Selling a house in Mississippi: the paperwork

Every document a Mississippi sale commonly touches, who usually produces it, and the law behind it. In most sales the seller's own share is small, and this page shows you which part that usually is.

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12 documents · 6 questions · about a 11 minute read · free, and we don't ask for your email

6documents are usually the seller's

out of 12 in a Mississippi sale

Tell us about your sale

Answer what you know. Skip what you don't. Every answer takes something off your list or explains why it stays on.

The home

Was the home built before 1978?

Older homes carry a federal lead paint disclosure. It's the same in every state.

Is the home in an HOA, condo, or co-op?

The association has to produce a package, and they can take weeks. Worth knowing early.

Is the home on the water, or in a flood zone?

Waterfront and floodplain homes pick up extra disclosures in most states.

You and the title

Are you married?

Some states need a spouse's signature even when they're not on the title. Many don't.

Did you inherit the home, or is it in probate?

How the home came to you decides which deed you can sign.

Will you be at the closing yourself?

Signing from a distance takes a power of attorney, and it has to be arranged early.

Usually the seller's to produce

In most sales nobody else prepares these. Whether each one applies to you depends on your home, your title, and your buyer.

Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS)Pre-listing / before transfer (§ 89-1-503)
Seller's Statement of Exclusion (if exempt)Pre-listing
Spousal joinder (homestead, § 89-1-29)On deed at closingOn your list because are you married
Purchase & Sale AgreementIn PSA
Lead-based paint disclosure (pre-1978)Attached to PSAOn your list because was the home built before 1978
FIRPTA affidavitClosing

Usually drafted for you to sign

These commonly arrive already written. Read them, and ask about anything that looks wrong before you sign.

Warranty deedClosing; recorded post-closing

Usually somebody else's to prepare

Commonly handled by a title company, an attorney, a lender, or the county. Listed so none of them is a surprise.

Termite/WDIR (if lender requires)Attached to PSA/closing
Settlement statementClosing
Mortgage payoff/satisfactionPost-closing
HOA/POA resale disclosureHOA resale packetOn your list because is the home in an hoa, condo, or co-op, or will you be at the closing yourself
MWUA wind policy docs (coastal)Coastal transactionsOn your list because is the home on the water, or in a flood zone

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How Mississippi generally runs a sale

The broad shape of a sale there, as the research found it. Counties and cities add their own rules on top of all of this.

Closing structureMississippi is technically a title state but functions as a partial-attorney state. Attorney closings are common; title examination and deed preparation are treated as the practice of law.

Marital propertyNOT community property. Dower and curtesy have been abolished. Protection runs through homestead spousal joinder — Miss.

HomesteadMiss. Code § 85-3-21 (homestead exemption — land and buildings owned and occupied as a residence, up to 160 acres; ad valorem homestead framework in Title 27, Ch. 33).

Standard deedWarranty deed standard.

Disclosure regimeSTATUTORY disclosure state. Miss. Code § 89-1-501 et seq. requires the transferor/seller of residential real property (not fewer than one nor more than four dwelling units) to deliver a Prop...

Transfer taxMississippi has NO state real estate transfer tax, documentary-stamp tax, or deed tax — one of the few states with none, and no transfer return is required (per DeedClaim: "Mississippi charg...

RONMississippi did NOT enact a full in-state RON commissioning statute. It authorizes electronic recording / tangible copies of electronic documents via the Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial...

Recording actNotice state (Miss. Code § 89-5-1, § 89-5-3): an unrecorded conveyance is void as to a subsequent purchaser for value without notice or any creditor;

Recording officeChancery Clerk of the county (all 82 counties).

Local overlaysGulf Coast wind pool (MWUA) in six coastal counties; oil/gas activity in some counties.

Other things Mississippi asks about

These come up in Mississippi and almost nowhere else. We don't ask them above because we can't answer them for you yet, but they're worth raising with your title company.

Is the home 1–4 dwelling units and the sale by/with a licensed broker (→ MREC PCDS required)?
Are oil/gas/mineral rights severed?

Before you rely on any of this

This is a compilation of published state requirements, not legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it or your sale. Laws and forms change, counties and cities add their own rules, and whether any of this applies to you depends on facts we don't know. Treat every item as a starting point for a question, not as an answer. Confirm anything you plan to rely on against the official source we link, and run your list past a title company or an attorney licensed in your state.

These counts describe a typical sale, not yours. Which documents you need turns on facts about your home, your title, your buyer, and your county, and one unusual answer can add several or remove them.

Who prepares each document is what usually happens, not a rule. Practice differs between states, between counties, and between one title company and the next, and your contract can move work from one side to the other.

Keighbor is not a real estate brokerage and does not represent you. Nobody here is your agent. We don't negotiate, set your price, recommend a course of action, or take a commission. We provide software that helps you organize your side of the sale.

The full Mississippi reference

The rest of the research, with every citation kept. This is the same material our own product is built on, and nothing is held back for paying customers. It describes the law as the research found it, not as it applies to your sale.

