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Qualifications for County Offices

County Executive

  • Basic qualifications of TCA 8-18-101:  and

  • Shall be:​

  1.  A qualified voter of the county;​

  2.  At least 25 years of age; and

  3.  A resident of the county for at least 1 year prior to the date of filing a nominating petition for election to such office.

  • Shall continue to reside in the county during the term of office and shall not, during the term of office, hold any other public office for profit. (TCA 5-6-104)​

County Commissioner

  • Basic qualifications of  TCA 8-18-101; and

  • Shall reside within and be a qualified voter of the district represented. (TCA 5-5-102)

Sheriff

  • Basic qualifications of TCA 8-18-101; and

  • No person shall engage in the practice of law or serve as a member of the general assembly while serving as sheriff. (TCA 8-8-101)

  •  A person shall:

  1. Be a citizen of the United States;​

  2. Be at least 25 years of age prior to the date of qualifying for election;

  3. Be a qualified voter of the county and a resident of the county for one (1) full year prior to the date of the qualifying deadline;

  4. Have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent in education training as recognized by the Tennessee state board of education;

  5. Not have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to or entered a plea of nolo contendere to any misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or any felony charge or any violation of any federal or state laws or city ordinances relating to force, violence, theft, dishonesty, gambling,  liquor or controlled substances;

  6. Be fingerprinted and have the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation make a search of local, state, and federal fingerprint files for any criminal record. Fingerprints are to be taken under the direction of the T.B.I. It shall be the responsibility of the T.B.I. to forward all criminal history results to the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) commission for evaluation of qualifications;

  7. Not have been released, separated, or discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States with a Dishonorable or Bad Conduct discharge, or as a consequence of conviction at court martial for either state or federal offenses;

  8. Have been certified by a Tennessee licensed health care provider qualified in the psychiatric or psychological fields as being free any disorder, as set forth in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM III) or its successor, of the American Psychiatric Association; at the time of the examination, that would, in the professional judgment of the examiner, impair the subject’s ability to perform any essential function of the job; and

  9. Have at least three (3) years of full-time experience as a peace officer standards and training commission certified law enforcement officer in the previous ten (10) years or at least three (3) years of full-time experience as a state or federal certified law enforcement officer with training equivalent to that required by the peace officer standards and training commission in the previous ten (10) years.  (This requirement does not apply in any county having a metropolitan form of government where the sheriff does not have law enforcement powers.)

  10. Not have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to or entered a plea of nolo contendere to any felony charge or violation of any federal or state laws relating to controlled substance analogues.

  11. Shall file with the POST Commission,

  • An affidavit sworn to and signed by the candidate affirming that the candidate meets the requirements of this section; and

  • A confirmation of psychological evaluation form certified by the psychologist/psychiatrist providing psychological evaluation as provided for in §8-8-102(a) (8) for the purposes of sheriff candidacy qualification.

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Trustee

  • Basic qualifications of TCA 8-18-101

  • Shall reside within the county (TCA 8-48-101)

Register of Deeds

  • Basic qualifications of  TCA 8-18-101

  • Shall reside within the county (TCA 8-48-101) 

Court Clerks

  • Basic qualifications of TCA 8-18-101

  • Shall reside in the county (TCA 8-48-101)

Assessor of Property

  • Basic qualifications of TCA 8-18-101

  • Shall reside in the county (TCA 8-48-101)

  • No member of the county legislative body shall be eligible to hold the office of assessor (TCA 67-1-503)

Circuit Court Clerk

  • Basic qualifications of TCA 8-18-101; and

  • Shall reside in the county wherein the court is held. (TCA 18-1-102) 

School Board Member

  • Basic qualifications of TCA 8-18-101

  • Shall reside within district represented (TCA 49-2-201)

  • Be a qualified voter of the district represented (TCA 49-2-201)

  • Shall have obtained a high school diploma or GED

  • No member of the County Commission or any other public official or employee of the Board of Education shall be eligible

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