Handbook·Elections

Running for office in Tennessee

State page·Verified 2026-07-10

This page covers what's specific to Tennessee. Start with the general guide for the steps every candidate follows regardless of state.

Filing in Tennessee

Tennessee charges no ballot-access filing fee at the state level. Instead, you qualify by collecting signatures on a nominating petition, at least 25 from voters registered in the district you seek to represent. You must also sign the petition yourself, though that signature doesn't count toward the 25. Petitions can't be photocopied. Only original pages count, and the county election office or the Division of Elections will provide extra original pages if needed.

You file petitions with the county election commission in your county of residence. If your district spans more than one county, you also file certified duplicate copies with the election commission of every other county in the district. Political parties may charge their own separate qualifying fee for primary candidates, so check with the relevant party for those terms.

Deadlines and numbers

  • Default statutory qualifying deadline: 12:00 noon on the third Thursday of the third calendar month before an election or primary
  • 2026 August ballot: candidates had to qualify by Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at noon
  • Petitions cannot be issued more than 90 days before the qualifying deadline, so pickup windows typically open in January for an August election
  • No state filing fee. Parties may set their own qualifying fee for primary candidates

Deadlines shift for different office types and election dates. The dossier could not confirm a single, current statewide 2026 qualifying calendar covering every local office (county commission, school board, municipal). Confirm the exact date with your county election commission, or ask in /engage.

Where to go

  • Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections: sos.tn.gov/elections
  • Your county election commission for petition filing and county-specific deadlines
  • Statewide key dates document, published each cycle by the Secretary of State