Mississippi property deeds

Deeds Mississippi recognizes

Mississippi does not recognize lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.

How a deed has to be signed in Mississippi

Mississippi requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public. No witnesses are required.

Mississippi document formatting rules

A safe layout for Mississippi is 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 3-inch clear space at the top of the first page for the chancery clerk's stamp, 1-inch margins elsewhere, and no type smaller than 10 point.

• Mississippi's format rules: white paper of at least 20-pound weight, printed on one side; a 3-inch clear space at the top of page one; at least 3/4-inch margins everywhere else; type no smaller than 10 point; and signatures in black or blue ink, with each signer's name printed below (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-24).
• A deed that misses these format rules is still recorded, for $10 more (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-24(4)). A missing telephone number, preparer or indexing instruction can get it refused (§§ 27-3-51(2), 89-5-33(3)).

Mississippi transfer tax and recording fees

We found no general Mississippi transfer tax on deeds. The only state-law tax on a deed that we found is the mineral documentary tax, which applies when a deed conveys or keeps back oil, gas or other mineral rights. The chancery clerk collects the mineral documentary tax: 3 to 8 cents per mineral acre, at least $1 (Miss. Code Ann. §§ 27-31-77 to 27-31-81). The grantor pays it on a reservation, the grantee on a conveyance. As far as we could find, it does not apply to an ordinary deed of the land that says nothing about minerals, but ask the chancery clerk if you are unsure.

Recording fees run about $25 for up to 5 pages and $1 for each page after that. The state sets $25 for a deed of up to five pages, plus $1 for each page after the fifth (Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9(1)(b)). A county that adopts the $1 records management fee (§ 25-60-5) charges $26, and every county office we read does: Jackson, Pearl River, Harrison, DeSoto and Itawamba. A deed that does not meet the state format rules costs $10 more (§ 89-5-24(4)).

See how Mississippi's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.

How to hold title in Mississippi

• Sole ownership. One person owns everything.
• Tenancy in common. Separate, divisible shares with no survivorship. A deceased owner's share goes to their heirs.
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Equal shares; the survivor takes the whole property automatically.
• Tenancy by the entirety. Married couples only, with automatic survivorship and, in most states that allow it, protection from one spouse's creditors.

Where to record a deed in Mississippi

Deeds are recorded with the Chancery Clerk in the county where the property is located. Mississippi has 82 counties. Many offices accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders.

Hinds · Harrison · DeSoto · Rankin · Jackson · Madison. all Mississippi recording offices

Why deeds get rejected in Mississippi

• Mississippi records deeds with the Chancery Clerk, an office that also handles probate. Convenient when a transfer touches an estate.
• A chancery clerk may refuse a deed that does not give a mailing address and a telephone number for every grantor and grantee on page one (Miss. Code Ann. § 27-3-51(2)).
• A chancery clerk must refuse a deed without an indexing instruction (the section, township and range, and the quarter section), unless the land is a lot in a recorded subdivision or the deed gives that information elsewhere. The deed must also give the preparer's name, address and telephone number (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-33(3)).
• If the owner is married and living with the spouse, both spouses must sign a deed of homestead property, even where only one holds title (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-1-29).