Mississippi Auto-Buying Compliance

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From Manny: Working the dealer side of the desk taught me one thing — buyers who walk in knowing their state’s rules walk out with a cleaner deal. This is every Mississippi rule my $49 Deal Audit checks against your paperwork. Every citation links to the primary source. No sponsors, no dealer money, no filter.

Last verified 2026-09-14 · every numeric claim independently fact-checked against primary sources · items marked “Not yet verified” are being sourced, never guessed.

1. Documentary Fee / Dealer Processing Charge

Mississippi doc fee: $425 statutory cap

Mississippi administrative regulations allow motor vehicle dealers to charge a document/service fee for preparing and processing sale or lease documents, but the fee must be reasonable, related to document preparation and compliance activities, itemized on the buyer’s order and bill of sale, and may not exceed 425. The rule expressly prohibits including finance charges and certain contract preparation costs in the fee, and requires that it be charged uniformly to all purchasers and lessees; it is promulgated by the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission under 30 Miss. Admin. Code 1301-8.1, which enforces compliance. | 2026-09-20 council verify: $425 cap not confirmed by two seats — VERIFY against Miss. Code § 63-17-51 et seq. before relying on it.

2. Mississippi Attorney General Consumer Protection Division

Phone: (601) 359-4230

Complaint URL: https://www.ago.ms.gov/divisions/consumer-protection

Division name: Consumer Protection Division, Office of the Mississippi Attorney General

3. Mississippi Consumer Protection Statute

Statute: Miss. Code Ann. § 75-24-5

Short name: MCPA

Long name: Mississippi Consumer Protection Act

Statute URL: https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2020/title-75/chapter-24/subchapter-generalprovisions/section-75-24-5/

4. Sales Tax on Used Vehicle Purchase

Method: state sales tax

Taxable base: purchase price less trade in

Rate: 5.0%

Mississippi imposes a 5 percent sales tax on the purchase of motor vehicles from persons who are not licensed dealers, calculated on the true value of the vehicle using the Department of Revenue’s assessment schedule. When a motor vehicle is taken in trade, tax is due only on the net difference between the true value of the vehicle sold and the credit allowed for the trade-in; the tax is administered by the Mississippi Department of Revenue under Miss. Code Ann. § 27-65-201.

5. Mississippi Lemon Law

Statute: Miss. Code Ann. §§ 63-17-151 to 63-17-165

Repair attempts threshold: 3

Days-out-of-service threshold: 15

Notice deadline: Mississippi’s Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act applies to new vehicles within the statutory coverage period defined in Miss. Code Ann. §§ 63-17-151 to 63-17-165, and requires the consumer to give the manufacturer or its authorized dealer written notice and a reasonable opportunity to repair nonconformities before seeking replacement or refund.

6. Title Brand Disclosure

Statute: Miss. Code Ann. § 63-21-39; 35 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 7, Subpt. 06, Ch. 05, R. 35-7-06-05-204

Under Mississippi’s motor vehicle title laws, the Department of Revenue assesses fees for issuing and processing certificates of title and may brand titles to reflect damage or reconstruction status, including rebuilt, damage history, flood damage, hail damage and other appropriate brands, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 63-21-63 and 35 Miss. Admin. Code 35-7-06-05-204. Salvage vehicles that are reconstructed must present documentation of repaired or replaced parts, and the Department of Revenue may affix brands such as flood or hail damage on subsequent titles; title branding rules and disclosure obligations are administered by the Mississippi Department of Revenue through its motor vehicle registration and title regulations, as reflected in 35 Miss. Admin. Code 35-7-06-05-204.

7. Vehicle Service Contract (VSC) Regulation

Registration required: Yes

Mississippi regulates vehicle service contracts under the Insurance Code, Chapter 65, Regulation of Vehicle Service Contracts, Miss. Code Ann. §§ 83-65-101 to 83-65-125, which defines vehicle service contracts and subjects providers to oversight by the Mississippi Insurance Department. Providers of vehicle service contracts must comply with statutory requirements including registration or licensing, financial responsibility, and contract form standards administered by the Insurance Commissioner; see Miss. Code Ann. § 83-65-103 and related sections.

8. GAP Insurance Regulation

Markup cap: Not yet verified

Guaranteed asset protection waivers in Mississippi are governed by the Guaranteed Asset Protection Waivers chapter, Miss. Code Ann. §§ 83-52-1 to 83-52-15, which defines GAP waivers and places them under the regulatory authority of the Mississippi Insurance Department. The statutes address licensing, form and disclosure requirements, and consumer protections for GAP waivers, but a specific statutory cap on dealer markup could not be verified from primary sources and should be treated as not established in the record.

9. Auto Broker / Dealer License Requirement

Special license required: Yes

Under the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission Law, it is unlawful for any person or entity to engage in business as a motor vehicle dealer, salesman, manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, or related capacity without first obtaining a license from the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 63-17-73. The same section expressly makes it unlawful to be a broker, defined as a person who for compensation arranges the sale of a new motor vehicle but is not a licensed new motor vehicle dealer or distributor, effectively prohibiting unlicensed auto brokering and requiring dealer licensing through the Commission; see Section 63-17-73 on the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission’s official site.

10. Language Disclosure Requirement

Statute: None found

Spanish disclosure required if negotiated in Spanish: Not required by statute / not verified

No specific Mississippi statute or regulation was found from primary sources that requires automotive retail installment or purchase contracts negotiated in a foreign language, such as Spanish, to be accompanied by a translation or special foreign-language disclosure. In the absence of a verified foreign-language contract statute, dealers are generally governed by standard contract and consumer protection law, and this record should be treated as reflecting no identified foreign-language disclosure requirement from primary Mississippi authorities.

11. Recording Law — Consent for F&I Office Recording

Consent type: one-party

Statute: Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-531

Mississippi’s interception and recording law, codified at Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-531, permits recording of oral communications with the consent of at least one party to the conversation, making it a one-party consent state for purposes of recording sales calls or in-dealership communications; the statute and its application are administered under the state’s criminal code and can be accessed through official Mississippi Code publications or state-hosted statute resources.

12. Statute of Limitations for Consumer Disputes

Mississippi statute of limitations: 3 years

How your Deal Audit uses Mississippi compliance data

• Doc fee checked against the Mississippi reference: $425 statutory cap
• Dealer Response Letter cites the specific Mississippi consumer statute where verified
• State AG contact information surfaced in the audit footer
• State Lemon Law thresholds applied to warranty questions
• State-specific rules automatically arm when your intake indicates Mississippi residence