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Mississippi

Mississippi · home improvement

Your rights in Mississippi

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026

3 business days to cancel

If they sold it at your home on their credit

Cancel in writing by midnight of the third business day. Cash sales at home fall under the federal 3-day rule.

Some sales are excepted, such as emergency work you ask for, once it has begun.

The 6 exceptions, in the rule's words
  • Emergency: you asked the seller to provide the goods or services without delay because of an emergency, and the seller in good faith made a substantial beginning on the work before you cancelled (for goods, also when they cannot be returned in substantially as good condition).
  • Sales you initiated. If the seller made the first contact, a sale that follows is not treated as initiated by you.
  • Sales made after prior negotiations between you and the seller at the seller's fixed place of business.
  • Sales on a preexisting revolving charge account or preexisting installment account.
  • Sellers regulated by the Mississippi Public Service Commission.
  • Sales or solicitations of insurance.

Read from search excerpts of the state code, not the full sections. Confirm with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.

Read the full rule

When it applies

A home solicitation sale under Mississippi law: a consumer credit sale (the seller grants credit and the debt is paid in installments or carries a credit service charge) of goods or services for personal, family or household use, where the seller personally solicited the sale at your home and you gave your agreement there. Cash sales are not covered by this state law; the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule covers sales of $25 or more made at your home whether or not you buy on credit.

If a seller came to your home and you agreed there to buy on credit from that seller (installments or a finance charge), Mississippi law lets you cancel in writing until midnight of the third business day after you sign; if the seller never had you sign the required cancellation notice, you can still cancel by any means. The seller must return your payments within 10 days. State law lets it keep up to 5% of the cash price (never more than your down payment), but the federal rule calls for a full refund. That federal rule gives you 3 business days to cancel most sales of $25 or more made at your home, cash or credit, with a refund within 10 business days.

16 CFR Part 429 (federal rule) · read on ecfr.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

License number

On a sign at a permitted job site

Remodeling or roofing jobs over $10,000, and new homes over $50,000, need a State Board of Contractors license.

Read the full rule

A Mississippi contractor must hold a State Board of Contractors license for remodeling or roofing jobs over $10,000 or a new home over $50,000. Residential solar contractors, and electrical, plumbing and HVAC subcontractors on residential construction or remodeling projects, need one whatever the job size. Check the license at msboc.us before you sign.

Who needs one: Remodelers whose improvements to an existing home cost more than $10,000 in total; residential builders of homes up to three floors when the job costs more than $50,000; residential roofing over $10,000; construction managers and residential solar contractors; and electrical, plumbing, mechanical and HVAC subcontractors on residential construction or remodeling projects, no matter the dollar amount.

Who doesn't

  • Owners doing or supervising work on their own home or property for their own use (not for sale, rent, public use or public assembly), including acting as their own general contractor
  • Work for a relative by blood or marriage when the property will not be for sale, rent, public use or public assembly
  • Agricultural buildings, buildings built as a community effort, and tenant houses
  • Contractors holding a valid MSBOC license or certificate of responsibility for general (commercial) construction, and nonresident contractors holding a valid license or certificate of responsibility for general construction
  • A person building two or fewer single homes in a year, not for sale, in a county or city that requires no building permit or local certification

Where the number must appear

  • a sign at the permitted job site once a building permit is issued, showing the license (or certificate of responsibility) number and the issuing state in lettering at least 2 inches high and 12 inches wide

Issued by: Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC)

Mississippi State Board of Contractors FAQ · read on msboc.us · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: MS law

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 4 in writing before you sign.

  • Liability insurance statementIn bold, before your signature: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    If the contractor holds a Mississippi State Board of Contractors residential license: a written statement of whether it carries general liability insurance, in bold type larger than the rest of the contract, placed immediately before your signature line (the Board's rule for builders, remodelers and roofers sets the wording, which names the insurer and the policy number).

  • Right to cancel statementIf sold at your home on credit: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For a credit sale solicited at your home (Mississippi home solicitation law), unless you asked for emergency work without delay: the date you actually sign, shown as the transaction date, and a statement of your right to cancel that you sign.

  • 3-day cancel notice & formsMost sales made at your home: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For most sales of $25 or more made at your home (federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule): a copy of the contract or receipt showing the date and the seller's name and address, a bold statement of your 3-business-day right to cancel near your signature, and two copies of a Notice of Cancellation form.

