MCA Chapter 3

in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-3-1 Acknowledgment or proof necessary to recording.

Except in cases governed by the Uniform Commercial Code, the provisions of Sections 89-5-101 through 89-5-113, or otherwise specially provided for by law, the execution of a written instrument of or concerning the sale of lands, whether the same be made for passing an estate of freehold or inheritance, or for a term of years, or for any other purpose, or any writing conveying personal estate, shall be acknowledged or proved, and the acknowledgment or proof duly certified by an officer competent to take the same in the manner directed by this chapter. Unless an instrument is acknowledged or proved as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the clerk’s office may refuse to admit the instrument to record. However, if an instrument is not so acknowledged or proved but is otherwise admitted to record, then all persons shall be on constructive notice of the contents of the instrument. The provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall apply to all instruments of record on or after July 1, 2011. However, if the relative priorities of conflicting claims to real property were established before July 1, 2011, then the law applicable to those claims at the time those claims were established shall determine their priority.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-3-3 Acknowledgment and proof.

Every conveyance, contract or agreement proper to be recorded, may be acknowledged or proved before any judge of a United States court, any judge of the supreme court, any judge of the circuit court, or any chancellor, or any judge of the county court, or before any clerk of a court of record or notary public, who shall certify such acknowledgment or proof under the seal of his office, or before any justice of the peace, or police justice, or mayor of any city, town, or village, or clerk of a municipality, or member of the board of supervisors, whether the property conveyed be within his county or not.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-3-5 Acknowledgments before commissioned officers of United States armed forces.

In all cases where a conveyance, contract, agreement or other instrument of writing has heretofore been acknowledged or proved before any commissioned officer in the services of the United States armed forces, such acknowledgment or affidavit is hereby declared to be good, valid and binding to the same extent and with like effect as though such conveyance, contract, agreement, or other instrument of writing had been acknowledged or proved before any officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments in the State of Mississippi.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-3-7 Forms of acknowledgment.

The following forms of acknowledgment may be used in the case of conveyances or other written instruments affecting real estate or personal property; and any acknowledgment so taken and certified shall be sufficient to satisfy all requirements of law: (a) In the case of natural persons acting in their own right: “STATE OF COUNTY OF Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority in and for the said county and state, on this day of , 20 , within my jurisdiction, the within named , who acknowledged that (he) (she) (they) executed the above and foregoing instrument. (NOTARY PUBLIC) My commission expires: ” (Affix official seal, if applicable) (b) In the case of corporations: “STATE OF COUNTY OF Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority in and for the said county and state, on this day of , 20 , within my jurisdiction, the within named , who acknowledged that (he) (she) is of , a corporation, and that for and on behalf of the said corporation, and as its act and deed (he) (she) executed the above and foregoing instrument, after first having been duly authorized by said corporation so to do. (NOTARY PUBLIC) My commission expires: ” (Affix official seal, if applicable) (c) In the case of a corporate general partner of a limited partnership: “STATE OF COUNTY OF Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority in and for the said county and state, on this day of, 20, within my jurisdiction, the within named, who acknowledged to me that (he) (she) is of, a corporation and general partner of, a limited partnership, and that for and on behalf of said corporation as general partner of said limited partnership, and as the act and deed of said corporation as general partner of said limited partnership, and as the act and deed of said limited partnership, (he) (she) executed the above and foregoing instrument, after first having been duly authorized by said corporation and said limited partnership so to do. (NOTARY PUBLIC) My commission expires: ” (Affix official seal, if applicable) (d) In the case of a corporate member of a member-managed limited liability company: “STATE OF COUNTY OF Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority in and for the said county and state, on this day of , 20, within my jurisdiction, the within named , who acknowledged to me that (he) (she) is of , a corporation and member of , a member-managed limited liability company, and that for and on behalf of said corporation as member of said limited liability company, and as the act and deed of said corporation as member of said limited liability company, and as the act and deed of said limited liability company, (he) (she) executed the above and foregoing instrument, after first having been duly authorized by said corporation and said limited liability company so to do. (NOTARY PUBLIC) My commission expires: ” (Affix official seal, if applicable) (e) In the case of a corporate manager of a manager-managed limited liability company: “STATE OF COUNTY OF Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority in and for the said county and state, on this day of, 20, within my jurisdiction, the within named, who acknowledged to me that (he) (she) is of, a corporation and manager of, a manager-managed limited liability company, and that for and on behalf of said corporation as manager of said limited liability company, and as the act and deed of said corporation as manager of said limited liability company, and as the act and deed of said limited liability company, (he) (she) executed the above and foregoing instrument, after first having been duly authorized by said corporation and said limited liability company so to do. (NOTARY PUBLIC) My commission expires: ” (Affix official seal, if applicable) (f) In the case of persons acting in representative capacities: “STATE OF COUNTY OF Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority in and for the said county and state, on this day of , 20, within my jurisdiction, the within named , who acknowledged that (he) (she) is of and that in said representative capacity (he) (she) executed the above and foregoing instrument, after first having been duly authorized so to do. (NOTARY PUBLIC) My commission expires: ” (Affix official seal, if applicable) (g) In the case of proof of execution of the instrument made by a subscribing witness: “STATE OF COUNTY OF Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority in and for the said county and state, on this day of , 20, within my jurisdiction, CD, one of the subscribing witnesses to the above and foregoing instrument, who, being first duly sworn, states that (he) (she) saw the within (or above) named AB, whose name is subscribed thereto, sign and deliver the same to EF (or that (he) (she) heard AB acknowledge that (he) (she) signed and delivered the same to EF); and that the affiant subscribed (his) (her) name as witness thereto in the presence of AB. (CD) (NOTARY PUBLIC) My commission expires: ” (Affix official seal, if applicable) (h) In the case of any business organization, foreign or domestic: “STATE OF COUNTY OF Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority in and for the said county and state, on this day of , 20 , within my jurisdiction, the within named , who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed in the above and foregoing instrument and acknowledged that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their representative capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument, and as the act and deed of the person(s) or entity(ies) upon behalf of which he/she/they acted, executed the above and foregoing instrument, after first having been duly authorized so to do. (NOTARY PUBLIC) My commission expires: ” (Affix official seal, if applicable) Click to view