Always-Required Documents (Every Mississippi Transaction)

Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS). Miss. Code § 89-1-501 et seq.; MREC form. Tag: [SELLER] (seller must originate). Contents: MREC-promulgated categories; good-faith disclosure of known material defects (§ 89-1-511). Timing: as soon as practicable before transfer; late delivery triggers a 3-day (in-person)/5-day (mail) buyer termination right (§ 89-1-503). Delivery: to the buyer. Consequence: does not void the transfer but the seller is liable for actual damages (§ 89-1-523); buyer put on inquiry notice. How to find it: MREC website (mrec.ms.gov) forms library.
Deed (warranty deed). [SELLER] executes; [ATTORNEY] prepares. Contents: grantor/grantee, legal description, consideration, warranty words, acknowledgment (Miss. Code § 89-3-1). Notarization required. Consequence: cannot record; no constructive notice.
Spousal joinder (if married + homestead). Miss. Code § 89-1-29 — conveyance void without the spouse's signature.
Settlement statement (RESPA/TRID if financed). No transfer-tax filing (none exists).

Sometimes-Required Documents (Triggered)

Trigger: seller qualifies for a PCDS exclusion → Seller's Statement of Exclusion (MREC). [SELLER]. Exclusions include transfers between co-owners, to a spouse/lineal relative, to/from government, of land with no dwelling, by a fiduciary in probate/trust administration, and mortgagor-in-default to mortgagee.
Trigger: pre-1978 dwelling → federal lead-based paint disclosure (see § 10). [SELLER].
Trigger: buyer financing → WDIR/termite report. Lender/buyer condition. [BUYER/LENDER OF RECORD].
Trigger: coastal county → MWUA wind pool policy; elevation certificate; FORTIFIED documentation. [BUYER]/insurer, but a seller valuation/disclosure touchpoint.
Trigger: foreign seller → FIRPTA (see § 10).
Trigger: HOA/POA → resale packet. [HOA].
Trigger: probate/estate → court-authorized conveyance / fiduciary deed. [ATTORNEY].

Prescribed-Language Items (Substance-Over-Form)

PCDS content (§ 89-1-509): the disclosure must be on the MREC form or "another form that contains the identical information" and "may not be personalized in any fashion." A FSBO seller satisfies this by using the exact MREC PCDS form (freely available from MREC) rather than drafting a custom disclosure. NOTE: the statutory disclosure duty is expressly triggered when the transfer is "by, or with the aid of, a duly licensed real estate broker or salesperson." A pure FSBO transaction with no licensee arguably falls outside the strict statutory trigger — but common-law and § 89-1-527 nonmaterial-fact rules still apply, and using the MREC form remains best practice. Verify before use with counsel.
§ 89-1-527 nonmaterial facts: the statute affirmatively protects sellers from liability for not disclosing death/homicide/suicide/HIV-AIDS occupancy and sex-offender registry data.
§ 89-1-29 spousal signature on the deed.
Federal lead-paint language (see § 10).

Local / Municipal Overlays

Coastal wind pool (MWUA): six counties — Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, Stone, George (Miss. Code § 83-34-1 et seq.). Insurer of last resort for wind/hail. Per HomeDataReports, "coastal Mississippi homeowners often need three separate policies — standard homeowners (excluding wind), wind/hail through the MWUA, and flood through the NFIP … combined costs can exceed $12,000 annually." MWUA wind/hail rates rose 16% effective January 1, 2026 (announced by Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney; reported after state subsidies were rolled back). FORTIFIED roof endorsements are available on eligible Wind Pool policies.
Post-Katrina building codes: Hancock/Harrison/Jackson enforce elevated coastal wind-design codes (e.g., Ocean Springs enforces a 160 mph wind-load requirement); permanent hurricane shutters require current product approval.
No state or municipal transfer tax. Recording via Chancery Clerk; nominal fees vary by county.
Jackson, Gulfport, Biloxi, Hattiesburg: no widely documented POS inspection ordinance — verify with each municipality. Hattiesburg-area closings often occur at the Forrest or Lamar County Chancery Clerk.

Post-Closing Obligations

Recording: deed recorded with the Chancery Clerk; notice-act priority runs from filing among competing holders. No transfer-tax filing (none exists).
1099-S: settlement agent/attorney files (26 U.S.C. § 6045(e)).
Capital gains: federal § 121; Mississippi income tax on non-excluded gain.
Mortgage satisfaction: lender records cancellation.
Homestead exemption: the new owner files the ad valorem homestead exemption with the county (Title 27, Ch. 33).

Federal Overlays (Cross-Reference)

See master methodology § 8. Lead paint (Title X); FIRPTA (§ 1445); 1099-S (§ 6045(e)); FinCEN RRE Rule (31 CFR 1031.320) — effective March 1, 2026, then vacated in its entirety and enforcement enjoined nationwide March 19, 2026 in Flowers Title Companies, LLC v. Bessent, No. 6:25-cv-00127 (E.D. Tex.) (Kernodle, J.); FinCEN guidance confirms reporting persons "are not currently required to file real estate reports with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force." A conflicting ruling, Fidelity Nat'l Fin., Inc. v. Bessent, No. 3:25-cv-00554 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 20, 2026), upheld the Rule; FinCEN is expected to consider appealing Flowers to the Fifth Circuit and may seek a stay. Treat as SUSPENDED pending appeal. Also: wire fraud; Fair Housing; RESPA/TRID.

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