Recording of Instruments

Miss. Code Ann. tit. 89, ch. 5
in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-1 Recording instruments; conveyances, acknowledgment, priority.

Except as provided by Sections 89-5-101 through 89-5-113, a conveyance of land shall not be good against a purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice, or any creditor, unless it be lodged with the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which the lands are situated to be recorded; but after filing with the clerk, the priority of time of filing shall determine the priority of all conveyances of the same land as between the several holders of such conveyances.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-3 Conveyances, mortgages; void if not lodged for record.

Except as provided by Sections 89-5-101 through 89-5-113, all bargains and sales, and all other conveyances whatsoever of lands, whether made for passing an estate of freehold or inheritance, or for a term of years; and all instruments of settlement upon marriage wherein land, money, or other personalty should be settled or covenanted to be left or paid at the death of the party, or otherwise; and all deeds of trust and mortgages whatsoever, shall be void as to all creditors and subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration without notice, unless they be acknowledged or proved and lodged with the clerk of the chancery court of the proper county, to be recorded in the same manner that other conveyances are required to be acknowledged or proved and recorded. Failure to file such instrument with the clerk for record shall prevent any claim of priority by the holder of such instrument over any similar recorded instrument affecting the same property, to the end that with reference to all instruments which may be filed for record under this section, the priority thereof shall be governed by the priority in time of the filing of the several instruments, in the absence of actual notice. But as between the parties and their heirs, and as to all subsequent purchasers with notice or without valuable consideration, said instruments shall nevertheless be valid and binding.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-5 Priority of all instruments, and notice thereof controlled by date of filing for record; take effect, when.

Every conveyance, covenant, agreement, bond, mortgage, and deed of trust shall take effect, as to all creditors and subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration without notice, only from the time when delivered to the clerk to be recorded; and no conveyance, covenant, agreement, bond, mortgage, or deed of trust which is unrecorded or has not been filed for record, shall take precedence over any similar instrument affecting the same property which may be of record, to the end that with reference to all instruments which may be filed for record under this section, the priority thereof shall be governed by the priority in time of the filing of the several instruments, in the absence of actual notice.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-7 Written contracts in relation to land recordable.

Every title-bond or other written contract in relation to land may be acknowledged or proved, and certified and recorded, in the same manner as conveyances of land; and such acknowledgment or proof, and the proper certificate thereof and delivery to the clerk of the chancery court of the proper county to be recorded, shall be notice to all subsequent purchasers of the existence of such bond or contract.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-8 Affidavits relating to identification, marital status, heirship, etc. of party to instrument affecting real estate titles recordable; affidavit of scrivener’s error recordable; admissibility.

Any affidavit relating to the identification, the marital status, the heirship, the relation, the death, or the time of death, of any person who is a party to any instrument affecting the title to real estate, or any affidavit relating to the identification of any corporation or other legal entity which is a party to any instrument affecting the title to real estate, duly sworn to and acknowledged before any officer or person authorized to administer an oath under the laws of this state, shall be recordable in the land records in the office of the chancery clerk in the county where the real estate is situated. Notice of a typographical or other minor error in an instrument affecting the title to real estate may be given by recording an affidavit of scrivener’s error. If an affidavit is conspicuously identified as an affidavit of scrivener’s error, the chancery clerk shall index the affidavit in the general index under the names of the original parties to the instrument if they are identified in the affidavit, and in the sectional index as provided in the indexing instructions of the affidavit. Notice of the corrective information provided by the affiant is effective upon recordation. An affidavit under this paragraph (a) may be prepared only by an attorney licensed to practice law in this state who prepared any instrument in the chain of title to the subject real estate. The affidavit of scrivener’s error shall be sworn to and acknowledged before any officer or person authorized to administer an oath under the laws of this state, and shall be recordable in the land records in the office of the chancery clerk in the county where the real estate is situated. If requested, the chancery clerk shall make a marginal notation on the instrument to which the affidavit refers. Any affidavit so recorded, or a certified copy thereof, shall be admissible as evidence in any action involving the instrument to which it relates or the title to the real estate affected by the instrument and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein and the marketability of the title to real estate.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-9 Copies of certain records may be recorded.

