Hiring employees in Mississippi: the 2026 compliance checklist for employers and recruiters

As of October 2026, an employer hiring in Mississippi has to register with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) once it pays $1,500 in wages in a quarter or has a worker in 20 different weeks of a year, open a withholding account with the Department of Revenue, carry workers' compensation once it has five or more employees, verify every new hire through E-Verify, collect Mississippi's own withholding form (Form 89-350), display the state unemployment and workers' compensation posters, and report the hire to the Mississippi State Directory of New Hires within 15 days. Mississippi is a one-party consent state for recording, regulates drug testing in detail, and we found no pay transparency, salary history ban, ban-the-box or AI hiring law.

This page is the Mississippi hub: one table with every item and its official source, then a short section on each. Where we already have a full guide to an item, the section summarizes it and links there.

The Mississippi hiring checklist at a glance

What must be in place before the first Mississippi hire?

Two state accounts and, depending on headcount, workers' compensation. MDES says a commercial employer becomes liable for unemployment tax "upon payment of $1,500.00 in wages in a calendar quarter" or when at least one worker performs services in some part of a day in each of 20 different calendar weeks in a year. The account is opened online through MDES's "Register a New Business" service. The Department of Revenue's withholding guide, Pub. 89-700, says every employer subject to Mississippi withholding "must make an application for and obtain a withholding account number," online through the Taxpayer Access Point (TAP).

The Workers' Compensation Commission's answer to who must carry coverage is "any employer with 5 or more employees," with exceptions in Miss. Code § 71-3-5 for some independent and subcontract work, farm and domestic employment and employment covered by federal law, such as maritime work. The federal layer (an EIN, Form W-4 and Form I-9 by the third business day) applies on top.

Does a staffing or recruiting agency need a Mississippi license?

No. We found no Mississippi statute licensing employment agencies, search firms or temporary staffing firms. The duty that does reach them is in the Mississippi Employment Protection Act, Miss. Code § 71-11-3: a "third-party employer," which includes leasing companies and contract employers, must register with MDES before placing employees in Mississippi and give each client proof of that registration and of its E-Verify participation. Our guide to Mississippi staffing agency rules covers the detail.

What must a Mississippi job posting include, and can you ask about pay history?

Nothing pay-related: we found no Mississippi pay-range rule, and the state is not in our tracker of pay transparency laws by state. Salary history questions are allowed. The Mississippi Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, House Bill 770, in force since July 1, 2022, bars paying an employee less than one of the opposite sex for equal work at employers with five or more employees, and lists among the permitted factors "the salary history or continuity of employment history demonstrated by the employee." A remote role open to candidates in states on our salary history ban list can still pick up those states' rules.

When can you ask about criminal history or run a credit check?

We found no Mississippi ban-the-box law for employers. The Fresh Start Act of 2019 (SB 2781) bars disqualifying a person from a licensed occupation "solely or in part because of a prior conviction" unless the crime directly relates to it, but it does not tell employers when they may ask. Federal rules still apply: the EEOC's individualized-assessment guidance and the FCRA background check process.

We also found no Mississippi statute limiting employment credit checks, and the state is not on our list of credit check laws for employers. The FTC's guide for employers sets out the federal steps.

Can you record or transcribe a job interview in Mississippi?

Yes, as a participant. Miss. Code § 41-29-531(e) exempts a person who intercepts a wire, oral or "other" communication "if the person is a party to the communication," unless the purpose is a criminal or tortious act or "any other injurious act." A violation is a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine, and civil damages start at $100 a day or $1,000, whichever is higher. See Mississippi recording consent law for interviews and recording calls across state lines.

Does Mississippi regulate AI in hiring?

No. As of October 2026 Mississippi has no statute governing AI in employment decisions. Its one 2026 AI law, House Bill 1723, effective July 1, 2026, only defines "artificial intelligence" as "a machine-based system" that makes "predictions, recommendations or decisions." Federal anti-discrimination law still applies to screening tools; see AI hiring laws by state.

Can you drug test applicants in Mississippi?

Yes, within Title 71, Chapter 7. Under Miss. Code § 71-7-3, testing is the employer's choice, but an employer that tests must follow the whole chapter: employees who may be tested get a written policy at least 30 days before a testing program starts, and job applicants must be told in writing, before a specimen is collected, that they may be tested. Section 71-7-5(2)(a) lets an employer "require job applicants to submit to a drug and alcohol test" and refuse to hire on a refusal or a positive confirmed test. Our drug testing laws guide compares other states.

Does Mississippi require E-Verify?

Yes, for every employer. MDES says the Mississippi Employment Protection Act "requires employers to participate in the Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program." The mandate phased in by size from 2008 and has covered employers of every size since July 1, 2011. Noncompliance can cost a business license for up to a year and state contracts for up to three. Details are in E-Verify requirements in Mississippi.

Which state withholding form does a new hire complete?

Form 89-350, the Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate. The Department of Revenue's Pub. 89-700 says "Federal exemption certificates will not supply the proper information for Mississippi withholding purposes," that certificates "should be secured from each new employee when hired," and that if an employee fails to file one, the employer must "withhold based on zero exemption." For tax year 2026 the publication lists no tax on the first $10,000 of taxable income and 4.0 percent on the rest.

Which notices must a new Mississippi employee get at hire?

• State posters. MDES provides the unemployment insurance poster free and says "The only other state-required poster is the Mississippi Worker's Compensation poster," alongside the federal posters it lists.
• Drug-testing notice, if you test. Written notice to applicants before specimen collection, under Miss. Code § 71-7-3.
• Background check consent. If an outside agency runs a check, the FCRA's disclosure and written authorization come first.

How do you report a new hire in Mississippi?

To the Mississippi State Directory of New Hires, which serves the Department of Human Services' child support program. MDHS's guide for employers asks for each report "within 15 calendar days of hiring, rehiring, or returning employees"; the directory's reporting page says 15 business days, so the calendar-day reading is the safe one. Rehires after 60 or more days away count. Each report needs the employee's name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, date of hire, gender, salary, pay frequency and medical insurance eligibility, plus the employer's FEIN, name, address and state EIN. The directory's law page cites Miss. Code § 43-19-46 and fines of up to $25 per unreported hire, or $500 for a conspiracy not to report.

The Mississippi hiring steps in order

1. Before the first hire: register with MDES once liable, open a withholding account through TAP, enroll in E-Verify, and bind workers' compensation at five employees.
2. Posting: no Mississippi pay range rule, but check the rules of any other state where candidates for a remote role live.
3. Screening: criminal history, credit and pay history questions are not barred by state law; follow EEOC guidance and the FCRA if you run checks.
4. Interview: a participant may record, but get consent when the candidate is in an all-party state.
5. Offer: if you drug test, give applicants written notice before collection and act only on a confirmed result.
6. First day: Form I-9, then an E-Verify case within the federal timeline, the federal W-4 and Mississippi Form 89-350.
7. Within 15 days: report the hire to the Mississippi State Directory of New Hires.

Hiring in more than one state? The same checklist is available for Louisiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Montana, and among our earlier checklists Tennessee and Georgia.