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To: Judiciary, Division A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) Boyd
SENATE BILL NO. 2751
AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI DEED FRAUD PREVENTION ACT; TO 1
AUTHORIZE A CLERK TO REFUSE TO RECORD A SUSPICIOUS DOCUMENT, TO 2
NOTIFY THE APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND TO NOTIFY A 3
NOTARIAL OFFICER; TO AUTHORIZE A PERSON TO SEEK DECLARATORY OR 4
INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AGAINST A CHANCERY CLERK FOR THE REFUSAL TO 5
RECORD A DOCUMENT UNDER THIS SECTION; TO REQUIRE EACH CHANCERY 6
CLERK IN THE STATE TO ESTABLISH A PROPERTY ALERT NOTIFICATION 7
SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS A PERSON TO ENROLL REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY THE 8
PERSON IN THE SYSTEM; TO AUTHORIZE A CHANCERY CLERK TO ESTABLISH A 9
DOCUMENT ALERT NOTIFICATION SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS A NOTARY PUBLIC TO 10
ENROLL IN THE SYSTEM; TO AUTHORIZE A CHANCERY CLERK TO INDEX OR BY 11
OTHER MEANS CREATE A SEARCHABLE LOG THAT INCLUDES THE CERTAIN 12
INFORMATION FOR EACH DOCUMENT RECORDED IN THE CHANCERY CLERK'S 13
LAND RECORDS; TO REQUIRE THE MISSISSIPPI REAL ESTATE COMMISSION TO 14
CONSIDER INCLUDING COURSES ON FRAUD AND CYBER SECURITY TO BE TAKEN 15
BY THOSE LICENSEES WHOSE PRACTICES MAY REQUIRE KNOWLEDGE IN 16
COMBATING REAL ESTATE RELATED FRAUD, INCLUDING DEED FRAUD, WIRE 17
FRAUD AND CYBER SECURITY; TO PROVIDE CAUSES OF ACTION FOR A PARTY 18
ALLEGING DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE RECORDING OF A FORGED DEED OR 19
MORTGAGE AGAINST CERTAIN PERSONS; TO AUTHORIZE CERTAIN DAMAGES; TO 20
BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 97-17-41 AND 97-17-70, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 21
1972, FOR POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 22
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 23
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 24
"Mississippi Deed Fraud Prevention Act." 25
SECTION 2. (1) As used in this section: 26
(a) "Trusted submitter" means: 27
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(i) A title insurer regulated under Chapter 15, 28
Title 83, Mississippi Code of 1972; 29
(ii) A title company or title agent regulated 30
under Chapter 17, Title 83, Mississippi Code of 1972; 31
(iii) An attorney licensed to practice in this 32
state or any other state; and 33
(iv) A regulated financial institution, meaning a 34
"bank," "corporation," or "trust company" as defined in Section 35
81-3-1. 36
(b) "Document" means information inscribed on a 37
tangible medium or stored in an electronic or other medium and 38
retrievable in perceivable form. 39
(c) "Suspicious document" means a document submitted 40
for recording for which the clerk has found any one of the 41
following: 42
(i) The name or commission information of a 43
notarial officer who has purported to acknowledge or verify the 44
document does not match official commission records; 45
(ii) The document purports not to be subject to 46
the laws of the United States or this state; 47
(iii) The document does not conform to recording 48
standards established by other laws of this state; or 49
(iv) The document has not been submitted for 50
recording by a trusted submitter, or an authorized representative 51
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of a trusted submitter, and the document is materially false, 52
fictitious, or fraudulent. 53
(2) A chancery clerk may: 54
(a) Refuse to record a suspicious document, unless a 55
court of competent jurisdiction finds that the chancery clerk's 56
finding that the document is a suspicious document is erroneous; 57
(b) Report a suspicious document to any appropriate law 58
enforcement agency; or 59
(c) Notify a notarial officer who has purported to 60
acknowledge or verify a suspicious document of the reason for the 61
clerk's finding that the document is a suspicious document. 62
(3) A person has a cause of action for declaratory or 63
injunctive relief against a chancery clerk for the refusal to 64
record a document based on an allegedly erroneous finding that the 65
document is a suspicious document under this section. A chancery 66
clerk is not liable for damages or any other claim for monetary 67
relief in an action brought under this subsection. 68
SECTION 3. (1) Not later than January 1, 2028, each 69
chancery clerk shall establish a property alert notification 70
system that allows a person to enroll real property owned by the 71
person in the system. 72
(2) A property alert notification system established under 73
this section shall: 74
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(a) Notify the enrolled owner of the recording of any 75
document describing, affecting, or purporting to affect the 76
enrolled property; and 77
(b) In the notification required by paragraph (1) 78
identify the nature of the document recorded, identify the subject 79
property by address or tax identification number, and provide the 80
recording information of the document. 81
(3) A property owner may elect to receive any notification 82
provided under this section by mail, text message, call, or email. 83
(4) There shall be no charge to a property owner for 84
enrolling in the property alert notification system required by 85
this section. 86
(5) A chancery clerk may by mail notification, website 87
notification, newspaper advertisement, or other media provide 88
property owners with: 89
(a) Educational information on deed fraud; and 90
(b) Information about the property alert notification 91
system established under this section. 92
(6) A chancery clerk is not liable for a violation of this 93
section. No person shall have a right or cause of action and a 94
