Start My Answer

Mississippi Court Case Search — Find Your Lawsuit

Dena Standley | June 05, 2024

Dena Standley
Legal Expert, Paralegal
Dena Standley, BA

Dena Standley is a seasoned paralegal with more than 20 years of experience in legal research and writing, having received a certification as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal from Southern Technical College.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: Mississippi Electronic Courts gives you access to court records online, for a price. In this article we discuss how to check the status of your court case in Mississippi. If you've been sued for a debt, you can use SoloSuit to respond.

When a creditor or debt collection agency files a lawsuit against you in Mississippi, the suit is entered into the court system, and the case record becomes public. The Mississippi state laws require all court records to be made available online and in local court offices for anyone to access, including case dockets (records of court proceedings).

It's important to know how to check the status of your court case so you can keep updated with new case filings, court hearings, and legal actions taken in the case. All debt collection proceedings in a Mississippi court of law are public records unless the case is extremely sensitive, such as those involving senior public officers.

Mississippi's judiciary branch has an online tool called Mississippi Electronic Courts (MEC) where you can access your court records online. However, this service comes at a cost.

Accessing court records can be challenging if you do not know what you are looking for. You need to learn how to find specific records on a state and local level. Let us discuss how you can maneuver the court records and find your lawsuit.

But first, let's take a look at how Mississippi's civil courts are structured.

Understand the Mississippi court structure

In order to find your case information online or in person, it's important to understand how the civil courts are structured in Mississippi. When you know what courts have jurisdiction over certain types of cases, it will be easier for you to narrow down the court to which your case is assigned. Debt collection cases are considered civil cases, so we will focus on Mississippi's civil court structure in this section.

In Mississippi, there are five levels of courts that deal with civil cases:

  1. Supreme Court
  2. Court of Appeals
  3. Circuit Court
  4. County Court
  5. Justice Court

The Supreme Court and Court of Appeals are appellate courts, which means they primarily handle civil cases that have been appealed from a lower level court. In other words, when someone disagrees with the outcome of a civil case, they can appeal the case, and have it reconsidered at a higher judicial level. The Supreme Court sends certain cases to the Court of Appeals for review, but usually cases appealed from the Circuit Court go straight to the Supreme Court.

There are 22 Circuit Courts throughout the state of Mississippi. Like the other appellate courts, the Circuit Court hears appeals from the County and Justice Courts.

The County Court handles civil cases involving up to $200,000, while the Justice Court deals with small claims cases involving $3,500 or less.

The graphic below further illustrates Mississippi's civil court structure:

hawaii court structure

Use MEC to search your court case online

Mississippi Electronic Courts, also known as MEC, is a great tool to use to look up civil and criminal court cases online at a low cost. With MEC, you can find your debt collection lawsuit when you enter some or all of the following search criteria:

  • Case number
  • Date filed
  • Party name
  • Case type
  • Court location

There is a $10 registration fee to sign up for MEC. After that, you will be charged $0.20 per page for the number of pages that result from any search, regardless of the number

of pages viewed, printed, or downloaded. If a search does not yield any results, you are charged the price for just one page of data.

Visit the courthouse to check your case status in person

If you don't have access to a computer, or you don't feel like paying the fees for MEC, you can always take a trip to the courthouse to check your case status. You can also call the court clerk if you don't feel like making the trip.

Most court clerks are willing to help you find your case. You can even request that they print copies of court records, but there will likely be a fee to do so.

Use this Mississippi court directory to find the address of your courthouse and the court clerk's phone number. On the left hand menu, click the drop down menu next to Circuit Court, then click on the Clerks option.

Are all Mississippi debt collection court records accessible?

Yes, all debt collection case records are accessible if you have the details to perform a case look-up in the Regular Courts or Supreme Court's online platform. This provision was made possible by the Mississippi Public Records Act (MPRA), which grants the public access to court records.

The Mississippi judiciary earnestly practices an open court system following the Mississippi constitution, outlined in their Statement of Policy Regarding Openness and Availability of Public Records. You can look up your case in the regular courts by following this link and entering your case details, such as case number, case status, file date, last entry date, and nature of the suit—in your case, debt collection.

How do case numbers work in Mississippi?

The case (or docket number) is assigned to each case filed in Mississippi courts. The docket number uses two digits to represent the year the case was filed, the type of case and what court it was filed in–which is usually represented by a letter or a number. Then, there will be a sequential series of numbers randomly generated.

Access Mississippi Supreme Court cases online

The State of Mississippi Judiciary website contains all Supreme Court cases made available to the public. To access them, enter the county, specific court, and the case number. If you do not have the case number, enter your full name. Accept the terms and conditions of accessing the records, and the documents will open.

The platform also has court records like journals and law reviews accessible in the Mississippi State Law Library. You can also confirm an attorney's qualification by entering their details in the Lawyer Directory - The Mississippi Bar.

