of days the notice was published on the website.
(3) This subsection (f) does not apply to:
(A) Legal notices required by § 35-5-101; or
(B) The publication of sample ballots required by § 2-5-211.
Tennessee Code Annotated § 35-5-101
Foreclosure Notices (as of July 1, 2025)
(a) In any sale of land to foreclose a deed of trust, mortgage, or other lien securing the payment of money or other thing of value or under judicial orders or process, advertisement of the sale must be made:
(1) At least two (2) times in a newspaper published in the county where the sale is to be made; and
(2) By a posting online by a third-party internet posting company for at least twenty (20) continuous days. A posting made pursuant to this subdivision (a)(2) must be posted online in a manner such that the posting is publicly viewable to general internet users.
(b) The initial publication in a newspaper must be at least twenty (20) days previous to the sale.
(c) This section does not apply:
(1) Where the amount of indebtedness for the payment of which the property being sold does not amount to more than two hundred dollars ($200), in which event the owner of the property may order that advertisement be made by written notices posted as provided in § 35-5-103 and subdivision (a)(2), instead of by notices published in a newspaper; or
(2) To any notice published in accordance with any contract entered into heretofore, and expressed in a mortgage, deed of trust, or other legal instruments.
(d) In any sale of land to foreclose a deed of trust, mortgage, or other lien securing the payment of money or other thing of value or under judicial orders of process, the trustee or other party that sells the property shall send to the debtor and any co-debtor a copy of the notice required in § 35-5-104. The notice must be sent on or before the first date of publication provided in subsection (b) by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice must be sent to the following:
(1) If to the debtor, addressed to the debtor at:
(A) The mailing address of the property, if any; and
(B) The last known mailing address of the debtor or any other mailing address of the debtor specifically designated for purposes of receiving notices provided at least thirty (30) days prior to the first publication date in written correspondence or written notice in accordance with the loan agreement from the debtor to the creditor, but only if the last known mailing address of the debtor or other mailing address designated by the debtor is different from the mailing address of the property; and
(2) If to a co-debtor, addressed to the co-debtor at the last known mailing address of the co-debtor or any other mailing address of the co-debtor specifically designated for purposes of receiving notices provided at least thirty (30) days prior to the first publication date in written correspondence or written notice in accordance with the loan agreement from the co-debtor to the creditor, but only if the last known mailing address of the co-debtor or other mailing address designated by the co-debtor is both different from the mailing address of the property and different from the mailing address of the debtor determined as provided in subdivision (d)(1)(B).
(e) Unless postponement or adjournment is contractually prohibited, any sale hereunder may be adjourned and rescheduled one (1) or more times without additional newspaper publication, upon compliance with the following provisions:
(1) The sale must be held within one (1) year of the originally scheduled date;
(2) Each postponement or adjournment must be set to a specified date and time, and must be announced by posting with the third-party internet posting company and announced at the date, time, and location of each scheduled sale date; provided, however, that if the sale is postponed or adjourned for less than five (5) days after the original sale, announcement by internet posting is not required;
(3) If the postponement or adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, notice of the new date, time, and location must be mailed no less than (10) calendar days prior to the sale date via regular mail to the debtor and co-debtor; and
(4) Notice of the right to postpone or adjourn without additional newspaper publication shall not be required to be published in any newspaper publication.
(f)
(1) A third-party internet posting company shall submit the company’s root domain website address to the publications division of the secretary of state’s office prior to conducting business pursuant to subdivision (a)(2). A third-party internet posting company shall promptly notify the publications division of the secretary of state’s office of any change in the company’s website address.
(2) The publications division of the secretary of state’s office shall create a listing on the secretary of state’s website of all third-party internet posting companies and the website address for each third-party internet posting company.
(3) A third-party internet posting company may be held liable for any damages resulting from the company’s failure to comply with this subsection (f).
(g) As used in this section, “location” means:
(1) The physical place where a sale is being conducted; or
(2) The website of the internet-based bidding platform, if a sale is being conducted online.
Public Notice upload instructions for posting to TnPublicNotice.com
Updated, detailed instructions for TPA member newspapers to upload public notices to www.tnpublicnotice.com are available when you sign in to the site. Do you want to know if your notices being uploaded? Check the tnpublicnotice.com site and then search for notices in your county. Please contact TPA if you have questions about uploading notices—(865) 584-5761.
Buttons for newspapers to use on website home page and public notices page
Use this button on your home page to link to your public notices page
Use this button on your public notices page to link to the statewide repository, www.tnpublicnotice.com
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