Mississippi transfer-on-death deed
A transfer-on-death deed lets you name who inherits your Mississippi property without probate, while you keep full control, including the power to sell or mortgage it without anyone's signature. Here is exactly what Mississippi requires, what it costs, and where to file it. Deedly is not preparing Mississippi deeds at this time.
- Recording office
- Chancery Clerk
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None found
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- ~$25 up to 5 pages
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
What a transfer-on-death deed does in Mississippi
A transfer-on-death deed (a beneficiary deed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado and Missouri) names the person who should receive your real estate when you die. You record it now, but it transfers nothing until death: you keep full ownership, you can sell or mortgage the property, and you can revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiary's consent. When you die, the property passes outside probate. Your beneficiaries then record the documents your state requires to show them as the owners; in a few states that filing has a deadline, or is what completes the transfer.
In Mississippi the governing statute is Miss. Code Ann. § 91-27-1 et seq. Mississippi's Real Property Transfer-on-Death Act took effect July 1, 2020. If one of several beneficiaries dies before you, that share goes to the other beneficiaries unless your deed names an alternate. If your only beneficiary dies first and you named no alternate, the gift fails (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-27-27).
The Mississippi law behind this deed
Start with Miss. Code Ann. § 91-27-1 et seq. if you want to read the statute's own language. The table below lists the main statutes behind the rules on this page.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Transfer-on-death deeds specifically | Miss. Code Ann. § 91-27-1 et seq. |
| Conveyances generally | Miss. Code Ann. § 89-1-1 |
| Recording with the Chancery Clerk | Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-5-24 (format), 89-5-33 (preparer and indexing), 27-3-51 (addresses and telephone numbers) and 89-5-1 (effect of recording) |
| Homestead and spousal consent | Miss. Code Ann. § 89-1-29 |
When Mississippi property owners use a transfer-on-death deed
- Leave a house to your children without probate
- Keep real estate out of a will contest
- Get probate avoidance without paying for a full living trust
- Name a backup beneficiary in case your first choice dies first
- Revoke or change an earlier beneficiary designation
What Mississippi requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules for Mississippi deeds. A chancery clerk may refuse a deed that lacks the telephone numbers, the preparer's details or the indexing instruction (Miss. Code Ann. §§ 27-3-51(2), 89-5-33(3)). A deed that misses the format rules is still recorded, for $10 more (§ 89-5-24(4)).
| Requirement | What Mississippi says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | Chancery Clerk |
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. Signing in front of the notary is the safest practice. |
| Witnesses | None required. A notarial acknowledgment is enough. |
| Legal description | Required, copied exactly from the prior recorded deed. A street address is not sufficient. The deed also needs an indexing instruction, set apart: the section, township and range and the quarter section, or for a lot in a recorded subdivision the lot and plat. The chancery clerk must refuse a deed without one unless the deed gives that information elsewhere (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-33(3)). |
| Addresses and telephone numbers | Required. Every grantor and grantee (every owner and beneficiary on a transfer-on-death deed) must be listed with a mailing address and telephone number on page one, or the chancery clerk may refuse the deed (Miss. Code Ann. § 27-3-51(2)). |
| Return address | Include a 'when recorded, return to' block so the original comes back to you. |
| Preparer information | Required. Page one must show the name, street address and telephone number of whoever prepared the deed, and an attorney's Mississippi bar number if an attorney prepared it (Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-5-33(3), 89-5-24(2)(a)). |
| Prior deed reference | Not required, though it keeps the chain of title clean. |
| Page setup | 8.5 × 11 in, 3-inch clear space at the top of page one, 1-inch margins elsewhere, nothing under 10pt. |
| Timing | Must be recorded before the owner's death. Recording it afterwards has no effect. |
Your spouse should sign if the property is your home
Mississippi's transfer-on-death law does not say whether your spouse must sign. It leaves homestead rights in the property unchanged while you live (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-27-23), and at your death the transfer may be subject to your surviving spouse's right to claim a share of your estate (§§ 91-27-27, 91-5-25). If you are married and live in the property, the safer course is for your spouse to sign this deed too.