A copy of the record of any instrument of writing affecting property in this state, and which has been legally recorded in any other state of the United States, or in a foreign country, when certified by the clerk or other officer in whose custody the record is, under his seal of office, if he have one, may be recorded in this state in the same way and with like effect as if it had been executed and acknowledged in this state.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-11 Patents issued by United States or this state recordable.

All patents issued in the name of the United States or of this state for lands, may, whether acknowledged or not, be recorded in the office of the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which the land embraced in the patent may lie.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-13 Instruments of conveyance recorded for seven and ten years; acknowledgment valid.

Concerning an interest in land, whenever an instrument of conveyance (including but not limited to a deed of trust or assignment), release, termination or cancellation which contains a defective acknowledgement has been of record seven (7) years or more in the land records of the county in which the said land is located, the acknowledgment shall be good without regard to the form of the certificate of acknowledgment. Any such instrument which has been of record for ten (10) years and which bears no acknowledgement shall likewise be treated as if properly acknowledged.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-15 Transfer of record; debt to be noted on record.

Except as provided in Section 89-5-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, when the indebtedness, or any part thereof, secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien of record shall be assigned by the person appearing by the record to be the creditor, he shall be required by the assignee to enter the fact of the assignment on the margin of the record of the lien; and in default of making such entry, any satisfaction or cancellation of the lien or instrument evidencing it entered by the original creditor shall release the same as to subsequent creditors and purchasers for value without notice, unless the assignment be by writing duly acknowledged and filed for record; and every assignment by an assignee of any such lien shall be entered in like manner and with like effect in case of failure.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-17 Assignments of indebtedness to be marked on record.

Except as provided in Section 89-5-37, all assignments in whole or in part of any indebtedness secured by mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien of record, shall be entered on the margin of the record of the lien or said assignment shall be acknowledged and filed for record, and if the assignor or assignee of said indebtedness fail to comply with the provisions of this section the debtor shall be fully protected in transactions with the holder of record in the absence of actual notice of the assignment.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-19 When a lien appears by the record to be barred, it ceases.

Where the remedy to enforce any mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien on real or personal property which is recorded, appears on the face of the record to be barred by the statute of limitations (which, as to a series of notes or a note payable in installments, shall begin to run from and after the maturity date of the last note or last installment), the lien shall cease and have no effect as to creditors and subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration without notice, unless within six (6) months after such remedy is so barred the fact that such mortgage, deed of trust, or lien has been renewed or extended be entered on the margin of the record thereof, by the creditor, debtor, or trustee, attested by the clerk, or a new mortgage, deed of trust, or lien, noting the fact of renewal or extension, be duly filed for record within such time. If the date of final maturity of such indebtedness so secured cannot be ascertained from the face of the record the same shall be deemed to be due one (1) year from the date of the instrument securing the same for the purpose of this section. And where a suit shall have been brought to keep a judgment alive within seven (7) years from the rendition of such judgment, the general lien of such judgment shall expire as to creditors and subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration, without notice, at the end of seven (7) years from the rendition of such judgment, notwithstanding such suit to keep alive the judgment unless a notation to keep alive such judgment shall be made on the judgment roll within six (6) months after the expiration of seven (7) years from the time of the rendition of such judgment.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-21 Entry of satisfaction upon record of mortgage or deed of trust.