  • Roofing: insurance cancel noticeRoof repairs paid by insurance: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For a roof repair on a one- to four-family home to be paid from your property insurance claim (Mississippi Insurance Benefits Roofing Repair Consumer Protection Act): before you sign, a statement in at least 12-point bold type attached to the contract saying you may cancel within 3 business days after your insurer tells you in writing that all or part of the claim is not covered, and a notice of cancellation form.

On signing day

  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources11 official pages · checked Oct 4, 2026

Notes from our check

  • No deposit cap. Searches of the Mississippi Code (official public-access edition linked from legislature.ms.gov) for down-payment or deposit limits on home improvement or residential contracts found none; Title 73 Chapter 59 (Residential Builders and Remodelers) has none. depositCap is null and the app must not state a Mississippi cap.
  • Deposit guidance only, not law: MSBOC's Hire A Contractor page says any down payment before work begins 'should be minimal' and payments should follow completed work. The Attorney General's 'Tips for Storm Victims' guide says an up-front payment 'should not exceed 10% or 25%' of the job, and its model contract's down-payment receipt reads 'NOT TO EXCEED 25% OF TOTAL CONTRACT'. These are recommendations, not a statutory cap; do not turn them into a figure.
  • Cancellation scope: Miss. Code 75-66-1 to 75-66-11 (Laws 1974, ch. 532) covers only consumer credit sales: the seller grants credit, the buyer is a person other than an organization, the purchase is for personal, family or household use, and the debt is payable in installments or carries a credit service charge. A cash home improvement deal signed at home is not covered by the state law. The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR 429.0 and 429.1) covers door-to-door sales of $25 or more at the buyer's home ($130 or more at other locations away from the seller's place of business), cash or credit: 3 business days to cancel and a full refund within 10 business days. The federal rule excludes, among others, sales after prior negotiations at the seller's permanent retail location, transactions that carry a Truth in Lending right of rescission, buyer-initiated bona fide emergencies with a handwritten signed waiver, and visits the buyer requested to repair or maintain the buyer's personal property.
  • Cancellation fee conflict: Miss. Code 75-66-7(3) lets the seller keep a cancellation fee of 5% of the cash price, not more than the cash down payment, and 75-66-5(2) makes the contract notice say so. 16 CFR 429.1(g) requires refunding all payments, and 16 CFR 429.2(b) says a state law that permits 'any fee or penalty' for cancelling is 'directly inconsistent' with the federal rule. The app should not tell a homeowner the seller is entitled to keep 5% without this caveat.
  • Refund timing: Mississippi says 'within ten (10) days' (75-66-7(1)); the federal rule says 10 business days. refundWithinDays = 10 reflects the state statute.
  • Open-ended state right: 75-66-3(1) runs the 3 business days from the day the buyer signs an agreement 'which complies with this chapter', and 75-66-5(4) says that until the seller has complied with that section the buyer may cancel 'in any manner and by any means'. There is no fixed outer limit, so extendedDays and extendedFor stay null. The statute's own notice wording (75-66-5(2)(b)) tells the buyer to cancel by certified or registered mail, while 75-66-3(2) and (4) accept any written notice to the seller's address.
  • How the statutes were read: the Mississippi Code is published online by LexisNexis for the state (Mississippi Code Public Access, linked from legislature.ms.gov). On 2026-10-04 the statute-text excerpts in its search results were read for 75-66-1, 75-66-3, 75-66-5, 75-66-7, 75-66-9, 75-66-11, 73-59-1, 73-59-3, 73-59-9, 73-59-11, 73-59-15, 73-59-18, 73-60-9, 69-19-5 and 75-24-305 to 75-24-311; full section pages were not opened. The full text of chapter 73-59 and the Board rules was read in MSBOC's 2022 compilation. The exact 'BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL' caption in 75-66-5(2)(a) was not seen on the official site and is not used. The cancellation exceptions listed are the scope exclusions in 75-66-1, the emergency exception in 75-66-3(5) and the insurance exclusion in 75-66-11.
