How Do I File for Probate in Tennessee?
Tennessee publishes no statewide petition for letters. The application for Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration is a verified pleading drafted to Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-117 and filed on each county's own local paperwork, so there is no official form for us to complete. In the two largest counties you also cannot file it yourself: Davidson County Probate Local Rule 39.01 requires that "all fiduciaries shall be represented by … attorneys licensed to practice law in Tennessee" (small estates and name changes excepted), and the Shelby County Probate Court will not let a person serve as executor or administrator without an attorney. Elsewhere in Tennessee self-representation is permitted (Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-1-109), and a small estate of $50,000 or less can be opened on the county's limited-letters petition instead.
Opening an estate in Tennessee
Tennessee has no statewide official fillable form for a petition for letters or for the Letters document. The application for Letters Testamentary or of Administration is a verified petition drafted to Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-117 (a typed pleading); the TN AOC's statewide form library (tncourts.gov self-help forms) publishes only Court-Approved Divorce Forms, Order of Protection Forms, and General Sessions Civil Court Forms — there is no probate family (re-verified 2026-07-13). Letters and supporting packets are generated per county by the Clerk & Master / probate court, e-filing is optional and adopted county-by-county, and even the small-estate path now requires a sworn petition for "limited letters" rather than a fillable affidavit (2023 Pub. Ch. 297; threshold $50,000, Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-4-102(9)). ON TOP OF the missing artifact, the two largest counties gate the filing behind counsel: Davidson County (Nashville) Probate Local Rule 39.01 — "With the exception of petitions by an adult to change his/her name and applications to open an estate pursuant to the Small Estate Exemption, all fiduciaries shall be represented by and all petitions and motions shall be filed by attorneys licensed to practice law in Tennessee" — and the Shelby County (Memphis) Probate Court, whose official guidance states that "the Courts will not allow a person to represent oneself in his or her capacity as a fiduciary, such as executor, administrator, conservator, or guardian … While serving as a fiduciary the person is not just representing oneself and therefore must have an attorney." That gate is LOCAL, not statewide: Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-1-109 gives any person the right to conduct their own case, and Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 09-156 records that no binding Tennessee authority makes petitioning for letters the unauthorized practice of law (while withdrawing the contrary blanket assurance and warning that the petition "may require the professional judgment of a lawyer"). Net: no statewide fillable artifact + a county-variable output + a counsel requirement in the counties holding roughly a quarter of the state's population. A self-service form fill is not viable.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Tennessee permits a self-represented person to open an estate and apply for Letters. What we do not do is produce the document for you here: tennessee publishes no statewide petition for letters. The application for Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration is a verified pleading drafted to Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-117 and filed on each county's own local paperwork, so there is no official form for us to complete. In the two largest counties you also cannot file it yourself: Davidson County Probate Local Rule 39.01 requires that "all fiduciaries shall be represented by … attorneys licensed to practice law in Tennessee" (small estates and name changes excepted), and the Shelby County Probate Court will not let a person serve as executor or administrator without an attorney. Elsewhere in Tennessee self-representation is permitted (Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-1-109), and a small estate of $50,000 or less can be opened on the county's limited-letters petition instead.
Chancery Court handles decedents' estates in Tennessee. Clerk & Master (where chancery exercises probate jurisdiction) or the probate/general-sessions court clerk, after the judge or clerk admits the will / grants the petition; all Letters are recorded by the clerk issues the Letters after the court grants the petition.
Letters Testamentary are issued when there is a will (to the executor); Letters of Administration are issued when there is no will (to an administrator). They give the personal representative authority to act for the estate.
