2026-09-15 · Mississippi · Compliance

Mississippi has no homeowners association records statute. A member's right to see the association's books comes from the Nonprofit Corporation Act, and it is a two-tier right with a different test for each tier.¹

Tier one: five business days' notice, no reason required

Under § 79-11-285, a member may inspect and copy the records identified in § 79-11-283(5) on five business days' written notice. No justification is needed. The recordkeeping duty itself is § 79-11-283.

Tier two: a purpose test

For the categories that matter most in a dispute — excerpts of § 79-11-283(1) records, the accounting records, and the membership list — the member must additionally satisfy subsection (3):

“(a) The member's demand is made in good faith and for a proper purpose; (b) The member describes with reasonable particularity the purpose and the records the member desires to inspect; and (c) The records are directly connected with this purpose.”

All three, not one of three. A demand that says “I want to see the books” does not describe a purpose with reasonable particularity.

The mechanics

Section 79-11-287 fills in the practical rules. An agent or attorney has the same rights as the member. Copies may be delivered electronically on request. The corporation may charge a reasonable labor-and-materials fee “not exceed[ing] the estimated cost of production or reproduction.” And a membership-list demand may be satisfied with a list “compiled no earlier than the date of the member's demand” — so the association need not hand over a historic roster.

1. Mississippi Nonprofit Corporation Act, Miss. Code Ann. Sections 79-11-101 to 79-11-407 (records provisions at 79-11-283 to 79-11-291) ↩