Justice Court; revise filing fees.
HB 162 revises filing fees for Mississippi justice courts, primarily increasing the uniform civil case filing fee from $45 to $55 (effective July 2026) and then to $65 (effective July 2027). It directly affects individuals filing civil cases, criminal defendants (with minor adjustments to certain criminal fees like Title 63 violations), and those seeking marriage ceremonies or peace bonds. Key provisions include phased fee increases for civil cases, a $50 cap on expungement fees, and unchanged marriage ceremony fees ($10 for standard ceremonies). The bill does not alter most other existing fees, such as those for service of process ($5) or attachment proceedings ($15).
Bill status
died
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
House Passage
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 14, 2025
Last action Mar 12, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
As Introduced
→
Current version
·
5 edits
MODERATE
This bill updates justice court filing fees in Mississippi, gradually increasing the base civil case fee from $45 to $65 over a two-year period while keeping other fees largely unchanged. The changes affect how much money individuals must pay upfront when filing civil cases in justice courts, which are lower courts handling smaller claims and minor offenses.
Scope change
The bill applies to all justice courts in Mississippi and affects both civil and criminal case filing fees, with specific provisions for marriage ceremonies and expungement requests.
FISCAL
Civil case filing fee increased from $45 to $55 effective July 1, 2026, then to $65 effective July 1, 2027
Criminal case fee for Title 63 violations (excluding DUI and reckless driving) increased from $10 to $12.50, then to $15
TIMELINE
Added specific effective dates for fee increases: July 1, 2025 for initial changes, July 1, 2026 for intermediate increase, and July 1, 2027 for final increase
REQUIREMENT
Modified the fee schedule structure to show both old and new fees with asterisks indicating the transition period
TECHNICAL
Removed page headers and formatting elements from the original bill text
Floor votes · House Feb 13, 2025
How they voted
97–14
Passed · 8 other
Total votes 119
Feb 13, 2025
D
Democratic39
51% Yea
I
Independent2
100% Yea
R
Republican78
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
8
Key actions
3
Committee
5
Mar 12, 2025
Committee
Recommitted to Committee
upper
Mar 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass As Amended
upper
Feb 14, 2025
Committee
Referred To Judiciary, Division A
upper
Feb 14, 2025
Introduced
Transmitted To Senate
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Feb 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass
lower
Jan 10, 2025
Committee
Referred To Judiciary B
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Noah Sanford
RRepublican
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