How to Search Mississippi Court Records (Start Here)

Mississippi court records are filed with the Circuit Clerk in each county. The Circuit Court / Chancery Court handles trial-level cases. Mississippi does not have a single statewide court search portal — you must go to the county where the case was filed.

What this page covers: Mississippi state court case records. What it does not cover: Federal court cases (PACER) or sealed/juvenile records.

Where to start: Identify the county where the case was filed, then contact the Circuit Clerk in that county. Some counties courts offer online case search on their individual websites.

Common mistake: Without a statewide portal, many people search the wrong county. If you are unsure where a case was filed, start with the county where the defendant lived or where the incident occurred.

Mississippi note: Mississippi has two separate trial courts — Circuit Court (criminal, civil) and Chancery Court (divorces, estates, property). These are different offices with different case systems.

Population
2,943,045
Households
1,107,300
Median Income
$54,915
Median Home Value
$145,600
SearchSystems Editorial
Edited by — Editor & Owner, SearchSystems.net. Public records professional since 1999. NAPBS founding member. Full bio & credentials.
Last reviewed: June 04, 2026 · Methodology: all Mississippi court URLs verified against the official .gov / state-judiciary publisher on the review date. 6 primary .gov / .uscourts.gov sources cited below.

Mississippi Court Records — Key Numbers (2025)

Mississippi's 2025 Supreme Court Annual Report contains caseload data for trial and appellate courts statewide.
Mississippi Judiciary
Court system
Statewide
2025
Latest fiscal year
Official .gov data
.gov
Primary source
Never data brokers
Free
Public access
Most case records
June 04, 2026
Last reviewed
By SearchSystems editorial

What Mississippi court records actually cost

Mississippi's electronic courts system charges a subscription for full access, while several counties post free dockets of their own. Certified copies come from the clerk per page plus certification, and expungement petitions carry standard chancery or circuit filing fees by county.

Exact amounts are set by each court's current fee schedule — check the official source before you order.

What Changed in 2026 — Mississippi Court Records

2026
Mississippi 2025 caseload report active
The Mississippi Judiciary publishes its current 2025 case filings, dispositions, and trends on the official statistics portal.
2026
Mississippi statewide case-access portal live
Mississippi Judiciary's public case-access portal continues to operate at courts.ms.gov with statewide coverage.
2026
Latest Mississippi judiciary annual report
The most recent annual report from the Mississippi Judiciary is publicly available with full statistical addenda.
2026
Mississippi courts main directory
Mississippi's primary judicial-branch directory at courts.ms.gov continues to be the canonical entry point for all state court matters.

The 4-Step Mississippi Court Records Pathway

1
Step 1 — Identify the court level
In Mississippi, civil and criminal trial cases sit in Mississippi Judiciary trial courts. Appellate matters go to the state's appellate courts.
2
Step 2 — Use the state case-access portal
Start at https://courts.ms.gov/research/research.php — the official public case-access for Mississippi.
3
Step 3 — Federal cases are separate
Federal cases involving Mississippi parties live on PACER (pacer.uscourts.gov), not the state system.
4
Step 4 — Sealed / expunged records
Records sealed or expunged under Mississippi law are NOT searchable on public portals. To verify, contact the originating court clerk directly.

Five Things People Get Wrong About Mississippi Court Records

MYTH"Mississippi court records are on PACER."
FACTPACER only has federal cases. Mississippi state court records live on courts.ms.gov.
MYTH"All Mississippi case files are free."
FACTPartly true. Searching and viewing dockets is usually free. Downloading full documents or certified copies often costs $1-$5 per item.
MYTH"Sealed = deleted in Mississippi."
FACTSealed records still exist — they're just hidden from public search. The court clerk and law enforcement can still access them.
MYTH"Third-party search sites are official."
FACTOnly courts.ms.gov and the linked official portals are authoritative for Mississippi.
MYTH"Same-day filings show online immediately."
FACTMost Mississippi courts have a 24-48 hour processing lag before new filings appear in public search.

Primary Sources and Official Record Portals

Related Court Records Resources

Related Public Records
National view of this topic: All states: Court records
Sample Mississippi counties: Adams · Alcorn · Amite · Attala · Benton

Court Records Databases

31 official Mississippi court records sources.

