Mississippi expungement law runs through Miss. Code Section 99-19-71, and it works the same in every county. If your case was dismissed or you were found not guilty, the court shall expunge the record, with no waiting period. A first-offense misdemeanor can be expunged with no statutory wait. One felony per lifetime can be expunged five years after the sentence is fully completed, unless the felony is on the excluded list. Embezzlement is on that list and cannot be expunged. The filing fee for a conviction petition is $150.
Mississippi Expungement Law Explained: One Statute, Four Main Paths
Expungement in Mississippi runs mainly through one statute, Miss. Code § 99-19-71, and it applies statewide. A record in Hattiesburg is cleared the same way as a record in Jackson, Gulfport, or Oxford: you petition the court where your case ended, and the statute controls what the judge can do.
The statute gives four main paths. An arrest that never became a conviction. A first-offense misdemeanor. One eligible felony after a five-year wait. And a first-offense DUI, which runs under its own statute, § 63-11-30(13). Youth court records have their own rules on top of that. The path you are on decides the waiting period, the court you file in, and whether the judge has discretion to say no.
Many people finish their case but keep paying for it, on background checks, in job interviews, and on rental applications. Expungement is the legal tool that ends that. This page walks through who qualifies, which felonies are excluded, what the process costs, and what an expungement order actually does. Every legal statement here is drawn from the current text of the Mississippi Code.
Who Qualifies for Expungement in Mississippi
Most people who call us have already decided they want their record cleared. The real question is which lane they are in, because the waiting period, the court, and the odds are different in each one.
Your case was dismissed or you were found not guilty
This is the strongest position. Under § 99-19-71(4), the court shall expunge the record of a case where you were arrested and released and the case was dismissed, the charges were dropped, there was no disposition, or you were found not guilty at trial. The statute sets no waiting period for these petitions and requires no finding that you are rehabilitated.
You were convicted of a first-offense misdemeanor
Section 99-19-71(1) lets a first offender petition to expunge a misdemeanor conviction that is not a traffic violation. Petition the justice, county, circuit, or municipal court where you were convicted. The statute sets no waiting period here, which surprises most people. If you qualify, you may be able to file now.
You were convicted of one felony
Section 99-19-71(2) allows one felony expungement in a lifetime, five years after you successfully complete every term and condition of your sentence and pay all fines and court costs. You file in the court where you were convicted, and the judge may grant it only after determining, on the record or in writing, that you are rehabilitated from the offense. Convictions arising from a common nucleus of operative facts, meaning the same incident, count as one.
Your conviction was a first-offense DUI
DUI runs on its own track under § 63-11-30(13), not the general expungement law. You petition the circuit court of the county of conviction at least five years after completing your sentence, and six conditions all have to be met. Our first-offense DUI page walks through them.
One thing worth saying plainly about Path 1. A large share of Mississippi arrests never end in a conviction at all. Charges get dropped. Cases sit for years with no disposition. The arrest record does not clean itself up when that happens; it stays visible on background checks until a court expunges it. If your case stalled somewhere between arrest and indictment, our guide to the Mississippi arrest-to-indictment timeline explains why cases stall and what a case with no disposition looks like on paper.
There is a fifth lane for youth court records, covered in its own section below. And one door is closed no matter the path: under § 99-19-71(5), no public official can expunge a conviction related to official duties.
The Felonies Mississippi Will Not Expunge
Section 99-19-71 works by exclusion. It names the felonies that can never be expunged, which means a felony not on this list is presumptively eligible. That is the opposite of what most people assume, and it is worth checking before you decide your record is permanent. The excluded offenses are:
- A crime of violence as provided in Section 97-3-2
- Arson, first degree, as provided in Sections 97-17-1 and 97-17-3
- Trafficking in controlled substances as provided in Section 41-29-139
- A third, fourth, or subsequent offense DUI as provided in Section 63-11-30(2)(c) and (2)(d)
- Felon in possession of a firearm as provided in Section 97-37-5
- Failure to register as a sex offender as provided in Section 45-33-33
- Voyeurism as provided in Section 97-29-61
- Witness intimidation as provided in Section 97-9-113
- Abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable person as provided in Section 43-47-19
- Embezzlement as provided in Sections 97-11-25 and 97-23-19
The one on that list people ask about most is embezzlement. The answer is no. Embezzlement cannot be expunged in Mississippi, no matter how long ago the conviction happened or how completely the sentence was served. The statute names it, and the courts have no discretion to go around the list. If you are facing an embezzlement charge that has not yet been resolved, the time to protect your record is before a conviction is entered, not after.
