Mississippi

Mississippi at a Glance

1. Mechanic's Lien Rules

Plain English

Mississippi rewrote its construction lien law in 2014. A claimant files a claim of lien with the chancery clerk within 90 days after its last work or materials, using the statutory form, which must include a 180-day expiration statement and a notice to the owner that it can contest the lien. Leave those out and the lien is invalid. The claimant mails a copy to the owner within 2 business days. Within 180 days after filing, it must start a payment action and file a lis pendens. The biggest difference from most states is priority: Mississippi has no relation back. A construction lien ranks from the date and time it's filed. Mortgages and deeds of trust filed earlier come first, even if work started before they were recorded. A properly documented construction mortgage keeps priority for all advances, even advances made after a lien is filed. On April 15, 2026, the Fifth Circuit asked the Mississippi Supreme Court whether invoices attached to a claim can supply the required "last date" of work (Cuevas); as of October 2026 we found no answer, so the question is unsettled.

Key Rules

Claim of lien (Miss. Code § 85-7-405(1)(b)). Filed with the chancery clerk within 90 days after the claimant's last work, labor, services, or materials; must include the 180-day expiration statement and the notice to owner; copy sent to the owner (and the contractor, if the claimant isn't the contractor) within 2 business days.

Payment action (Miss. Code § 85-7-405(1)(c)). Commenced within 180 days after filing, with a lis pendens.

Priority (Miss. Code § 85-7-405(2)(a), (b)). Inferior to tax liens; superior to liens, deeds of trust, and mortgages filed after the claim; inferior to those filed before it, whether the work came before or after. Actual knowledge of unrecorded liens doesn't matter.

Construction mortgages (Miss. Code § 85-7-405(2)(c)). Superior for all advances if filed before the claim and the lender got an owner's no-work affidavit or a contractor's sworn statement under § 85-7-413(1)(b).

Equal rank; cap (Miss. Code § 85-7-405(3)(d), (4)). Construction liens share equally; total can't exceed the contract price.

Expiration and cancellation (Miss. Code § 85-7-421). A claim is unenforceable if no payment action is filed within 180 days; the 180-day statement must appear in at least 12-point bold type. A fully paid lienholder that fails to file a cancellation within 15 days after written demand owes at least $500 per day, plus attorney's fees.

Filed case notes

• Cuevas Machine Co. v. Calgon Carbon Corp., No. 25-60198 (5th Cir. Apr. 15, 2026): certified to the Mississippi Supreme Court whether invoice attachments can establish a construction lien's required 'last date' of work under § 85-7-405(1)(b). Unsettled.

Practice Points

1. Record first. In Mississippi, a deed of trust filed before the claim of lien wins, regardless of when work began.
2. Construction loans: get the owner's no-work affidavit or the contractor's sworn statement at closing to lock in priority for all draws.
3. Don't treat a lien as invalid just because the "last date" is unclear; the question is pending (Cuevas).

Citations

• Miss. Code § 85-7-405 (claim of lien; payment action; priority): https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-85/chapter-7/article-21/section-85-7-405/
• Miss. Code § 85-7-421 (expiration; cancellation of satisfied liens): https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-85/chapter-7/article-21/section-85-7-421/
• Cuevas Machine Co. v. Calgon Carbon Corp., No. 25-60198 (5th Cir. Apr. 15, 2026): https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/25/25-60198-CV0.pdf

2. Execution and Notarization Requirements for Recording

Plain English

Mississippi deeds are recorded ("lodged") with the chancery clerk of the county. A conveyance isn't good against a purchaser for value without notice or against creditors until it's lodged for record; once filed, time of filing sets priority among conveyances of the same land. Instruments must be acknowledged (or proved) to be recorded (Miss. Code § 89-3-1). Mississippi has no transfer tax. Mississippi's notary law (the Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts, effective July 1, 2021) allows notarial acts on electronic records, but the signer must appear in the notary's physical presence; a 2025 bill to allow remote notarization (H.B. 1154) passed the House and died in Senate committee on March 4, 2025. Sixteenth section school trust lands are a Mississippi specialty: they're held in trust for the public schools and generally leased, not owned in fee (Miss. Code § 29-3-1), so check for them in rural searches.

Key Rules

• Recording act (Miss. Code § 89-5-1). Not good against a purchaser for value without notice, or any creditor, until lodged with the chancery clerk; priority by time of filing.
• Acknowledgment (Miss. Code § 89-3-1). An instrument must be acknowledged or proved before it can be recorded.
• Notarial acts (Miss. Code §§ 25-34-15, 25-34-39). The signer must appear personally before the notary; notarial acts on electronic records are allowed under Secretary of State rules.
• Transfer tax. None.

Practice Points

1. Remote signings: confirm Mississippi accepts the notarization before closing.
2. Rural tracts: check whether the land is sixteenth section land; navigable waters aren't part of it (Dew, 2025, section 7).
3. Confirm acknowledgments on every recorded instrument in the chain.