Court Records

Chancery Court
Official Free
Case records from the Mississippi courts serving Mississippi surface through this system. It sits outside government; official offices remain the record of authority.
State of Mississippi Judiciary
Official Free
Welcome to the website of the Mississippi Judiciary. This site is designed to provide public access to information about the state court system. Here you will find dockets, briefs, orders and opinions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Appellate opinions dating back to 1996 are available here.
Public Record Inquiries | DeSoto County, MS - Official Website
Official Free
Please note: As of October 25, 2021 the DeSoto County Circuit Clerk's office began e-filing Circuit and County court cases with the Mississippi Electronic Courts System. The subscriptions in the AS400 system will no longer be up to date. All civil and criminal cases, including judgement roll, will have to be accessed through the MEC site.
Chancery Court Records | DeSoto County, MS - Official Website
Official Free
Most of our civil case data is stored in a system called Mississippi Electronic Courts (MEC). Attorneys and Individuals can subscribe to MEC to search our records at their location. Individuals can also come into the courthouse and use our public inquiry terminals to search MEC records.
State of Mississippi Judiciary
Official Free
Court case information for Mississippi — dockets, hearing dates, and case lookups. Confirm details with the official court office before relying on them.
Court Dockets - Harrison County Online! Services
Official Free
County Court Docket Search · Search by Last Name · Current day scheduled cases show by default below · Search by Date ·
Harrison County, MS
Official Free
As of the 2020 census, the population was 204,502 making it the second-most populous county in Mississippi. Learn More > Share ... Copy and paste this code into your website. <a href="http://harrisoncountyms.gov/goverment/circuit_clerk/judgement_roll_search.php">Your Link Name</a>
Harrison County, MS
Official Free
Harrison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 204,502 making it the second-most populous county in Mississippi. Learn More > Share ... From civil suits to delinquent mobile homes taxes, the Justice Court Department manages a myriad of matters. Traffic tickets issued by the State Highway Patrol and the Harrison County Sheriff's Department are resolved in this department, as well as Public Service tickets, Gaming, Fishing, and Marine Resource tickets.
Hinds County Justice Court Civil Docket
Official Free
Case records from the Mississippi courts serving Hinds County surface through this system. It is independently run, so verify anything critical against the official court office.
Youth Court - Jackson County
Official Free
Court case information for Jackson County — dockets, hearing dates, and case lookups. It sits outside government; official offices remain the record of authority.
Mississippi Electronic Courts (MEC) - State of Mississippi Judiciary
Official Free
The Official Site of the State of Mississippi Judiciary
Judgment Roll Search
Official Free
Case records from the Mississippi courts serving Mississippi surface through this system. It is independently run, so verify anything critical against the official court office.
Marion County
Official Free
Welcome to the Marion County, Mississippi online record search · This search engine will return Property Appraisal and Property Taxes of record in Marion County. The information is uploaded to this server frequently but may lag behind actual activity at the courthouse
Adams County
Official Free
Welcome to the Adams County, Mississippi online record search · This search engine will return Circuit Court Cases, Marriage License, and Judgment Roll info of record in Adams County. The information is uploaded to this server frequently but may lag behind actual activity at the courthouse
10th District Chancery Court – Mississippi
Official Free
This website is designed to make information about the chancery court system easily accessible to the public. The Tenth Chancery District of Mississippi consists of five counties (Forrest, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, and Perry) with Chancery courthouses in the five respective county seats (Hattiesburg, Purvis, Columbia, Poplarville, and New Augusta).
Forrest County
Official Free
Court case information for Forrest County — dockets, hearing dates, and case lookups. It is independently run, so verify anything critical against the official court office.
Chancery Clerk | Marion County, MS
Official Free
The Clerk is in charge of the storage and authorized disposal of older land rolls, tax receipts and many other County records after their active use lifespan. As Clerk of the Chancery Court, the Clerk handles a multitude of tasks such as matters of estates, guardianships, conservatorships, divorces, child custody, adoption, property disputes and other matters of equity.
Benton County Mississippi
Official Free
Welcome to the Benton County, Mississippi Chancery Clerk's online records search. The information is uploaded to this server frequently but may lag behind actual activity at the courthouse. There may be omissions or additional information not represented here and this data is not official.
Jackson County Mississippi
Official Free
Welcome to the Jackson County, Mississippi online search page. The information is uploaded to this server frequently but may lag behind actual activity at the courthouse · To begin your search, choose one of the links below
Chancery Court Case Search
Official Free
Notice: Access to the Chancery Court and Deeds/Records Indexes are available with a subscription. Deeds/Records Indexes with Images (2007-present) Chancery Court Indexes with Images (July 2013 - Present) $30/monthly (Which includes $5/monthly Delta Fee). A user account must be created and ...
Judgment Roll Search
Official Free
Case records from the Mississippi courts serving Mississippi surface through this system. It is independently run, so verify anything critical against the official court office.
Judgment Roll
Official Free
Case records from the Mississippi courts serving Mississippi surface through this system. It sits outside government; official offices remain the record of authority.
the TIPPAH County, Mississippi online records ...
Official Free
Welcome to the TIPPAH County, Mississippi online records search. The information is uploaded to this server frequently but may lag behind actual activity at the courthouse. There may be omissions or additional information not represented here and this data is not official.
Court CM/ECF Lookup | PACER: Federal Court Records
Official Paid
Close PACER Case Locator PACER Log in Manage PACER Account · An official website of the United States government ... Log in to... Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. ... Type the name of a federal court to find links to login to CM/ECF – or – search by other information unique to that court, like their contact information, RSS feed, county codes, and…

Mississippi Counties

82 Mississippi counties are indexed on SearchSystems.net — top 28 counties shown below. Browse the full directory or click any county for local court, sheriff, recorder and assessor links.

Which Mississippi counties publish court dockets online

20 of Mississippi's 83 counties run their own online source for court dockets, based on what this directory indexes. Every other county is covered by the statewide systems listed above — click a county for its full records page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Mississippi's trial courts publish case lookups through the Mississippi Judiciary. Start at courts.ms.gov — most case dockets, filings, and hearing calendars are searchable by name, case number, or filing date. County-level clerks publish additional searches; see the cards below for direct county court links.

The Mississippi Judiciary operates Mississippi's official statewide judicial portal at courts.ms.gov. Basic case lookups are typically free of charge; certified copies and bulk-data exports may incur a per-document or per-search fee. Federal cases for Mississippi residents are searched separately through PACER.

Trial courts in Mississippi handle the original filing of civil, criminal, family, probate, and traffic matters. Appellate courts review questions of law from trial-court decisions. The Mississippi Judiciary publishes the full court structure, judge rosters, and jurisdiction maps at courts.ms.gov.

Online coverage varies by court and case type. Most Mississippi county courts have digitized records from approximately the late 1990s or early 2000s forward; older case files may require an in-person clerk visit or a written record request. Check the Mississippi Judiciary portal at courts.ms.gov for each court's coverage window.

No. Mississippi courts redact or remove sealed, expunged, juvenile, and certain confidential records from public-facing searches as required by state statute and court rule. If a record was previously visible and has since been sealed, it will no longer appear in the Mississippi Judiciary portal. For verification you can contact the county clerk where the case was filed.