Rutherford County, Tennessee public records

In Rutherford County, deeds are recorded by the Rutherford County Register of Deeds; property values come from the Rutherford County Property Assessor; court files are kept by the Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk.

Last checked against official sources on November 4, 2026.

On this page

Where to get each record
Deeds and land records
Property values, owners and tax bills
Court records: which clerk keeps which case
Marriage records
Divorce records
Birth certificates
Death certificates
Probate records and wills
Business names (DBA)
Historical records
Good to know about Rutherford County records
Office addresses, phones and hours
Records that are not online: public records requests
Questions people ask
Official copies vs look-alike sites
Sources

Where to get each record

Record	Office	Search online	Fee
Deeds and land records	Rutherford County Register of Deeds⁴	Search deeds²	Certified copy fee: $1.00 per page certified copy (statewide register fee, T.C.A. § 8-21-1001)³
Property values and owners	Rutherford County Property Assessor⁴	Property search⁵	—
Property tax bills	Rutherford County Trustee⁴	Tax bill search⁶	—
Court cases	Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk⁷	Circuit Court⁸ General Sessions Court⁸ Chancery Court⁹	Circuit Civil: copies $0.50 per page; certification & seals $5.00; exemplified copy $15.00 + $0.50 per page⁷
Marriage records	Rutherford County Clerk⁴	—	Mail fee: $7.00 by mail¹⁰
Divorce records	Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk⁷	—	—
Birth certificates	Rutherford County Health Department¹¹	—	—
Death certificates	Rutherford County Health Department¹¹	—	—
Probate and wills	Rutherford County Clerk¹³	—	copies $0.50 per page; certified copies $2.00 per page plus $2.00 per certification (revised July 1, 2018)¹²
Business names (DBA)	The County Clerk issues business licenses¹³	—	—

Deeds and land records

Deeds, mortgages and other land documents for property in Rutherford County are recorded by the Rutherford County Register of Deeds.⁴

Online search: ustitlesearch.net²
About this search: US Title Search, linked from the Register of Deeds 'Title Search' page²
Who runs it: US Title Search (vendor portal linked by the Register of Deeds)²

Certified copy fee: $1.00 per page certified copy (statewide register fee, T.C.A. § 8-21-1001)³
Recording fee: Deeds, deeds of trust and most documents: $5.00 per page, $10.00 minimum, plus $2.00 computer fund; state tax $3.70 per $1,000 on conveyances and $1.15 per $1,000 on mortgages¹⁴
Transfer tax: Conveyance $3.70 per $1,000; mortgage $1.15 per $1,000 (first $2,000 exempt)¹⁴
How to order: Contact the Register of Deeds office; open records requests through the county's Open Records page¹⁵
Electronic recording: Simplifile, ePN or CSC¹⁶
Property alerts: ProGResS MyLandAlert fraud alert service (mylandalert.com)¹⁵

How deeds work in Tennessee

Property values, owners and tax bills

The Rutherford County Property Assessor sets property values⁴; the Rutherford County Trustee bills and collects the tax⁴.

Property search: secured.rutherfordcountytn.gov/… (Property Assessment Search)⁵
Tax bill search: trustee.pay.rutherfordcountytn.gov (Search and Pay Taxes Online for Rutherford County, Smyrna City and Eagleville City)⁶
Delinquent: Delinquent property taxes are collected by the Chancery Court (Clerk and Master)⁹
Parcel map (GIS): County Data Hub rutherfordcountygis-rcgis.hub.arcgis.com (free GIS data)¹⁷
Appealing a value: Assessor's office first; then County Board of Equalization (June only; appointments from the first week of May); then State Board of Equalization¹⁸

How property tax works in Tennessee

Court records: which clerk keeps which case

Court	Cases	Records kept by	Case search
Circuit Court (civil and criminal)	Civil and criminal cases; appeals from General Sessions, Juvenile and Municipal Courts¹⁹	Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk (Circuit Criminal)	rutherford.tncrtinfo.com Free records search since July 1, 2025⁸Free search
General Sessions Court	Civil within monetary limits; misdemeanors and felony preliminary hearings; its judges also serve as Probate Judge¹⁹	Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk (Circuit Civil / General Sessions Civil)	rutherford.tncrtinfo.com⁸
Chancery Court	Equity matters; delinquent tax suits⁹	Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk (Circuit Civil / General Sessions Civil)	rcchancery.com/dockets Dockets⁹