Except as otherwise provided in subsections (3), (4) and (5), any mortgagee or cestui que trust, or assignee of any mortgagee or cestui que trust, of real or personal estate, having received full payment of the money due by the mortgage or deed of trust, shall enter satisfaction upon the margin of the record of the mortgage or deed of trust, which entry shall be attested by the clerk of the chancery court and discharge and release the same, and shall bar all actions or suits brought thereon, and the title shall thereby revest in the grantor. Any such mortgagee or cestui que trust, or such assignee, by himself or his attorney, who does not, after payment of all sums owed, within one (1) month after written request, cancel on the record the mortgage or deed of trust shall forfeit the sum of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), which can be recovered by suit on part of the party aggrieved, and if after request, he fails or refuses to make such acknowledgment of satisfaction, the person so neglecting or refusing shall forfeit and pay to the party aggrieved any sum not exceeding the mortgage money, to be recovered by action; but such entry of satisfaction may be made by anyone authorized to do it by the written authorization of the mortgagee or beneficiary, duly acknowledged and recorded, and shall have the same effect as if done by the mortgagee or beneficiary. With respect to a mortgage or deed of trust which states on its face that it secures a line of credit, satisfaction of record shall be accomplished and extinguishment shall occur as provided in subsection (5). As used in this section, the term “line of credit” means any loan, extension of credit or financing arrangement where the lender has agreed to make additional or future advances. Any mortgagee or cestui que trust, or the assignee of a mortgagee or cestui que trust, under a mortgage or deed of trust securing a line of credit shall, upon (a) the termination or maturity of the line of credit and the payment of all sums owing in connection with the line of credit, or (b) the payment of all sums owing in connection with the line of credit and a written request by the debtor to cancel the line of credit and the mortgage or deed of trust securing the line of credit, enter satisfaction upon the margin of the record of the mortgage or deed of trust, which entry shall be attested by the clerk of the chancery court and discharge and release the same, and shall bar all actions or suits brought thereon, and the title shall thereby revest in the grantor. For the purpose of this subsection (5), the requirement of a written request by the debtor may be satisfied by a prospective creditor’s delivery of a document, signed by the debtor, requesting cancellation of the line of credit and the mortgage or deed of trust securing the line of credit.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-23 Oil, gas, and mineral leases; cancellation of record upon expiration.

Whenever any oil, gas and mineral lease which is now or may hereafter be recorded in any county of this state shall expire or terminate, the holder of such oil, gas and mineral lease, or the last assignee of record thereof, as the case may be, shall be required to cancel of record such oil, gas and mineral lease by entering upon the margin of the record of such lease, a notation that said oil, gas and mineral lease has terminated and expired, which entry shall be attested by the clerk of the chancery court and shall discharge and release the lands therein described from said oil, gas and mineral lease; or the holder or last assignee of record, as the case may be, of an oil, gas and mineral lease may execute an instrument, duly recordable under the laws of this state, stating that the said oil, gas and mineral lease has expired and terminated and that no further rights or claims will be asserted thereunder. The chancery clerk shall be allowed a fee of One Dollar ($1.00) for making such cancellation, and shall not be required to index same on sectional index but shall be required to note the cancellation on the margin of the record where said lease is recorded and if said cancellation is by separate instrument he shall note the cancellation on the margin where lease is recorded showing book and page of said instrument of cancellation. If the holder of an oil, gas and mineral lease or the last assignee of record, as the case may be, shall not, within one (1) month after written request made by the lessor or his assigns, cancel on the record said oil, gas and mineral lease, or furnish proof, as above provided, that the same has expired and terminated, the lessee or the last assignee of record, as the case may be, of such oil, gas and mineral lease, shall forfeit the sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100), which may be recovered by suit on the part of the party aggrieved.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-24 Form of certain documents or instruments presented for recording; contents; exempt documents or instruments; additional recording fee for nonconforming documents or instruments.

