What Are the Penalties for False Accusations in Tennessee?

The penalties for false accusations in Tennessee range from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony on the criminal side, plus civil liability for defamation, malicious prosecution, and, in some cases, intentional infliction of emotional distress. Which charge applies depends on where the lie was told: to a police officer, under oath in court, on an official form, or in a report of child abuse. A person wrongly accused can pursue money damages separately from any criminal case the state brings against the accuser.

Criminal Charges for False Reports to Police

T.C.A. 39-16-502 covers three situations: reporting a crime that never happened, giving false information during a legitimate police inquiry with intent to interfere with the investigation, and circulating a fake emergency report such as a bombing, active shooter, or fire.¹

A false report to law enforcement under the first two subsections is a Class D felony, regardless of whether the fabricated crime would itself have been a felony or a misdemeanor. A false emergency report is a Class C felony, reflecting the danger created when responders mobilize for a threat that does not exist.¹

Perjury and Aggravated Perjury

Tennessee separates ordinary perjury from the more serious version that happens in court. Basic perjury under T.C.A. 39-16-702 is any false statement made with intent to deceive, whether under oath, on a document that warns about perjury penalties, or in a declaration made under penalty of perjury. It does not require a courtroom setting or that the lie matter to any particular case. Basic perjury is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a fine up to $2,500.²

Lying on a handgun carry permit application or a sex offender registration form raises perjury to a Class E felony.²

Aggravated perjury under T.C.A. 39-16-703 is what most people mean when they talk about lying in court. Three things must be true: the person committed perjury as defined in the basic statute, the false statement was made during or in connection with an official proceeding, and the statement was material to that proceeding. Aggravated perjury is a Class D felony.³ The materiality requirement means the lie has to be capable of influencing the outcome. A trivial falsehood about something irrelevant to the proceeding does not qualify.

False Child Abuse Allegations

Fabricating a child abuse claim is its own crime. T.C.A. 37-1-413 targets anyone who knowingly and maliciously reports a false accusation of child sexual abuse or falsely claims a child has been injured through brutality, abuse, or neglect. Helping or encouraging someone else to file such a report counts too. The offense is a Class E felony.⁴

The statute requires both knowledge that the report is false and malicious intent. An honest but mistaken report does not qualify. This charge surfaces most often in custody disputes, where one parent invents abuse allegations to gain an advantage. Even a fabricated claim can trigger invasive child protective services investigations, emergency custody changes, and reputational damage before anyone establishes that the accusation was false.

Prison Time and Fines by Offense Class

Tennessee sets a sentencing range for each felony and misdemeanor class. The range for any particular defendant depends on their offender classification, which accounts for prior criminal history. A standard first-time offender falls into Range I.⁵

Repeat offenders face longer sentences. A Range II multiple offender convicted of a Class D felony faces 4 to 8 years, and a Range III persistent offender faces 8 to 12 years. Courts can also add probation, community service, or counseling to any sentence.

Civil Lawsuits You Can Bring

Criminal charges punish the accuser for misleading the justice system. Civil lawsuits compensate the person who was wrongly accused. They are separate proceedings, and the same false accusation can produce both at once.

Defamation

A defamation claim requires proof that the false statement was communicated to someone other than the accused, that the accuser knew it was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth, and that the statement caused actual harm. Tennessee recognizes libel for written statements and slander for spoken ones, and the two carry different filing deadlines.

When a false accusation imputes a crime to the victim, Tennessee historically treats it as defamation per se. The court presumes harm without requiring proof of specific financial losses. That matters because concrete, measurable damage is usually the hardest element to prove in an ordinary defamation case.