Citations

• Miss. Code § 89-5-1 (recording; priority by filing): https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-89/chapter-5/article-1/section-89-5-1/
• Miss. Code § 89-3-1 (acknowledgment required): https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-89/chapter-3/section-89-3-1/
• Miss. Code § 29-3-1 (sixteenth section lands held in trust): https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-29/chapter-3/in-general/section-29-3-1/
• H.B. 1154 (2025) status: https://legiscan.com/MS/bill/HB1154/2025
• Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts (Secretary of State): https://www.sos.ms.gov/content/documents/Business/Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts.pdf

3. Securing Future Advances

Plain English

We did not find a general Mississippi future-advance statute like those in Missouri or Kentucky. Mississippi relies on case law. In Shutze v. Credithrift of America (1992), the Mississippi Supreme Court enforced a future advance clause and held that, for priority, the lien securing a future advance takes its date from the recording of the original deed of trust, even over an intervening judgment lien. In Merchants National Bank v. Stewart (1992), the court used a four-part test to hold that a "dragnet" clause did not reach a separate, antecedent debt. A 2017 bankruptcy decision (In re Windham, 568 B.R. 263 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. 2017)) explained that, despite its later publication date, Shutze was actually decided after Stewart (it cites Stewart), and that Stewart involved an antecedent debt, not a future advance. For construction loans, the statutory construction mortgage rule in section 1 also applies.

Key Rules

• Future advances (case law). Priority from the original recording (Shutze v. Credithrift of America, Inc., 607 So. 2d 55 (Miss. 1992), No. 89-CA-0591).
• Dragnet clauses and antecedent debt (Merchants National Bank v. Stewart, 608 So. 2d 1120 (Miss. 1992), No. 90-CA-0410). Multi-factor test; Windham reads it as applying to antecedent debt.
• Construction mortgages (Miss. Code § 85-7-405(2)(c)). Priority for all advances if the statutory affidavit or sworn statement was obtained.
• Line-of-credit cancellations (Miss. Code § 89-5-21(5)). A line-of-credit deed of trust must be cancelled once the line is terminated or matures and is paid, or once it is paid and the borrower makes a written request. A holder that doesn't cancel within 1 month after a written request forfeits $200.

Practice Points

1. Read the future advance clause. Specific clauses are safer than boilerplate dragnet language.
2. Line-of-credit payoffs: follow the cancellation rules and get a signed freeze and close request.
3. Construction loans: get the no-work affidavit or contractor's sworn statement.

Citations

• Land Title Association of Mississippi, "Dragnet Clauses, Credithrift, and Stewart" (2020): https://ltams.org/dragnet-clauses-credithrift-and-stewart/
• Shutze v. Credithrift of America, Inc., 607 So. 2d 55 (Miss. 1992): https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1142570/shutze-v-credithrift-of-america-inc/
• Merchants Nat'l Bank v. Stewart, 608 So. 2d 1120 (Miss. 1992): https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1843056/merchants-nat-bank-v-stewart/
• In re Windham, 568 B.R. 263 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. 2017): https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/8528048/in-re-windham/
• Miss. Code § 89-5-21 (cancellation): https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-89/chapter-5/article-1/section-89-5-21/

4. Subdivision Statutes and Regulations

Plain English

Mississippi subdivision control is local. Under Miss. Code § 17-1-23, a county board of supervisors may require that subdivision plats be approved before they are recorded, and a municipality may require approval of plats within its jurisdiction. Many rural counties regulate lightly.

Key Rules

• Local subdivision regulation and plat approval (Miss. Code § 17-1-23). Counties may require approval before a plat is recorded; municipalities may require approval of plats.

Practice Points

1. New lot? Get the recorded plat or confirm no regulation applies.
2. Check for sixteenth section land before insuring a fee title.
3. Access: confirm legal access for rural splits.

Citations

• Miss. Code Title 17, Chapter 1 (zoning, planning, and subdivision regulation): https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-17/chapter-1/
• Miss. Code § 17-1-23: https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-17/chapter-1/general-provisions/section-17-1-23/

5. Title Premium Rates

Plain English

Mississippi's general rating chapter (chapter 83-2) does not apply to title insurance (Miss. Code § 83-2-1(1)(e)). We found no separate statute requiring title underwriters to file rates.

Key Rules

• Rate filing. Chapter 83-2 excludes title insurance (Miss. Code § 83-2-1(1)(e)).

Practice Points

1. Quote from the company's current Mississippi rates.
2. Separate premium from attorney and closing fees.
3. Use only the company's approved forms and endorsements.

Citations

• Miss. Code § 83-2-1 (scope; title insurance excluded): https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-83/chapter-2/section-83-2-1/

6. Recording Taxes & Fees on Deeds and Mortgages

Plain English

Mississippi has no transfer tax and no mortgage tax. The chancery clerk charges recording fees only.

Key Rules

(a) Deed transfer, conveyance or excise tax

• None. No state or local real estate transfer tax.

(b) Mortgage, indebtedness or intangible tax

• None. Mississippi has no mortgage, indebtedness or intangible tax on recording a mortgage or deed of trust, so future advances, credit lines, refinances and modifications carry no state recording tax (only recording fees).

(c) Other recording taxes and fees

• Chancery clerk recording fees (Miss. Code § 25-7-9). $25 for the first 5 pages and $1 for each additional page (rate in effect Jan. 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2027).

Practice Points

1. Collect recording fees only.

Citations

• Miss. Code § 25-7-9 (chancery clerk fees): https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-25/chapter-7/section-25-7-9/