Staffing agency license in Mississippi: no license, but MDES registration and E-Verify

Mississippi does not license employment agencies, search firms or temporary staffing companies. I found no statute in the Mississippi Code that requires one, and no record of one being repealed. What the state does impose falls on staffing firms through other laws: the Mississippi Employment Protection Act makes every "third-party employer" register with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) and prove its E-Verify status to clients, and the health facility law requires fingerprint background checks for staffing agency workers who give direct patient care.

This page covers those duties, unemployment insurance for temps and leased workers, PEOs, health care staffing and the accounts a Mississippi staffing firm needs. For other states, see employment agency license requirements.

No employment agency license

Many states that once licensed private employment agencies did it through their labor code. In Mississippi's labor title, Title 71, I found no chapter or section licensing employment agencies, and I found no Mississippi agency that publishes a license application for one. South Carolina's Secretary of State reached the same answer in a 2020 comparison of state laws prepared for that state's legislature, listing Mississippi among states with no employment agency licensing requirement and noting "Cannot find evidence of licensing requirement."

That has three practical consequences:

• No license, bond or fee schedule filing for contingency search, retained search, temp staffing or temp-to-hire, whoever pays the fee.
• No statutory cap on fees to job seekers. A fee charged to a candidate is governed by your written contract and the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act, whose § 75-24-5 prohibits "unfair or deceptive trade practices in or affecting commerce." Advertising jobs that do not exist is the obvious risk.
• Vendor forms. If a client's onboarding packet asks for a Mississippi employment agency license number, answer that the state does not issue one, and send your MDES registration and E-Verify proof instead.

MDES registration and E-Verify for third-party employers

The Mississippi Employment Protection Act, Miss. Code § 71-11-3, speaks most directly to staffing firms. It defines a "third-party employer" as "any person or company that provides workers for another person or company," including "leasing companies and contract employers," and defines "subcontractor" to include a "staffing agency." The duties that follow:

• Register with MDES first. Under § 71-11-3(6)(a), all third-party employers doing business in Mississippi must register to do business with MDES "before placing employees into the workforce in Mississippi."
• Show clients proof. Under § 71-11-3(6)(b), third-party employers must provide proof of that registration and of any E-Verify participation to every Mississippi employer they do business with.
• Use E-Verify for every new hire. Section 71-11-3(4)(b) requires every employer to register with and use E-Verify for all newly hired employees, and bars any contractor or subcontractor from hiring without it. The phase-in ended on July 1, 2011, when all employers became subject to it.
• Penalties. A violating employer can lose public contracts and be barred from them for up to three years, and can lose any license or permit to do business in Mississippi for up to one year.

I could not find a separate MDES form for this registration. Most firms will meet it through their MDES unemployment insurance account, but ask MDES in writing whether anything more is expected. The E-Verify side is covered in detail in E-Verify requirements in Mississippi.

What applies, by business model

Unemployment insurance: temps versus leased workers

The Employment Security Law, Miss. Code § 71-5-11, draws a line that matters for staffing firms. A "temporary help firm" hires its own employees and provides them to others to supplement their workforce, for absences, seasonal workloads or projects, expecting the position to end when the task is done. An "employee leasing firm" handles payroll and unemployment reporting for a client's own employees, who work under the client's direction on an ongoing basis.

Section 71-5-11(H)(10) then assigns the employer role differently: temporary help firms "shall be considered the employer" of the individuals they provide, while entities using an employee leasing firm "shall be considered the employer" of the leased individuals. A staffing firm reports its temps' wages and pays contributions on its own MDES account; a leasing firm's clients carry the unemployment account for their own workers.

One rule helps temp firms control claims. Under § 71-5-511(l), a temporary employee who does not contact the temporary help firm for reassignment when an assignment ends is treated as having quit without good cause, but only if the worker was advised in writing that they must make contact and that benefits may be denied if they do not. Put that notice in your onboarding packet and keep the signed copy.

