Keeping your judgment enforceable is a fairly straightforward process in Tennessee.

A Tennessee judgment is good for ten years. Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-110.

Rule 69.04 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure allows a party to renew her judgment within ten years from entry of judgment. To do so, the judgment creditor must move the court for such an extension. This is often done in the general sessions court, depending on the amount of the judgment.

Notice must be sent to the judgment debtor’s last known address. Certified mail is not required, but is a good idea. The judgment debtor then has 30 days in which to show cause why the judgment should not be extended.

This process can be repeated basically forever until the judgment is satisfied.

It’s important to note that notice to show cause must be mailed to the debtor (but not, necessarily the motion see King v. King (Tenn. App. 2013). Just filing in court without notice is not enough but is a fairly common mistake.

The motion for extension should be filed before the 10 years is up. If the order is nunc pro tunc (which means “now for then”) to an earlier date, the earlier date is the effective date. Cook v. Alley (Tenn. App. 2013).

If you need help with this, please let me know.