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Tennessee Rules of Evidence – 2026

The Tennessee Rules of Evidence govern the admissibility of evidence in the state courts, covering relevance, privileges, witnesses, opinion and expert testimony, hearsay, authentication and writings.

Browse all 65 rules of the 2026 edition below. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules. Use the search box to find rules by keyword or number.

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Article I. General Provisions Article II. Judicial Notice Article III. Presumptions Article IV. Relevance Article V. Privileges Article VI. Witnesses Article VII. Opinions and Expert Testimony Article VIII. Hearsay Article IX. Authentication Article X. Contents of Writings, Recordings, and Photographs

Article I. General Provisions

Rule 101 Scope Rule 102 Purpose and Construction Rule 103 Rulings on Evidence Rule 104 Preliminary questions Rule 105 Limited admissibility Rule 106 Writings or recorded statements — Completeness

Article II. Judicial Notice

Rule 201 Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts Rule 202 Judicial notice of law

Article III. Presumptions

Rule 301 Reserved

Article IV. Relevance

Rule 401 Definition of "relevant evidence." Rule 402 Relevant evidence generally admissible; irrelevant evidence inadmissible Rule 403 Exclusion of relevant evidence on grounds of prejudice, confusion, or waste of time Rule 404 Character Evidence Not Admissible to Prove Conduct; Exceptions; Other Crimes Rule 405 Methods of Proving Character Rule 406 Habit; routine practice Rule 407 Subsequent remedial measures Rule 408 Compromise and offers to compromise Rule 409 Payment of Medical and Similar Expenses Rule 409.1 Expressions of Sympathy or Benevolence Rule 410 Inadmissibility of Pleas, Plea Discussions, and Related Statements Rule 411 Liability insurance Rule 412 Sex Offense Cases; Relevance of Victim's Sexual Behavior

Article V. Privileges

Rule 501 Privileges Recognized Only as Provided Rule 502 Limitations on Waiver of Privileged Information or Work Product

Article VI. Witnesses

Rule 601 General rule of competency Rule 602 Lack of personal knowledge Rule 603 Oath or affirmation Rule 604 Interpreters Rule 605 Competency of judge as witness Rule 606 Competency of Juror as Witness Rule 607 Who may impeach? Rule 608 Evidence of Character and Conduct of Witness Rule 609 Impeachment by Evidence of Conviction of Crime Rule 610 Religious beliefs or opinions Rule 611 Mode and Order of Interrogation and Presentation Rule 612 Writing used to refresh memory Rule 613 Prior Statements of Witnesses Rule 614 Calling and Interrogation of Witness by Court Rule 615 Exclusion of witnesses Rule 616 Impeachment by bias or prejudice Rule 617 Impeachment by impaired capacity Rule 618 Impeachment of expert by learned treatises

Article VII. Opinions and Expert Testimony

Rule 701 Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses Rule 702 Testimony by Experts Rule 703 Bases of Opinion Testimony by Experts Rule 704 Opinion on ultimate issue Rule 705 Disclosure of facts or data underlying expert opinion Rule 706 Court-Appointed Experts

Article VIII. Hearsay

Rule 801 Definitions Rule 802 Hearsay rule Rule 803 Hearsay Exceptions Rule 804 Hearsay Exceptions; Declarant Unavailable Rule 805 Hearsay within hearsay Rule 806 Attacking and supporting credibility of declarant

Article IX. Authentication

Rule 901 Requirement of Authentication or Identification Rule 902 Self-Authentication Rule 903 Subscribing Witnesses' Testimony

Article X. Contents of Writings, Recordings, and Photographs

Rule 1001 Definitions Rule 1002 Requirement of original Rule 1003 Admissibility of duplicates Rule 1004 Admissibility of Other Evidence of Contents Rule 1005 Public records Rule 1006 Summaries Rule 1007 Testimony or written admission of party Rule 1008 Functions of court and jury