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-3-9 Acknowledgment or proof in another state.

If the party who shall execute any conveyance of lands or personal property situated in this state, or if the witnesses thereto reside or be in some other state, territory in the Union, the District of Columbia, or in any possession of the United States, or land over which the United States has sovereign power, then the acknowledgment or proof may be made before and certified by the chief justice of the United States, or an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, or a circuit or district judge of the United States, or any other United States judge, or any judge or justice of the supreme or superior court of any such state, territory, District of Columbia, or possession of the United States, or land over which the United States has sovereign power, or any justice of the peace of such state, territory, District of Columbia, possession, or land over which the United States has sovereign power, whose official character shall be certified under the seal of some court of record in his country, parish or other named official jurisdiction, or before any commissioner residing in such state, territory, District of Columbia, possession, or land over which the United States has sovereign power, who may be appointed by the governor of this state to take acknowledgments and proof of conveyances, or any notary public or a clerk of a court of record having a seal of office in said state, territory, District of Columbia, possession, or land over which the United States has sovereign power, and shall be as good and effectual as if the certificate of acknowledgment or proof had been made by a competent officer in this state.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-3-11 Acknowledgment or proof in another state; construction and application as to prior acknowledgments.

In the construction of this section and Section 89-3-9, the adoption of such sections shall not be construed as meaning that the word “territory” as used in Section 89-3-9 did not include prior to the adoption of these sections the possessions of the United States, or land over which the United States has sovereign power. And any acknowledgment heretofore taken in any possession of the United States, or any land over which the United States has sovereign power, by any of the officials thereof named above in Section 89-3-9 shall be as good and effectual as if made after the adoption of these sections.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-3-13 Acknowledgment or proof in foreign country.

If the party who shall execute any conveyance of lands or personal property situated in this state, or if the witnesses thereto, reside or be in a foreign country, the acknowledgment or proof of the execution of such conveyance may be made before any court of record, or the mayor or chief magistrate of any city, borough, or corporation of such foreign country in which the party or witness resides or may be; or before any commissioner residing in such country who may be appointed by the Governor, or before any ambassador, foreign minister, secretary of legation, or consul of the United States to the foreign country in which the party or witness may reside or be; or before any notary public commissioned by the government of the foreign country or any other person authorized by said government to take oaths or acknowledgments; but the certificate shall show that the party, or the party and witness, were identified before the officer, and that the party acknowledged the execution of the instrument, or that the execution was duly proved by the witness, and it shall be as good and effectual as if made and certified by a competent officer of this state.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-3-15 Grantor and witness dead or absent, how proved.

If the grantor and witness or witnesses of any instrument of writing be dead or absent, so that the personal attendance of neither can be had, it may be established by the oath of any person who, on examination before an officer competent to take acknowledgments, can prove the handwriting of the deceased or absent witness or witnesses; or when such proof cannot be had, then the handwriting of the grantor may be proved, and the officer before whom such proof is made shall certify accordingly, and such certificate shall be deemed equivalent to an acknowledgment by the grantor or proof by a subscribing witness, and entitle the instrument to be recorded.