Robertson County Background Check
Robertson County background check records are kept by the Circuit Court Clerk, the General Sessions Court, and the Robertson County Sheriff's Office in Springfield. This page explains how to request records locally and how to run a full Tennessee statewide search.
Robertson County Quick Facts
Robertson County Circuit Court Clerk
The Robertson County Circuit Court Clerk's office is at the Robertson County Courthouse in Springfield, Tennessee. The clerk keeps records for all criminal and civil cases filed at the circuit court level in Robertson County. This includes felony criminal cases, major civil suits, and appeals. Records here are open to the public under the Tennessee Public Records Act.
You can request records in person at the courthouse or by mailing a written request. When making a request, include the full name of the person you are searching, any case numbers you have, and the date range you need. The office has a public access terminal where you can search for cases by name. Staff can pull files for inspection. Fees apply for printed copies and for certified copies. Call ahead to get the current fee schedule before sending a payment by mail.
Robertson County sits just north of Davidson County and sees a fair amount of court activity from residents who work in the Nashville area. The Circuit Court Clerk handles the most serious criminal matters. All access to records is governed by T.C.A. § 10-7-503, which requires public records to be open for inspection during normal business hours.
Robertson County General Sessions Court
The General Sessions Court in Robertson County processes misdemeanor criminal cases, traffic violations, civil disputes under the court's jurisdictional limit, and preliminary hearings for felonies. Misdemeanor convictions from General Sessions appear in background checks just like circuit court records do. These records are kept at the Robertson County Courthouse in Springfield.
If you need records of a lower-level criminal matter, a traffic case, or a preliminary hearing from Robertson County, the General Sessions clerk is the right contact. Call the main courthouse number and ask to be connected to General Sessions. In-person visits during business hours let you search directly and get copies on the spot. Not every older General Sessions record is available through the state's online case search, so a direct visit may be necessary for historical records.
Preliminary hearing records are worth noting. When a felony is charged in Robertson County, the case usually passes through General Sessions first. The preliminary hearing record, including the initial charge and any bond information, is public and part of the criminal history for that individual even if the case is later transferred to Circuit Court.
Robertson County Sheriff's Office
The Robertson County Sheriff's Office maintains arrest records, incident reports, and jail records for law enforcement activity across the county. A records check through the sheriff's office shows only Robertson County arrests. It will not include arrests in neighboring counties like Davidson, Montgomery, or Sumner. For a full Tennessee criminal history, use the TBI TORIS system.
The sheriff's office is located in Springfield. Contact the records division to ask about submitting a request for arrest or incident reports. Fees vary by document type. Some booking and inmate information may be available online through the county website or sheriff's office jail roster page. Always call ahead to confirm what is available and how to request it, since procedures can change.
If you need to verify current jail status for someone in Robertson County, the sheriff's office is the correct contact. Some counties post live or daily-updated booking logs online, so check the Robertson County website first. For state prison custody, use the FOIL system described later on this page.
Statewide Background Checks - TBI TORIS
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation offers a statewide name-based background check through the TORIS system at tbibackgrounds.tbi.tn.gov. The cost is $29. A TORIS search covers criminal history records from all 95 Tennessee counties, including Robertson County. Results include arrests and dispositions reported to the TBI. You submit the request online and get results through the portal.
Name-based searches can return results for multiple people with the same name. This is a known limitation of the system. A fingerprint-based search is more precise and available through IdentoGO, but it requires an ORI number and is generally used by employers and authorized agencies rather than individual requesters. Most people doing their own background check use the name-based TORIS option.
You can also submit a paper request by mail to the TBI at 901 R.S. Gass Blvd., Nashville, TN 37216. Call 615-744-4057 for assistance. Full details on search types are on the TBI background checks page.
Public Records Access - T.C.A. § 10-7-503
Tennessee's Public Records Act, T.C.A. § 10-7-503, gives any Tennessee citizen the right to inspect public government records. Robertson County courts and agencies must make non-exempt records available during regular business hours. You do not need a reason to request court records. Most background check requests in Robertson County are handled without difficulty.
Records that are exempt from public access include juvenile records, sealed cases, and active law enforcement investigative files. If a custodian denies your request, they must provide a written reason. You can appeal any denial to the Tennessee Office of Open Records Counsel. The state strongly supports public access, and routine denials are uncommon for standard court record requests.
Expungement - T.C.A. § 40-32-101
Under T.C.A. § 40-32-101, some Robertson County criminal records are eligible for expungement. If a charge was dismissed, a grand jury returned no true bill, or a person was released without being charged, they can petition the court to destroy those records. There is no filing fee for this type of petition under Tennessee law.
Certain conviction records may also qualify for expungement. The offense must not involve the use of physical force, a deadly weapon, or a sex crime requiring registration. Once the court grants an expungement order, all public records of the case are destroyed and the person's status is legally restored to what it was before the arrest. Petitions are filed with the Robertson County Circuit Court Clerk in Springfield.
Felony Offender Records - FOIL
The Tennessee Department of Correction's Felony Offender Information Lookup is available free at apps.tn.gov/foil-app. The tool is open to the public with no login required. You can search by name and see current custody status, facility location, booking photo, sentence information, and earliest parole eligibility date for anyone in the Tennessee state prison system. Robertson County residents who received a state sentence will show up in these results.
FOIL covers all Tennessee Department of Correction offenders statewide, not just Robertson County cases. Results update within one week of any change in status. This is the fastest free option for checking whether someone is currently serving time in a Tennessee state facility. For federal cases, use the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator at bop.gov. For local Robertson County jail holds, contact the sheriff's office directly.
Cities in Robertson County
Robertson County includes Springfield, the county seat, along with several smaller communities. No cities in Robertson County currently meet the population threshold for individual city pages on this site. Background check and court records for all Robertson County residents are processed through the courthouse in Springfield.
Nearby Counties
Robertson County borders several Tennessee counties as well as Todd County, Kentucky to the north. Each has its own clerk's office and court system.