How to Get a Pardon in Tennessee: Eligibility, Filing, and Rights

To get a pardon in Tennessee, you submit an application to the Tennessee Board of Parole, which screens it against the governor’s published criteria, holds a clemency hearing if your case has merit, and sends a non-binding recommendation to the governor, who makes the final decision. The governor’s clemency power comes from Article III, Section 6 of the Tennessee Constitution, and only the governor can grant a pardon for a state conviction.

A pardon forgives the conviction. It does not erase it. But it can restore civil rights, remove barriers to jobs and licenses, and unlock further relief like expungement for certain offenses.

Confirm a Pardon Is What You Need

Tennessee offers three forms of executive clemency, and they do different things. A pardon forgives a conviction after you have completed your sentence. A commutation shortens a sentence and is generally sought by people still incarcerated or under supervision. An exoneration is reserved for people the governor finds actually did not commit the crime, and it automatically wipes the arrest, indictment, and conviction from the record and restores citizenship rights without a separate petition.¹ If your sentence is done and you are not claiming innocence, a pardon is the right form.

One boundary matters up front. The governor can only pardon Tennessee state convictions. Federal convictions require a presidential pardon through the U.S. Department of Justice, which is a separate process entirely.² A Tennessee pardon has no effect on a federal record.

Who Qualifies

No one has a right to a pardon. The decision is discretionary. But the governor’s application form spells out three criteria the Board uses to screen requests, and serious consideration goes to applicants who meet all three:

You have not been convicted, confined, or under community supervision for at least five years since completing the sentence you want pardoned.
You can show specific achievements and incident-free behavior demonstrating an extraordinary transformation since the conviction.
You can articulate a concrete reason the pardon matters, such as a career barrier, a licensing restriction, or the need to restore civil rights.

The offense itself matters. Violent crimes, sexual offenses, and crimes against children face steeper skepticism, and multiple convictions cut against the extraordinary-transformation standard. None of those factors is an absolute bar, though, because the governor retains full discretion. Post-conviction behavior carries substantial weight: steady employment, education, community involvement, and a clean record since the conviction. Even minor infractions after the fact undermine the exemplary citizenship requirement. Outstanding fines, forfeitures, and child support obligations must be disclosed, with certified copies of the orders.³

Fill Out the Application

The Board of Parole provides a standard form, BP-0245. It asks for your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number, contact information, and a complete list of every conviction from every jurisdiction, including juvenile offenses.³ Omissions or errors are not just embarrassing. They signal carelessness or dishonesty and can sink the application on their own.

Running your own background check before filing is smart practice, so you do not miss a conviction you forgot about or never knew was on your record. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation offers a name-based public criminal history check for $29.⁴ Fingerprint-based TBI checks run roughly $37 to $39 depending on the type.⁵ For out-of-state or federal records, the FBI’s Identity History Summary check is $18.⁶

Gather the Required Documents

The form lists specific documents that must accompany the application:

Certified copies of your convictions and judgments
A copy of any order granting probation
A copy of any order discharging you from probation or parole
Certified copies of any outstanding child support or fine orders, if applicable

Beyond the required items, prepare a personal statement. Explain the conviction, what has changed since, and exactly why you are asking for the pardon. Be specific. Name the job you were denied, the license you cannot get, the volunteer role you were turned away from. General talk about a fresh start is less persuasive than a concrete barrier the pardon would remove.

Letters of support strengthen the package when they come from people with firsthand knowledge of your character over time: employers, community leaders, faith leaders, longtime associates who can describe what they have seen rather than simply vouch for you.

Tennessee does not charge an application fee. Your costs are certified court records (typically $5 to $25 per document depending on the county) and the background checks above. Legal representation is not required. Attorneys who handle clemency cases generally charge flat fees ranging from several thousand dollars to $15,000 or more for complex cases. An attorney who has worked with the Board before can help frame the application in terms the reviewers respond to.

Where to File

Send the completed package to the Board of Parole at its Nashville office: 500 James Robertson Parkway, Davy Crockett Tower, 4th Floor, Nashville, TN 37243-0850.³ You can mail or hand-deliver it. Electronic submission is not currently available. If mailing, use certified mail with return receipt so you have proof of delivery. The Board does not return submitted documents, so keep copies of everything.

What Happens After You File

Board staff review the application to see whether you appear to meet the governor’s criteria. Files are processed in the order received, and complexity affects how long each takes. The Board has stated there is no fixed timeline, and the governor sets no deadline for acting on any application.⁷ Plan on many months at minimum.

