Mississippi, Public Records Directory

Mississippi Public Records

Sponsored

Official Mississippi sources for criminal, court, vital, business and property records.

Start here

Mississippi record topics

Open a topic page for the official Mississippi offices that keep that kind of record.

Topic page New

Wage Theft Records

Every U.S. Labor Department wage and hour case in Mississippi by employer, with the back wages agreed and where to file a wage claim.

Open the topic page Wage Theft Records

State overview

About Mississippi public records

Circuit courts hear felonies and civil suits; chancery courts handle equity, divorce, wills and land records; justice courts hear misdemeanors and claims of $3,500 or less. Appeals go to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. Agency records fall under the Public Records Act, explained below.

For a Mississippi business contact lead, connect the telephone or email result with the relevant entity filing, license or local record. The Reverse Phone Lookup and Email Search guide explains contact-research sources and removal options; retain the Mississippi record number and date supporting any connection.

State snapshot

Quick tip: in Mississippi, land records are filed in chancery court, so deeds are searched at the chancery clerk's office of the county (Mississippi Judiciary, About the Courts).

Bonus tip: a Mississippi law enforcement incident report is a public record, even when the investigative report is withheld (Miss. Code § 25-61-12(2)(c)).

Open the dedicated background page for a deeper history, civic overview, and statewide public records context beyond the agency directory. Open the about page.

Find your county

Mississippi counties, click yours

Every county on the map opens its own records page, with the courts, clerk, sheriff and offices for that county.

The Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, photographed by Carol M. Highsmith
The Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, photographed by Carol M. Highsmith. Completed in 1903 on the site of the old state penitentiary, it houses the Legislature.Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. No known restrictions on publication. See the catalog record.
Adams CountyAdamsAlcorn CountyAmite CountyAmiteAttala CountyAttalaBenton CountyBolivar CountyBolivarCalhoun CountyCarroll CountyCarrollChickasaw CountyChoctaw CountyClaiborne CountyClaiborneClarke CountyClarkeClay CountyClayCoahoma CountyCoahomaCopiah CountyCopiahCovington CountyDeSoto CountyDeSotoForrest CountyFranklin CountyGeorge CountyGeorgeGreene CountyGreeneGrenada CountyGrenadaHancock CountyHancockHarrison CountyHarrisonHinds CountyHindsHolmes CountyHolmesHumphreys CountyIssaquena CountyIssaquenaItawamba CountyJackson CountyJacksonJasper CountyJasperJefferson CountyJeffersonJefferson Davis CountyJones CountyJonesKemper CountyKemperLafayette CountyLamar CountyLamarLauderdale CountyLawrence CountyLeake CountyLeakeLee CountyLeeLeflore CountyLincoln CountyLincolnLowndes CountyLowndesMadison CountyMadisonMarion CountyMarionMarshall CountyMarshallMonroe CountyMonroeMontgomery CountyNeshoba CountyNeshobaNewton CountyNewtonNoxubee CountyNoxubeeOktibbeha CountyPanola CountyPanolaPearl River CountyPerry CountyPerryPike CountyPikePontotoc CountyPrentiss CountyQuitman CountyRankin CountyRankinScott CountyScottSharkey CountySimpson CountySimpsonSmith CountySmithStone CountyStoneSunflower CountyTallahatchie CountyTate CountyTateTippah CountyTippahTishomingo CountyTunica CountyTunicaUnion CountyUnionWalthall CountyWarren CountyWarrenWashington CountyWashingtonWayne CountyWayneWebster CountyWebsterWilkinson CountyWilkinsonWinston CountyWinstonYalobusha CountyYazoo CountyYazoo

The names are written where they fit. Hover or tap any county for its name, and click it to open its page.

The Mississippi county directory lists every county page of the state in one place.

Official source group

General Records

Government sites for Mississippi records, licenses and public services.

Research guide

Search Mississippi records by court district, land interest and agency file

Mississippi records often require more than a county and surname. A court's electronic start date, the type of land interest, and the agency's document index can determine whether the relevant evidence appears online. Use the identifiers below to connect an initial search result with the actual filing, permit or historical record.

Check the particular court's MEC start date

Mississippi Electronic Courts coverage developed court by court. The Tenth Circuit's court information lists different implementation dates within the same district: Clarke in August 2020, Lauderdale in March 2023, and Kemper and Wayne in April 2025. Those dates describe system implementation, not a promise that every earlier paper file was digitized.

Use the Mississippi court directory to identify the court and clerk, then preserve the full case number, county and court type. When an older case is absent, ask whether its index, docket and documents are in MEC, an earlier local system or paper storage. Check each component separately.