How the Expungement Process Works, Step by Step
Expungement is a petition, not a form you mail in. Here is the sequence for clearing a Mississippi conviction under § 99-19-71.
- Confirm your path. Pull the record and match it to the right statute. The petition looks different for a dismissed case, a misdemeanor, a felony, and a DUI, and filing under the wrong one costs you months.
- File in the right court. A misdemeanor petition goes to the justice, county, circuit, or municipal court where you were convicted. A felony petition goes to the court in which the conviction was had. A first-offense DUI petition goes to the circuit court of the county of conviction.
- Pay the filing fee. Section 99-19-72(1) sets a $150 fee for a petition to expunge a conviction: $100 to the Judicial System Operation Fund, $40 to the District Attorneys Operation Fund, and $10 retained by the circuit clerk. That is the court's fee and is separate from attorney fees.
- Give the district attorney notice. Under § 99-19-71(2)(b), the district attorney must get ten days' written notice before any hearing. The DA can appear and oppose the petition.
- The hearing, if the court sets one. Whether to hold a hearing at all is in the court's discretion. On a felony petition, the judge may grant the expungement only after determining, on the record or in writing, that you are rehabilitated from the offense. That finding is the heart of the case, and it is where preparation shows.
- The order. If the court grants the petition, the record is expunged from public records, and Section 45-27-9(10) directs the Mississippi Criminal Information Center to promptly expunge and destroy its records of the conviction. If the court denies a felony petition, the statute requires the findings to be identified specifically and not generally, so you know exactly what stood in the way.
A first-offense DUI expungement adds its own paperwork. The order must state the justification for the expungement in writing, and it must be forwarded to the Department of Public Safety within five days of entry. DPS keeps a permanent confidential registry of every DUI expungement, because the relief is available once per lifetime.
What Expungement Does and Does Not Do
The core of the statute is a legal fiction in your favor. An expunction order restores you, in the contemplation of the law, to the status you occupied before the arrest or indictment. Practically, that means you cannot be held guilty of perjury or of giving a false statement because you did not disclose the arrest, indictment, or conviction when someone asked. That is the protection people are really buying.
There are limits worth knowing before you file, and most websites skip them:
An employer can still ask
The statute says plainly that an order of expunction does not preclude an employer from asking a prospective employee whether an expunction order has been entered on his behalf. The record leaves public view; the question can still be asked.
Jury service is an exception
If you are called as a prospective juror, you are required to advise the court, in camera, of the previous conviction and the expunction. The court then advises counsel before jury selection.
A nonpublic record survives
The Mississippi Criminal Information Center keeps a nonpublic record for the sole purpose of deciding whether you are a first offender in a later proceeding, and the district attorney may retain a nonpublic record for law enforcement purposes only.
It does not restore gun rights
Section 99-19-71 says nothing about firearms. Section 97-37-5(1) allows a convicted felon to possess a firearm only after a pardon, federal relief from disability under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), or a certificate of rehabilitation under Section 97-37-5(3). Expungement is not on that list, and it is a separate petition.
Nonadjudication vs. Expungement
People often use the words interchangeably, but nonadjudication comes earlier and works differently. Under § 99-15-26, on a guilty plea the court can withhold acceptance of the plea and any sentence while you complete conditions it sets, which may include restitution, treatment, a fine, up to 960 hours of public service, and supervision of up to five years in circuit or county court or two years in justice or municipal court. Finish those conditions and the court dismisses the cause and closes the case, so no conviction is ever entered. A case dismissed that way may then be the subject of an expungement petition.
Nonadjudication is available only once, and the statute excludes crimes against the person, crimes of violence under Section 97-3-2, violations of Section 97-11-31, and offenses involving misappropriation of public funds. Trafficking under Section 41-29-139(f) is excluded, and Implied Consent Law violations can only be nonadjudicated under Section 63-11-30. If you are still pre-plea, this is the conversation to have before you plead, not after.
