Mississippi Jury Duty Laws: Pay, Exemptions and Employer Rules

Mississippi sets the rules for state-court jury service in Title 13, Chapter 5 of the Mississippi Code. Unlike most states, Mississippi requires jurors to be at least 21 (Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-1, as amended in 2026).

The main excuse rules are in § 13-5-23: illness, undue hardship and breast-feeding. A person over 65 may claim a personal exemption (§ 13-5-25). Your employer cannot punish you for serving or make you use vacation or sick leave for it, but the jury statute does not require private employers to pay you (§ 13-5-35).

Information last verified on October 7, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers jury service in Mississippi state courts, which is run county by county through the circuit clerk. A summons from a U.S. District Court in Mississippi follows federal law, summarized on our jury duty laws by state hub.

About our sources: The official Mississippi Code is published through LexisNexis and could not be opened for this review. Section 13-5-1 is quoted from Senate Bill 2135, the 2026 amending act as sent to the Governor, on the Mississippi Legislature's site; other statute text comes from the 2025 Mississippi Code as compiled on law.justia.com. Legislative history comes from the Mississippi Legislature's bill-status site, and county details from the DeSoto County website.

Do you have to go? The short answer

Yes, unless you are not qualified, you claim an exemption, the court excuses you, or you postpone. Section 13-5-2 states that all qualified citizens have "an obligation to serve as jurors when summoned for that purpose," and § 13-5-23(1) says "All qualified persons shall be liable to serve as jurors, unless excused by the court."

Your county's circuit clerk sends summonses and handles requests, and § 13-5-28 requires the summons to include instructions that explain the excuse rules "in layman's terms." To see which category might fit your situation before you contact the clerk, try our jury duty exemption checker.

Who can serve on a jury in Mississippi

Section 13-5-1, as amended by Senate Bill 2135 (approved by the Governor March 19, 2026, effective on passage), reads: "Every citizen not under the age of twenty-one (21) years, who is either a qualified elector designated as an active voter in the Statewide Election Management System, or a resident freeholder of the county for more than one (1) year, is able to read and write, and has not been convicted of an infamous crime, or the unlawful sale of intoxicating liquors within a period of five (5) years and who does not have a substance use disorder, is a competent juror."

In practical terms, that means:

• You must be at least 21.
• You must be either a qualified elector designated as an active voter in the Statewide Election Management System, or a resident freeholder of the county for more than one year.
• You must be able to read and write. Before a jury is seated, each juror fills out a short form with name, address, occupation, age, phone number and distance from the courthouse, and a juror who cannot complete it is discharged.
• You must not have a disqualifying conviction or a substance use disorder, as quoted above.

Each county's jury commission builds its master jury list from the county voter registration list every April (§ 13-5-8(1)). Section 13-5-1 also says a person with a case of their own pending in that court may not serve if there are enough other qualified jurors.

Age 21, not 18

Mississippi's minimum age is 21. Bills to lower it to 18 have been filed, and in 2026 Senate Bill 2031 passed the Senate on February 9 but died in a House committee on March 3, 2026. As of October 7, 2026, the age is still 21.

Criminal convictions

The conviction clause in § 13-5-1 is quoted above in full; as written, it can be read more than one way on whether the five-year limit applies to both offenses or only to liquor sales. The qualified-elector route also ties jury eligibility to voting eligibility. A 2026 bill that would have automatically restored voting rights once all sentencing requirements are satisfied, and reinstated such a person to the jury master list (House Bill 789), died in committee. If you have a conviction and a summons, ask the circuit clerk or a Mississippi lawyer how the rules apply to you.

Exemptions, excuses and postponements in Mississippi

Mississippi separates personal exemptions, which you claim, from excuses, which the court grants. In the sections reviewed for this page (§§ 13-5-1, 13-5-23, 13-5-25, 13-5-33 and 13-5-35, among others), there are no occupational exemptions for groups such as students, first responders or public officials. Outside the jury chapter, § 33-1-5 exempts National Guard members on active duty who present a superior officer's statement (see the table).