If the file has enough merit, the Board schedules a clemency hearing. Not every applicant gets one, so a hearing itself signals your application passed the initial screen. The Board notifies the trial judge and the district attorney who prosecuted the case and invites their views. You may appear at the hearing, bring witnesses, and present additional evidence. Victims and their families may also submit statements, and the Board gives their input significant weight.⁸

After the hearing, the Board votes on a recommendation and forwards it to the governor. That recommendation is non-binding. The governor can grant or deny the pardon regardless of what the Board says.³

The Governor’s Decision

The final call belongs to the governor alone.³ There is no requirement to explain a denial and no formal appeals process. A denial is not a permanent bar to trying again, but expect to wait and build a stronger record before reapplying. If a pardon is granted, the governor issues a formal proclamation, which is filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State and becomes the official proof of the pardon.⁹

What a Pardon Actually Gives You

Expectations often collide with reality here. A pardon forgives the conviction. It does not remove it. Your record still shows the conviction, and background checks still find it. The record also reflects the pardon, which signals to employers and licensing boards that the governor reviewed your case and decided you deserve a second chance.

A pardon can open the door to restoring civil rights like jury service and holding public office, though restoration is not always automatic. Under Tennessee law, a person who receives a pardon restoring full citizenship rights can petition a court for formal restoration.¹⁰ For federal jury service, someone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison cannot serve unless civil rights have been restored, and a pardon with rights restoration satisfies that requirement.¹¹

Voting Rights

Tennessee’s voting restoration rules are among the most complex in the country, and a pardon is only one piece. Felony convictions on or before May 17, 1981 did not permanently strip voting rights, so registration is all that is needed. For later convictions, you must obtain a court order restoring your right to vote.¹²

To qualify for that court order, you must have received a pardon, completed your sentence, or been granted a certificate of final discharge from supervision. You must also have paid all restitution, be current on child support, and have paid all court costs or been found indigent by a court.¹³ Some convictions permanently disqualify a person from voting no matter what. For convictions on or after July 1, 2006, the permanently disqualifying offenses include murder, rape, treason, voter fraud, certain public corruption crimes, and felony sexual offenses against minors.¹² Different lists apply to earlier periods.

Firearm Rights

A Tennessee pardon, by itself, does not restore your right to possess firearms. The Tennessee Attorney General has stated that neither a pardon nor a restoration of citizenship rights automatically removes the firearms disability under state law.¹⁴ To regain firearms rights under Tennessee law, you generally must obtain either an expungement or a handgun carry permit through the appropriate legal channels.

Federal law adds a second layer. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), a state pardon can remove federal firearms disabilities, but only if firearms rights are fully restored under state law. A partial or restricted restoration is not enough.¹⁴ If firearms restoration is a main reason you are seeking a pardon, consult an attorney who understands both state and federal firearms law before you start.

Using a Pardon to Seek Expungement

For certain nonviolent offenses, a pardon is a prerequisite for expungement. Tennessee law defines an eligible petitioner for this route as someone who was convicted of a nonviolent crime, received a positive vote from the Board of Parole to receive a pardon, and then received the pardon from the governor.¹⁵

Expungement goes further than a pardon. Once granted, it treats the conviction as if it never happened, restoring you to the status you had before the arrest, indictment, and conviction, with no direct or indirect consequences imposed going forward.¹⁵ If you are eligible, pursuing expungement after a pardon delivers the most complete relief available short of an exoneration. Expungement has its own separate petition process through the court where you were convicted.

A Note for Non-Citizens

A state pardon has limited power over federal immigration consequences. Certain convictions, particularly those classified as aggravated felonies under immigration law, create permanent bars to establishing good moral character for naturalization, and a state pardon does not remove those bars.¹⁶ A pardon may still help in more limited ways with other immigration matters, but anyone in this situation should consult an immigration attorney before assuming the pardon will resolve their case.

1
State of Tennessee, Board of Parole. Executive Clemency Unit
2
U.S. District Court, Western District of Oklahoma. Applying for a Presidential Pardon
3
Tennessee Board of Parole. Application for Pardon
4
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Background Checks
5
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Notification of Fee Change – Tennessee Applicant Processing Services
6
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
7
Tennessee Board of Parole. Frequently Asked Questions – Clemency
8
Legal Information Institute. Tennessee Comp. R. and Regs. 1100-01-01-.16 – Duties and Procedures of Board in Executive Clemency Matters
9
Tennessee Secretary of State. Executive Reprieves, Pardons, Exonerations, and Commutations
10
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 40-29-105 – Felons Convicted of Infamous Crimes
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1865 – Qualifications for Jury Service
12
Tennessee Secretary of State. Restoration of Voting Rights
13
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 40-29-202 – Application for Voter Registration Card
14
Tennessee Attorney General. Opinion No. 15-75
15
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 40-32-101 – Destruction or Release of Certain Records
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character