(a) In case the lawful owner or holder of the instrument secured, as provided in this part, shall be unable to produce same at the time of making application for such release, on account of same having been lost, destroyed or mislaid, the lawful owner or holder of the instrument secured shall subscribe and swear to an affidavit, before the register or deputy, hereby duly authorized to administer such oaths, stating that such person is the true and lawful owner or holder of the instrument thereby secured, and stating briefly the facts which account for the inability of the owner or holder to produce such instrument.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 66-25-207

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The affidavit, excusing production, shall be substantially in the following form:

State of Tennessee

County of ______________

I, ______________, do hereby solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am the true and lawful owner or holder of the note (or other instrument) secured by a lien created by an instrument which is of record in Deed (or Trust) Book ____________________, page ____________________, of the register’s office of ____________________ County, Tennessee; that I desire to make a marginal release of the lien securing the instrument (in whole or in part, as the case may be – specifying the extent); that the same has been fully paid (wholly or in part, as the case may be – specifying the extent) to me as such lawful owner and holder, and that I am unable to produce the original note (or other instrument) for the following reasons: (Here state briefly the facts showing why the secured instrument cannot be produced for cancellation, and that its loss, etc., was unintentional).

______________ Owner or Holder of Note

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this the ____________________ day of ____________________, 20____________________.

______________ Register or Deputy

(c) Any person who shall willfully swear falsely in the affidavit is guilty of perjury, and liable to the penalty for perjury upon conviction.
(d) The affidavit shall be filed with the register, and shall be recorded by the register in a well-bound book to be kept by the register in the register’s office, and the original affidavit shall be filed and preserved as a record of the register’s office.
(e) In case the affidavit is made, the register shall charge a fee of one dollar ($1.00) for filing and recording the same, in addition to the register’s fee for attesting the marginal release, these fees to be paid by the party making the release.
(f) Upon the making of the affidavit, the register or the register’s deputy shall permit a party to make the marginal release upon the record, where the original secured instrument is not produced, this release to be duly attested by the register or the register’s deputy.
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