Youth Court Records
Youth court runs on its own statutes, and the vocabulary changes. Records can be sealed, destroyed, or expunged, and each is a different motion. Under § 43-21-263(1), the youth court may order records sealed if the child has reached age 20, if the court dismisses the cause, or if the court sets aside an adjudication. Under § 43-21-265, the court may go further and order records destroyed, except medical and mental health examinations, and a destruction order requires a written compliance report and the approval of the director of the Department of Archives and History.
Arrest-type cases are stronger. Under § 43-21-159(1), on petition, the youth court shall expunge the record of any case in its jurisdiction involving an arrest where the person was released and the case was dismissed, the charges were dropped, there was no disposition, or the person was found not delinquent. If your child's case is still open, start with our youth court page.
Mississippi Expungement Lawyers Based in Hattiesburg
Our office is at 525 Corinne Street in Hattiesburg, and the firm has practiced here since 1980. We file expungement petitions in Forrest County, Lamar County, and the surrounding counties of the Pine Belt, in circuit, county, justice, and municipal courts. The statute is statewide, but the petition is local. Each court has its own habits on hearings, and the district attorney who receives your ten-day notice is one we deal with year round.
Here is what we actually do on an expungement. We pull your record and tell you whether you qualify, and under which path. We prepare the petition and file it in the correct court. We serve the district attorney with the notice the statute requires. If the court sets a hearing, we appear with you and present the evidence of rehabilitation the statute asks for. We do not promise outcomes, because the statute leaves felony expungement to the judge's discretion. What we can promise is a straight answer about whether you qualify before anything gets filed.
Your Expungement Team
Thomas (Tom) Fortner
Arman Miri
Valorie G. Cochran
Related Criminal Defense Services
Learn about our full range of criminal defense services.
See how we handle DUI cases from start to finish.
Explore options after a conviction or sentencing.
Learn about our federal court representation.
The 5-year path to expunging a first DUI and who qualifies.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mississippi Expungement Law
What is expungement in Mississippi?
Expungement is the legal process of removing or sealing a criminal record from public view. Once granted, the record is no longer accessible to most employers, landlords, and the general public under Mississippi Code § 99-19-71 and related statutes.
Who is eligible for expungement in Mississippi?
Eligibility depends on how your case ended. If you were arrested and released and the case was dismissed, the charges were dropped, there was no disposition, or you were found not guilty, the court shall expunge the record. A first offender can petition to expunge a misdemeanor conviction that is not a traffic violation. One eligible felony can be expunged five years after the sentence is fully completed. Felonies on the excluded list in § 99-19-71(2)(a), including crimes of violence, drug trafficking, and embezzlement, do not qualify.
How long do I have to wait to expunge a record in Mississippi?
It depends on the charge. For a first-offense misdemeanor, the statute sets no waiting period, so you may be eligible right away. For an eligible felony, you must complete every term and condition of your sentence, pay all fines and court costs, and then wait five years before filing. A first-offense DUI has its own five-year wait under § 63-11-30(13).
Can I expunge a felony conviction in Mississippi?
Yes, in many cases. Section 99-19-71 allows one felony expungement in a lifetime, five years after you successfully complete your sentence. The court may grant the petition only if it determines, on the record or in writing, that you are rehabilitated from the offense. Some felonies can never be expunged, including crimes of violence, first-degree arson, drug trafficking, third or subsequent DUI, felon in possession of a firearm, and embezzlement.
Can embezzlement be expunged in Mississippi?
No. Embezzlement as provided in Sections 97-11-25 and 97-23-19 is named in the list of felonies excluded from expungement under Section 99-19-71(2)(a). That exclusion applies regardless of how long ago the conviction happened or how fully the sentence was completed. If you are facing an embezzlement charge that has not yet been resolved, the time to protect your record is before a conviction is entered, not after.
What is the process to get my record expunged in Mississippi?
You file a petition in the court where the case was handled. For a conviction petition, Section 99-19-72 sets a $150 filing fee. The district attorney must get ten days' written notice before any hearing, and whether to hold a hearing is in the court's discretion. On a felony petition, the court may grant relief only after finding that you are rehabilitated. If the petition is granted, the court orders the record expunged from public records.
