- Who sends it
- The trustee or substitute trustee named in the notice, by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested
- What it starts
- A sale that can take place as soon as 20 days after the first newspaper notice
- Do this first
- Call the trustee to confirm the date, then call legal aid and your servicer the same day
What this notice is in Tennessee
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-5-101, rewritten by Public Chapter 515 of 2025 and in effect since July 1, 2025, sets the advertising and mailing rules for a sale under a deed of trust. The notice names the trustee who will run the sale, the sale date and time, and the location, which can be a physical place or, if the sale is online, the website of the bidding platform (§ 35-5-101(g)).
The notice must also name the website of the third-party internet posting company that posts it online (§ 35-5-104(a)(7)). That website is where postponements are announced. The Secretary of State keeps a list of approved posting company websites.
How the deadlines count
- Newspaper: at least 2 times in a newspaper published in the county where the sale is held. The first must run at least 20 days before the sale (§ 35-5-101(a)(1), (b)).
- Online: posted by a third-party internet posting company for at least 20 continuous days, open to the public (§ 35-5-101(a)(2)).
- Mail: the trustee must send you and any co-debtor a copy on or before the first newspaper date, by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested (§ 35-5-101(d)).
- Where it is mailed: to the property address, and also to your last known address or a different address you gave the lender in writing at least 30 days before the first publication, if it differs from the property address.
What it does and does not mean
- It is not an eviction. You do not have to leave on the sale date, and the buyer must later go to court. See the detainer warrant.
- The sale can still be stopped by reinstating or paying off under your deed of trust, a postponement agreed with your servicer, a court order or a bankruptcy filing.
- The sale can be postponed for up to a year without new newspaper ads. See the notice of a postponed sale.
- Tennessee has no state foreclosure mediation program.
What to do this week
- Call the trustee named on the notice and your servicer. Ask both for a written reinstatement and payoff figure and exact payment instructions. In JCR, LLC v. Hance (2023), money wired to the servicer the evening before the sale did not stop it.
- Send a complete loss mitigation application. Federal rules give extra protection to a complete application received more than 37 days before the sale.
- Find free legal help through Help4TN. Bring the notice, the envelope and your deed of trust. If the notice was not mailed by certified mail by the first ad, or the ads ran late, show a lawyer.
- To stop a sale in court, a judge may not grant a restraining order or temporary injunction without a bond unless the case is brought on a pauper's oath (Tenn. R. Civ. P. 65.05).
- Read what to do when a Tennessee sale date is set and our national notice of sale page.
The rest of the Tennessee process
See how foreclosure works in Tennessee, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Tennessee, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
How much notice of a foreclosure sale do I get in Tennessee?
The first newspaper notice must run at least 20 days before the sale, with at least 2 newspaper notices and 20 continuous days online. Your mailed copy must be sent by the first newspaper date (Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-5-101).
Does Tennessee still publish foreclosure notices 3 times?
No. Public Chapter 515 of 2025, effective July 1, 2025, changed the rule to at least 2 newspaper publications plus at least 20 continuous days online.
Can a Tennessee foreclosure sale be held online?
Yes. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-5-101(g), the sale location can be the website of an internet bidding platform. Your notice says where the sale will be held.
Who is the substitute trustee on my Tennessee notice?
The person or firm appointed to run the sale for the lender. Call both the substitute trustee and your servicer, because in one Tennessee case dealing only with the servicer did not stop the sale.
Other Tennessee letters
- Default and acceleration letter (notice of default and right to cure)Tennessee has no state-required notice before a foreclosure is advertised, so the warning letter you get comes from your deed of trust. Many Tennessee deeds of trust require a letter naming the default, the amount to cure and a cure date at least 30 days away. Once that date passes, the lender can call the loan due and order a trustee's sale.
- Notice of postponed (rescheduled) trustee's saleA Tennessee trustee's sale can be postponed one or more times without new newspaper ads, as long as it is held within one year of the original date. Each new date is announced at the sale and online. You get a mailed notice only if the sale is pushed back more than 30 days.
- Trustee's Deed (Substitute Trustee's Deed)After the auction, the trustee gives the buyer a trustee's deed. For most Tennessee homeowners the sale is final, because the deed of trust waived the 2-year right to redeem. The deed is not an eviction order; the buyer still has to win a detainer case to remove you.
- Detainer warrantIf you stay after a Tennessee trustee's sale, the buyer must bring an unlawful detainer case to get possession, usually in General Sessions Court. The detainer warrant tells you the court date. The hearing can come within days, and if you miss it, the court can enter a default judgment and issue a writ of possession.
- Deficiency lawsuit (summons and complaint for a deficiency judgment)A Tennessee lender can sue for the balance left after a trustee's sale, but it must sue within 2 years after the sale. The law presumes the sale price was fair market value. If you prove the home sold for materially less, the court uses fair market value instead.