Mississippi License Plate Reader Laws (2026)

Mississippi has no statute that regulates license plate readers. The one enacted law that touches plate cameras, Miss. Code Ann. § 17-25-19, bars counties and cities from authorizing traffic-enforcement cameras, and the Attorney General reads it as leaving ordinary plate readers for criminal enforcement alone.

Information reviewed September 30, 2026.

For related pages, see the Mississippi entry in the state comparison, the ALPR laws hub, Are Flock cameras legal?, What are Flock cameras?, and our Mississippi surveillance camera laws guide.

Does Mississippi have a license plate reader law?

No. We found no enacted Mississippi statute that authorizes plate readers, limits who may use them, sets a retention period, restricts sharing or creates a penalty or remedy. The negative comes with a limit you should know about. The compiled Mississippi Code is published online only through sources we could not open (a JavaScript-based LexisNexis site, and Justia returned an access error), so we did not read the Code title by title.

Instead we scanned the Legislature's official reports of all measures for the 2025 regular session (about 3,800 measures) and the 2026 regular session (about 4,100 measures, as of June 22, 2026) for plate reader, automated recording, surveillance, privacy, immigration and toll terms, and read the Legislature's code-section index for § 17-25-19. That scan found one plate reader bill in 2025 and none in 2026, and no enacted law on the subject. The same reports for 2016 through 2024 show no enacted plate reader or automated recording measure either; bills in 2018 (HB 1387) and 2019 (HB 73) to let officers use plate readers with the insurance verification system died in committee. A measure-title scan can miss a statute buried in a bill with an unrelated title, so treat this as a finding about what we checked, not proof that no provision exists.

What does Section 17-25-19 do?

Section 17-25-19 is the anchor for Mississippi's law on plate cameras, and it is narrower than it sounds. The Legislature's own bill file for SB 2201 (2025) reproduces the current text. Under subsection (1), neither a county board of supervisors nor a municipal governing authority may "adopt, enact or enforce any ordinance authorizing the use of automated recording equipment or system to enforce compliance with traffic signals, traffic speeds or other traffic laws, rules or regulations on any public street, road or highway within this state or to impose or collect any civil or criminal fine, fee or penalty for any such violation." Any such equipment had to be removed before October 1, 2009.

Subsection (2) defines "automated recording equipment or system" as a camera or optical device installed to work with a traffic control signal or radar speed detection equipment and designed to record the rear plate of a vehicle that does not comply. The limit is tied to traffic enforcement by cameras paired with signals or radar. It says nothing about retention, sharing or audit of plate data collected for other purposes.

How does the Attorney General read the statute?

In a May 21, 2024 opinion to the Insurance Commissioner, titled "Usage of Automatic License Plate Readers for Auto Insurance Citations," the Attorney General said § 17-25-19 addresses only traffic laws and prohibits plate readers that work in conjunction with traffic signals or radar equipment. Citing a 2009 opinion (Sorrell, April 17, 2009, which we did not open), the opinion reads the statute as not completely prohibiting plate reader cameras. As the opinion describes it, municipalities may use pole-mounted cameras to enforce against criminal activity as long as they are not used with a traffic signal or radar equipment.

On the insurance question, the opinion stated that "municipalities are not explicitly prohibited by Mississippi law from initiating and utilizing ALPR cameras to verify motor vehicle insurance coverage." It made that statement subject to fact and law questions outside its scope, including the limits of the state's motor vehicle insurance verification system, where § 63-16-5 bars using the system as the sole cause for a stop, and a separate roadblock rule in § 63-15-4(3). The opinion addresses state law only and does not analyze federal or constitutional questions. An Attorney General opinion is the Attorney General's reading, not a court ruling.

Are any Mississippi plate reader bills pending?

No plate reader bill is pending as of our review. The 2026 measure report shows no bill with a license plate recognition title.

• HB 528 (2025) was the only plate-reader-titled bill in the 2025 and 2026 lists. As introduced, it would have amended § 17-25-19 to prohibit plate readers for traffic enforcement except vehicle-mounted units wholly owned and operated by a law enforcement agency, which a county or city could authorize for traffic and insurance enforcement, and would have let local law enforcement use plate readers under a published written policy, with annual audits, access limited to law enforcement and criminal justice purposes, user-access logs, seven listed permitted uses and 24-hour hot-list updates. It would have provided that "a positive match by an automated license plate recognition system alone does not constitute reasonable suspicion." It set no retention period. It died in committee on February 4, 2025.
• SB 2201 (2025) would have clarified that "automated recording equipment" includes manually operated equipment. It passed the Senate on February 12, 2025 and died in House Judiciary B on March 4, 2025.
• HB 1104 (2026) is not a plate reader bill, despite appearing alongside HB 528 in some summaries. It concerns hand-held "manually operated automated recording equipment" used by officers with traffic signals or radar and requires positive verification of the driver. It died in committee on February 3, 2026.

None of these is law. The Mississippi Legislature's 2027 regular session is expected to convene in January 2027; we did not verify the date on an official site.

Do general Mississippi laws reach plate reader data?

We looked for general laws that could reach plate data and found none that does by its terms.

Immigration cooperation. HB 538 (2026) was approved April 8, 2026 and took effect July 1, 2026. It is Chapter 447, Laws of 2026; we read the enrolled text as sent to the Governor. It amends § 25-1-119 so that state agencies, counties, municipalities and their law enforcement agencies may not adopt policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and must "cooperate to the fullest extent possible," including "providing information on all aliens within the state when requested by federal and other state and local government agencies." The Attorney General enforces it. The bill does not mention license plates or plate readers. We found no court ruling or opinion on whether it affects a local policy that limits sharing plate data with federal immigration authorities. SB 2114 (2026), also approved April 8 and effective July 1, directs the Department of Public Safety on immigration identification and 287(g) agreements and on sharing information, where permitted by law, about illegal aliens reasonably suspected of involvement in offenses; it stands repealed July 1, 2028, and we found no plate or plate reader text in it.