Madison County's Chancery Clerk page supplies a concrete example: its older local searches cover periods through December 2009, while court filings and new cases from January 2010 are reached through MEC or courthouse terminals. It also provides separate historical will books and indexes. A search of only the older county site can miss an otherwise available recent case.

Separate a public docket from access to its documents

The judiciary's MEC user guide distinguishes ordinary public cases, restricted-access matters and sealed cases. For specified restricted categories, a public user may see the docket remotely but must use a courthouse terminal or contact the clerk about obtaining documents. A visible docket entry therefore does not guarantee a downloadable pleading.

Record the title and date of the missing document and describe the access message when contacting the clerk. Ask for the particular public document rather than a complete case export if only one order is needed. Public viewing privileges and permission to file documents are separate; the guide limits electronic filing to registered attorneys.

Distinguish private deeds, school-trust leases and tax-forfeited property

The Secretary of State's Public Lands directory divides its work among sixteenth-section lands, public-trust tidelands, tax-forfeited lands and state-agency property. Select the category that matches the interest being researched. A result in a state inventory does not replace the county deed and recording history for a privately held tract.

For school-trust property, the sixteenth-section lease guidance identifies local school boards as the day-to-day managers and the Secretary as supervisory trustee. Use the lease search to retain the school district, lease number, section-township-range, dates and acreage. These references distinguish a particular lease from the broader land parcel.

The tax-forfeited search instructions recommend selecting the county first and warn that excessive filters can narrow results too far. Open the property details before saving a result. Registration is associated with saving properties and submitting an application; a research inquiry should not be confused with an application to acquire land.

For a historical transaction, keep the instrument date separate from a lease's beginning and ending dates or an inventory's current status. If an old deed refers to a school lease, request the lease and relevant amendments using the district and lease identifier, rather than assuming that the deed conveys the underlying public land.

Use business reports and UCC searches for different questions

The Secretary's online-services directory offers business-ID and officer-name searches as well as entity, charity, trademark and UCC services. Start with the identifier most directly tied to the record. An officer-name result should be checked against the entity and filing date before being treated as evidence about a particular person.

The Mississippi Business Reports service supports filtered reports and spreadsheet export from current registered businesses. Its fields include business ID, other names, profile and domicile types, status, formation date and location. Keep the export's filters and retrieval date; an aggregate report of current registrations is different from the historical documents filed for one company.

The UCC search guide distinguishes a general search showing basic creditor and debtor information from subscription access to more detailed results and filed documents. Preserve the document number before ordering or retrieving the instrument. A corporate status screen does not establish whether a particular financing statement has been amended or terminated.

Use enSearch's program limits and agency-interest number

MDEQ's enSearch overview identifies the programs represented in its database and explicitly excludes underground-storage-tank information. It also identifies other programs outside the system. An empty enSearch result cannot establish that a site has no environmental records.

The active-permit search returns agency-interest IDs, permit numbers and program types. It accepts partial names without wildcards and limits results to 5,000 permits. Narrow a large result set by location or program and retain both the agency-interest ID and permit number.

That search's disclaimer makes the administrative file the controlling agency record if the online information differs. For a site review, request the dated permit, amendments, inspection or enforcement documents that answer the actual question. The enSearch home page separately links complaint status, inspections, orders and recently issued permits; current permit status and the site's compliance history require different checks.

Read current status together with the board's action archive

The Medical Board's verification guide separates a free public licensee lookup from official professional verification. The public tool covers the professions licensed by that board and allows status filtering. Match the credential type and number before interpreting a same-name result.

The Board's action page explains that actions remain there while in effect and move to its archive afterward. Absence from the current page is therefore not proof that no earlier action exists. Read the order and any later reinstatement or modification in date order, keeping the public status search and historical action record separately labeled.

Search the county record series before the surname

MDAH's county-microfilm inventory is organized by county, series, contents, volume, dates, index, district and roll number. Its description notes that titles vary among counties. Search the relevant record category as well as the familiar modern office name.

The Original County Records finding aid, created in October 2025, distinguishes original holdings from courthouse records copied to microfilm. Its overall date range does not promise complete coverage for every county. Give the reference staff the specific county, series, date range and box or roll reference when asking about access.

A useful research note might read "county; chancery index; years searched; district; roll; case reference," followed by the document still needed. This preserves the scope of the search and makes a later courthouse inquiry more precise than a statement that a name was not found in Mississippi records.

