How Long Does a Judgment Last in Tennessee: 10 Years and Renewal

A judgment in Tennessee lasts ten years from the date the court enters it, and the creditor can renew it for another ten years by filing a motion before the original period runs out. That renewal can be repeated indefinitely, so a judgment that keeps getting extended can follow a debtor for decades while interest accrues the whole time.¹

When the Ten-Year Clock Starts

The ten years runs from the date the court clerk officially records the judgment, not the date of the trial or hearing. Once those ten years pass without renewal, the creditor loses the legal right to garnish wages, levy bank accounts, or seize property to satisfy the debt.¹

This period applies to civil money judgments generally. A different rule applies to certain judgments tied to criminal conduct, covered below.

The One Type of Judgment That Never Expires

Judgments entered on or after July 1, 2014, that arise from a debtor’s criminal conduct resulting in someone’s injury or death do not expire, provided the debtor was convicted of the underlying crime. The same is true when a criminal restitution order is converted into a civil judgment. In these cases, the trial judge and clerk must note the conviction on the judgment document, and the judgment stays valid until it is paid in full or discharged through some other legal process.¹

Every other type of judgment is bound by the ten-year clock.

Extending a Judgment for Another Ten Years

A creditor who hasn’t collected the full amount within ten years can extend the judgment by filing a motion with the court that issued it. The motion has to be filed before the original ten-year period expires. Miss the deadline by a single day and all enforcement rights are gone.²

The creditor must mail a copy of the motion to the debtor’s last known address. The debtor then has 30 days from the date the motion is filed with the clerk to respond and explain why the extension should not be granted. If the debtor stays silent, the court grants the extension automatically without a hearing. If the debtor does respond, the burden falls on the debtor to prove why the court should refuse. That is a difficult argument to win when the debt remains legitimately unpaid.²

Each renewal resets the ten-year enforcement clock from the date the extension order is entered, and the process can be repeated at the end of every ten-year period. In practical terms, a diligent creditor can keep a judgment alive for 20, 30, or more years.

Interest Keeps Running the Whole Time

An unpaid judgment doesn’t sit at a fixed dollar amount. Tennessee law requires that judgments bear interest from the date they are entered, and the rate is recalculated every six months at two percentage points below the formula rate published by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. For judgments entered between January 1 and June 30, 2026, the rate is 8.75%.³⁴

Once a judgment is entered, its interest rate locks in. Later rate changes don’t affect it. At 8.75%, a $20,000 judgment adds $1,750 in interest each year. Over a full ten-year period, the interest alone could nearly match the original judgment amount. Debtors who can negotiate a settlement often benefit from doing so early, and creditors who ignore a judgment for years may find the balance has grown considerably by the time they pursue collection.

One exception: if the original debt was based on a contract, promissory note, or statute that specified its own interest rate within Tennessee’s legal limits, the judgment bears interest at that contractual rate instead of the standard formula rate.³

How Long a Judgment Lien on Real Estate Lasts

A creditor can turn a judgment into a lien on real property by registering a certified copy of the judgment in the register’s office of the county where the land is located. For general sessions court judgments, the lien only applies when the judgment exceeds $500.⁵

The lien’s lifespan is tied to the judgment itself. It lasts for whatever time remains in the ten-year period from the date the judgment was originally entered, not from the date the lien was recorded. If a creditor records the lien four years after the judgment was entered, the lien is good for the remaining six years.⁶

When a judgment is renewed under Rule 69.04, the lien can also be extended, but there is an extra step. The creditor must register the court’s extension order with the register’s office for the lien extension to be enforceable. Simply renewing the judgment in court is not enough. If the creditor forgets to re-register with the county, the lien lapses even though the judgment itself remains enforceable.⁷

Out-of-State Judgments Enforced in Tennessee

A judgment from another state can be domesticated in Tennessee under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, without filing a new lawsuit. The creditor files the following with the clerk of a Tennessee circuit court or chancery court:⁸

A copy of the foreign judgment authenticated under federal or Tennessee law.
A sworn affidavit from the creditor or their attorney with the names and last known addresses of both parties.
A notice of filing identifying both parties and notifying the debtor that the judgment is being enrolled in Tennessee.
The standard clerk’s fee for opening a miscellaneous file.

Once enrolled, the foreign judgment is treated the same as a Tennessee judgment for collection purposes. Domesticating it does not restart the clock. The judgment is still subject to the original issuing state’s time limits, and Tennessee’s own ten-year period for actions on judgments of other states also applies.¹

What Happens if the Ten Years Lapse

If a creditor lets the full ten-year period pass without filing a motion to extend, the judgment becomes unenforceable. The creditor can no longer garnish wages, levy bank accounts, seize property, or take any other legal collection action. Any judgment lien that was recorded also becomes unenforceable at that point.

An expired judgment doesn’t erase the underlying debt entirely. The obligation technically still exists. But the creditor has no legal mechanism to compel payment, and for practical purposes the debtor is free of it.

1
Justia. Tennessee Code 28-3-110 – Actions on Judgments
2
Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 69.04 – Extension of Time
3
Justia. Tennessee Code 47-14-121 – Interest on Judgments
4
Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Tennessee Judgment Interest Rates
5
Justia. Tennessee Code 25-5-101 – Real Property
6
Justia. Tennessee Code 25-5-105 – Period of Lien’s Continued Validity
7
Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 69.07 – Execution on Realty
8
Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 3A.01 – Enrollment of Foreign Judgments