State law reference
Abandoned Mineral Rights in Mississippi
What happens to abandoned mineral rights in Mississippi? No Mississippi statute was found that ends or transfers a severed mineral interest for nonuse, but the official code could not be searched in full. Nonproducing oil, gas and mineral interests held separately from the surface are exempt from ad valorem tax (Miss. Code 27-31-73, taxes from January 1, 1947; older interests only on application), and a tax sale of the surface does not affect an exempt interest.
Unofficial source cited Researched and checked by American Mineral Registry against an unofficial copy of the text, because the official code could not be read; review completed October 1, 2026. Reference research, not legal advice.
- Rule type
- No such statute found
- Period
- None
- Ends without a surface owner step
- Not applicable
- Preservation filing
- Not applicable
- Forced pooling statute
- Statute found
Official text cited - Surface damages statute
- No statute found
- Deceased or unlocated owner
- Partly checked
How the rule works
No dormant mineral statute identified (limited survey). No Mississippi statute was found that ends or transfers a severed mineral interest for nonuse, but the official code could not be searched in full. Nonproducing oil, gas and mineral interests held separately from the surface are exempt from ad valorem tax (Miss. Code 27-31-73, taxes from January 1, 1947; older interests only on application), and a tax sale of the surface does not affect an exempt interest.
Scope
- Interests covered
- Not applicable; no mechanism identified.
- Minerals covered
- Not applicable; no mechanism identified.
- Enactment and amendments
- No dormancy statute identified. The ad valorem exemption in 27-31-73 applies to taxes levied on or after January 1, 1947 (2015 edition text).
- What AMR searched
- The official Mississippi Code is published by LexisNexis behind a terms of use gate and was not used; law.justia.com was not available, so no full text search of the code was possible. Read: Title 53, chapters 1, 3 and 11 as reproduced in the State Oil and Gas Board Rule Book (June 2025), with no dormancy provision; Title 89 (Real and Personal Property) chapter list (2023 edition) and the chapter 1 section captions (2020 edition) from Internet Archive snapshots of the Justia mirror, with no dormant, abandoned or severed mineral chapter or section and no marketable title act; Title 27, chapter 31, sections 27-31-71 to 27-31-85 (2015 edition, same mirror) on nonproducing mineral interests. Title 89 chapters 11 (Escheats) and 12 (Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act) were seen only as chapter titles. Titles 11, 15 and 29 were not searched.
What “none found” means. AMR searched the official code for a dormant mineral, abandonment, lapse or forfeiture statute and found none. That does not mean a mineral interest can never be lost: deeds, title defects, tax sales, adverse possession and other rules can still affect ownership, and they are outside this review.
Dates and what they mean
There is no statutory nonuse period to calculate for this jurisdiction under the rules AMR reviewed.
No statutory lapse was identified, so there is no lapse or deadline date for Mississippi.
Deceased or unlocated owner
Partly checked What the law of Mississippi says when the owner of record has died, is unknown, or cannot be found. It sets out the questions; it does not decide who owns an interest, whether a notice was valid, or whether an interest ended.
Why only partly checked. Still open: court, receivership or trust for missing owners.
No Mississippi statute ending a severed mineral interest for nonuse was identified in the October review, so no dormancy clock runs against a deceased, unknown or unlocated owner. The only owner status provisions read are in forced integration: an operator seeking alternate risk charges must state when an owner's address is unknown after diligent search and inquiry, publish notice for three weeks that also reaches unknown heirs or devisees of deceased owners, and mail notice to known addresses. The official code could not be searched, so other mechanisms such as receiverships or proceeds escrow may exist and were not reviewed.
- Owner of record has died
- In integration petitions for alternate charges, the published notice must also notice all unknown heirs or devisees of deceased owners (53-3-7(2)(c)). Not otherwise addressed in the provisions read.
- Current owner unknown
- Unknown persons owning drilling rights in the unit are noticed by publication in integration petitions for alternate charges (53-3-7(2)(c), (d)).
- Owner known but cannot be found
- Owners whose address is unknown after diligent search and inquiry are noticed by three weeks of publication; known addresses get certified mail (53-3-7(2)(b), (d), (e)).
How the nonuse rule treats these owners Not addressed in the provisions read
No nonuse or dormancy mechanism was identified in the October review; there is nothing for these owners to be subject to.
Heirs, devisees and successors Statute
Integration notice for alternate charges must reach unknown heirs or devisees of deceased owners by publication.
Statute
The published notice must also notice all unknown heirs or devisees of deceased owners and all unknown persons owning drilling rights in the unit. Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2)(c)
“Said notice shall also notice all unknown heirs or devisees of deceased owners, if any there be, and all unknown persons owning drilling rights in said proposed drilling unit.”