The law

The Mississippi public records law

Five short notes on the statute, each with the code sections it rests on.

How the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 works

The Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 is Miss. Code § 25-61-1 and following (text published by the Mississippi Ethics Commission). Any person has the right to inspect, copy or get a copy of a public record of a public body, unless a law exempts it (§ 25-61-5(1)(a)).

Deadlines: each public body follows its own written procedures, but no procedure may allow it to produce or deny a record later than 7 working days after the request. A body without written procedures must give access within 1 working day after a written request. If a record cannot be produced by the 7th working day, the body must explain why in writing, and production may not be later than 14 working days after the request unless both sides agree (§ 25-61-5(1)). A denial must be in writing and name the exemption relied on (§ 25-61-5(3)).

Fees: no more than the actual cost of searching, reviewing, copying and mailing; staff time is charged at the pay of the lowest level employee able to do the work, and fees are collected in advance (§ 25-61-7(1)).

Appeals: a person denied access may file a complaint with the Mississippi Ethics Commission; the public body has 14 days to respond. Any party may take the Commission's order to the chancery court of the county, or file in chancery court directly without first going to the Commission (§ 25-61-13). The statute sets no deadline for filing a complaint. A person who wrongly denies access can be liable for up to $100 per violation plus expenses (§ 25-61-15).

What you cannot get in Mississippi

  • Another person's state criminal history: DPS name based checks may be requested only by the person the record belongs to; businesses and other third parties may not request them (DPS background check page).
  • Investigative reports held by a law enforcement agency are exempt, though the agency may release them; the incident report stays public (§ 25-61-12(2), Public Records Act).
  • Personnel files and individual tax records, listed as exempt by the Ethics Commission's cross references to § 25-1-100 and § 27-3-77 (Public Records Act).
  • Vital records: birth, death and marriage records are not open to the public; only eligible applicants with a valid photo ID may get them (MSDH Vital Records questions and answers).
  • Expunged records: after an expunction order only a nonpublic record is kept by the Mississippi Criminal Information Center, to decide later whether a person is a first offender (§ 99-19-71(3), House Bill 1546 of 2026).

Expunction in Mississippi

Mississippi's law is Miss. Code § 99-19-71, as amended by House Bill 1546 of 2026, approved by the Governor on March 30, 2026 and in force from July 1, 2026.

  • Misdemeanors: a first offender convicted of a misdemeanor that is not a traffic violation may petition the justice, county, circuit or municipal court where the conviction was entered (§ 99-19-71(1)).
  • One felony: a person who has paid all fines and court costs may petition the convicting court to expunge one felony conviction 3 years after completing all terms of the sentence. Excluded are crimes of violence under § 97-3-2, first degree arson, drug trafficking, third or later DUI, felon in possession of a firearm, failure to register as a sex offender, voyeurism, witness intimidation, abuse of a vulnerable person, embezzlement, and procuring or promoting prostitution (§ 99-19-71(2)(a)).
  • The petitioner gives the district attorney 10 days' written notice before the hearing, and the court may grant the petition if it finds the person rehabilitated (§ 99-19-71(2)(b)).
  • No conviction: on petition, a justice, county, circuit or municipal court shall expunge a case that was dismissed, dropped, never disposed of or ended in a not guilty verdict (§ 99-19-71(4)).

Public officials cannot expunge convictions related to their official duties (§ 99-19-71(5)).

How to get your own Mississippi criminal record

The Department of Public Safety's Criminal Information Center keeps the state criminal records repository (CIC page, under Miss. Code § 45-27-7).

  1. Open the DPS Name Based Background Check. The request must be made by the person whose record it is.
  2. Pay the $32.00 fee with a Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express credit or debit card.
  3. To have the results sent to someone else, give that person's name, address, city, state and ZIP, and a fax number if you want the results faxed. If a fax fails, DPS mails the results.
  4. DPS states that checks may take up to 30 calendar days. Medical cannabis background checks go through the State Department of Health instead.

Mississippi record laws to know

  • Miss. Code § 25-61-12(2): law enforcement incident reports are public records; investigative reports are exempt unless the agency releases them (text).
  • Miss. Code § 25-61-13: the Ethics Commission enforces the Public Records Act, with review in chancery court (text).
  • Miss. Code § 99-19-71: expunction of misdemeanors, one felony and cases without a conviction (2026 amendment).
  • Miss. Code § 45-27-7: duties of the Criminal Information Center, including the state criminal records repository and fingerprint identification (DPS summary).

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Answers to common questions about Mississippi public records.

