Tennessee harassment laws, set out in T.C.A. 39-17-308, make it a Class A misdemeanor to intentionally threaten someone, contact them without a lawful purpose to alarm or frighten them, falsely tell them a relative has been killed or injured, or send them a threatening image. A conviction carries up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and fines up to $2,500, and the charge can rise to a Class E felony in specific circumstances. Victims also have separate tools available: stalking charges when the behavior forms a pattern, and orders of protection through the civil courts.
What Counts as Harassment
The statute lists four kinds of conduct, and each one requires that the person acted intentionally. Being rude, careless, or annoying is not enough on its own.
- Sending a communication meant as a threat of harm, when a reasonable person would also read it as a threat. The medium does not matter: phone, text, email, social media, or in person.
- Contacting someone, anonymously or not, with the intent to annoy, offend, alarm, or frighten them, when the contact actually has that effect.
- Telling someone that a relative or other person has been killed or injured, knowing the statement is false, with the intent to harass.
- Transmitting or displaying an image, without legitimate purpose and with malicious intent, so that a reasonable person would perceive it as a threat of harm.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-308 – Harassment
Digital conduct is covered the same as anything else. A threatening direct message counts the same as a threatening phone call, and the image-based subsection was added specifically to reach threats sent electronically.
Penalties for a Harassment Conviction
A standard harassment offense is a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor tier in Tennessee. A judge can impose up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.2Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Felonies and Misdemeanors Probation, community service, or counseling are also on the table, particularly in cases connected to domestic disputes.
The charge becomes a Class E felony in one specific situation the statute spells out. Someone who is incarcerated, on probation, on parole, on pretrial diversion, or serving community corrections commits a felony if they intentionally contact the victim of their original crime in a way that is anonymous, threatening, or offensively repetitive, without legitimate purpose, and while knowing the contact will alarm or annoy the victim. If the victim died from the original offense, the protection extends to the next of kin.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-308 – Harassment A Class E felony carries one to six years in prison and fines up to $3,000.2Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Felonies and Misdemeanors
A conviction also leaves a criminal record that can surface in job, housing, and licensing applications.
When Harassment Becomes Stalking
Harassment addresses individual incidents. When the behavior forms a pattern, T.C.A. 39-17-315 takes over. Stalking is defined as a course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened, and that actually produces that effect. A course of conduct means at least two separate acts showing a continuity of purpose.3Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-315 – Stalking, Aggravated Stalking
Basic stalking is a Class A misdemeanor with the same jail exposure and fine range as harassment. The offense escalates in two tiers:
- Aggravated stalking is a Class E felony. It applies when the stalker displays a deadly weapon, when the victim is under 18 (and the offender is at least five years older) or over 65, when the offender makes a credible death threat against the victim or their family, when the offender has a prior stalking conviction within seven years, or when the offender violates a protective order during the course of stalking.
- Especially aggravated stalking is a Class C felony, which carries three to fifteen years in prison and fines up to $10,000.2Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Felonies and Misdemeanors
The distinction between harassment and stalking controls which charges prosecutors can bring. A single threatening text is misdemeanor harassment territory. Repeated threats over days or weeks, combined with showing up at a home or workplace, put stalking charges and felony-level consequences in play.3Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-315 – Stalking, Aggravated Stalking
Getting an Order of Protection
Tennessee allows victims of stalking, domestic abuse, sexual assault, observation without consent, and unlawful photography to petition for an order of protection under T.C.A. 36-3-601. The order can prohibit all contact, bar the respondent from the victim’s home or workplace, and require the surrender of firearms.4Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-601 – Definitions
One boundary to know upfront: a single harassing incident that does not amount to stalking, domestic abuse, or one of the other listed categories may not qualify for an order. Stalking victims do not need a prior relationship with the respondent, but the conduct still has to meet the statutory definition, which requires at least two acts.