Over 65

Section 13-5-25 says "Every citizen over sixty-five (65) years of age, and everyone who has served as a grand juror or as a petit juror in the trial of a litigated case within two (2) years, shall be exempt from service if the juror claims the privilege." It adds that "No qualified juror shall be excluded because of any such reasons, but the same shall be a personal privilege to be claimed by any person selected for jury duty."

It is not automatic. If you want to use it, claim it: a person over 65 may do so outside open court by giving the clerk information that lets the clerk confirm the claim. DeSoto County's circuit clerk, for example, says people 65 and older can send a signed affidavit of excuse to the clerk's office. A person over 65 who wants to serve may do so; the section sets no upper age limit.

Permanent excusal for age

Under § 13-5-23(4), "A person who has been summoned for jury duty who meets the age threshold for exemption from jury service shall have the option to be permanently excused from jury service due to age by filing with the circuit clerk a notarized request to be permanently excused." Otherwise, a person is permanently excused only when the judge decides the grounds are permanent.

Permanent excusal removes you from the master list, but you can change your mind: "Any person who has been excluded from the master list for jury service may be reinstated to the master list after one (1) year by requesting that the circuit clerk reinstate him to the master list" (§ 13-5-8(2)).

Illness, hardship and breast-feeding

Section 13-5-23(1) allows the court to excuse a juror for one of three causes: an illness that makes the juror "incapable of performing jury service"; when "the juror's attendance would cause undue or extreme physical or financial hardship to the prospective juror or a person under his or her care or supervision"; or when "the potential juror is a breast-feeding mother."

The statute's definition of hardship includes leaving a person under your personal care when no appropriate substitute caregiver can be obtained, costs that would have a substantial adverse impact on necessary daily living expenses for you or those you support, and physical hardship resulting in illness or disease. Three limits apply:

• "'Undue or extreme physical or financial hardship' does not exist solely based on the fact that a prospective juror will be required to be absent from his or her place of employment or business" (§ 13-5-23(3)(b)).
• A judge of the summoning court decides hardship requests, and you "must take all actions necessary to have obtained a ruling on that request by no later than the date on which the individual is scheduled to appear for jury duty" (§ 13-5-23(3)(c), (d)).
• The judge may ask for documentation, and failure to provide satisfactory documentation may result in denial.

For illness, the clerk can grant the excuse outside open court if you provide a certificate from a licensed physician; without one, a judge decides. A breast-feeding mother's request is made by the juror in open court under oath.

Recent service and how often you can be called

Two sections address prior service, and their wording differs. Section 13-5-1 says a person who has served as a juror within the last two years is not qualified, while § 13-5-25 treats service in the last two years as a privilege the juror may claim. Read together, you generally cannot be required to serve again within two years of prior service if you raise it, so tell the clerk when you respond.

Military service members

Outside the jury chapter, Miss. Code Ann. § 33-1-5 exempts a member of the Mississippi National Guard on active duty who presents a current written statement from a superior officer that jury service will likely interfere with military duties. Other service members would normally use a postponement or a hardship request. Separately, federal law says an active-duty member of the armed forces may not be required to serve on a state or local jury if the member's branch Secretary determines that service would unreasonably interfere with military duties or adversely affect unit readiness, and that determination is conclusive (10 U.S.C. § 982). Ask your command whether that applies to you.

Postponing jury service

Under § 13-5-33(1), "individuals scheduled to appear for jury service have the right to postpone the date of their initial appearance for jury service one (1) time only." The postponement is granted on request if:

1. You have not been granted a postponement in the past two years.
2. You appear in person or contact the clerk by telephone, email or in writing.
3. With the clerk's agreement, you fix a date certain no more than six months or two terms of court after your original date, whichever is longer, on a day the court will be in session.

A second postponement can be approved only by a judicial officer, for an extreme emergency such as a death in the family, sudden illness or a natural disaster that could not have been anticipated when the first was granted, and you must fix a new date within six months or two terms of court (§ 13-5-33(2)).

Small employers get a separate rule. Under § 13-5-35(4), a court "shall automatically postpone and reschedule the service of a summoned juror employed by an employer with five (5) or fewer full-time employees, or their equivalent, if another employee of that employer has previously been summoned to appear during the same period." That postponement does not use up your one postponement as of right.

How much does jury duty pay in Mississippi?