What is included in a Mississippi background check?
A DPS name based check reports Mississippi criminal history from the Criminal Information Center; only the person named may request it, for $32.00. The CIC Applicant Processing division also runs fingerprint and name based checks used to clear teachers, health care and daycare workers, bankers and other listed positions. Registry status is on the Sex Offender Registry, and court dockets of participating courts are on Mississippi Electronic Courts.
Where can I find police reports in Mississippi?
Ask the city police department or sheriff's office that took the report. A law enforcement incident report is a public record, while investigative reports are exempt unless the agency chooses to release them (Miss. Code § 25-61-12(2), Public Records Act). Crash reports written by the Mississippi Highway Patrol cost $15.00 in person at a district Highway Patrol station or $20.00 online (Driver Service Bureau). A refusal can be taken to the Ethics Commission.
What are the procedures to obtain Mississippi vital records, and what information is included?
The State Department of Health's Vital Records office at 222 Marketridge Drive, Ridgeland, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, issues certified long form birth and death certificates for events from November 1912 and marriage records for 1926 to June 1938 and 1942 on. Order in person, by mail with a cashier's check or money order, or online. Certificates are $17, with extra copies of the same record $6. Only eligible applicants with a photo ID may order (questions and answers). Divorce decrees come from the chancery clerk.
Where is Mississippi school performance data published?
The Mississippi Department of Education publishes the Mississippi Succeeds Report Card, which gives every school and district an A to F grade based on student achievement, growth, participation in testing and other academic measures. The full dataset can be downloaded as a spreadsheet, and more reports are on the department's Public Reporting page.
Where are Mississippi crime statistics published?
The Department of Public Safety runs the state's NIBRS program, which collects incident based crime data from law enforcement agencies through the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Published figures can be searched by reporting agency on the Mississippi Crime Statistics site.
Where is a person taken after an arrest in Mississippi?
An arrested person is held in the county jail, which the sheriff has charge of (Miss. Code § 19-25-69), or in a city jail where the city runs one, until release or the first court appearance. A person arrested without a warrant may be released on recognizance or on an appearance bond. A person kept in custody must be taken before a judge for an initial appearance without unnecessary delay and no later than 48 hours after arrest, or be released on the minimum bond (Rule 5.1, Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure). People sentenced to state custody are held by the Department of Corrections, including 15 regional facilities run by county sheriffs under agreements with MDOC.
Can I find public records at a Mississippi library?
Historical government records are at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, which keeps official government records, manuscripts, newspapers and photographs. Its reading rooms in the William F. Winter Archives and History Building, 200 North Street, Jackson, are free and open Monday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Mississippi Library Commission serves libraries and state agencies. Current records are requested from the office that holds them under the Public Records Act.
Where is the Mississippi Library Commission located?
The Mississippi Library Commission, the state library agency, is at 3881 Eastwood Drive, Jackson, MS 39211. It is open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except state holidays. Phone 601-432-4111, or toll free 1-800-647-7542; reference questions can go to mlcref@mlc.lib.ms.us.
Where can I get fingerprinted in Mississippi?
Applicant fingerprint checks are processed by the DPS Criminal Information Center, and the agency that requires the check says where prints are taken. For example, applicants for licensed child care and health care facilities schedule a LiveScan appointment at a county Health Department, as the State Department of Health directs; if no LiveScan site is near, MSDH accepts a completed fingerprint card by mail.
Do Mississippi courts in the same circuit have the same MEC start date?

No. The Tenth Circuit information page lists different implementation dates for its courts. Ask the filing clerk about older indexes and documents.

Why can I see a Mississippi MEC docket but not its filings?

The MEC guide identifies restricted categories whose documents are not available to public users remotely. Contact the clerk about public-terminal access or copies.

Who can help with a Mississippi sixteenth-section land lease?

Start with the relevant school district. The Secretary's guidance describes the school board's management role and the state supervisory role. Keep the lease number and land description.

Does Mississippi enSearch include underground storage tanks?

The enSearch program description says the UST program is outside its coverage. Ask MDEQ for the appropriate tank-record route instead of treating an empty result as clearance.

Does the free Mississippi UCC search show every filed document?

The Secretary's UCC guide separates basic creditor/debtor information from subscription access to filed documents and more detailed searching.

Where are older Mississippi medical-board actions?

The Board Actions page links an archive for actions no longer in effect. Read the earlier order alongside any later action affecting the license.

City pages

1 Mississippi city with a standalone page

This Mississippi city has its own record page. Each county page also links to city and town pages in that county.

Hattiesburg
↑