How to File
File a sworn petition in the circuit, chancery, or general sessions court where you live, where the respondent lives, or where the conduct occurred. Tennessee prohibits filing fees for protection orders tied to domestic abuse, stalking, or sexual assault. If you can show an immediate and present danger, the court can issue a temporary ex parte order right away, before the respondent is notified. A full hearing must happen within 15 days of serving the order on the respondent, and at that hearing you have to prove the underlying conduct by a preponderance of the evidence.5Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-605 – Ex Parte Protection Order
How Long It Lasts
A granted order can last up to one year. Either party can ask the court to continue it for another year, and the renewal can repeat. Violations trigger longer extensions: up to five years for a first violation and up to ten years for a second or later violation.5Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-605 – Ex Parte Protection Order
What Happens if the Order Is Violated
Violating a protective order can bring civil or criminal contempt. On top of contempt, the judge must require the respondent to post a bond of at least $2,500, forfeitable on violation, and may assess a $50 civil penalty.6Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-610 – Civil or Criminal Contempt Stalking someone while knowingly violating a protective order is itself enough to lift the charge to aggravated stalking.3Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-315 – Stalking, Aggravated Stalking
How to Report Harassment
If there is an immediate threat, call 911. Otherwise, file a report with your local police department or sheriff’s office. Under T.C.A. 40-7-103, officers can make a warrantless arrest when they have probable cause to believe harassment occurred, particularly in domestic situations or when a protective order has been violated.7Justia. Tennessee Code 40-7-103
Online harassment starts at the same place. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Cybercrime Unit does not take harassment complaints directly from victims; TBI requires a request from the District Attorney General before it will get involved and generally directs victims to local police first.8TN.gov. Cybercrime If your local department needs technical help, the investigating officer can coordinate through the DA’s office.
Suing for Damages
Criminal charges and a civil lawsuit are separate tracks, and one does not preclude the other. A harassment victim can sue for damages regardless of whether prosecutors pursue criminal charges. The civil burden is a preponderance of the evidence, a lower bar than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard used in criminal court.
The most common civil claim tied to harassment is intentional infliction of emotional distress. To win, you generally need to show the defendant’s conduct was intentional or reckless, that it was extreme and outrageous, and that it caused you severe emotional distress. Compensatory damages can cover therapy costs, lost wages, and medical expenses.
Tennessee caps noneconomic damages, meaning pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life, at $750,000 per injured plaintiff in most civil actions, with the cap rising to $1,000,000 in cases involving certain serious injuries. Economic damages are not capped.9Justia. Tennessee Code 29-39-102 – Civil Damage Awards
The filing deadline is short. You have one year from the date of the harassment to file a civil personal injury claim. If criminal charges are brought against the harasser within one year of the incident, the window extends to two years from the date the cause of action accrued.10Justia. Tennessee Code 28-3-104 – Personal Tort Actions Most civil harassment cases die from waiting too long.
When Federal Law Also Applies
Harassment that crosses state lines or runs through interstate tools like the internet, email, or phone networks can trigger federal law alongside the state charge. Under 18 U.S.C. 2261A, it is a federal crime to use electronic communication or other interstate facilities in a course of conduct that places someone in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes or would reasonably be expected to cause substantial emotional distress. The statute reaches threats aimed at the victim, immediate family, a spouse or intimate partner, and even pets or service animals.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2261A – Stalking
Federal prosecution is uncommon for ordinary harassment. It matters most when the harasser is in another state and hard to reach through Tennessee charges alone.
Documenting Harassment
The strength of your evidence shapes what any of these paths can accomplish, whether you are asking a court for a protective order, cooperating with an investigation, or preparing a civil suit.
For text messages, emails, and social media, capture entire conversations rather than isolated messages, and make sure the sender’s phone number, username, or email address is visible in at least one screenshot. If the sender is saved in your contacts under a name, screenshot the contact entry too so there is no ambiguity about who was on the other end. Reveal timestamps if they are hidden by default. Certified phone records from your carrier back up screenshots by independently confirming when messages were sent or received.
Also keep a written log of in-person incidents with date, time, location, what happened, and any witnesses. Save voicemails, note unwanted visits, and photograph damaged property or items left at your home. This habit works best when you start it early, before you know whether things will escalate. Investigations built on documentation move; investigations built on memory stall.