Juror pay is set county by county within a range in § 25-7-61, and the county pays.

The compiled code page we reviewed prints this version of § 25-7-61 under a note that it applies from January 1, 2008, "or such time as the Lengthy Trial Fund is fully funded by a specific appropriation of the Legislature, whichever is later." Both versions of the section set the same $25 to $40 range, so the range does not depend on that condition; check your summons or the circuit clerk for your county's rate. We also did not open the mileage rate in § 25-3-41. Sequestered jurors may have room and board paid.

Two other provisions in the same section: any juror may return the juror fees to the county, which may earmark them for a library, local law enforcement, the Mississippi Burn Care Fund or another governmental agency. And for civil petit jurors serving more than ten days, the court may pay replacement or supplemental wages from a Lengthy Trial Fund of up to $300 per day per juror beginning on the eleventh day, but only "to the extent funds are available," and no county is obligated to fund it. For those jurors, on a finding of significant financial hardship, the court may also award up to $100 per day from the fund for days four through ten.

Mississippi employer rules for jury duty

Your job is protected if you give notice

Section 13-5-35(1) makes it unlawful for any employer or other person "to persuade or attempt to persuade any juror to avoid jury service; to intimidate or to threaten any juror in that respect; or to remove or otherwise subject an employee to adverse employment action as a result of jury service if the employee notifies his or her employer that he or she has been summoned to serve as a juror within a reasonable period of time after receipt of a summons."

The section sets no employer-size threshold for this protection. Notify your employer promptly after the summons arrives and keep a copy of what you sent.

No forced use of leave

Under § 13-5-35(2), "It shall be unlawful for an employer to require or request an employee to use annual, vacation or sick leave for time spent responding to a summons for jury duty, time spent participating in the jury selection process, or time spent actually serving on a jury." The same subsection says it does not require an employer to provide leave to employees who are not otherwise entitled to it under company policy.

Pay while you serve

Section 13-5-35 says nothing about wage continuation, so Mississippi's jury statute does not require private employers to keep paying you while you serve. Your employer's own policy may provide pay. For state employees, the Mississippi State Personnel Board's employee handbook says the appointing authority may grant administrative leave, which it defines as discretionary leave with pay, to an employee serving as a juror, in addition to juror fees, and that the time is not counted as personal leave. School and local government employees should check their own leave rules.

What happens if an employer breaks the rules

"Any violation of subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall be deemed an interference with the administration of justice and a contempt of court and punishable as such" (§ 13-5-35(3)). The statute provides for contempt and states no separate civil remedy, reinstatement order or fixed fine, and it does not state a filing deadline.

We did not research Mississippi's general wrongful-discharge law, so if you were disciplined or fired over jury service, tell the court that summoned you and talk to a Mississippi employment lawyer promptly. For how this fits with other limits on firing, see our page on Mississippi at-will employment laws.

What happens if you miss jury duty in Mississippi

Under § 13-5-34, a person who was summoned and fails to appear or complete service as directed, without a proper postponement (or who misses the postponed date), may be ordered to show cause. The process:

1. The court may order you to appear and explain why you did not comply.
2. "If the juror fails to show good cause for noncompliance with the summons, the juror may be held in civil contempt of court and may be fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned not more than three (3) days, or both."
3. "The prospective juror may be excused from paying sanctions for good cause shown or in the interest of justice."
4. In addition to or instead of a fine or jail, the court may order community service for no less time than the jury service would have taken, with proof of completion (§ 13-5-34(2)).

If you missed your date, contact the circuit clerk right away.

How long jury duty lasts in Mississippi

The sections reviewed for this page do not set a fixed length for a petit jury term; it follows each court's term. Grand jurors "shall serve until discharged by the court" (§ 13-5-23(5)). DeSoto County's circuit clerk tells jurors to be prepared to serve for the entire week of service or until the court releases them.

