Consumer and protected-consumer security freeze
Tenn. Security Freeze
Credit reporting · Children · Financial
Lets Tennessee consumers freeze their credit reports so that a consumer reporting agency cannot release the report or score for new credit without the consumer's authorization. A separate section lets a parent or guardian place a freeze for a child under 16 or an incapacitated adult, creating a record if no credit file yet exists.
- Where
- Tennessee
- Citation
- Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-18-2108, 47-18-2109, 47-18-2111
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 2008-09-01
- Enforced by
- Tennessee Attorney General (sole authority over § 47-18-2108(f)); consumers for other violations
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Remedies set out in § 47-18-2108 and part 21 (including TCPA remedies through § 47-18-2106); protected consumers have all § 47-18-2108 remedies. Specific dollar amounts were not verified.
- Applies to
- Consumer reporting agencies that hold consumer reports on Tennessee consumers
- Protected consumers: individuals under 16 and incapacitated persons with a guardian or conservator (§ 47-18-2111)
What a privacy notice must say
- Send written confirmation within ten business days with a unique PIN or password (not the SSN) for lifting or removing the freeze.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2108(c)
- Give consumers notice of their security-freeze rights.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2109
Rights it gives people
- A Tennessee consumer may place a security freeze on their consumer report; the agency must offer an electronic request method.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2108(a)
- A representative may place a protected-consumer security freeze for a child under 16 or an incapacitated person, and the agency must create a record if it has no file.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2111(a)
Practices it requires
- Place the freeze within three business days of receiving the request.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2108(b)
Sources
- Official text
- 2007 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 170, § 4 (security freeze effective Sept. 1, 2008), Tennessee Secretary of State
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2108 (2025 code text and history, Justia)
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2111 (2025 code text and history, Justia)
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Code history lists amendments by 2018 ch. 595 and 2025 ch. 94 (§ 47-18-2108) and 2019 ch. 459 (§ 47-18-2111); their effective dates and content (for example, whether fees were eliminated) were not confirmed from the session laws. | The content of § 47-18-2109 was not read; its obligation is summarized from its section heading. | The protected-consumer freeze (2015 ch. 282) effective date was not confirmed.
Research reference, not legal advice.