Mississippi Expungement for Dismissed Charges

Getting arrested in Mississippi leaves a permanent record even when the charges go nowhere. A dismissed case, a "not guilty" verdict, charges dropped by the prosecutor — all of these stay on your criminal history and show up on background checks indefinitely. The case disposition does not remove the arrest from public view. Only a court-ordered expungement does that.

The straightforward part: dismissed charges are the easiest category to expunge in Mississippi. No waiting period, no demonstration of rehabilitation required, and no limit on how many dismissed cases you can clear.

Who Qualifies

Under Mississippi Code § 99-19-71(4), you can petition for expungement if your case meets any of these criteria:

• Charges were dismissed by the court
• Charges were dropped or not prosecuted by the DA
• You were acquitted (found not guilty) at trial
• You were arrested and released without charges being filed

This applies regardless of the severity of the original charge. Whether you were arrested for a misdemeanor or a felony, if you were released and the case ended without a conviction, this pathway is available.

For a misdemeanor arrest or citation where no formal charges were ever filed, a separate statute — § 99-15-59 — permits expungement twelve months after the arrest or citation. This covers situations where law enforcement made an arrest but the prosecutor never brought the case forward.

No Waiting Period, No Filing Fee

Unlike conviction-based expungements, which carry a $150 statutory filing fee under § 99-19-72, dismissed-charge petitions are exempt from this fee. The clerk may still charge a small administrative processing fee, but the $150 expungement surcharge does not apply.

There is also no waiting period. You can file as soon as the court enters the dismissal order. And there is no lifetime limit — if you have multiple dismissed cases across different courts, each one can be expunged through its own petition.

Why Dismissed Charges Still Cause Problems

People are often surprised to learn that a dismissal does not automatically clear the record. The reason is structural: Mississippi maintains a decentralized system of paper and electronic records across municipal, justice, county, and circuit courts, plus the state's central repository at the Mississippi Criminal Information Center (MCIC).

When a case is dismissed, the court updates the disposition to reflect the dismissal. But the arrest record, booking information, and original charging documents remain in the system. Background check companies purchase this data in bulk and often report the arrest without checking whether the case was ultimately dismissed.

The practical result: a dismissed arrest from ten years ago can still cause a job offer to be rescinded, a lease application to be denied, or a professional license to be delayed. The arrest shows up, the employer or landlord sees "felony" or "misdemeanor" in the charge description, and the application is rejected before anyone checks the outcome.

Filing the Petition

The petition must be filed in the court that handled the case:

• Municipal court for city-level charges dismissed by the municipal judge
• Justice court for county-level misdemeanors dismissed by a justice court judge
• County court for cases dismissed by the county court
• Circuit court for felony charges that were dismissed or resulted in acquittal

Because Mississippi has no standardized statewide form, you need to draft a petition that includes your personal information, the date of arrest, the formal charge, the docket number, and a citation to § 99-19-71(4) as the legal basis for relief. Attach certified copies of the original charging document and the dismissal order from the court clerk.

For a felony petition under § 99-19-71(2)(b), provide at least ten days' written notice to the district attorney. For a dismissed-case petition under § 99-19-71(4), follow the applicable notice rule required by the court or local rules. If the prosecutor does not object and the petition is legally sufficient, many judges sign the order without requiring an in-person hearing.

After the Order Is Signed

The court clerk forwards a certified copy of the expungement order to the MCIC at the Department of Public Safety. You should also deliver certified copies to the arresting law enforcement agency and the local detention facility to ensure their booking databases are updated.

Private background check companies are the last piece. Because they purchase court data on a delayed schedule, your dismissed arrest may continue appearing on commercial screening reports for weeks or months after the order. If it does, submit a written dispute to the background check vendor with a certified copy of your expungement order. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the company has thirty days to investigate and remove the outdated record.

For the complete petition-drafting sequence and post-expungement audit steps, the Mississippi Expungement & Record Sealing Guide walks through each court type with clerk contact protocols.

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