How to respond to a Mississippi jury summons

We did not find a statewide juror portal or statewide juror page on the Mississippi judiciary's website; each county's circuit clerk runs the process. The steps that apply statewide:

1. Read the instructions on your summons, which must explain the excuse rules in plain terms (§ 13-5-28).
2. Tell your employer within a reasonable time after receiving the summons (§ 13-5-35(1)).
3. If you are over 65 and want to claim the exemption, give the circuit clerk the information it asks for; for a permanent age excusal, file a notarized request (§§ 13-5-25, 13-5-23(4)).
4. If you need a later date, contact the clerk in person, by phone, email or in writing and fix a new date (§ 13-5-33).
5. For an illness excuse, send a licensed physician's certificate; for a hardship excuse, get a judge's ruling before your report date (§ 13-5-23).

DeSoto County's jury duty page is one example of county-level instructions.

Watch for jury duty scam calls

DeSoto County's circuit clerk warns of calls falsely claiming people missed jury duty and are in contempt, says its jury summonses arrive by mail, says no one from its office will ever direct you to pay a contempt fine over the phone, and tells residents who get such a call to contact the county sheriff. Our guide to government impersonation scams explains how these schemes work, and our page on Mississippi scam and fraud laws covers where to report one.

Recent changes

In 2026 the Legislature amended § 13-5-1 (Senate Bill 2135, approved by the Governor March 19, 2026, effective on passage): a qualified elector must now be designated as an active voter in the Statewide Election Management System to be a competent juror, and the "common gambler or habitual drunkard" bar was replaced with a requirement that the juror not have a substance use disorder. The Mississippi Legislature's bill-status index for the 2025 and 2026 regular sessions shows that the other bills touching the juror qualification, exemption, postponement, penalty, employer-protection and juror-pay sections died. That includes the 2026 bills to lower the juror age to 18 (House Bill 277 and Senate Bill 2031) and 2025 bills to raise the maximum daily juror fee. Special sessions were not checked.

Disclaimer: This page is general legal information about Mississippi jury service, not legal advice. The court that summoned you decides every excuse and postponement request. Information verified October 7, 2026. For questions about your summons, contact the circuit clerk listed on it; for an employment dispute, consult a lawyer licensed in Mississippi.

Related pages

• Jury duty laws by state
• Mississippi at-will employment laws
• Mississippi court records
• Mississippi scam and fraud laws

Last updated: October 7, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old do you have to be for jury duty in Mississippi?

At least 21. Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-1 makes a citizen 'not under the age of twenty-one (21) years' a competent juror, and a 2026 bill to lower the age to 18 died in a House committee. Since SB 2135 took effect in March 2026, a juror who qualifies through voter status must also be designated as an active voter in the Statewide Election Management System.

Does my employer have to pay me for jury duty in Mississippi?

Mississippi's jury statute, § 13-5-35, does not require private employers to pay you, though it bars them from requiring or requesting that you use annual, vacation or sick leave for jury service. State, school and local government employees should check their own leave rules.

How much does jury duty pay in Mississippi?

Under the compiled text of § 25-7-61, each county's board of supervisors sets pay for circuit, chancery and county court jurors between $25 and $40 per day, plus mileage. Justice court jurors get $10 to $15 per day.

Can I get out of jury duty in Mississippi if I am over 65?

Yes, if you claim it. Section 13-5-25 makes people over 65 exempt only when they claim the privilege, which can be done outside open court through the clerk. A summoned person who meets the age threshold may also file a notarized request to be permanently excused (§ 13-5-23(4)).

Can I be fired for jury duty in Mississippi?

Section 13-5-35 makes it unlawful to take adverse employment action against you for jury service if you notified your employer within a reasonable time after receiving the summons. A violation is punishable as contempt of court.

Can I postpone jury duty in Mississippi?

Yes, once as of right if you have not had a postponement in the past two years, to a date within six months or two terms of court, whichever is longer (§ 13-5-33). A second postponement needs a judicial officer and an extreme emergency that could not have been anticipated.

What happens if I miss jury duty in Mississippi?

The court may order you to show cause. Without good cause you may be held in civil contempt with a fine of up to $500, up to three days in jail, or both, or ordered to do community service (§ 13-5-34).

How do I get excused from jury duty in Mississippi?

Ask the court for an illness excuse (a licensed physician's certificate lets the clerk handle it), a hardship excuse decided by a judge before your report date, or a breast-feeding mother's excuse made in open court under oath (§ 13-5-23). Missing work alone is not a hardship.