Knoxville Court Information, Location and Rules

Knoxville City Court is the municipal court of Knoxville. The Knoxville City Court is the one which primarily handles the traffic citations and parking tickets. Other city ordinances that the court handles are violations involving alcohol (non-DUI), animal control, business regulations, building and zoning codes, environmental concerns, excessive noise and ordinances which include personal behavior.

Municipal Court / City Court / Traffic Court

The Municipal Court has limited jurisdiction and is authorized under the Tennessee State Code Annotated and the City of Knoxville Charter. The court has original jurisdiction over cases that involve city ordinance violations. City judges have the authority to assess fines up to $50. Around 300 Tennessee cities have Municipal Courts with varied authority and jurisdiction.

City Court Hours

Court Service Counter working hours:
Monday – Wednesday – Friday – 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday – Thursday – 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings the service counter of the court reopens around 6:00 p.m. with limited service during night court session, and ends when the night court closes. During night court session, service counters focus mainly on people who are coming out of the courtroom. When you arrive at the court, if the service counter is not open, you need to enter the courtroom to let the clerk of court know that you only need to make payments or take care of court related business at the service counter.

Daily court sessions generally begin at 9:00 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. To learn more about court times visit http://www.ci.knoxville.tn.us/citycourt/.

The Knoxville City Court is located at 800 Howard Baker Jr. Avenue in the Safety Building with the Knoxville Police Department. The address detail is given below:

Court Administrator
Richard Wingate
800 Howard Baker Jr. Avenue
P.O. Box 2749
Knoxville, TN 37901-2749
865-215-4311
Fax: 865-215-7440
Email: citycourt@cityofknoxville.org

City Court and General Sessions Court

If you have a citation ticket that is pink or yellow in color and if it was issued in Knoxville, check it with the General Sessions Court and not the City Court. If you are 17 or younger, go to the Juvenile Court. A ticket issued by the City Court of Knoxville has a standard green color. There always been a confusion regarding the citation tickets. People who should be at the City Court are showing up at General Sessions Court and the ones who should be at the General Sessions Court are showing up at the City Court. So it is important to read your citation or ticket carefully. Here are the basic differences:

City Court:                                                                           
•    Green
•    Citations
•    Knoxville Police Department
•    Located at Safety Building with KPD
•    Plus UT Police and Codes Officers

General Sessions Court:
•    Pink or yellow citation or ticket
•    Sheriff’s Department (County Police)
•    TN State Troopers
•    Located at city/county building
•    May be arrested or have a booking date

If you have any questions or comments regarding city court issues, email citycourt@cityofknoxville.org. For further information regarding citations always make sure to include your name, address, date of birth, name of the citation, citation number, citation issue date and other comments if required.