Mississippi earns a C- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Low bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove by preponderance of the evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 80% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement when only one agency participated in the forfeiture; 100% otherwise.
The letter grade reflects Mississippi’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Mississippi?
Under Mississippi law, prosecutors’, owners’, and court deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 210 days. While you wait, the government has your property and you have no way to seek its return.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $81 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Mississippi Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $1,310,763 | $41,000 | $1,351,763 |
| 2001 | Unknown | $1,227,097 | $291,000 | $1,518,097 |
| 2002 | Unknown | $1,026,045 | $226,000 | $1,252,045 |
| 2003 | Unknown | $1,546,593 | $107,000 | $1,653,593 |
| 2004 | Unknown | $4,278,744 | $151,000 | $4,429,744 |
| 2005 | Unknown | $3,242,740 | $462,000 | $3,704,740 |
| 2006 | Unknown | $5,526,173 | $650,000 | $6,176,173 |
| 2007 | Unknown | $3,254,022 | $40,000 | $3,294,022 |
| 2008 | Unknown | $2,696,655 | $249,000 | $2,945,655 |
| 2009 | Unknown | $5,525,236 | $25,000 | $5,550,236 |
| 2010 | Unknown | $4,184,022 | $3,000 | $4,187,022 |
| 2011 | Unknown | $3,974,483 | $195,000 | $4,169,483 |
| 2012 | Unknown | $3,455,417 | $217,000 | $3,672,417 |
| 2013 | Unknown | $4,563,405 | $25,000 | $4,588,405 |
| 2014 | Unknown | $2,514,532 | $297,000 | $2,811,532 |
| 2015 | Unknown | $2,720,866 | $329,000 | $3,049,866 |
| 2016 | Unknown | $3,843,931 | $91,000 | $3,934,931 |
| 2017 | Unknown | $3,284,266 | $210,000 | $3,494,266 |
| 2018 | Unknown | $6,267,500 | $730,000 | $6,997,500 |
| 2019 | Unknown | $1,826,102 | $1,548,000 | $3,374,102 |
| 2020 | Unknown | $883,100 | $588,000 | $1,471,100 |
| 2021 | Unknown | $1,937,807 | $1,069,000 | $3,006,807 |
| 2022 | Unknown | $2,030,975 | $378,000 | $2,408,975 |
| 2023 | Unknown | $2,304,637 | $80,000 | $2,384,637 |
| Totals | Unknown | $73,425,111 | $8,002,000 | $81,427,111 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Mississippi does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Mississippi agencies have generated more than $81 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 63 Mississippi agencies, or an estimated 19% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Mississippi Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
Mississippi does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
Mississippi property type data were not used for this report.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
Mississippi does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Forfeiture case information is publicly available, but case documents with key forfeiture details are often not available.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
D+Statewide Forfeiture Reports
FPenalties for Failure to File a Report
BAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
FAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
AFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
FFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Forfeiture data available online from the state Bureau of Narcotics Forfeiture Search database are substantially incomplete and therefore not used for this report. Data for 2018–2019 reported in the third edition of Policing for Profit suffer the same problem and are not included here. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Preponderance of the evidence.
Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-179(2).
Innocent owner burden: Government.
Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-179(2); Galloway v. City of New Albany, 735 So. 2d 407, 411–12 (Miss. 1999); Curtis v. State, 642 So. 2d 381, 384–86 (Miss. 1994); 1994 Mercury Cougar v. Tishomingo County, 970 So. 2d 744, 747–49 (Miss. Ct. App. 2007). But cf. Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-153(a)(4)(B), (a)(7)(A) (placing burden on owner, but statute has been interpreted in above cases to place burden on government).
Financial incentive: 80% if one law enforcement agency participated in the forfeiture; 100% otherwise.
Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-181(2).
Process: Miss. Code Ann. §§ 41-29-153, -176.1, -177, -179 (forfeiture procedure); Miss. R. Civ. P. 4(h) (service of complaint); see also City of Hattiesburg v. $35,370, 872 So. 2d 701 (Miss. Ct. App. 2004) (affirming return of property after complaint not timely filed).