Mississippi Ordinances (2026)

Mississippi requires counties and municipalities to adopt the State Uniform Construction Code (IRC/IBC), establishing minimum statewide construction standards for accessory dwelling units. Local zoning still controls placement, size limits, and use permissions for ADUs.

Mississippi's State Uniform Construction Code requires garage conversions to habitable space to meet IRC standards for ceiling height, egress, insulation, smoke alarms, and ventilation. Permits and inspections are mandatory in most adopting jurisdictions.

Mississippi's State Uniform Construction Code applies statewide to detached accessory structures, though small sheds typically fall under IRC permit exemptions. Local jurisdictions enforce code thresholds and may require permits regardless of size.

Mississippi's State Uniform Construction Code requires adopting jurisdictions to enforce IRC standards for tiny homes on foundations. IRC Appendix Q provisions apply only where locally adopted, leaving classification and minimum size requirements largely local.

Mississippi treats severe neglect and hoarding-style conditions as criminal cruelty under the Dog and Cat Pet Protection Law and broader cruelty statutes. The criminal code applies uniformly across all cities and counties.

Mississippi regulates beekeeping primarily for disease control through the Bureau of Plant Industry. The state Apiary Law authorizes inspections, transport certificates, and quarantine, while leaving residential nuisance rules to local jurisdictions.

Mississippi prohibits possession of inherently dangerous wild animals such as big cats, bears, wolves, hyenas, and primates without a state permit. The law establishes a statewide baseline that local governments may strengthen but not weaken.

Mississippi regulates supplemental feeding of deer and other wildlife through MDWFP rules. Feeding for hunting purposes is restricted, and feeding is banned in CWD management zones and on Wildlife Management Areas statewide.

The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act sets statewide minimum buffer distances and zoning rules for licensed dispensaries, requiring at least 1,000 feet from schools, churches, and child care facilities, while allowing municipalities to opt out or impose stricter local rules.

Mississippi law prohibits all home cultivation of cannabis, including by registered medical cannabis patients. The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act expressly bars personal grows, and recreational cannabis remains illegal, making cultivation a felony statewide regardless of local policy.

Commercial drone operations in Mississippi are governed primarily by FAA Part 107, with state law adding criminal restrictions on critical infrastructure surveillance and privacy violations. Local airspace regulation is largely preempted, leaving consistent statewide rules for commercial pilots.

Mississippi regulates recreational drone use primarily through state criminal statutes addressing peeping, surveillance, and critical infrastructure flights, while federal FAA Part 107 and recreational rules govern airspace, leaving narrow room for local regulation.

Miss. Code Section 17-1-51 preempts Mississippi cities and counties from adopting local minimum wages, paid leave, or other employment-benefit mandates that exceed state or federal law.

Mississippi prohibits cities and counties from adopting local paid sick leave, paid family leave, or other employment-benefit mandates beyond state and federal law under Miss. Code Section 17-1-51.

Mississippi's employment preemption statute, Miss. Code Section 17-1-51, prevents cities from imposing predictive scheduling, fair workweek, or other work-hour ordinances on private employers.

Mississippi's Coastal Wetlands Protection Act gives the Department of Marine Resources exclusive authority to permit dredging, filling, or alteration of coastal wetlands in Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties, preempting local control over regulated tidal areas.

Mississippi requires erosion and sediment control measures on regulated construction sites through the Department of Environmental Quality, with a statewide Erosion Control, Sediment Control, and Stormwater Management Plan required for sites disturbing one acre or more.

Mississippi participates in the National Flood Insurance Program through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, requiring participating local governments to adopt floodplain management ordinances meeting statewide minimum standards established under federal NFIP rules.

Mississippi enforces stormwater discharge regulations through the Department of Environmental Quality under the federal Clean Water Act, requiring NPDES permits for construction activity disturbing one or more acres and for municipal separate storm sewer systems statewide.

Mississippi enforces statewide residential building code requirements for swimming pool barriers under the State Building Code Council, applying International Residential Code Appendix G standards uniformly across all participating jurisdictions for new pool installations.

Mississippi regulates the manufacture, sale, and storage of fireworks at the state level under Title 45 Chapter 13. Permits and licenses are issued by the State Fire Marshal, and consumer fireworks are generally legal during set seasonal windows.

Mississippi regulates outdoor burning through the Mississippi Forestry Commission and Department of Environmental Quality. Burning of household refuse and yard debris is allowed with restrictions, but burn bans and air quality rules apply statewide.

Mississippi regulates liquefied petroleum (LP) gas storage, installation, and dealers through the Mississippi Liquefied Compressed Gas Board under Title 75 Chapter 57, applying NFPA 58 standards uniformly statewide.

