Reviewed and updated October 11, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 11, 2026.
DeSoto County, Mississippi, has about 196,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in DeSoto County starts two cases, a criminal case in the Justice Court or a municipal court and a license case before the Department of Public Safety, and leaves three records. This guide follows the arrest from the roadside to the court file and the driving record.
This guide covers the law, the arrest, booking, the court case, the license case, the records and common questions.
Related guides: DeSoto County public records, DeSoto County arrest records, DeSoto County warrants, DeSoto County inmate search, DeSoto County criminal records, Mississippi arrest records and Mississippi inmate search.
The DUI Law in Mississippi
In Mississippi the offense is DUI, and the limit is 0.08.
Driving in Mississippi is consent to a breath or blood test when an officer has cause to suspect DUI; the license case that follows a refusal or a failed test is run by the Department of Public Safety, separately from the criminal case.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in DeSoto County
The DeSoto County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Southaven, Olive Branch, Horn Lake, Hernando and Walls make the DUI arrests in DeSoto County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in DeSoto County: Northwest Mississippi Community College at Desoto (campus police).
Together, the five agencies in DeSoto County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,326 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for DeSoto County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in DeSoto County
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office, held about 450 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at desotocountyms.gov/342/Sheriff-Thomas-E-Tuggle. The DeSoto County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
A DUI charge from DeSoto County is heard in the Justice Court or a municipal court; the District Attorney or, in a municipal court, the city's own prosecutor brings it.
The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at desotocountyms.gov, phone 662-469-8014.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at desotocountyms.gov/675/Chancery-Court-Filing-Fees, phone 662-469-8398.
Mississippi has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The License Case
A DUI arrest starts two cases: the criminal one above and an administrative one over the license, run by the Department of Public Safety. The driving record, kept by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Driver Service Bureau, carries the result of both.
The Records a DUI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the Mississippi Public Records Act.
- The court file: from the Justice Court or a municipal court, kept by the Circuit Clerk for criminal and civil cases and the Chancery Clerk for divorces, estates and land records.
- The driving record: from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Driver Service Bureau.
More on each: DeSoto County arrest records, DeSoto County police reports and DeSoto County court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Mississippi?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from DeSoto County heard?
In the Justice Court or a municipal court. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at desotocountyms.gov.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in DeSoto County held?
At the county jail, run by the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in Mississippi?
The Department of Public Safety, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
Is this the official DeSoto County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.