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Mississippi Code

Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-1 (2026)

Short title; legislative policy regarding right of access to records

✓ current as of July 2026
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This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983." It is the policy of the Legislature that public records must be available for inspection by any person unless otherwise provided by Chapter 453, Laws of 1996. Furthermore, providing access to public records is a duty of each public body and automation of public records must not erode the right of access to those records. As each agency increases its use of and dependence on electronic record keeping, each agency must ensure reasonable access to records electronically maintained, subject to the rules of records retention.

Laws, 1983, ch. 424, § 1; Laws, 1996, ch. 453, § 1, eff. 7/1/1996.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 35 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1985–2026 · leading case: Mississippi Dep't of Corr. v. Roderick & Solange MacArthur Just. Ctr., 220 So. 3d 929 (Miss. 2017).
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Mississippi Dep't of Corr. v. Roderick & Solange MacArthur Just. Ctr., 220 So. 3d 929 (Miss. 2017). · cites it 8× “” Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-1 (emphasis added).”
Roberts v. Miss. Rep. Party State Exec. Comm., 465 So. 2d 1050 (Miss. 1985). · cites it 4× “On March 14, 1984, the Mississippi Republican Party State Executive Committee filed suit based on its interpretation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 25-61-1, et seq., the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.”
Buckel v. Chaney, 47 So. 3d 148 (Miss. 2010). · cites it 2× “Miss.Code Ann. § 25-61-1 (Rev. 2010). Allowing access to public records is a duty of the public bodies of Mississippi.”
Est. of Cole v. Ferrell, 163 So. 3d 921 (Miss. 2012). · cites it 4× “The Attorneys also maintain that Ford must “make a particularized showing of a need for confidentiality, including whether the unsealed documents will result in significant harm to either party,” which the chancellor found Ford failed to do.”
Gannett River States Pub. Corp., Inc. v. City of Jackson, 866 So. 2d 462 (Miss. 2004). · cites it 4× “2003), and the Mississippi Public Records Act, Miss.Code Ann. §§ 25-61-1 to -17 (Rev.2003).”
Mississippi Dep't of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks v. Mississippi Wildlife Enf't Officers' Ass'n, 740 So. 2d 925 (Miss. 1999). · cites it 2× “This matter is an appeal of a denial of request made under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 (hereinafter “the Act”), Miss.Code Ann. §§ 25-61-1 et seq. (1991 & Supp.”
State Oil & Gas Bd. v. McGowan, 542 So. 2d 244 (Miss. 1989). · cites it 2× “DID THE CHANCERY COURT ERR IN DENYING THE BOARD'S MOTION TO DISMISS THE ORIGINAL AND AMENDED BILL OF DISCOVERY? The bill of discovery is one of the ancient bills used in equity practice.”
Harrison Cnty. Dev. Com'n v. Kinney, 920 So. 2d 497 (Miss. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 3× “Miss.Code Ann. § 25-61-1 (Rev. 2003). Accordingly, allowing access to public records is a duty of the public bodies of Mississippi.”
Gannett Co. v. Entergy Mississippi, Inc., 940 So. 2d 221 (Miss. 2006). · cites it 2× “In deciding whether Entergy is required to disclose the "rate" it charges Entergy for electricity, this Court must look at The Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983, Miss.Code Ann. §§ 25-61-1 to -17 (Rev.2003), which provides the basic framework for the inspection of public…”
Daniel Paul Copple v. State of Mississippi, 196 So. 3d 189 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “See Miss.Code Ann. § 25-61-1 (Rev. 2010). But Copple’s complaint for discovery cannot be construed as a pleading described in Mississippi Code Annotated § 25-61-13 (Rev.”
Loftin v. Jefferson Davis Cnty. Sch. Dist., 142 So. 3d 1098 (Miss. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “See also Miss.Code Ann. § 25-61-1 (Rev. 2010). . Section 25-61-5 provides the following: (l)(a) Except as otherwise provided by Sections 25-61-9 and 25-61-11, all public records are hereby declared to be public property, and any person shall have the right to inspect, copy or…”
Mississippi Publishers Corp. v. Coleman, 515 So. 2d 1163 (Miss. 1987). · cites it 2× “It is further alleged that the order violates the newspapers' right of access to public records under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 ( Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-1 , et seq. (Supp.”
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