Does expungement completely erase my record?
Not completely, and the exceptions matter. The order restores you, in the contemplation of the law, to the status you held before the arrest, and the record leaves public view. But the Mississippi Criminal Information Center keeps a nonpublic record used solely to decide first-offender status in a later case, and the district attorney may keep a nonpublic record for law enforcement purposes only. If you are called for jury duty, you must tell the court about the conviction and the expungement in camera.
Can I expunge multiple charges or cases at once?
Sometimes. For felonies, § 99-19-71 treats all convictions that arose from a common nucleus of operative facts, meaning the same incident, as one conviction, so one petition can cover them. Dismissed charges and not guilty verdicts can also be expunged. Separate, unrelated convictions are a different story and usually cannot all be cleared.
Will expungement help me get a job or housing?
Yes, that is the main reason people file. Once your record is expunged, most private employers and landlords will no longer see the charge on standard background checks, and the statute protects you from perjury claims for not disclosing the expunged matter in most settings. One honest caveat: the statute lets an employer still ask a prospective employee whether an expungement order has been entered.
Can I expunge a DUI conviction in Mississippi?
A first-offense misdemeanor DUI can be expunged, but under its own statute, § 63-11-30(13), not the general expungement law. You must wait five years after completing your sentence, and strict conditions apply: you did not refuse the breath or blood test, your BAC was below .16, you did not hold a commercial license, and you have no other DUI. Third and subsequent DUI felonies can never be expunged. If your DUI case was dismissed or you were found not guilty, the arrest record can be expunged.
How much does it cost to expunge a record in Mississippi?
For a petition to expunge a conviction, Section 99-19-72 sets a $150 filing fee: $100 to the Judicial System Operation Fund, $40 to the District Attorneys Operation Fund, and $10 retained by the circuit clerk. Attorney fees are separate and vary with the complexity and number of charges. Call (601) 582-5015 to discuss your situation and what your expungement would cost.
Can I expunge a record if I have multiple convictions?
It gets harder. The misdemeanor expungement statute is written for first offenders, and Mississippi allows only one felony expungement in a lifetime. Multiple unrelated convictions can limit or block eligibility, so it is worth having an attorney map out exactly what your record shows before you file.
Does expungement restore gun rights in Mississippi?
No. Section 99-19-71 says nothing about firearm rights, and Mississippi's felon-in-possession statute does not list expungement as a way to get them back. Under § 97-37-5(1), a person convicted of a felony may possess a firearm only after a pardon, federal relief from disability under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), or a certificate of rehabilitation under § 97-37-5(3). That certificate is a separate petition, and we can review whether it fits your situation.
Can out-of-state convictions be expunged in Mississippi?
Generally, you must expunge the record in the state where the conviction occurred. Mississippi courts typically only handle Mississippi convictions.
How long does the expungement process take?
The process usually takes several months from filing to final order, depending on court backlog and whether a hearing is required. We keep clients updated throughout.
Can I represent myself in an expungement case?
Yes, but the petition has to be right. Mistakes in the petition, the filing fee, or the notice to the district attorney can lead to denial or months of delay. A lawyer who files expungements regularly knows what the court in your county expects and what a rehabilitation finding takes.
What is the difference between nonadjudication and expungement in Mississippi?
They are different tools. Expungement clears a record after a case is over. Nonadjudication under § 99-15-26 happens at the plea stage: the court withholds acceptance of your guilty plea while you complete conditions it sets, and when you finish, the court dismisses the cause and closes the case, so no conviction is ever entered. It is available only once, and a case dismissed that way may then be the subject of an expungement petition.
Can a youth court record be expunged in Mississippi?
Yes, in the right circumstances. On petition, the youth court shall expunge the record of a case in its jurisdiction involving an arrest where the person was released and the case was dismissed, the charges were dropped, there was no disposition, or the person was found not delinquent. Separately, the court may order records sealed once the person turns 20, when it dismisses a cause, or when it sets aside an adjudication, and it may order records destroyed with the approval of the director of the Department of Archives and History.