Mississippi court records are available online through two separate systems. Trial court files (circuit, chancery, and county courts) live in the Mississippi Electronic Courts system, known as MEC. Appellate filings and opinions from the Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals live in a separate section of the Mississippi Judiciary website. Both require you to register before you can pull documents, and MEC charges per-page fees on top of an annual account fee.1State of Mississippi Judiciary. MEC General Information
Figure Out Which Court Handled the Case
The portal you use depends on the court, so identify that first.2State of Mississippi Judiciary. About the Courts
- Circuit courts handle felony prosecutions, civil lawsuits, and appeals from lower courts.
- Chancery courts handle divorce, custody, adoptions, guardianships, wills, and property disputes.
- County courts handle eminent domain, juvenile matters, and some civil cases shared with circuit and chancery courts.
- Justice courts handle small claims up to $3,500, misdemeanors, and traffic offenses outside city limits.
- Municipal courts handle city misdemeanors, ordinance violations, and city traffic cases.
Records from circuit, chancery, and county courts are all in MEC, which as of the mid-2023 statewide rollout covers all 82 circuit courts, all chancery courts, and all 24 county courts.3State of Mississippi Judiciary. Electronic Filing Completed Statewide for Mississippi Courts Justice court and municipal court records are not in MEC; for those you contact the clerk in the city or county where the case was heard.
Register for MEC
You cannot browse MEC anonymously. Registration runs through the Mississippi Electronic Courts online registration portal, where you select your user type (attorney or non-attorney), enter your contact information, and agree to the terms of service.4Mississippi Electronic Courts. Terms and Conditions The annual registration fee is $10.5Mississippi Electronic Courts. Mississippi Electronic Courts System – Registration Paying by debit card, credit card, or electronic check gets you same-day access. Paying by mailed check delays access until the payment clears.
Search a Case in MEC
Once you are logged in, MEC organizes courts by county. Pick the specific court where the case was filed, then search by party name or case number.6State of Mississippi Judiciary. Mississippi Electronic Courts A case number produces the fastest, cleanest result. Name searches work, but narrow them with a date range if the name is common. Each result opens the case docket, listing every filing in chronological order. Click a docket entry to generate a PDF you can read in the browser or download.
One login gets you into every participating court statewide.1State of Mississippi Judiciary. MEC General Information The system is available around the clock.
What It Costs
Beyond the $10 annual registration, MEC charges 20 cents per page to view a document, run a report, or print anything.7Mississippi Electronic Courts. Mississippi Electronic Courts Attorney Tip Sheet Attorneys of record in a case view that case’s docket sheet for free. Everyone else pays the per-page rate for everything, including the docket.
When you register, you agree to be responsible for all fees run up through your account.4Mississippi Electronic Courts. Terms and Conditions Costs climb fast on long filings, so know the case number and the specific documents you want before you start clicking.
Appellate Records: Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals records are not in MEC. They live on the Mississippi Judiciary website, which hosts dockets, briefs, orders, and opinions. Published appellate opinions dating back to 1996 are free to read without logging in.8State of Mississippi Judiciary. State of Mississippi Judiciary
To use the General Docket search (for tracking appeals, briefing schedules, and case status), you sign in through the same registration portal used for MEC.8State of Mississippi Judiciary. State of Mississippi Judiciary If all you need is a ruling, skip the login and go straight to the opinions.
Cases You Won’t Find Online
Some cases will not appear in either system, no matter how carefully you search.
Youth court records are confidential by statute. Disclosure is limited to court staff, guardians ad litem, and CASA volunteers unless a youth court judge orders otherwise, and anyone who receives records under such an order must also keep them confidential.9FindLaw. Mississippi Code Title 43 Public Welfare 43-21-261 Juvenile delinquency, abuse and neglect proceedings, and related matters will not show up in MEC.
MEC also flags certain case types as restricted. The non-attorney terms of service state that access is limited to non-restricted cases and point to the system’s Administrative Procedures for the full list.4Mississippi Electronic Courts. Terms and Conditions A judge can also seal an individual record or an entire case by order. Sensitive custody disputes, adoptions, and guardianships are often sealed or redacted in part. If a case you expect to find isn’t there, a restriction is a likelier explanation than a system error.
And as noted above, justice courts and municipal courts sit outside MEC entirely. Some cities may run their own portals, but there is no statewide system for those lower courts. Call the clerk directly.
When You Need a Certified Copy
What you download from MEC is an informational copy. It shows what was filed, but it does not carry the clerk’s certification. For a background check, another legal proceeding, or any official use, you will generally need a certified copy stamped and signed by the clerk’s office in the county where the case was filed.
Fees vary by county. One Mississippi county, for example, charges $1.00 per document for certification and $1.00 per page for copies made by the clerk. Call the clerk before making the trip to confirm current fees and whether mail requests are accepted. For chancery court cases, the chancery clerk handles certification rather than the circuit clerk.