Crime Numbers
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) provides crime statistics for Hamilton County. Its latest reports show that there were 26 murders, 169 rapes, 1,798 aggravated assaults, and 4,380 simple assaults in the county in 2018. Reported incidences of property crimes include 30 arsons, 2,079 burglaries, 353 robberies, 10,539 larceny thefts, and 1,845 motor vehicle thefts.
Compared to 2014 crime figures, rape (3%), aggravated assault (7.9%), simple assault (24.8%), and motor vehicle theft (33.1%) rates rose in Hamilton County in 2018. The five-year crime trend for the county also indicates falling murder (21.2%), arson (3.2%), burglary (32.7%), and larceny theft (2.5%) rates.
Criminal Records
The TBI also provides background checks for Hamilton County. It offers name-based criminal history checks for the general public. This provides an individual’s Tennessee criminal history. Use the Online Request Form to order a background check. Each request costs a non-refundable fee of $29 payable with Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit card.
Offense and accident reports for Hamilton County are available from the Sheriff’s Office. To speed up processing and reduce paperwork, the Sheriff’s Office provides a webform for requesting these police reports. Complete and submit the Incident Report Request Online form to receive a Hamilton County offense or accident report by email.
Residents can also obtain these reports by visiting the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office located at:
601 Walnut Street, Floor 1B
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 209-7111
Note that only reports completed by the officers of the Sheriff’s Office are available at this location. There are seven other law enforcement agencies in Hamilton County. Each has a jurisdiction that covers parts of the county. Contact these agencies to obtain copies of their police reports.
The TBI provides sex offender information for Hamilton County. State law empowers this agency to maintain a central database of registered sex offenders living in Tennessee. The TBI makes this database available online and searchable by the public. Search the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry to find registered offenders by name, offender ID, and zip code. Choose Hamilton from the County drop-down menu to restrict your search to this county.
The Sheriff’s Office runs that Hamilton County Jail. This detention facility is located at:
601 Walnut Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 209-7050
To find individuals booked into the county jail, search using the daily booking reports or inmate lookup tool provided by the Sheriff. Call the jail to enquire about sending money to an inmate in this facility.
Court Records
Hamilton County has a Chancery Court, a Circuit Court, a Criminal Court, a Juvenile Court, and a General Sessions Court with Civil and Criminal Divisions. These courts are located in the City of Chattanooga. There are nine Municipal Courts in the county including the one in Chattanooga. Below are the addresses and contact information of these courts:
Hamilton County Circuit Court
Hamilton County Courthouse
625 Georgia Avenue,
Room 500,
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 209-6700
Fax: (423) 209-6701
Hamilton County Chancery Court
Hamilton County Courthouse
625 Georgia Avenue,
Room 300,
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 209-6600
Fax: (423) 209-6601
Hamilton County Criminal Court
Hamilton County - Chattanooga Courts Building
600 Market Street,
Room 102,
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 209-7500
Fax: (423) 209-7501
Hamilton County General Sessions Court - Civil Division
Hamilton County Courthouse
625 Georgia Avenue,
Room 500,
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 209-6700
Fax: (423) 209-6701
Hamilton County General Sessions Court - Criminal Division
Hamilton County - Chattanooga Courts Building
600 Market Street,
Room 108,
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 209-7500
Fax: (423) 209-7501
Hamilton County Juvenile Court
1600 East 3rd Street,
Chattanooga, TN 37404
Phone: (423) 209-5100
Hamilton County Juvenile Court - Child Support Division
1221 East Main Street,
Chattanooga, TN 37404
Phone: (423) 209-5970
Chattanooga City Court
Hamilton County - Chattanooga Courts Building
600 Market Street,
Room 104,
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 425-6311
Fax: (423) 643-7587
Collegedale Municipal Court
4910 Swinyar Drive,
Collegedale, TN 37363
Phone: (423) 468-1891
Fax: (423) 396-3138
East Ridge City Court
City Hall
1517 Tombras Avenue,
East Ridge, TN 37412
Phone: (423) 867-2701
Fax: (423) 867-2712
Lakesite City Court
9201 Rocky Point Road,
Lakesite, TN 37379
Phone: (423) 842-2533
Fax: (423) 842-8110
Lookout Mountain Town Court
710 Scenic Highway,
P.O. Box 111,
Lookout Mountain, TN 37350
Phone: (423) 821-1226
Fax: (423) 821-3193
Red Bank City Court
3117 Dayton Boulevard,
Red Bank, TN 37415
Phone: (423) 874-0055
Fax: (423) 875-8767
Signal Mountain Town Court
Town Hall
1111 Ridgeway Avenue,
Signal Mountain, TN 37377
Phone: (423) 531-4747
Soddy-Daisy Municipal Court
City Hall
9835 Dayton Pike,
Soddy-Daisy, TN 37379
Phone: (423) 332-5323
Walden City Court
P.O. Box 335,
Signal Mountain, TN 37377
Phone: (423) 886-4362
Fax: (423) 886-7953
The Hamilton County website hosts the records of these courts except the Municipal and City Courts. Visit the Chancery, Circuit, Criminal, Juvenile, Sessions – Civil, and Sessions – Criminal Court pages to access dockets for the respective courts. These pages also provide contact information for the Clerks of the different courts. Use the information to contact the Clerks and request for copies of court records where available.
Hamilton County also allows the public to search for the records of its Criminal Court and the Criminal Division of its General Sessions Court. Search for these court records from the Criminal Court portal and General Sessions Court portal.
Visit or call the municipal and city courts to enquire about obtaining their records.
Vital Records
The Circuit Court handles all divorce cases in Hamilton Court. The Circuit Court Clerk maintains all divorce records. To request for copies of a divorce judgement, visit or call the Clerk’s Office. The contact information for this office is:
Circuit Court Clerk
500 Courthouse
625 Georgia Avenue
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 209-6700
Fax: (423) 209-6701
The office opens to the public between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
The Hamilton County Clerk issues and maintains marriage licenses and provides an online search tool for finding these records. Use the Marriage License Search tool to search the county’s repository of marriage records from 1857 to the present.
To request for certified copies of a marriage certificate, complete and send the Marriage Records Request Form to:
Hamilton County Clerk
c/o Marriage License Records
625 Georgia Avenue, Rm. 201
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Office: (423) 209-6500
The County Clerk charges $5 per marriage certificate copy. Requesters can pick up their copies at the County Clerk’s Office or have them mailed to their addresses for an additional $1.19. Check or money order is accepted for fee payment. Make this payable to Hamilton County Clerk.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Office of Vital Records provides birth and death certificates for births and deaths that occurred in Hamilton County and anywhere in Tennessee. Their records cover births from the last 100 years to the present and deaths in the last 50 years. You can request for a birth or death certificate by visiting:
Hamilton County Vital Records Office
921 East Third Street
Chattanooga, TN 37403
Phone: (423) 209-8025
It opens to the public between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday. Alternatively, request these records by mail and fax. Start by downloading and completing an Application for a Certified Copy of Certificate of Birth or Death. When sending a request by email, enclose a photocopy of a government-issued ID and a check or money order for copy fee. Make this check or money order payable to Hamilton County. Send the completed application to:
Hamilton County Health Department
Vital Records
921 East Third Street
Chattanooga, TN 37403
To submit the complete application by fax, send it to (423) 209-8024 and then call Vital Records at (423) 209-8025 to provide credit card information. Visa, MasterCard, and Discover credit cards are acceptable. Vital Records charges $15 for each birth or death certificate.
