How to get excused from jury duty in Anderson County, Tennessee
The excusal routes Anderson County, Tennessee actually recognizes — what each one needs, who decides, and where it goes.
Anderson does everything on its own forms, and it has four of them. The Clerk’s office supplied all four to this project on 10 September 2026. The hardship affidavit is the one most people need: seven tick-boxes taken straight from T.C.A. § 22-1-103, each wanting documentation rather than an essay — and an “Other” line for anything that does not fit. There is very little to write here and nothing for us to sell you; what matters is ticking the right box and attaching what that box asks for. Two things the forms make plain that are easy to get wrong. Being absent from work is not, on its own, a hardship — the affidavit says so in bold, quoting the statute. And over-75 is not age alone: it needs a physical or mental condition that prevents you serving. The Clerk also warns of a jury-duty scam — the office will never ask for your Social Security number, credit card or bank details over the telephone.
Your routes in Anderson County, Tennessee
DefermentIncluded — one, up to a year, on the county’s form
A deferral of up to one year on the county’s own form. You give a reason and a length. You may only do it once, and you are called back at the end of it.
JUROR REQUEST FOR DEFERRAL — Anderson County Circuit & Criminal Courts. The form asks for your name, address, phone, date of birth, email, a reason for requesting deferral, and a length of deferral “not to exceed 1 year”. Then it asks you to sign this: “I understand that by requesting this deferral, I am subject to being called back to jury service at the end of my deferral period and I cannot request another deferral at that time.”
A year is a generous deferral — most counties in this project measure theirs in weeks or months — and it is granted for ordinary reasons rather than hardship. If a holiday or a spell away is the whole problem, this is the answer and nothing else on this page applies to you.
But spend it deliberately. It is the only one you get, and the form makes you say so in writing before you get it.
See the full detail →A year is a generous deferral — most counties in this project measure theirs in weeks or months — and it is granted for ordinary reasons rather than hardship. If a holiday or a spell away is the whole problem, this is the answer and nothing else on this page applies to you.
But spend it deliberately. It is the only one you get, and the form makes you say so in writing before you get it.
Age 75 or olderOver 75 — and it is not age alone
The county has an Age & Limitation Excusal Form. It is not age by itself: you swear that you are over 75 AND have a physical or mental condition that prevents you serving.
AGE & LIMITATION EXCUSAL FORM, citing T.C.A. § 22-1-103 — Anderson County Circuit Court. “According to Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 22-1-103, a summoned juror over the age of 75 and that is incapable of performing jury service due to a mental or physical condition is eligible to opt-out of jury service.” The single box on the form reads: “Juror is over the age of 75 and has a physical and/or mental condition that prohibits the juror from performing jury service.”
Fifteen counties have now been asked whether age alone is enough. Anderson is a clear no — the threshold is 75 rather than the more common 70, and the condition is not optional. It is one box covering two facts, and both have to be true.
You need the form AND a doctor’s note. Both. That is confirmed: the office said so by email on 10 September 2026, and said it again on a telephone call on 11 September — asked twice in the same call whether somebody over 75 needs both, and answering yes both times.
The form gives you no clue about this. There is nowhere on it to attach a note and it asks you to swear the condition yourself. Ask which the office wants before you arrange anything.
The same ground also appears as a tick-box on the hardship affidavit, so there are two forms that reach it.
See the full detail →Fifteen counties have now been asked whether age alone is enough. Anderson is a clear no — the threshold is 75 rather than the more common 70, and the condition is not optional. It is one box covering two facts, and both have to be true.
You need the form AND a doctor’s note. Both. That is confirmed: the office said so by email on 10 September 2026, and said it again on a telephone call on 11 September — asked twice in the same call whether somebody over 75 needs both, and answering yes both times.
The form gives you no clue about this. There is nowhere on it to attach a note and it asks you to swear the condition yourself. Ask which the office wants before you arrange anything.
The same ground also appears as a tick-box on the hardship affidavit, so there are two forms that reach it.
Undue or extreme hardshipSeven boxes and an “Other” line — free, and there is nothing to sell
The county’s hardship affidavit lists seven grounds from T.C.A. § 22-1-103. Six want a tick and documentation. The seventh is a blank “Other” line.
