The short answer to the question of whether you have to be a resident of Tennessee in order to file bankruptcy in Tennessee is: YES, but .  .  .

You don’t have to be a resident very long however.  You’ve got to be a resident of the state in which you file your bankruptcy case for at least 90 days before filing your petition.

However, if you haven’t lived in Tennessee for 90 days, then you can file in the state where you resided (or had your principal place of business) for a majority of the last 180 days before the filing of your bankruptcy case.  This is true whether you are considering filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy or a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

So let’s say you formerly were a resident of Tennessee, moved away during the last 60 days and are now a resident of South Carolina.  You’ve live there for only 60 days, and in Tennessee for 120 of the last 180 days.  In that case you’d file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy (or any other kind of bankruptcy) in Tennessee.