Fees: Circuit Civil: copies $0.50 per page; certification & seals $5.00; exemplified copy $15.00 + $0.50 per page⁷

Criminal records and background checks

Online search: rutherford.tncrtinfo.com⁸Free search
About this search: Free⁸

How Tennessee courts keep their files

Marriage records

Kept by the Rutherford County Clerk.⁴

Marriage license: $107.50, or $45.00 with a notarized premarital Certificate of Completion¹⁰
Copies: Certified copy $5.00 in person (Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Blackman offices) or $7.00 by mail; must know date of marriage and names¹⁰
Mail fee: $7.00 by mail¹⁰

Tennessee marriage records, statewide

Divorce records

Divorce cases filed in Circuit Civil Court (fee schedule lists divorces)⁷

Tennessee divorce records: decree or state record

Birth certificates

Kept by the Rutherford County Health Department (Tennessee Department of Health).¹¹

Forms: State birth certificate application posted by the county¹¹
Circuit clerk note: Circuit Civil fee list includes 'Birth Certificate $30.00' (item not explained on the page)⁷

Ordering a Tennessee birth certificate

Death certificates

Kept by the Rutherford County Health Department (Tennessee Department of Health).¹¹

Forms: State death certificate application posted by the county¹¹

Ordering a Tennessee death certificate

Probate records and wills

Kept by the Rutherford County Clerk (probate of estates and wills).¹³

Which court: By private act, the General Sessions judges serve as Probate Judge; filings go to the County Clerk¹²
Fees: $418.50 to open and close an estate (non-small); $229.50 small estate affidavit; $50.00 per claim; copies $0.50 per page; certified copies $2.00 per page plus $2.00 per certification (revised July 1, 2018)¹²
Public access: Probate matters are public and can be reviewed at the County Clerk's office¹²
Claims: Claims against an estate must be filed with the County Clerk within four months of first publication of the Notice to Creditors¹²

Business names (DBA)

The County Clerk issues business licenses¹³

Historical records

Rutherford County Archives preserves judicial proceedings, tax documents and administrative records²⁰

Good to know about Rutherford County records

Probate is handled by the County Clerk, with General Sessions judges sitting as Probate Judge under a private act.¹²
The Chancery Court (Clerk and Master) collects delinquent property taxes for the county and for Murfreesboro, La Vergne and Smyrna.⁹
Court record search became free on July 1, 2025, replacing paid subscription log-ins.⁸
The Register of Deeds warns it does not perform title searches or guarantee clear title.¹⁵
The Register of Deeds posts a 'Register's Notebook 1853-1862' history item.¹⁵

Office addresses, phones and hours

Rutherford County Register of Deeds

Address: 319 N. Maple Street, Room 133, Murfreesboro, TN 37130¹⁵
Phone: (615) 898-7870¹⁵
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:00pm¹⁵
Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/register-deeds⁴

Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk (Circuit Criminal)

Address: 116 W. Lytle St., Room 102, Murfreesboro, TN 37130¹⁹
Phone: 615-898-7812 (Circuit Criminal); 615-898-7831 (General Sessions Criminal)¹⁹
Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/circuit-clerk¹⁹

Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk (Circuit Civil / General Sessions Civil)

Address: 116 W. Lytle St., Room 102, Murfreesboro, TN 37130¹⁹
Phone: 615-898-7820 (Circuit Civil); 615-217-0069 (General Sessions Civil)¹⁹
Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/circuit-civil⁷

Rutherford County Clerk (probate of estates and wills)

Address: 319 N Maple St., Suite 121, Murfreesboro, TN 37130 (also Blackman, Smyrna and Eagleville offices)¹³
Phone: (615) 898-7800¹³
Hours: 8AM-4PM Monday-Thursday; 8AM-5PM Friday¹³
Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/estate-wills¹³

Rutherford County Clerk

Address: 319 N Maple St., Suite 121, Murfreesboro, TN 37130 (also Blackman, Smyrna and Eagleville offices)¹³
Phone: (615) 898-7800¹³
Hours: 8AM-4PM Monday-Thursday; 8AM-5PM Friday¹³
Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/county-clerk⁴