Malicious Prosecution

When a false accusation actually leads to criminal charges or a civil lawsuit, the person wrongly prosecuted can sue for malicious prosecution. Tennessee requires that the underlying case ended in the accused person’s favor and that the ending reflected on the merits rather than a procedural technicality.⁷ A dismissal negotiated as part of a plea deal on other charges would not count. The plaintiff also has to show the original case was started without probable cause and with malicious intent. Damages can include legal fees, lost wages, and compensation for emotional harm.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

The Tennessee Supreme Court has recognized intentional infliction of emotional distress as a separate claim. The plaintiff must prove the conduct was intentional or reckless, so outrageous that civilized society would not tolerate it, and caused serious mental injury.⁸ The bar is deliberately high. A false accusation on its own is not automatically outrageous enough. The behavior has to go well beyond ordinary offensiveness — think fabricated physical evidence, coached witnesses, or a sustained campaign of false reports meant to destroy the target’s life.

Filing Deadlines for Civil Claims

Tennessee’s deadlines for these lawsuits are short, and missing one ends the case regardless of its strength.

Slander: six months from when the false words were spoken.⁹
Libel: one year from when the false written statement was published.¹⁰
Malicious prosecution: one year from when the underlying case is terminated in your favor.¹⁰

The six-month slander window is one of the shortest deadlines in Tennessee civil law. If someone falsely accuses you verbally in a public setting, the clock starts that day. When criminal charges arise from the same conduct, the statute of limitations for the related civil claim extends to two years, but only if the criminal prosecution was commenced within one year.¹⁰

Custody Consequences

False accusations hit hardest in family court. Tennessee decides custody based on the best interest of the child, and T.C.A. 36-6-106 lists evidence of physical or emotional abuse as a factor judges must weigh.¹¹ Even an unproven allegation can influence where a child lives, what visitation looks like, and whether it has to be supervised.

A parent accused of abuse may face supervised visitation or lose custody temporarily while child protective services investigates. The disruption to the parent-child relationship starts immediately, well before anyone reaches a conclusion. A parent caught fabricating allegations, on the other side, can see the custody arrangement modified against them, watch the dishonesty count in future best-interest determinations, or be ordered to pay the other parent’s legal fees for defending against the false claim.

What to Do If You Are Falsely Accused

The first hours and days after a false accusation matter more than most people expect. The natural instincts — confronting the accuser, explaining yourself to police — can both make things worse.

Decline to answer questions from law enforcement without an attorney present. Off-the-cuff statements often create contradictions that prosecutors later use against you.
Do not contact the accuser. Direct contact can bring additional charges, especially in domestic cases where a no-contact bond condition is standard. Even a message meant to clear things up can be reframed as intimidation.
Write down a timeline of events, locations, potential witnesses, and any related communications while your memory is fresh. Contemporaneous notes carry weight.
Preserve digital evidence. Save text messages, emails, social media posts, and other communications that contradict the false claim. Screenshot everything, since messages can be deleted.
Stay off social media. Anything you post publicly becomes potential evidence and can be taken out of context.
Hire a criminal defense attorney. Having counsel handle communications with prosecutors and law enforcement prevents the accidental statements that trip up people trying to manage the situation alone.

Show up for every hearing and comply with every court order. Failing to appear creates a bench warrant and new problems that quickly overshadow the original false accusation.

1
Justia. Tennessee Code 39-16-502 – False Reports
2
Justia. Tennessee Code 39-16-702 – Perjury
3
Justia. Tennessee Code 39-16-703 – Aggravated Perjury
4
Justia. Tennessee Code 37-1-413 – False Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse or False Accusation That a Child Has Sustained Any Wound, Injury, Disability or Physical or Mental Condition Caused by Brutality, Abuse or Neglect – Penalty
5
Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Felonies and Misdemeanors
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Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-112 – Sentence Ranges
7
Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Tennessee Supreme Court Extends Favorable Termination Standard for Claims of Malicious Prosecution
8
Supreme Court of Tennessee. Betty Saint Rogers v. Louisville Land Company
9
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 28-3-103 – Limitation of Actions
10
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 28-3-104 – Limitation of Actions
11
Justia. Tennessee Code 36-6-106 – Child Custody