Except as otherwise provided in subsections (3) and (4), any document or instrument presented to the clerk of the chancery court for recording shall meet the following requirements: Each document or instrument shall consist of one or more individual pages printed only on one (1) side. The document or instrument shall not consist of pages that are permanently bound or in a continuous form and shall not have any attachment stapled or otherwise affixed to any page except as necessary to comply with statutory requirements. However, the individual pages of a document or instrument may be stapled together for presentation for recording. A label that is firmly attached with a bar code or return address may be accepted for recording. All documents must be printed or typed in a font no smaller than ten-point in size. If a document or instrument, other than a plat or survey or a drawing related to a plat or survey, presented for recording contains type smaller than ten-point type, the document or instrument shall be accompanied by an exact typewritten or printed copy that meets the requirements of this section. Each document shall be of sufficient legibility to produce a clear reproduction. If a document or instrument, other than a plat or survey or a drawing related to a plat or survey, is not sufficiently legible to produce a clear reproduction, the document or instrument shall be accompanied by an exact typewritten or printed copy that meets the type size requirements of paragraph (b) and shall be recorded contemporaneously as additional pages of the document or instrument. Each document or instrument, other than a plat or survey or a drawing related to a plat or survey, shall be on white paper of not less than twenty-pound weight. All text within the document or instrument shall be of sufficient color and clarity to ensure that the text is readable when reproduced from the record. All signatures on a document or instrument shall be in black or blue ink and of sufficient color and clarity to ensure that the signatures are of sufficient legibility to produce a clear reproduction when the document or instrument is reproduced from the record. The corresponding name shall be typed, printed or stamped beneath the original signature. The typing or printing of a name or the application of an embossed or inked stamp shall not cover or otherwise materially interfere with any part of the document or instrument except where provided by law. Failure to print or type signatures as required in this paragraph does not invalidate the document or instrument. The first page of each document or instrument, other than a plat or survey or a drawing related to a plat or survey, shall have a top margin of at least three (3) inches of vertical space from left to right which shall be reserved for the recorder’s use. All other margins on the document or instrument shall be a minimum of three-fourths (3/4) of one (1) inch. Nonessential information including, but not limited to, form numbers or customer notations may be placed in a margin other than the top margin. A document may be recorded if a minor portion of a seal or incidental writing extends into a margin. The recorder shall not incur any liability for failure to show a seal or information that extends beyond the margin of the permanent archival record. Each document or instrument, other than a plat or survey or a drawing related to a plat or survey, that is presented for recording and that contains any of the following information shall have that information on the first page below the three-inch margin: The name, physical business mailing address and business or employment telephone number of the individual who prepared the document; and the name, mailing address and telephone number of every grantor, grantee, borrower, beneficiary, trustee or other party to the instrument. A return address. The title of the document or instrument. Any address and telephone number required by Section 27-3-51, Mississippi Code of 1972. The legal description of the property or indexing instruction per Section 89-5-33(3). If there is insufficient space on the first page for the entire legal description or the entire indexing instruction, immediately succeeding pages shall be used. The following documents or instruments are exempt from the format requirements of this section: A document or instrument that was executed before July 1, 2009. A military separation document or instrument. A document or instrument executed outside the United States. A certified copy of a document or instrument issued by a court or governmental agency, including a vital record. A document or instrument where one (1) of the original parties is deceased or otherwise incapacitated. A document or instrument formatted to meet court requirements. A federal tax lien. A filing under the Uniform Commercial Code. The recorder shall record a document or instrument that does not substantially conform to the format standards specified in subsections (1) and (2) of this section upon payment of an additional recording fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) per document or instrument. The fee shall be charged only for documents or instruments dated on or after July 1, 2009; this fee may not be charged for those documents or instruments specifically exempted in subsection (3). Failure to conform to the format standards specified in this section does not affect the validity or enforceability of the document or instrument.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-25 How instrument recorded and indexed; records public; copies.

It shall be the duty of the clerk of the chancery court to whom any written instrument is delivered to be recorded, and which is properly recordable in his county, to record the same without delay, together with the acknowledgments of proofs and the certificates thereof, and also the plats of surveys, schedules, and other papers thereto annexed, by entering them word for word in a fair handwriting, or typewriting, or by filling up printed forms, or by recording by photostat machine or other equally permanent photographic or electronic process, and entering the hour and minute, the day of the month, and the year when the instrument was delivered to him for record, and when recorded. Records filed or stored electronically may be in addition to, or in lieu of, the physical record on paper. He shall also carefully preserve all instruments of writing, which are properly acknowledged and delivered to him to be recorded, and after recording deliver them to the party entitled thereto on demand. He shall also put a complete alphabetical index, both direct and reverse, to each book, except as provided in subsection (2), herein; and every person shall have access, at proper times, to such books, and be entitled to transcripts from the same on paying the lawful fees. He shall record the deeds and other instruments in the order of time in which they are filed for record as far as practicable. In counties having a population in excess of one hundred nineteen thousand (119,000) with an assessed valuation of all taxable property therein in excess of Sixty-three Million Dollars ($63,000,000.00), and having two (2) cities wholly located therein, each with a population in excess of thirty thousand (30,000) persons according to the preceding Federal Census, wherein the clerk of the chancery court has a well kept general index, both direct and reverse, for each kind or class of record books as required by Section 89-5-33, the board of supervisors may, by order spread upon its minutes, authorize the clerk of the chancery court to omit putting such index in each separate book of the records to which such general index is kept. This section shall not be construed to authorize and empower the boards of supervisors to purchase any photostat machines or other equally permanent photographic or electronic processes. From and after July 1, 2009, instruments to be recorded shall comply with the provisions of Section 89-5-24.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-27 Receipt for instruments delivered to chancery clerk for recording.

