Instruments of record; require to be in the English language.

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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives Byrd, Blackwell

HOUSE BILL NO. 960

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 3-3-31, 89-5-1 AND 89-5-24, 1
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE ALL DOCUMENTS AND INSTRUMENTS 2
OF RECORD TO BE IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 4
SECTION 1. Section 3-3-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 5
amended as follows: 6
3-3-31. The English language is the official language of the 7
State of Mississippi. Except as otherwise provided by law, all 8
documents and instruments of record and any record regarding any 9
legal proceeding written and recorded after July 1, 2026, must be 10
in the English language. 11
SECTION 2. Section 89-5-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 12
amended as follows: 13
89-5-1. Except as provided by Sections 89-5-101 through 14
89-5-113, a conveyance of land shall not be good against a 15
purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice, or any 16
creditor, unless * * * the document of conveyance is written in 17
the English language and lodged with the clerk of the chancery 18
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court of the county in which the lands are situated to be 19
recorded; but after filing with the clerk, the priority of time of 20
filing shall determine the priority of all conveyances of the same 21
land as between the several holders of such conveyances. 22
SECTION 3. Section 89-5-24, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 23
amended as follows: 24
89-5-24. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections 25
(3) and (4), any document or instrument presented to the clerk of 26
the chancery court for recording shall meet the following 27
requirements: 28
(a) Each document or instrument shall consist of one or 29
more individual pages printed only on one (1) side. The document 30
or instrument shall not consist of pages that are permanently 31
bound or in a continuous form and shall not have any attachment 32
stapled or otherwise affixed to any page except as necessary to 33
comply with statutory requirements. However, the individual pages 34
of a document or instrument may be stapled together for 35
presentation for recording. A label that is firmly attached with 36
a bar code or return address may be accepted for recording. 37
(b) All documents must be printed or typed in a font no 38
smaller than ten-point in size. If a document or instrument, 39
other than a plat or survey or a drawing related to a plat or 40
survey, presented for recording contains type smaller than 41
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ten-point type, the document or instrument shall be accompanied by 42
an exact typewritten or printed copy that meets the requirements 43
of this section. 44
(c) Each document shall be of sufficient legibility to 45
produce a clear reproduction. If a document or instrument, other 46
than a plat or survey or a drawing related to a plat or survey, is 47
not sufficiently legible to produce a clear reproduction, the 48
document or instrument shall be accompanied by an exact 49
typewritten or printed copy that meets the type size requirements 50
of paragraph (b) and shall be recorded contemporaneously as 51
additional pages of the document or instrument. 52
(d) Each document or instrument, other than a plat or 53
survey or a drawing related to a plat or survey, shall be on white 54
paper of not less than twenty-pound weight. All text within the 55
document or instrument shall be of sufficient color and clarity to 56
ensure that the text is readable when reproduced from the record. 57
(e) All signatures on a document or instrument shall be 58
in black or blue ink and of sufficient color and clarity to ensure 59
that the signatures are of sufficient legibility to produce a 60
clear reproduction when the document or instrument is reproduced 61
from the record. The corresponding name shall be typed, printed 62
or stamped beneath the original signature. The typing or printing 63
of a name or the application of an embossed or inked stamp shall 64
not cover or otherwise materially interfere with any part of the 65
document or instrument except where provided by law. Failure to 66
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print or type signatures as required in this paragraph does not 67
invalidate the document or instrument. 68
(f) The first page of each document or instrument, 69
other than a plat or survey or a drawing related to a plat or 70
survey, shall have a top margin of at least three (3) inches of 71
vertical space from left to right which shall be reserved for the 72
recorder's use. All other margins on the document or instrument 73
shall be a minimum of three-fourths (3/4) of one (1) inch. 74
Nonessential information including, but not limited to, form 75
numbers or customer notations may be placed in a margin other than 76
the top margin. A document may be recorded if a minor portion of 77
a seal or incidental writing extends into a margin. The recorder 78
shall not incur any liability for failure to show a seal or 79
information that extends beyond the margin of the permanent 80
archival record. 81
(g) Each document shall be written in the English 82
language. 83
(2) Each document or instrument, other than a plat or survey 84
or a drawing related to a plat or survey, that is presented for 85
recording and that contains any of the following information shall 86
have that information on the first page below the three-inch 87
margin: 88
(a) The name, physical business mailing address and 89
business or employment telephone number of the individual who 90
prepared the document; and the name, mailing address and telephone 91
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number of every grantor, grantee, borrower, beneficiary, trustee 92
or other party to the instrument. 93
(b) A return address. 94
(c) The title of the document or instrument. 95
(d) Any address and telephone number required by 96
Section 27-3-51, Mississippi Code of 1972. 97
(e) The legal description of the property or indexing 98
instruction per Section 89-5-33(3). If there is insufficient 99
space on the first page for the entire legal description or the 100
entire indexing instruction, immediately succeeding pages shall be 101
used. 102
(3) The following documents or instruments are exempt from 103
the format requirements of this section: 104
(a) A document or instrument that was executed before 105
July 1, 2009. 106
(b) A military separation document or instrument. 107
(c) A document or instrument executed outside the 108
United States. 109
(d) A certified copy of a document or instrument issued 110
by a court or governmental agency, including a vital record. 111
(e) A document or instrument where one (1) of the 112
original parties is deceased or otherwise incapacitated. 113
(f) A document or instrument formatted to meet court 114
requirements. 115
(g) A federal tax lien. 116
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ST: Instruments of record; require to be in the
English language.
(h) A filing under the Uniform Commercial Code. 117
(4) The recorder shall record a document or instrument that 118
does not substantially conform to the format standards specified 119
in subsections (1) and (2) of this section upon payment of an 120
additional recording fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) per document or 121
instrument. The fee shall be charged only for documents or 122
instruments dated on or after July 1, 2009; this fee may not be 123
charged for those documents or instruments specifically exempted 124
in subsection (3). 125
(5) Failure to conform to the format standards specified in 126
this section does not affect the validity or enforceability of the 127
document or instrument. 128
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 129
and after July 1, 2026. 130