The Mississippi Forestry Commission has statewide authority to declare wildfire burn bans, regulate forest fire prevention, and pursue civil and criminal penalties for negligent fires that escape and damage forestland.

Mississippi recognizes both a permit-based concealed carry license and permitless carry for adults legally able to possess firearms, with the Department of Public Safety administering the enhanced permit program.

Mississippi Code Section 45-9-51 broadly preempts cities and counties from regulating firearms, ammunition, components, or related items, with very narrow exceptions for public buildings and parades.

Mississippi permits open carry of firearms by lawful adults under its constitutional and statutory framework, and Miss. Code 45-9-51 prevents local governments from restricting open carry within their jurisdictions.

Miss. Code Section 45-9-101 establishes Mississippi's licensed concealed carry framework while related provisions and case law confirm that lawful adults may carry firearms in private motor vehicles without a permit, with statewide preemption barring local restrictions.

Mississippi requires every mobile food unit to hold a Mississippi State Department of Health food permit, employ a certified food manager, and pass routine inspections. Local cities may add zoning rules but cannot waive state health permits.

Mississippi's Cottage Food Law allows home-based producers to sell certain non-potentially hazardous foods directly to consumers without inspection or licensing, subject to a statewide annual gross sales cap and labeling rules enforced by the Mississippi Department of Health.

Mississippi requires state licensing through the Department of Health for any home-based child care facility serving six or more unrelated children, with mandated staff-to-child ratios, background checks, and health and safety inspections that preempt local rules.

The Mississippi Employment Protection Act of 2008, codified at Miss. Code Section 71-11-3, requires every employer in the state, regardless of size, to use the federal E-Verify system to confirm the work eligibility of all newly hired employees.

Senate Bill 2710, codified at Miss. Code Section 17-21-7 in 2017, prohibits any Mississippi state agency, county, municipality, or public university from adopting sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Aircraft operations and noise standards are preempted from local Mississippi regulation by federal aviation law and the Mississippi Airport Authorities Law, which vests airport zoning and operations authority in airport authorities and the FAA.

Mississippi imposes no just-cause eviction requirement. Under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, landlords may terminate month-to-month tenancies with 30 days notice without stating a reason, subject only to anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws.

Mississippi expressly preempts municipalities and counties from enacting rent control. Under Miss. Code Section 21-17-5(2), local governments cannot regulate residential or commercial rents, leaving pricing entirely to the private market.

Mississippi limits local zoning authority over established agricultural operations through Miss. Code Section 95-3-29 and related statutes that protect farms from later-imposed restrictive land use rules.

Mississippi's Right to Farm law at Miss. Code Section 95-3-29 protects established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits when surrounding land uses change after the operation was established.

Mississippi's 2018 plastic bag preemption statute, Miss. Code Section 17-2-3, bars cities and counties from regulating, banning, or taxing auxiliary containers including plastic bags, cups, and packaging.

Mississippi's auxiliary container preemption in Miss. Code Section 17-2-3 prevents local governments from banning or regulating polystyrene foam cups, plates, and food packaging.

Plastic straws are auxiliary containers under Miss. Code Section 17-2-3, meaning Mississippi cities and counties cannot ban, restrict, tax, or impose fees on plastic straws or stirrers.

The William Lee Montjoy Pool Safety Act and the Mississippi Residential Code require enclosing residential and public pools with at least four-foot barriers, self-closing gates, and approved alarms or covers as a statewide minimum.

Mississippi treats public and semi-public hot tubs and spas as regulated bathing places under MSDH, requiring permits, anti-entrapment drains, temperature controls, and barrier or cover protection consistent with the residential code.

Mississippi requires every public or semi-public pool to operate under a permit from the State Department of Health, with statewide rules on disinfection, anti-entrapment drains, lifeguards or warnings, and water-quality testing.

Mississippi prohibits the sale, distribution, or furnishing of tobacco, alternative nicotine, and vapor products to anyone under age 21 under Miss. Code Section 97-32-9 and related Chapter 32 provisions.

Mississippi has not enacted a statewide ban on flavored tobacco or vapor products, and its Title 97 Chapter 32 framework governs uniform tobacco regulation without authorizing local flavor restrictions.

Mississippi regulates the sale of electronic nicotine delivery systems through its tobacco statutes, requiring buyers to be at least 21 years old under Miss. Code 97-32-9 and prohibiting sales to minors.

Mississippi prohibits illegal dumping and regulates solid waste disposal statewide under Title 17 Chapter 17, requiring proper disposal at permitted facilities and imposing significant fines for violations of the Solid Wastes Disposal Law.

Mississippi requires every county and municipality to provide or contract for solid waste collection service for all occupied dwellings, and residents are generally required to subscribe to and pay for collection under state law.