Consumer privacy. Mississippi has no enacted consumer privacy act. Consumer data privacy bills in 2025 (SB 2779) and 2026 (SB 2015 and HB 1051) died in committee. HB 1468 (2026), which would have defined personally identifiable information in the Public Records Act, passed the House and died in a Senate committee on March 3, 2026.

Traffic camera bills. Other 2025 and 2026 bills on traffic and insurance cameras (HB 905, HB 1090, HB 1171, SB 2430, HB 566, HB 725, SB 2330, among others) also died, and none was enacted. We did not read tolling or vehicle registration provisions individually.

Are Mississippi plate reader records public?

The Public Records Act (Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-1 and following) makes public body records open, with exceptions. Under § 25-61-12(2)(a), as republished by the Mississippi Ethics Commission, "When in the possession of a law enforcement agency, investigative reports shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter; however, a law enforcement agency, in its discretion, may choose to make public all or any part of any investigative report." An "incident report," meaning a narrative without investigative information, is a public record.

Whether plate reads, hot lists, camera locations or vendor contracts fall inside "investigative report" is unresolved in the sources we found. We found no statute, Attorney General opinion or court decision specific to plate reader data. A request would be decided under these general terms, and the agency has discretion to release material even if it qualifies as an investigative report. See the Public Records Act text on the Ethics Commission site.

Have Mississippi courts ruled on plate readers?

We found one decision, from a federal court rather than a state court. In United States v. Porter, No. 25-60163 (5th Cir. March 17, 2026), a published appeal from the Southern District of Mississippi, the court held that use of a plate reader that provided periodic location hits on a vehicle at fixed cameras in Gautier (an officer estimated no more than ten) did not invade a reasonable expectation of privacy and was not a Fourth Amendment search. In the court's words, "Because the use of an LPR did not constitute a search, no warrant was required; the stop was supported by reasonable suspicion."

The ruling turned on those facts, a small network of fixed cameras producing periodic hits. It binds federal courts in Mississippi, but it is not a ruling under the Mississippi Constitution, and we did not check whether rehearing was sought. We found no Mississippi Supreme Court or Court of Appeals decision holding that plate reader use is or is not a search. Several state appellate cases mention plate reader evidence without ruling on its legality: Berry v. Jackson County (Ct. App. December 3, 2024) is a pursuit-injury dispute; in Dorsey v. State (Ct. App. February 2, 2021) the trial court kept a plate reader printout out of evidence for lack of a records foundation; and in Winters v. State (June 4, 2026) the Supreme Court cited a plate reader report placing the defendant's vehicle near the scene in affirming the conviction.

What do we know about local deployments?

Our deployment records list one Mississippi entry. WLBT reported on September 24, 2024 that the Jackson city council approved a contract to install 16 license plate readers across the city. That is a single dated record and the list is not complete. We did not open a Jackson Police Department or Department of Public Safety plate reader policy, so this page states nothing about any agency's retention period, sharing rules or limits.

How can I check my local system?

With no state statute to point to, the useful documents are local. Ask the operating agency for its written plate reader policy, its retention setting, who may search the data, whether it shares with outside agencies, and its vendor contract. Section 17-25-19 addresses cameras used to enforce traffic laws, so whether a camera is used for traffic enforcement is a different question from whether it is used for criminal investigation. A records request for the reads themselves would be decided under the Public Records Act exemption described above. For the technology, see What are Flock cameras?.

What was not checked?

We did not read the compiled Mississippi Code title by title, the 2009 Attorney General opinion, other Attorney General opinions, any Jackson or state agency policy, or the Moss Point traffic camera litigation. Dated items to recheck include any 2027 session bills.

Last updated: September 30, 2026. This page reflects the statutes and records described above as we reviewed them; it is general legal information, not legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to use a license plate reader in Mississippi?

We found no Mississippi statute that prohibits, authorizes or regulates plate readers for criminal enforcement. Section 17-25-19 bars counties and municipalities from authorizing automated recording equipment to enforce traffic laws, and the Attorney General reads it as not completely prohibiting plate reader cameras.

What does Mississippi Code 17-25-19 say?

It bars counties and municipalities from adopting or enforcing an ordinance that authorizes automated recording equipment to enforce traffic signals, speeds or other traffic laws. It defines the equipment as a camera working with a traffic signal or radar that records the rear plate of a noncompliant vehicle.

How long can Mississippi police keep license plate reader data?

We found no statute setting a retention period. HB 528 of 2025 would not have set one either, and it died in committee. We did not open any agency policy.

Can I request Mississippi plate reader records?

The Public Records Act applies, but it exempts law enforcement investigative reports. We found no statute, opinion or ruling on whether plate reads or hot lists count as investigative reports, so the answer depends on how the agency applies the general terms.

Does Mississippi law limit sharing plate data with federal immigration authorities?

We found no Mississippi law that restricts it. HB 538, effective July 1, 2026, requires agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and provide information on aliens when requested. It does not mention license plates.

Is there a pending Mississippi plate reader bill?

We found none as of September 30, 2026. HB 528 died in committee in 2025, and HB 1104 of 2026 concerned hand-held traffic cameras and also died.