JUROR REQUEST FOR UNDUE HARDSHIP AFFIDAVIT, under T.C.A. § 22-1-103 — Anderson County Circuit Court. The seven grounds, as the form prints them:
• a mental or physical condition making you incapable of jury service — documentation from a physician licensed to practice medicine required
• having to abandon a person under your personal care or supervision, where no appropriate substitute caregiver can be obtained
• costs with “a substantial adverse impact on the payment of the juror’s necessary daily living expenses”, or on those of anyone you principally support
• physical hardship that would result in illness or disease
• loss of compensation because you work out-of-state and that employer will not pay, or because your employer is not required to pay jurors and declines to
• being 75 or older and incapable of serving because of a mental or physical condition
• Other, with two blank lines
This is why there is nothing here for us to sell you. Six of the seven are boxes you tick and evidence you attach — no essay improves them. The seventh gives you two lines, which is not a document, it is a sentence.
Read the bold note before you rely on the financial grounds: “an undue or extreme physical or financial hardship does not exist solely based on the fact that a juror will be required to be absent from the juror’s place of employment.” Losing time is not the test. Losing the ability to meet necessary daily living expenses is.
And note who may sign: the juror, or the juror’s representative. If the person summoned cannot manage this themselves, somebody else can.
See the full detail →• a mental or physical condition making you incapable of jury service — documentation from a physician licensed to practice medicine required
• having to abandon a person under your personal care or supervision, where no appropriate substitute caregiver can be obtained
• costs with “a substantial adverse impact on the payment of the juror’s necessary daily living expenses”, or on those of anyone you principally support
• physical hardship that would result in illness or disease
• loss of compensation because you work out-of-state and that employer will not pay, or because your employer is not required to pay jurors and declines to
• being 75 or older and incapable of serving because of a mental or physical condition
• Other, with two blank lines
This is why there is nothing here for us to sell you. Six of the seven are boxes you tick and evidence you attach — no essay improves them. The seventh gives you two lines, which is not a document, it is a sentence.
Read the bold note before you rely on the financial grounds: “an undue or extreme physical or financial hardship does not exist solely based on the fact that a juror will be required to be absent from the juror’s place of employment.” Losing time is not the test. Losing the ability to meet necessary daily living expenses is.
And note who may sign: the juror, or the juror’s representative. If the person summoned cannot manage this themselves, somebody else can.
Caring for someone elseIncluded — a ground the office never mentioned
The hardship affidavit has a ground for having to abandon a person under your personal care where no appropriate substitute caregiver can be obtained.
JUROR REQUEST FOR UNDUE HARDSHIP AFFIDAVIT, under T.C.A. § 22-1-103. The second ground on the affidavit: to “be required to abandon a person under such juror’s personal care or supervision due to the impossibility of obtaining an appropriate substitute caregiver during the period of participation in the jury pool or on the jury.”
The load-bearing word is “impossibility”, and it is about the substitute rather than about you. The ground is not that caring is hard; it is that no appropriate substitute can be obtained for the period. A request that establishes only the first half leaves the office nothing to apply the second to.
Note also “personal care or supervision” — wider than a dependent child, and wide enough to cover an adult you look after.
See the full detail →The load-bearing word is “impossibility”, and it is about the substitute rather than about you. The ground is not that caring is hard; it is that no appropriate substitute can be obtained for the period. A request that establishes only the first half leaves the office nothing to apply the second to.
Note also “personal care or supervision” — wider than a dependent child, and wide enough to cover an adult you look after.
Not qualified to serveIncluded — a separate form, and a criminal warning on it
A separate Juror Disqualification Form for non-citizens, non-residents of Tennessee or of Anderson County, and felony convictions.
JUROR DISQUALIFICATION FORM — Anderson County Clerk of Courts, Seventh Judicial District. The form lists its causes plainly: non-US citizen; deceased; non-Tennessee resident; non-Anderson County resident; convicted of a felony, with the county and state of conviction to be given.
Residency is the commonest of these by far, because people move. It is the county that matters, not the state — and the form asks for a prior address if you have lived at your current one for less than three years, so have that ready.