Scope: Applies only to a forced integration petition asking the State Oil and Gas Board to allow alternate (risk) charges against nonconsenting owners under Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2). Read from the Board's reproduction dated June 2025, not the official code.
Search required to find the owner Statute
For integration petitions seeking alternate charges, the operator must state that an owner's address is unknown after diligent search and inquiry.
Statute
An operator seeking alternate charges must name every nonconsenting real party in interest with address if known, and state of any owner whose address is not known that it is unknown after diligent search and inquiry. Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2)(b)
“if any owner's address is not known, the operator shall state in its petition that such person's address is unknown after diligent search and inquiry.”
Scope: Applies only to a forced integration petition asking the State Oil and Gas Board to allow alternate (risk) charges against nonconsenting owners under Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2). Read from the Board's reproduction dated June 2025, not the official code.
Who gets notice, and how Statute
Certified mail to nonconsenting owners with known addresses; constructive notice by publication to others; only those served are subject to alternate charges.
Statute
Only parties served with actual or constructive notice under the section are subject to the alternate charges the Board allows. Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2)(b)
“Only those parties served with actual or constructive notice as set forth hereinbelow will be subject to any alternate charges allowed by the board.”
Scope: Applies only to a forced integration petition asking the State Oil and Gas Board to allow alternate (risk) charges against nonconsenting owners under Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2). Read from the Board's reproduction dated June 2025, not the official code.
Nonconsenting parties whose address is known receive the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least thirty days before the Board meeting. Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2)(e)
“the board shall mail each notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, sufficiently distant in time to allow thirty (30) days to elapse between the date of the mailing of said notice and the date of the regular meeting of the board”
Scope: Applies only to a forced integration petition asking the State Oil and Gas Board to allow alternate (risk) charges against nonconsenting owners under Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2). Read from the Board's reproduction dated June 2025, not the official code.
Notice by publication Statute
Publication once a week for three successive weeks in a county newspaper, or a statewide one if none, for owners whose address is unknown after diligent search and inquiry.
Statute
Notice to nonconsenting parties whose address is unknown after diligent search is published once a week for three successive weeks in a county newspaper, or a statewide one if none, and is complete twenty one days after first publication. Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2)(d)
“The publication of notice to nonconsenting real parties in interest whose address is unknown after diligent search and inquiry shall be made once in each week during three (3) successive weeks in a public newspaper of the county or counties in which the proposed drilling unit is located,”
Scope: Applies only to a forced integration petition asking the State Oil and Gas Board to allow alternate (risk) charges against nonconsenting owners under Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2). Read from the Board's reproduction dated June 2025, not the official code.
How the owner responds or preserves Statute
Noticed owners may appear before the Board to show cause against the petition.
Statute
The notice summons the persons to appear before the Board and show cause why the integration petition should not be granted. Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2)(c), form of notice
“You are noticed to appear before the State Oil and Gas Board at its regular term,”
Scope: Applies only to a forced integration petition asking the State Oil and Gas Board to allow alternate (risk) charges against nonconsenting owners under Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(2). Read from the Board's reproduction dated June 2025, not the official code.
Court, receivership or trust for missing owners Not yet verified
No verified statement yet.
What a title review must establish
- Was the interest force integrated with alternate charges, and was the owner or the owner's unknown heirs or devisees served by publication or certified mail as 53-3-7(2) requires?
- Did the petition state that the owner's address was unknown after diligent search and inquiry?
- Has the owner died, and have heirs or devisees been determined through probate or heirship procedures, which were not reviewed?
Dates. Integration petition for alternate charges: names of nonconsenting owners as of a date not more than ninety (90) days prior to filing (53-3-7(2)(b)); thirty (30) days between the last publication and the Board meeting (53-3-7(2)(c)); publication once each week during three (3) successive weeks, deemed complete at the end of twenty-one (21) days from first publication (53-3-7(2)(d)); thirty (30) days between certified mailing and the meeting (53-3-7(2)(e)). Nothing computed. The rule finder does not calculate this period.
What AMR searched. Read Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7 in full as reproduced in the State Oil and Gas Board's rule book (PDF dated June 13, 2025), fetched directly from the Board's site; the rule book text was searched for unknown, escrow and cannot be located (other hits concern operators and nonoperators, not mineral owners). The official Mississippi Code (LexisNexis) was not readable. One web search for a Mississippi receivership or trustee statute for unknown mineral owners found none. Not reviewed: Mississippi Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act as applied to mineral proceeds, 53-3-39 royalty payment rules, chancery court quiet title and heirship procedures, and all case law (case search quota exhausted). A point marked not addressed means only that the provisions read do not address it; probate, quiet title and other general procedures may still apply and were not reviewed.
Not settled by this review.
Whether Mississippi has a statute allowing a court appointed receiver or trustee to lease minerals of unknown or unlocated owners; none was found, but the official code could not be searched.
How Mississippi's unclaimed property law treats mineral proceeds owed to unlocated owners.