The clerk of the chancery court, or his deputy, shall give a receipt for every written instrument delivered to him to be recorded, if demanded, in which he shall state the name of the parties, the date of delivery and quantity of land or other property therein specified, and shall also certify on or under such instrument the hour and minute, the day and month, and the year when he received it; and when the same is recorded, he shall make an appropriate reference where it is recorded, and an itemized statement of his fees therefor, and he shall deliver it to the party entitled to receive it when called for.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-29 Mortgages and deeds of trust on land; how recorded.

Except as hereinafter provided, all mortgages and deeds of trust upon land given to secure the payment of money, and all instruments of writing whereby a trustee is substituted under any such deed of trust, and all instruments of writing canceling or satisfying, or authorizing the cancellation or satisfaction of any such mortgage or deed of trust, shall be recorded separately from other instruments relating to land or records, and such records shall be called “records of mortgages and deeds of trust on land.”

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-31 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1993, ch. 546, § 2, eff from and after January 1, 1994. [Codes, 1906, § 2810; Hemingway’s 1917, § 2311; 1930, § 2159; 1942, § 880; Laws, 1946, ch. 172, § 1]

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-33 General index; direct and reverse.

The clerk of the chancery court shall provide a general index, direct and reverse, on which shall be entered, in regular alphabetical order under the appropriate letter, the name of each maker of the instrument and the name of each person to whom made; and in like alphabetical order under its appropriate title shall be entered the name of each person to whom the instrument is made and the name of each person by whom made. A general index, both direct and reverse, of mortgages and deeds of trust on land shall be kept separate from the general index to other records which the chancery clerk is required to keep, and he shall make the proper entries in it as he is required to make in the other general index. Immediately on receipt of any instrument to be recorded, the clerk shall make these entries in the appropriate general index and, after recording the instrument, the book and page in which the record is made shall be noted opposite each name thus placed in such general index, both direct and reverse. The clerk of the chancery court shall maintain a sectional index to instruments describing land which are also entered in the general index. Each entry shall state the name of each maker of the instrument, the name of each person to whom made, and the date, type of instrument and the appropriate reference where recorded. Opposite each such entry, the sectional index shall indicate the location of the land described in the instrument (a) by quarter section or governmental lot or other applicable subdivision of each section, township and range established by governmental survey, or (b) by lot number for platted subdivisions, official surveys, and unofficial subdivisions and surveys commonly in use. The clerk may elect to keep the sectional index by quarter-quarter section rather than by the quarter section, but shall not require a preparer’s indexing instruction to describe the quarter-quarter section. Except as otherwise provided in this section, every instrument describing land and required to be entered in the general index shall also be entered in the sectional index. In the event of conflict between the general and the sectional indices, the notice imparted by the general index shall prevail except to the extent the land is described by lot number for platted subdivisions, official surveys, and unofficial subdivisions and surveys commonly in use, the sectional index shall prevail. Every surveyor or other person who prepares a legal description of land or who prepares an instrument utilizing an existing description and every person who prepares a deed of trust shall (except as herein provided) include an indexing instruction which shall state the section, township and range and one or more quarter sections or governmental lots or other applicable subdivisions of each section in which the land is located. The preparer, at his option, may elect to note the quarter-quarter section in which the land is located, but shall not be required to do so. However, if the section or quarter sections or governmental lots or other applicable subdivisions of the section cannot feasibly be determined by such surveyor or other person, the indexing instruction shall contain a statement to that effect and shall then state all of the sections and quarter sections or governmental lots or other applicable subdivisions of the section in which the described land could possibly be located. The indexing instruction shall be distinctly set apart in the instrument so as to be readily apparent to the chancery clerk. A chancery clerk shall refuse to accept delivery of an instrument which does not contain the indexing instruction required in this section unless the instrument otherwise discloses the information required to be included in an indexing instruction. To be accepted for recording, an instrument shall state the name, address and telephone number of the person, entity or firm preparing it. If prepared by an attorney, the instrument shall also include the attorney’s Mississippi bar number. The fact that the indexing instruction or preparer information may be omitted, incorrect, incomplete or false shall not invalidate the instrument or the filing thereof for record. The chancery clerk shall enter the instrument in the sectional index according to the indexing instruction, or equivalent information if accepted for filing without an indexing instruction, and shall make no entries under any other quarter sections or governmental lots or subdivisions of the section. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following kinds of instruments shall be indexed as stated: Instruments describing land by reference to officially platted subdivisions or to official surveys or to unofficial subdivisions and surveys commonly in use will not require an indexing instruction and shall be indexed in the general index and the sectional index for such subdivision or survey without further requirement. Instruments describing land or interests in land solely by reference to previously recorded instruments or affecting previously recorded instruments shall not require an indexing instruction and need not be entered in the sectional index but shall be entered in the general index and noted on the margin of the previously recorded instrument. Instruments describing land or interests in land by specific description of certain parcels and, for other parcels, by reference to previously recorded instruments, shall be entered in the sectional index according to the indexing instruction for the specific description and also noted on the margin of the previously recorded instrument, in addition to the general index. Instruments containing blanket descriptions of all land within a stated geographic area without specific description shall be entered in a separate part of the sectional index or in an index of indefinite records or an index of blanket conveyances in addition to the general index. Instruments describing land in irregular sections (all or any part of a section not capable of being divided into quarter sections for indexing purposes) shall be entered in the general index and in an appropriate sectional index maintained by the chancery clerk. The indexing instruction, however, shall be proper and complete if it states no more than the number of the irregular section or sections in which the land is located or, as above provided, in which the land could possibly be located. When an instrument describes land within an irregular section according to officially platted subdivisions or to official surveys or to unofficial subdivisions or surveys commonly in use, it shall be indexed in the sectional index for such subdivisions or surveys. When an instrument has been restored to service from microfilm or other archived record, the chancery clerk shall enter a notation on the margin stating that it is a substituted record and stating the date on which it was restored to service. Such marginal notation shall then constitute notice that the general index must be examined for instruments filed prior to such date which may have been noted on the margin of the original record but do not appear on the margin of the restored record. The clerk of the chancery court shall enter instruments in the sectional index by the end of the twentieth day the office is open following the day on which the instrument is filed, except for records of tax sales. If the chancery clerk elects to abbreviate the names of parties to an instrument in the indices, the clerk shall maintain a list of standard abbreviations used for that purpose and shall adhere to such list. The clerk of the chancery court shall not correct or alter an entry made in any index, whether kept manually or by computer, unless the date and time of the change is clearly disclosed on the revised record. If insufficient space is available for making entries on the margin of a recorded instrument, the chancery clerk may enter on the margin a reference where a continuation sheet is located. Except as expressly provided herein, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to modify the requirements of other statutes regarding the duties of the clerk of the chancery court to index and record instruments affecting the title to land.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-35 How certain conveyances indexed.

Every conveyance by a sheriff, constable, marshal, master, commissioner, executor, administrator, guardian, trustee, or other person, in an official or representative character, shall be indexed by the clerk in proper alphabetical order as the conveyance of each person who executed it, and, in like manner, as the conveyance of each person whose property is sold and conveyed; and, for failure herein, he shall be liable in damages and for a penalty of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) to any person sustaining damage by such failure.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-37 Name of beneficiary must be disclosed in mortgage or deed of trust to be recorded; exception.