Additionally, you can physically visit the court where your case was filed and tried. You must fill out a request form to access the specific court papers you want. Be prepared to pay a small fee for inspecting and copying the documents.

Lastly, the Mississippi judiciary court allows you to send a written request for court records, send the letter to:

First floor, Carroll Gartin Justice Building
450 High Street
P.O. Box 249
Jackson, MS 39201
(601) 359-3694

Respond to aForce a lawsuit out of court with SoloSuit

If you've been sued for a debt you owe, SoloSuit can help you respond in minutes. The first step to winning your debt collection lawsuit in Mississippi is to respond to the case with a written Answer. In Mississippi, you have 30 days to respond before you lose by default. When you lose by default, the debt collector can garnish your wages or put liens on your property.

To learn more about how to Answer a debt lawsuit, check out this video:

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James


Get Started


We have answers.
Join our community of over 40,000 people.

You can ask your questions on the SoloSuit forum and the community will help you out. Whether you need help now or are just looking for support, we're here for you.


Ask a Question


>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)

How to Answer a Summons for debt collection in all 50 states

Here's a list of guides on how to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in each state:

The Ultimate 50 State Guide

Guides on how to resolve debt with every debt collector

Are you being sued by a debt collector? We’re making guides on how to resolve debt with each one.

Resolve your debt with your creditor

Some creditors, banks, and lenders have an internal collections department. If they come after you for a debt, Solosuit can still help you respond and resolve the debt. Here’s a list of guides on how to resolve debt with different creditors.

Settle your medical debt

Having a health challenge is stressful, but dealing medical debt on top of it is overwhelming. Here are some resources on how to manage medical debt.

Guides on arbitration

If the thought of going to court stresses you out, you’re not alone. Many Americans who are sued for credit card debt utilize a Motion to Compel Arbitration to push their case out of court and into arbitration.

Below are some resources on how to use an arbitration clause to your advantage and win a debt lawsuit.

Stop calls from debt collectors

Do you keep getting calls from an unknown number, only to realize that it’s a debt collector on the other line? If you’ve been called by any of the following numbers, chances are you have collectors coming after you, and we’ll tell you how to stop them.

Federal debt collection laws can protect you

Knowing your rights makes it easier to stand up for your rights. Below, we’ve compiled all our articles on federal debt collection laws that protect you from unfair practices.

Get debt relief in your state

We’ve created a specialized guide on how to find debt relief in all 50 states, complete with steps to take to find relief, state-specific resources, and more.

Debt collection laws in all 50 states

Debt collection laws vary by state, so we have compiled a guide to each state’s debt collection laws to make it easier for you to stand up for your rights—no matter where you live.

Statute of limitations on debt state guides

Like all debt collection laws, the statute of limitations on debt varies by state. So, we wrote a guide on each state’s statutes. Check it out below.

Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection by State (Best Guide)

Check the status of your court case

Don’t have time to go to your local courthouse to check the status of your case? We’ve created a guide on how to check the status of your case in every state, complete with online search tools and court directories.

How to stop wage garnishment in your state

Forgot to respond to your debt lawsuit? The judge may have ordered a default judgment against you, and with a default judgment, debt collectors can garnish your wages. Here are our guides on how to stop wage garnishment in all 50 states.

Other wage garnishment resources

How to settle a debt in your state

Debt settlement is one of the most effective ways to resolve a debt and save money. We’ve created a guide on how to settle your debt in all 50 states. Find out how to settle in your state with a simple click and explore other debt settlement resources below.

How to settle with every debt collector

Not sure how to negotiate a debt settlement with a debt collector? We are creating guides to help you know how to start the settlement conversation and increase your chances of coming to an agreement with every debt collector.

Other debt settlement resources

Personal loan and debt relief reviews

We give a factual review of the following debt consolidation, debt settlement, and loan organizations and companies to help you make an informed decision before you take on a debt.

How to repair and improve your credit score

Debt has a big impact on your credit. Below is a list of guides on how to repair and improve your credit, even while managing major debt.

How to resolve student loan debt

Struggling with student debt? SoloSuit’s got you covered. Below are resources on handling student loan debt.

Civil law legal definitions

You can represent yourself in court. Save yourself the time and cost of finding an attorney, and use the following resources to understand legal definitions better and how they may apply to your case.

Get answers to these FAQs on debt collection

How-to debt guides

Learn more with these additional debt resources

It only takes 15 minutes.
And 50% of our customers' cases have been dismissed in the past.

"Finding yourself on the wrong side of the law unexpectedly is kinda scary. I started researching on YouTube and found SoloSuit's channel. The videos were so helpful, easy to understand and encouraging. When I reached out to SoloSuit they were on it. Very professional, impeccably prompt. Thanks for the service!" – Heather


Get Started


Not sued yet?
Use our Debt Validation Letter.

Our Debt Validation Letter is the best way to respond to a collection letter. Many debt collectors will simply give up after receiving it.


Let's Do It

Contents