chancery clerk is not liable with respect to the establishment, 95
maintenance, or operation of a property alert notification system 96
required by this section. 97
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SECTION 4. (1) A chancery clerk may establish a document 98
alert notification system that allows a notary public to enroll in 99
the system. 100
(2) A document alert notification system established under 101
this section shall: 102
(a) Notify the enrolled notary public of the recording 103
of any document containing the name or commission number, if 104
applicable, of the notary public; and 105
(b) In the notification required by paragraph (1) 106
identify the nature of the document recorded, identify the subject 107
property by address or tax identification number, and provide the 108
recording information of the document. 109
(3) A notary public may elect to receive any notification 110
provided under this section by mail, text message, call, or email. 111
(4) There shall be no charge to a notary public for 112
enrolling in the document alert notification system. 113
(5) A chancery clerk may by mail notification, website 114
notification, newspaper advertisement, or other media provide 115
notaries public with: 116
(a) Educational information on deed fraud; and 117
(b) Information about the document alert notification 118
system established under this section. 119
(6) A chancery clerk is not liable for a violation of this 120
section. No person shall have a right or cause of action and a 121
chancery clerk is not liable with respect to the establishment, 122
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maintenance, or operation of a document alert notification system 123
required by this section. 124
SECTION 5. (1) A chancery clerk may index or by other means 125
create a searchable log that includes the following information 126
for each document recorded in the chancery clerk's land records: 127
(a) Information identifying real property described in 128
or purported to be affected by the document; 129
(b) The name and commission number, if applicable, of 130
any notarial officer described in or identified in the document, 131
along with commissioning jurisdiction of such officer; or 132
(c) The name of the person that submitted the document 133
for recording. 134
(2) An index or log created under subsection (1) of this 135
section may be made available for public search and examination in 136
the same manner as any other index for the land records required 137
by other law of this state. 138
SECTION 6. In determining its continuing education 139
requirements, the Mississippi Real Estate Commission shall 140
consider including courses on fraud and cyber security to be taken 141
by those licensees whose practices may require knowledge in 142
combating real estate related fraud, including deed fraud, wire 143
fraud and cyber security. 144
SECTION 7. (1) In addition to any judgment quieting title, 145
cancelling a recorded document, or providing declaratory relief, a 146
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party alleging damages arising from the recording of a forged deed 147
or mortgage has a cause of action against any of the following: 148
(a) The person who forged the signature of a property 149
owner on a deed or mortgage; 150
(b) A person who, with actual knowledge that the deed 151
or mortgage included a forged signature, submitted the document to 152
be recorded in the land records; or 153
(c) A person with actual knowledge that the vested 154
title to the real property is based on a forged deed, and who 155
purports to sell or encumber the property to someone who is 156
unaware of the forged deed. 157
(2) In an action against a person described in subsection 158
(1) of this section, a person whose title was purportedly 159
transferred or encumbered by a forged deed or mortgage, or a 160
person who subsequently relied on a forged deed to purchase or 161
encumber the property without knowledge of the forgery, shall be 162
entitled to a monetary judgment consisting of the following: 163
(a) Compensatory damages; 164
(b) Statutory damages in an amount not less than two 165
(2) times the compensatory damages; 166
(c) Attorney's fees; and 167
(d) Costs. 168
SECTION 8. Section 97-17-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 169
brought forward as follows: 170
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97-17-41. (1) Any person who shall be convicted of taking 171
and carrying away, feloniously, the personal property of another, 172
of the value of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, but less 173
than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), shall be guilty of grand 174
larceny, and shall be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for a term 175
not exceeding five (5) years; or shall be fined not more than Ten 176
Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. The total value of 177
property taken and carried away by the person from a single victim 178
shall be aggregated in determining the gravity of the offense. 179
(2) Any person who shall be convicted of taking and carrying 180
away, feloniously, the personal property of another, of the value 181
of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more, but less than 182
Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), shall be guilty of 183
grand larceny, and shall be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for a 184
term not exceeding ten (10) years; or shall be fined not more than 185
Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. The total value of 186
property taken and carried away by the person from a single victim 187
shall be aggregated in determining the gravity of the offense. 188
(3) Any person who shall be convicted of taking and carrying 189
