State notification register
Tennessee data breach notification law: immediately.
Tennessee's breach-notification obligations are set by Tenn. Code Ann. 47-18-2107. This page summarises the deadline to notify affected residents, the attorney general notification threshold, whether a private right of action exists, and the penalties for late or missing notification. Every provision is cited to its source statute and was verified in June 2026.
Individual deadline
45 days
From discovery / determination
AG notification
Not required
No mandatory AG notification for private-sector breaches
Private action
Yes
Affected customers may sue to recover damages and obtain injunctive relief
Statute
TN
Tenn. Code Ann. 47-18-2107
Section TN.1
What the statute requires
Under Tenn. Code Ann. 47-18-2107, a business that owns or licenses computerized personal information of Tennessee residents must notify affected individuals immediately, but no later than 45 days from discovery or notification.
Attorney general notification: no mandatory ag notification for private-sector breaches.
Section TN.2
What triggers notification
Like most US state statutes, notification is triggered by the unauthorized acquisition of unencrypted, unredacted computerized personal information that compromises its security, confidentiality, or integrity. Two concepts recur across the states and apply here.
Encryption safe harbor
Personal information that was encrypted, and where the encryption key was not also acquired, generally does not trigger notification. A stolen device with full-disk encryption is typically a non-event; an unencrypted record, or an encrypted record where the key was exposed alongside it, is a reportable breach.
Who must be notified
- [1] Affected Tennessee residents: 45 days
- [2] Attorney general / state agency: no mandatory ag notification for private-sector breaches
- [3] Consumer reporting agencies where the breach is large-scale
Section TN.3
Penalties and enforcement
AG may pursue civil penalties, injunctive relief, and restitution; class actions restricted.
Private right of action: Yes. Affected customers may sue to recover damages and obtain injunctive relief.
Primary source:Tennessee statute Tenn. Code Ann. 47-18-2107; verified June 2026 against state statutory summaries and the underlying statute text.
Section TN.4
How this compares to the strictest states
The strictest US deadlines are 30 days (California, Florida, Washington, Colorado, Maine, New York, New Jersey). The majority of states use a qualitative "without unreasonable delay" standard with no fixed day cap. Here is where Tennessee sits.
Tennessee imposes a fixed 45-day deadline. The strictest states cut this to 30 days, so Tennessee sits 15 days behind the tightest regimes.
Cross-references
Index / All 50 states + DC
→The full register: deadline and AG threshold for every state.
Schedule 09 / Notification laws
→Global frameworks and the cost of notification.
01 / Breach cost calculator
→Estimate your Tennessee breach exposure, including notification cost.
Regulation / GDPR
→The 72-hour clock and 4%-of-revenue fine framework.
Cost / Notification
→Why notification is roughly 6% of total breach cost.
Schedule F / Reference Q&A
Frequently Asked Questions
Primary source:Tennessee data breach notification statute (Tenn. Code Ann. 47-18-2107). Provisions verified June 2026 against state statutory summaries (Recording Law US data-privacy series, 2026 edition), the IAPP US State Data Breach Notification Chart, Foley & Lardner's chart, and the underlying statute text.