The clerk of the chancery court, or his deputy, shall not record any mortgage or deed of trust in which the name of the beneficiary is not disclosed therein, and if such instrument is recorded it shall not impart notice to anyone. But the preceding sentence shall not apply if the mortgage or deed of trust discloses as beneficiary the name of an agent or other representative designated as such of one or more holders of the secured indebtedness in which event there shall be no requirement to disclose the holders of promissory notes, bonds, certificates of participation, trustee’s certificates or the like secured by the mortgage or deed of trust. The assignment or transfer of a secured indebtedness need not be filed for record nor entered on the margin of the record if the holder thereof is represented by an agent, trustee or the like disclosed as beneficiary in the mortgage or deed of trust.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-39 Books of record not to be removed.

A book of record of conveyances shall not be removed by writ or subpoena duces tecum, or otherwise, before any court, out of the courthouse in which such record is kept, when a certified copy or transcript may be given in evidence.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-41 Records in counties divided into two districts.

Where it is not now so provided by law, in any county divided into two (2) districts for circuit and chancery courts, the board of supervisors may, by an order entered on its minutes, to go into effect six (6) weeks thereafter, require the clerk of the chancery court to transcribe into new record books the record of all conveyances theretofore made, and record all conveyances thereafter made affecting property situated wholly or partly in the district not before having the records; and all conveyances shall thereafter be recorded only in the proper district. And the records of conveyances in such district shall be kept and have the same effect as if they were several counties.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-43 Penalty on clerk for failure of duty.

Any clerk who shall refuse or fail to perform any of the duties herein required shall, for every such refusal or neglect, be liable on his official bond to any party injured for all damages which such party may have sustained by reason of the nonperformance of such duty.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-45 Substitution of trustee must appear of record; general substitution allowed for certain beneficiaries.

Sales of land made under deeds of trust by substituted trustees shall not convey the interest of the grantor or grantors therein, but shall be absolutely null and void, both at law and in equity, unless the substitution shall appear of record in the office of the chancery clerk of the county where the land is situated, and unless it shall so appear by being actually spread at large upon the record before the first advertisement or notice of sale shall have been posted or published; the filing for record or lodging with the clerk not being sufficient. Such substitution, however, may so appear by a separate instrument recorded as above set out in all respects, or a copy of such substitution may be recorded as above set out. Provided, however, that where the beneficiary named in the deed of trust is an agency of the United States or the State of Mississippi, a national or state chartered bank or savings and loan association, a federal land bank, a production credit association, or an insurance company, the beneficiary may substitute the trustee named therein and the trustee named in all deeds of trust held by such beneficiary in the county, by recording in the office of the chancery clerk in the county where the land encumbered is situated one (1) instrument designated as a general substitution. It shall not be necessary for the general substitution to identify individually deeds of trust affected, or the grantors therein, it being sufficient if the instrument recites the name and address of the beneficiary and declares that its purpose is to name a substitute trustee for all mortgages or deeds of trust held by the named beneficiary which are recorded in the county. All general substitutions shall be indexed by the chancery clerk in a separate book especially designated for such purpose.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-47 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1989, ch. 515, § 9, eff from and after January 1, 1990. § 89-5-47 . [Codes, 1930, § 2171; 1942, § 893; Laws, 1924, ch. 226] § 89-5-49 . [Codes, 1930, § 2172; 1942, § 894; Laws, 1924, ch. 226] § 89-5-51 . [Codes, 1930, § 2173; 1942, § 895; Laws, 1924, ch. 226] § 89-5-53 . [Codes, 1930, § 2174; 1942, § 896; Laws, 1924, ch. 226; Laws, 1978, ch. 529 § 1] Editor’s Notes — Former § 89-5-47 specified the place for filing notice of a federal tax lien. For provisions governing filing of federal tax liens from and after January 1, 1990, see Uniform Federal Lien Registration Act, §§ 85-8-1 et seq. Former § 89-5-49 required notice of a federal tax lien to be entered in a federal tax lien index. For provisions governing filing of federal tax liens from and after January 1, 1990, see Uniform Federal Lien Registration Act, §§ 85-8-1 et seq. Former § 89-5-51 related to entering notice of discharge of a lien. For provisions governing filing of federal tax liens from and after January 1, 1990, see Uniform Federal Lien Registration Act, §§ 85-8-1 et seq. Former § 89-5-53 provided for compensation of the chancery clerk for filing and indexing notice of lien, and each certificate of discharge. For provisions governing filing of federal tax liens from and after January 1, 1990, see Uniform Federal Lien Registration Act, §§ 85-8-1 et seq.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-103 Definitions.

