Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-455 (2026)
Content of petition
✓ current as of July 2026
- (1) The petition shall set forth plainly and concisely with particularity:
- (a) identification of the child, including his full name, birth date, age, sex and residence;
- (b) identification of the parent, guardian or custodian including the name and residence of the child's parents, the name and residence of the child's legal guardian, if there be one, any person or agency in whose custody the child may be and the child's nearest relative if no parent or guardian be known;
- (c) a statement of the facts, including the facts which bring the child within the jurisdiction of the youth court and which show the child is a delinquent child, a child in need of supervision, a neglected child or an abused child;
- (d) in petitions alleging delinquency, a citation of the statute or ordinance which the child is alleged to have violated. Error in or omission of the citation shall not be grounds for dismissing the petition or for a reversal of the adjudication based thereon if the error or omission did not mislead the child to his prejudice.
- (e) a prayer for the type of adjudicatory relief sought; and
- (f) if any of the facts herein required are not known by the petitioner.
- (2) Two (2) or more offenses may, in the discretion of the youth court, be alleged in the same petition in a separate count for each offense.
- (3) Two (2) or more children may be the subject of the same petition if:
- (a) they are siblings; and
- (b) they are alleged to be neglected or abused from a common source of mistreatment or neglect.
- (4) Where the child is alleged to be a delinquent child, the petition must recite factual allegations with the same particularity required in a criminal indictment but need not have the technical form of a criminal indictment.
- (5) The petition may contain a motion to transfer.
Laws, 1979, ch. 506, § 50; Laws, 1980, ch. 550, § 20, eff. 7/1/1980.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3
cases, 2014–2019 · leading case: Matthew Blake Courtney v. State of Mississippi, 275 So. 3d 1032 (Miss. 2019).
Matthew Blake Courtney v. State of Mississippi, 275 So. 3d 1032 (Miss. 2019). “1974)); see also Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-455 (4) (Rev. 2015).”
E.K. v. Mississippi Dep't of Child Prot. Servs., 249 So. 3d 377 (Miss. 2018). “Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-455 (1)(a)-(c), (e)-(f) (Rev.”
R.P. v. State, 151 So. 3d 204 (Miss. 2014). “” Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-455 (1)(c) (Rev. 2009).”
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-455(4): 1 case
R.P. v. State, 151 So. 3d 204 (Miss. 2014). “” Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-455 (1)(c) (Rev. 2009).”
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