  • Roof repairs paid by insurance: the Insurance Benefits Roofing Repair Consumer Protection Act (Miss. Code 75-24-301 to 75-24-311, Laws 2014 ch. 477, amended Laws 2024 ch. 489) applies to written contracts with an insured to repair the roof of residential property of one to four families. The insured may cancel within 3 business days after receiving written notice from the insurer that all or part of the claim is not a covered loss (75-24-309(2)); the contractor must return payments, partial payments and deposits within 10 days of cancellation, but may be paid the reasonable value of emergency services and for repairs the insurer later approves (75-24-309(4)); work started before the right expires is at the contractor's risk (75-24-309(1)); and a contract term requiring a fee for anything except emergency services is restricted (75-24-309(5), only partly read). A violation is an unfair or deceptive practice under the Consumer Protection Act (75-24-311). This is a separate, roofing-only right and is not the cancellation figure above.
  • License thresholds: the statute says the cost 'exceeds' $10,000 (remodeler) and $50,000 (residential builder), and MSBOC's FAQ says 'over'. The AG storm guide says residential projects of '$10,000 or more'. The app should say 'more than $10,000'.
  • Trade subcontractors: Miss. Code 73-59-3(1)(d) requires subcontractors 'of any tier' doing electrical, plumbing, mechanical or HVAC work on any residential construction or residential improvement project to be licensed, 'no matter the dollar amount'. Those project terms are defined by reference to the builder (over $50,000) and remodeler (over $10,000) undertakings. Whether a trade contractor hired directly by the homeowner for a smaller job must hold this license was not settled from official text. The app should tell the homeowner to check the license rather than state that one is or is not required.
  • Unlicensed work: under 73-59-9 (current code text: 'the business of residential construction or improvement'; MSBOC's 2022 compilation reads 'residential construction'), a person required to be licensed who works without a license commits a misdemeanor (fine $100 to $5,000, or 30 to 60 days in jail, or both). An unlicensed builder or remodeler cannot sue to enforce the contract and may recover only documented expenses for labor and materials proven by clear and convincing evidence.
  • Out-of-state contractors: 73-59-18 requires residential contractors without a permanent place of business in Mississippi (and not licensed under 31-3-1) to hold a Department of Revenue permit under 27-65-27 before getting a building permit, regardless of project cost.
  • Board rules 1.2 (job-site sign with license number and issuing state, letters at least 2 inches high and 12 inches wide) and 1.3 (liability insurance disclosure wording, stated for residential builders, remodelers and roofers) were read in MSBOC's 2022 compilation of Title 30 Part 803. They were not checked against the current Mississippi Administrative Code; sos.ms.gov's administrative code search returned HTTP 403. The statute (73-59-11) puts the insurance disclosure duty on 'the holder of a valid license' under chapter 73-59.
  • No statute was found that requires a written contract or lists contract contents for home improvement in general. MSBOC advises (not law) a written contract describing the work, materials and equipment, a payment schedule tied to completed work, a timeline, and changes in writing, with final payment only after liens are released. contractMust lists only legal requirements.
  • Home repair fraud is a crime under Miss. Code 97-23-103; only search excerpts were read, so its elements are not summarized here.
  • tradeCoverage: no trade is explicitly exempted from the remodeler license, so notCoveredTrades is empty. outdoor_landscaping rests on Miss. Code 69-19-5(c) (receiving fees for landscaping and setting of plants is horticultural work) and MDAC's statement that persons receiving fees for horticulture, tree surgery or weed control work must be licensed; whether plain mowing or cleanup is covered was not verified, and 69-19-5(d) defines tree surgery work by advertising as a licensed or bonded tree surgeon. home-inspection rests on 73-60-9. Septic and well, environmental testing, locksmith and other trades were not determined.
  • The Attorney General's consumer protection page lists consumer guides (storm victims, auto body repair, net metering and solar) but no general home-improvement page. 16 CFR Part 429 was read from the eCFR versioner API (title 16 current to 2026-10-01).
  • Sources not on a .gov/.us/legislature domain were cited alongside the official ones: https://advance.lexis.com/container?config=00JAAzNzhjOTYxNC0wZjRkLTQzNzAtYjJlYS1jNjExZWYxZGFhMGYKAFBvZENhdGFsb2cMlW40w5iIH7toHnTBIEP0; https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Tips-for-Storm-Victims.pdf; https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/consumer-protection/

General information from official Mississippi sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.

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