away, feloniously, the personal property of another, of the value 190
of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or more, shall be 191
guilty of grand larceny, and shall be imprisoned in the 192
Penitentiary for a term not exceeding twenty (20) years; or shall 193
be fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. 194
The total value of property taken and carried away by the person 195
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from a single victim shall be aggregated in determining the 196
gravity of the offense. 197
(4) (a) Any person who shall be convicted of taking and 198
carrying away, feloniously, the property of a church, synagogue, 199
temple or other established place of worship, of the value of One 200
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, shall be guilty of grand 201
larceny, and shall be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for a term 202
not exceeding ten (10) years, or shall be fined not more than Ten 203
Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. 204
(b) Any person who shall be convicted of taking and 205
carrying away, feloniously, the property of a church, synagogue, 206
temple or other established place of worship, of the value of 207
Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or more, shall be guilty 208
of grand larceny, and shall be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for 209
a term not exceeding twenty (20) years, or shall be fined not more 210
than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. The total value 211
of property taken and carried away by the person from a single 212
victim shall be aggregated in determining the gravity of the 213
offense. 214
SECTION 9. Section 97-17-70, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 215
brought forward as follows: 216
97-17-70. (1) A person commits the crime of receiving 217
stolen property if he intentionally possesses, receives, retains 218
or disposes of stolen property knowing that it has been stolen or 219
having reasonable grounds to believe it has been stolen, unless 220
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the property is possessed, received, retained or disposed of with 221
intent to restore it to the owner. 222
(2) The fact that the person who stole the property has not 223
been convicted, apprehended or identified is not a defense to a 224
charge of receiving stolen property. 225
(3) (a) Evidence that the person charged under this section 226
stole the property that is the subject of the charge of receiving 227
stolen property is not a defense to a charge under this section; 228
however, dual charges of both stealing and receiving the same 229
property shall not be brought against a single defendant in a 230
single jurisdiction. 231
(b) Proof that a defendant stole the property that is 232
the subject of a charge under this section shall be prima facie 233
evidence that the defendant had knowledge that the property was 234
stolen. 235
(4) Any person who shall be convicted of receiving stolen 236
property which exceeds One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, 237
but less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) in value shall be 238
punished by imprisonment in the custody of the State Department of 239
Corrections for a term not exceeding five (5) years or by a fine 240
of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. 241
(5) Any person who shall be convicted of receiving stolen 242
property which exceeds Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more, 243
but less than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) in value 244
shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the State 245
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Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding ten (10) years 246
or by a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), 247
or both. 248
(6) Any person who shall be convicted of receiving stolen 249
property which exceeds Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) 250
in value shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the 251
State Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding twenty 252
(20) years or by a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars 253
($10,000.00), or both. 254
(7) Any person who shall be convicted of receiving stolen 255
property which does not exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) in 256
value may be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not 257
more than six (6) months or by a fine of not more than One 258
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both, if the court finds 259
substantial and compelling reasons why the offender cannot be 260
safely and effectively supervised in the community, is not 261
amenable to community-based treatment, or poses a significant risk 262
to public safety. If such a finding is not made, the court shall 263
suspend the sentence of imprisonment and impose a period of 264
probation not exceeding one (1) year or a fine of not more than 265
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both. Any person convicted 266
of a third or subsequent offense under this subsection where the 267
value of the property is not less than Five Hundred Dollars 268
($500.00), shall be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for a term not 269
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ST: Mississippi Deed Fraud Prevention Act;
enact.
exceeding three (3) years or fined an amount not exceeding One 270
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both. 271
SECTION 10. Section 6 of this act shall be published within 272
Chapter 35, Title 73, Mississippi Code of 1972. 273
SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from 274
and after July 1, 2026. 275