Whether 53-3-7 was amended after June 2025, and how Mississippi courts treat publication notice to unknown heirs in integration orders.
Checked October 6, 2026. Also in the dormant mineral rule finder.
Forced pooling
Official text cited Yes. Under Miss. Code Ann. 53-3-7(1)(a) the State Oil and Gas Board may, after notice and hearing, require owners in a drilling unit who have not agreed to integrate to do so. Where owners of at least 33 percent of the drilling rights consent and the operator made good faith efforts, the Board may allow alternate risk charges of 250 percent (300 percent for a severed mineral interest or lease owned by a nonconsenting owner), with notice by publication to owners whose addresses are unknown.
Surface damages
No statute found No Mississippi statute was found that requires oil and gas operators to notify and compensate surface owners. The oil and gas statutes reproduced by the State Oil and Gas Board contain none, but the full code could not be searched.
Searched: Read the section lists and text of Mississippi Code Title 53, chapters 1, 3 and 11, as reproduced in the State Oil and Gas Board Rule Book (June 2025): no surface owner notice or damage section (53-3-161 concerns a landowner's rights over underground gas storage). Title 89 chapter list (2023 edition, Justia mirror via Internet Archive) shows no surface damage chapter. Board rules mention surface owner notice for some permits, but rules are not statutes. The official code (LexisNexis) could not be searched.
Taxes
Broad personal income tax: yes. Mississippi taxes the entire net income of residents, Department of Revenue rules require part-year residents to include income from sources within Mississippi received while a nonresident, and a multistate allocation rule says royalty income from mineral production must be allocated to the state where production occurred. Core rule cited Source and notes.
Severance or production tax. Oil and gas 6 percent of value; 1.3 percent for new horizontal wells for up to 30 months; 3 percent for qualifying enhanced recovery oil. Core rule cited Full record: rates, exemptions, royalty owner share and sources.
Not tax advice. Rates change and the cited source controls.
Sources for the dormant mineral rule
Each source was read on the date shown. Where an official site was not available, the official page was read through a dated Internet Archive copy and that is stated.
- Miss. Code Ann. 27-31-73 (2015)
“Any sale for taxes of the surface or of the remainder of the fee shall not in any manner whatsoever affect the interest or interests hereby exempted.”
- Miss. Code Title 89, chapter list (survey)
“UNIFORM DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT”
Open questions for a specialist
This review did not settle these points. They are where a Mississippi title attorney or landman should look first.
A specialist with access to the official Mississippi Code should confirm that no dormant, abandoned or unknown owner mineral statute exists, including in Titles 11, 15, 27, 29 and 89.
27-31-73 was read in the 2015 edition through a mirror; amendments since then were not checked.
Mississippi case law on severed mineral interests was not reviewed.
Common questions
Can mineral rights lapse in Mississippi?
A search of Mississippi’s official code found no dormant mineral, lapse or forfeiture statute, so an interest does not lapse through nonuse under a statute of that kind. Deeds, tax sales and title rules can still affect ownership.
Does Mississippi allow forced pooling?
Yes. Mississippi has a forced pooling statute, summarized with its citation under Forced pooling above.
Does Mississippi require payment for surface damage?
A search of Mississippi’s official code found no surface damages statute of that kind. Leases, deeds and general law can still give the surface owner a claim.
What changed
The June 2026 edition listed Mississippi as Does not lapse, lapse period none. Release 2026.10 replaced that entry with the reviewed rule above, and retired the June risk score and ranking for every state. Release 2026.10.1 added the deceased or unlocated owner section. See all changes.
Cite this page
American Mineral Registry. "Abandoned Mineral Rights in Mississippi." U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1, October 6, 2026. https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ abandoned-mineral-rights-mississippi
[Abandoned Mineral Rights in Mississippi](https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ abandoned-mineral-rights-mississippi), U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, American Mineral Registry, release 2026.10.1 (2026-10-06).
<a href="https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ abandoned-mineral-rights-mississippi">Abandoned Mineral Rights in Mississippi</ a>, U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, American Mineral Registry, release 2026.10.1 (2026-10-06).
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author = {{American Mineral Registry}},
title = {Abandoned Mineral Rights in Mississippi},
howpublished = {U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1},
date = {2026-10-06},
url = {https://americanmineralregistry.com/research/states/abandoned-mineral-rights-mississippi}
} TY - ELEC AU - American Mineral Registry TI - Abandoned Mineral Rights in Mississippi T2 - U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas ET - 2026.10.1 DA - 2026/10/ 06 UR - https:/ / americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ abandoned-mineral-rights-mississippi ER -
General information about statutes, not legal advice and not a title opinion. Facts about a specific interest decide the outcome. Published by American Mineral Registry, which also runs a commercial service for owners; see how the two relate.