How long is squatters' rights in Mississippi?

Ten years under Miss. Code § 15-1-13. Since July 1, 2025 an owner can also file a sworn affidavit with local police to have a squatter cited and removed, and the law says trespass alone builds no property rights.

If someone is living in your home now, the clock matters far less than getting them out lawfully, and that is where we can help.

Someone in your home? Get them out Start with one building

Statutory period: 10 years
What's different here: a 2025 law says trespass alone builds no property rights
Statute: Miss. Code § 15-1-13

Someone living in your home in Mississippi? Dardaris helps you get them out.

Changing the locks or cutting the power turns the law against you. We hand it to people who remove squatters lawfully, for a living.

If they are moving in right now, call the police first. Once they have settled in, it takes a formal process, and that is where we come in.

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Dardaris is not a law firm and removes nobody itself. If you hire the specialist we introduce, they pay us a referral fee, and you deal with them under their own terms. We pass your details on only once you agree.

Tell us what is happening, by email or on a call. Talking to us costs nothing.
We put you in touch with a removal specialist who works through the court and the sheriff, never around them.
Once the home is free, Dardaris manages the letting for you.

Mississippi's ordinary period is ten years. Section 15-1-13 says ten years' actual adverse possession by a person claiming to be the owner, continued without interruption by occupancy, descent, conveyance or otherwise, in whatever way the occupancy began, vests full title in the occupant. A minor or a person of unsound mind keeps the right to sue for ten years after the disability ends, and for unsoundness of mind that saving never runs past thirty-one years.

The section gives an owner one defence in writing. Where a fence or driveway was built on the land without the owner's permission, the owner can file a written notice with the chancery clerk within the ten years, and the ten-year rule then does not apply to that fence or driveway. Failing to file creates no inference that the land was adversely possessed.

House Bill 1200 of 2025, the Real Property Owners Protection Act, in effect since July 1, 2025, changes what a squatter is. It defines a squatter as a trespasser who remains on the premises for a period of time, or a person invited by a tenant who stays after the rental agreement ends, and says a squatter does not have a tenant's rights or eviction process. It also says a squatter who trespasses without the owner's consent accrues no property rights from the trespass. The Real Property Section of the Mississippi Bar has pointed out that how this reads against adverse possession is open, and that legislators have said abolishing adverse possession was not the intent.

The same act sets the removal route. The owner or agent files a sworn affidavit with the local law enforcement agency, which within 24 hours cites the occupant to vacate or to tell the municipal or justice court within three days that they will contest. If they do not contest, they can be removed without a writ. If they do, a hearing is held within seven days, and an owner who shows a certified copy of the deed as owner of record gets a declaration that the person is a squatter and a judgment of possession, after which the squatter has 24 hours to leave. An owner who knowingly makes false statements commits a misdemeanor and owes triple costs.

Where Mississippi sits against the rest of the United States, in years

Of 50 places in the United States on these pages, 17 have a shorter clock and 18 a longer one or none at all.

Sources checked

From the day someone moves in to the day a claim is possible

The same three stages in most places. The exact rule, and whether the last stage exists at all, is on each place's own page.

Day oneMoving inCaught in the act, it is usually a matter for the police: a trespass, not a tenancy.
Weeks to yearsSettled inOnce someone lives there, removing them usually takes a court order, the same route as for a tenant.
After 10 yearsA claim becomes possibleOnly if every test held, without a break, for the whole period. Where the law allows no such claim, this stage never comes.

Not yours to do, once they have moved inChanging the locks, cutting the water or power, or removing belongings yourself. It is illegal in every US state and most places on these pages forbid it too. Each page says how removal works there.

Letting a home in Mississippi? Start from a free leaseFill in a Mississippi residential lease with the deposit, late fee, entry and notice rules Mississippi law sets, then download it as PDF or Word. No account needed.Write the Mississippi lease

The record a court asks for, kept as you go

Wherever your property stands, removing an occupant usually comes down to showing who had the right to be there, and since when. Dardaris files every lease, message and document for a building by date, so that record already exists on the day you need it.

Start with one building

Every lease, with who signed it and when
Every message with a tenant, on the thread it was sent in
Every document, filed against the building it concerns

Frequently asked questions

What are the squatting laws in Mississippi?

Mississippi's squatter law comes down to Miss. Code § 15-1-13: 10 years of actual adverse possession by someone claiming to be the owner. What sets Mississippi apart is House Bill 1200 (2025, in effect July 1, 2025): the owner files a sworn affidavit with local law enforcement, the occupant is cited, and a squatter who does not contest can be removed without a writ. Squatting is trespassing. Where the route is contested, removal goes through the court hearing, never through changing the locks or cutting the utilities.

How long is squatters' rights in Mississippi?

Ten years of actual, uninterrupted adverse possession by a person claiming to be the owner, under Miss. Code § 15-1-13. An owner whose land has a fence or driveway built without permission can file a written notice with the chancery clerk within the ten years.

What applies to an ordinary squatter with no deed in Mississippi?

The ten years run for someone claiming to be the owner, in whatever way the occupancy began. But the 2025 act says a squatter who trespasses without the owner's consent accrues no property rights from that trespass, and how the two fit together has not been settled, as far as we found. Permission from the owner defeats a claim in any case.

Can police remove a squatter in Mississippi without a court order?

Often, yes. Under House Bill 1200 the owner or agent files a sworn affidavit with local law enforcement, which within 24 hours issues a citation to vacate or to contest in municipal or justice court within three days. If the occupant does not contest, they can be removed without a writ. If they do, a hearing is held within seven days, and an owner with a certified deed copy wins a judgment of possession.

Can I change the locks on a squatter in Mississippi?

No. Changing the locks, removing belongings or shutting off utilities yourself is not a lawful route once someone is living there. File the affidavit under House Bill 1200, or use the courts. Call the police while someone is still moving in.

Can someone help me get squatters out of my home in Mississippi?

Yes. Removal specialists do it through the court and the sheriff. Changing the locks or cutting the power would put you in the wrong. Dardaris can put you in touch with one, and once the home is free, manage the letting for you.

Elsewhere in the United States

The same question, on a different clock. Every place sets its own period and its own shortcuts.

This is general information, not legal advice.Laws change, and a county or a city can add its own wrinkle on top of the state rule, the way New York City does. Confirm the current rule for your address before acting on it, and talk to a local attorney before relying on any of it in a real dispute.