The certification is sterner than on the other forms: “I understand that it is a Class A Misdemeanor for which I can be sentenced to jail for up to 11 months and 29 days or be fined up to $2,500.00 or both if I intentionally or knowingly misrepresent, falsify, or withhold any information.”
See the full detail →Residency is the commonest of these by far, because people move. It is the county that matters, not the state — and the form asks for a prior address if you have lived at your current one for less than three years, so have that ready.
The certification is sterner than on the other forms: “I understand that it is a Class A Misdemeanor for which I can be sentenced to jail for up to 11 months and 29 days or be fined up to $2,500.00 or both if I intentionally or knowingly misrepresent, falsify, or withhold any information.”
Medical excusalA physician licensed to practice medicine — and no details wanted
Documentation from a physician licensed to practice medicine, verifying that the condition renders you unfit for jury service. The office says it does not want the details — only whether you can serve.
JUROR REQUEST FOR UNDUE HARDSHIP AFFIDAVIT, first ground — with the office’s email of 10 September 2026. The form: “The juror has a mental or physical condition that causes that person to be incapable of performing jury service. The juror or juror’s representative must provide documentation from a physician licensed to practice medicine verifying the mental or physical condition renders the person unfit for jury service.”
The office, by email: “We do not need specifics on their medical, just if they can or cannot serve.” And: “if a doctor writes a note, they can put permanent excused or temporary. In our system we can permanently excuse someone where they will not get pulled again.”
Those two together are an unusually precise instruction, and they are why this entry costs anything. The form wants a conclusion — unfit for jury service — and the office wants nothing beyond it. A practice asked for “a note for jury duty” will usually supply a description of the condition, which is more than either asked for.
Four counties in this project have now said they want no clinical detail, and one has said the opposite and asked for the condition explained. There is no safe default; this instruction is Anderson’s and should not be carried anywhere else.
One more thing to check before the appointment: the form says a physician licensed to practice medicine. If your care comes from someone who is not a doctor, ask the office first.
The office, by email: “We do not need specifics on their medical, just if they can or cannot serve.” And: “if a doctor writes a note, they can put permanent excused or temporary. In our system we can permanently excuse someone where they will not get pulled again.”
Those two together are an unusually precise instruction, and they are why this entry costs anything. The form wants a conclusion — unfit for jury service — and the office wants nothing beyond it. A practice asked for “a note for jury duty” will usually supply a description of the condition, which is more than either asked for.
Four counties in this project have now said they want no clinical detail, and one has said the opposite and asked for the condition explained. There is no safe default; this instruction is Anderson’s and should not be carried anywhere else.
One more thing to check before the appointment: the form says a physician licensed to practice medicine. If your care comes from someone who is not a doctor, ask the office first.
$9.97 · prepared for you, reviewed before you send it.
Prepare your What Your Doctor Needs to Write →Contact the court
Circuit and Criminal Court Clerk, Anderson County — Room 301, 100 North Main Street, Clinton, TN 37716Jury line: (865) 463-6821
(865) 463-6821 is the number printed on the county’s own juror forms; fax (865) 264-6345. A second number reached this project by email; a call to the office on 11 September 2026 established that it is a named Deputy Clerk’s direct line, so it is not published here — the number above is the office. No confirmation is sent: the office goes over your documents and tells you then, so do not wait for a letter. Where it is unsure, it asks the judge or has you appear on orientation day to speak to the judge yourself. Scam warning from the Clerk: the office will never ask for your Social Security number, credit card or bank details over the telephone.
(865) 463-6821 is the number printed on the county’s own juror forms; fax (865) 264-6345. A second number reached this project by email; a call to the office on 11 September 2026 established that it is a named Deputy Clerk’s direct line, so it is not published here — the number above is the office. No confirmation is sent: the office goes over your documents and tells you then, so do not wait for a letter. Where it is unsure, it asks the judge or has you appear on orientation day to speak to the judge yourself. Scam warning from the Clerk: the office will never ask for your Social Security number, credit card or bank details over the telephone.
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JuryFree prepares documents and guidance from the facts you provide. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice or guarantee any outcome. Court rules and deadlines vary by county and change over time — confirm with the court before you rely on anything here. Questions: [email protected].