How to complete and record it in Mississippi
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Chancery Clerk can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
- Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
- Complete the deedIt needs the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for Mississippi deeds. You can prepare your own deed, or a Mississippi attorney can prepare it for you.
- Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
- Record it with the Chancery ClerkFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
- Tell your beneficiaries where it isAfter your death they record proof of it, such as a certified death certificate or an affidavit of death, with the Chancery Clerk so the land records show them as the owners.
What it costs in Mississippi
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | About $25 for up to 5 pages and $1 for each page after that |
| Transfer tax | None found at the state level |
| Notary | A Mississippi notary may charge no more than $5 per signature for an acknowledgment (Miss. Code Ann. § 25-34-9; Miss. Admin. Code Title 1, Part 5, Rule 9.1). |
| Attorney | $150–$700 to prepare the deed |
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.
Where to record it in Mississippi
Mississippi deeds are recorded with the Chancery Clerk in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 82 counties in Mississippi.
Many Mississippi recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. E-recording is generally open only to approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Some offices accept filings from the public through those vendors; your county's website will say.
Recording offices we cover in Mississippi: Hinds, Harrison, DeSoto, Rankin, Jackson, Madison. See all Mississippi recording offices.
What a transfer-on-death deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- Only 34 states plus DC recognize it. Recording one in a state that does not accept it accomplishes nothing.
- It does not clear the mortgage. Your beneficiary takes the property subject to any loan, lien, or judgment against it.
- It doesn't protect the property from your creditors, and in many states it doesn't shield the property from Medicaid estate recovery.
- The beneficiary receives no ownership interest until you die. They cannot be added as a co-owner this way.
- If a beneficiary dies before you, what happens to their share depends on state law: in some states it passes to the other beneficiaries or to the beneficiary's descendants, in others it fails. Naming an alternate, where your state's form allows one, avoids the question.
Quirks of Mississippi law that catch people out
- 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).
Deedly is not preparing Mississippi deeds at this time
Mississippi law limits who may charge to prepare a deed for someone else. You can prepare your own deed, or a Mississippi attorney can prepare it for you.
Common questions
Not if you prepare the deed yourself. Mississippi treats writing a deed for someone else for a fee as the practice of law (Miss. Code Ann. § 73-3-55), so anyone you pay to draft one must be a Mississippi attorney. You can prepare and record your own. What matters is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper notarization, and recording with the Chancery Clerk. If ownership is disputed, the current owner has died without probate, or the transfer is tax-sensitive, use an attorney.
Expect around $25 for up to 5 pages and $1 for each page after that. 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 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)).
No. Mississippi requires only that the grantor's signature be acknowledged before a notary public. Forms that show witness lines are usually generic templates borrowed from another state.
With the Chancery Clerk in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. Mississippi has 82 counties. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies.
Yes. Transfer-on-death deeds are revocable during your lifetime. You can record a revocation, record a new one naming different beneficiaries, or sell the property, as long as the revocation, new deed or sale deed is recorded before your death (Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-27-21, 91-27-25). If you and a co-owner signed the transfer-on-death deed together as joint owners, every living co-owner must sign the revocation (§ 91-27-21(e)). You don't need your beneficiary's permission for any of it.
Yes, for this property. On your death the property passes directly to the people you named, outside probate. They then record proof of your death with the Chancery Clerk so the public record shows the change. It doesn't avoid probate for anything else you own, it doesn't clear the mortgage, and it doesn't protect the property from your creditors.
Possibly. Mississippi's transfer-on-death law does not say whether your spouse must sign. It leaves homestead rights in the property unchanged while you live (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-27-23), and at your death the transfer may be subject to your surviving spouse's right to claim a share of your estate (§§ 91-27-27, 91-5-25). If you are married and live in the property, the safer course is for your spouse to sign this deed too.
Keep reading
- Mississippi quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Mississippi general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Mississippi special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Mississippi life estate deedYou keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you.
- All deed rules for MississippiRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- Mississippi recording officesWhere to file in each county.
Deedly is not a law firm
Its software and documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We provide self-help software and state-specific deed forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.