In this article: “Document” means information that is: Inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form; and Eligible to be recorded in the land records maintained by the chancery clerk. “Electronic” means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. “Electronic document” means a document that is received by the chancery clerk in an electronic form. “Electronic signature” means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document. “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-105 Validity of electronic documents.

If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be an original, be on paper or another tangible medium, or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic document satisfying this article. If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be signed, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic signature. A requirement that a document or a signature associated with a document be notarized, acknowledged, verified, witnessed, or made under oath is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized to perform that act, and all other information required to be included, is attached to or logically associated with the document or signature. A physical or electronic image of a stamp, impression, or seal need not accompany an electronic signature.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-107 Recording of documents.

In this section, “paper document” means a document that is received by the chancery clerk in a form that is not electronic. A chancery clerk: Who implements any of the functions listed in this section shall do so in compliance with standards established by the commission. May receive, index, store, archive, and transmit electronic documents. May provide for access to, and for search and retrieval of, documents and information by electronic means. Who accepts electronic documents for recording shall continue to accept paper documents as authorized by state law and shall place entries for both types of documents in the same index. May convert paper documents accepted for recording into electronic form. May convert into electronic form information recorded before the chancery clerk began to record electronic documents. May accept electronically any fee or tax that the chancery clerk is authorized to collect. May agree with other officials of a state or a political subdivision thereof, or of the United States, on procedures or processes to facilitate the electronic satisfaction of prior approvals and conditions precedent to recording and the electronic payment of fees and taxes.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-109 Administration and standards.

The Mississippi Electronic Recording Commission consisting of eleven (11) members is created to adopt standards to implement this article. The membership of the commission shall comprise the following: A person appointed by the Governor; A person appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; A person appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; Three (3) members of the Chancery Clerks’ Association; A person appointed by the Mississippi Association of Supervisors; The director of the Mississippi Information Technology Services or his designee; and Three (3) persons appointed by the Secretary of State. Appointed members of the commission shall serve a term of two (2) years from the date of appointment as evidenced by letters to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, with the appointment letter last received being the effective date of appointment. Any member serving by virtue of appointment shall serve until a successor is duly appointed. Appointed members shall be eligible for reappointment at the end of their terms. Appointments are to be made no later than October 1, 2011, and the initial meeting of the commission is to be held no later than November 1, 2011. The initial meeting is to be called at a time and place designated by the Secretary of State who shall preside until a permanent chair is elected. The election of a permanent chair shall be held at the initial meeting. The chair shall serve during the chair’s tenure but shall not serve consecutive terms as chair. The commission shall establish rules to govern the conduct of its meetings and shall elect such officers as provided in the rules. A quorum shall consist of no fewer than six (6) members. To keep the standards and practices of chancery clerks in this state in harmony with the standards and practices of recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially this article and to keep the technology used by chancery clerks in this state compatible with technology used by recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially this article, the commission, so far as is consistent with the purposes, policies, and provisions of this article, in adopting, amending, and repealing standards shall consider: Standards and practices of other jurisdictions; The most recent standards promulgated by national standard-setting bodies, such as the Property Records Industry Association; The views of interested persons and governmental officials and entities; The needs of counties of varying size, population, and resources; and Standards requiring adequate information security protection to ensure that electronic documents are accurate, authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-111 Uniformity of application and construction.

In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-5-113 Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.

This article modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 USCS Section 7001, et seq.) but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act (15 USCS Section 7001(c)) or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that act (15 USCS Section 7003(b)).
Source: Public.Resource.Org MS CodeURL: https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-ms/transforms/ms/ocms/r78/gov.ms.code.title.89.htmlFetched: 6/10/2026

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