2020 Tennessee Code
Title 20 - Civil Procedure
Chapter 2 - Process
Part 2 - Long-Arm Statutes
§ 20-2-205. Service on Secretary of State

Service of process under §20-2-203 shall be made by lodging, by the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney, the original summons and a copy certified by the clerk of the court in which action is brought, with a fee of twenty dollars ($20.00), with the secretary of state, who shall promptly send, postage prepaid, the certified copy by registered or certified return receipt mail to the defendant, along with a written notice that service was so made.

In case it appears, either before or after the lodging of process, as provided in subsection (a), that the nonresident is dead, then either original or alias process may issue, directed to the personal representative of the nonresident deceased and shall be sent, as provided in subsection (a), to the probate court of the county and state of the residence of the deceased at the time of the deceased's death. No appearance need be made nor shall judgment be taken against the personal representative until the lapse of sixty (60) days from the date of mailing the process to such probate court. The procedure for mailing such process and proof of service of process shall be as provided in this section and in §20-2-206 for the service upon living persons.

The fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) so paid by the plaintiff, when fact of payment is endorsed on the original process by the secretary of state, shall be taxed as plaintiff's cost, to abide the judgment.

Code 1932, §§ 8672, 8675; Acts 1949, ch. 47, § 3; C. Supp. 1950, § 8672; Acts 1955, ch. 265, § 2; 1971, ch. 332, § 1; 1980, ch. 656, §§ 1, 2; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 20-226; Acts 1998, ch. 890, § 7.

Compiler's Notes. Tenn. R. Civ. P. 4.04, wherein a copy of complaint must be forwarded, seems to supplement this section.

Cross-References. Certified mail in lieu of registered mail, §1-3-111.

Process, Tenn. R. Civ. P. 4.

Rule Reference. This section is referred to in the Advisory Commission Comments under Rule 12 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure.

Textbooks. Tennessee Jurisprudence, 4 Tenn. Juris., Automobiles, § 36.

Law Reviews.

Expanded Bases of Jurisdiction — An Examination of Tennessee's New “Long-Arm” Statute (Harry G. Nichols, Jr.), 18 Vand. L. Rev. 1484.

Cited: Thomas v. Altsheler, 191 Tenn. 640, 235 S.W.2d 806, 1951 Tenn. LEXIS 368 (1951); Keeble v. Loudon Utilities, 212 Tenn. 483, 370 S.W.2d 531, 1963 Tenn. LEXIS 442 (1963); Yox v. Durgan, 302 F. Supp. 1262, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9926 (E.D. Tenn. 1969); Loyd v. Littlejohn, 639 S.W.2d 657, 1982 Tenn. App. LEXIS 397 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1982).