PEOs: no registration act

I could not find a Mississippi law that licenses or registers professional employer organizations. A 1998 bill to create a PEO licensing act under the Commissioner of Insurance died in committee, and House Bill 331 (2021) and House Bill 1520 (2022), which would have required registration with the Mississippi Insurance Department, each passed the House and died in a Senate committee, as did companion Senate bills.

A PEO is still a "third-party employer" under § 71-11-3, since the definition names leasing companies, so the MDES registration and proof-to-clients duties apply. For unemployment insurance, the client remains the employer of leased workers under § 71-5-11.

Health care staffing: background checks, not a license

Some neighbors license nurse staffing agencies; Louisiana's Department of Health does (see staffing agency license in Louisiana). As of October 2026 I found no Mississippi statute or State Department of Health rule that licenses or registers health care or nurse staffing agencies, and no bill from the 2023 to 2026 sessions that created one.

The one place the Code names these agencies is the health facility licensing law. Miss. Code § 43-11-13 defines a "covered entity" as a licensed hospital, nursing home, personal care home, home health agency, hospice or adult foster care facility, "or a health care professional staffing agency." For covered entities:

• Fingerprint checks. Every new employee hired on or after July 1, 2003 who provides direct patient care or services needs a criminal history record check, run through the Department of Public Safety and forwarded to the FBI for a national check. The definition of employee reaches people who provide direct, hands-on care under contract.
• Disqualifying offenses. A felony conviction or plea for listed offenses, among them drug possession or sale, sex offenses, child abuse, burglary and abuse of a vulnerable adult, makes the applicant ineligible unless the entity grants a waiver; its hiring officer may weigh mitigating circumstances such as time since the conviction and work history.
• Working pending results. A new hire may work on a temporary basis while the check is pending, but the employment contract is voidable if the result is disqualifying and no waiver is granted.
• Fee. The statute caps the fee at $50, which the entity may pass on to the applicant in whole or part, and the State Department of Health's background checks page lists $50 per applicant.
• Two-year letter. After a clean result, the entity gives the applicant a notarized letter within two weeks that other covered entities may rely on for two years.

Each nurse or other licensed clinician you place also needs a license that is valid in Mississippi, from the Mississippi Board of Nursing or the relevant board. Facilities will check both the background letter and the license before a first shift.

Employer accounts every Mississippi staffing firm needs

• MDES unemployment insurance account, opened before you place anyone; it is the most likely way to meet the third-party employer registration duty.
• E-Verify enrollment, with proof ready for client vendor files.
• Workers' compensation under the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Law, administered by the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission.
• Withholding with the Mississippi Department of Revenue, and Secretary of State registration if your entity was formed in another state.
• Wages. The U.S. Department of Labor's state minimum wage table lists Mississippi as having no state minimum wage law, so the federal $7.25 applies to employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The setup sequence is in how to start a staffing agency. Neighbors differ: Alabama keeps an old license statute on the books (see staffing agency license in Alabama), and Tennessee dropped its license in 1996 (see staffing agency license in Tennessee); both register PEOs.

A Mississippi checklist

MISSISSIPPI CHECK — [date] — owner: [name]

Model:
  [ ] Search / temp / temp-to-hire: no state agency license
  [ ] Any job-seeker fee: written terms; no misrepresentation
      (Consumer Protection Act, 75-24-5)
  [ ] Co-employment of client workforce: no PEO act found;
      client is UI employer of leased workers (71-5-11)

Employment Protection Act (71-11-3):
  [ ] Registered with MDES before first placement
  [ ] E-Verify for every new hire, temps included
  [ ] Proof of MDES registration + E-Verify sent to each client

Temps:
  [ ] Written notice: contact us for reassignment (71-5-511(l))

Health care facilities (43-11-13):
  [ ] Fingerprint check before direct patient care ($50)
  [ ] Notarized clearance letter within two weeks
  [ ] Clinician licenses valid in Mississippi

Employer accounts:
  MDES UI; workers' comp; DOR withholding; SOS        [ ]
Next review: [date]

Re-check each spring after the legislative session, since PEO registration bills and Employment Protection Act amendments keep coming back.