Rutherford County Property Assessor

Address: 319 Maple Street, Suite 200, Murfreesboro, TN 37130¹⁸
Mail: 319 Maple Street, Suite 200, Murfreesboro, TN 37130¹⁸
Phone: 615-898-7750²¹
Website: rcpatn.com⁴

Rutherford County Trustee

Address: Historic Courthouse, Room 102, Murfreesboro (Downtown); 205 I Street, Smyrna, TN 37167²²
Phone: 615-898-7705²²
Hours: Downtown Murfreesboro: Monday-Friday 8:00AM-4:30PM²²
Website: rctrustee.com⁴

Rutherford County Chancery Court, Clerk and Master

Address: Judicial Center, 116 W Lytle St Suite 5101, Murfreesboro, TN 37129⁹
Phone: 615-898-7860⁹
Website: rcchancery.com⁴

Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk, Juvenile Clerk's Office

Phone: 615-898-7972¹⁹
Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/circuit-clerk¹⁹

Rutherford County Health Department (Tennessee Department of Health)

Address: 100 West Burton Street, Murfreesboro²³
Phone: 615-898-7880²³
Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/health-forms¹¹

Rutherford County GIS (Office of Information Technology)

Address: 20 North Public Square, Suite 410, Murfreesboro, TN 37130¹⁷
Phone: (615) 898-7762¹⁷
Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/gis¹⁷

Rutherford County Archives

Address: 435 Rice Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37130²⁰
Phone: (615) 867-4609²⁰
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 am-4:00 pm²⁰
Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/archives²⁰

Rutherford County Election Commission

Website: rutherfordcountytn.gov/election⁴

Rutherford County Sheriff's Office

Website: rutherfordctytn-sotn.govoffice.com⁴

Records that are not online: public records requests

Request page: rutherfordcountytn.gov/openrecords (request form and Open Records Policy PDFs)²⁴
Where to send it: Administration, 303 N Church Street, Suite 200, Murfreesboro, TN 37130; 615-494-4480²⁴

How to write a public records request

Questions people ask

How do I get a copy of a deed in Rutherford County?

The Rutherford County Register of Deeds keeps deed records. To order copies: Contact the Register of Deeds office; open records requests through the county's Open Records page. Certified copies: $1.00 per page certified copy (statewide register fee, T.C.A. § 8-21-1001).⁴¹⁵³

Where do I get a divorce decree in Rutherford County?

Divorce cases filed in Circuit Civil Court (fee schedule lists divorces).⁷

How do I look up who owns a property in Rutherford County?

Use the property search of the Rutherford County Property Assessor: secured.rutherfordcountytn.gov/…⁵

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Rutherford County office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Other counties in Tennessee with a full guide: Blount County, Bradley County, Davidson County, Hamilton County, Knox County, Madison County, Maury County, Montgomery County, Putnam County, Sevier County, Shelby County, Sullivan County, Sumner County, Washington County, Williamson County, Wilson County. Every county in the state: Tennessee county list.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 25 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
Register of Deeds Title SearchRutherford County Register of Deeds
Register of deeds standard feesUniversity of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service
Rutherford County homeRutherford County Government
Parcel DataTennessee Comptroller of the Treasury
Trustee homeRutherford County Trustee
Circuit Court Clerk - Civil DivisionRutherford County Circuit Court Clerk
Subscription Login NoticeRutherford County Circuit Court Clerk
Chancery Court homeRutherford County Chancery Court
Marriage LicensesRutherford County Clerk
Health FormsRutherford County Government
Estate & WillsRutherford County Clerk
County ClerkRutherford County Clerk
Register of Deeds State FeesRutherford County Register of Deeds
Register of DeedsRutherford County Register of Deeds
E-RecordingRutherford County Register of Deeds
GISRutherford County Government
Appeal InformationRutherford County Property Assessor
Circuit Court ClerkRutherford County Circuit Court Clerk
ArchivesRutherford County Archives
About the Property AssessorRutherford County Property Assessor
Trustee LocationsRutherford County Trustee
Health DepartmentRutherford County Government
Open RecordsRutherford County Government
County population totals: Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025)US Census Bureau