(a) Court Always Open. The courts shall be deemed always open for the purposes of filing any pleading or other proper paper, of issuing and returning process, and of making and directing all interlocutory motions, orders, and rules.
Rule 77.Courts and Clerks
Chapter X: Courts and Clerks · Last amended July 1, 1997 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 77 keeps the courts formally "always open" for filings and process, lets judges handle most proceedings in chambers anywhere in the state with limits on hearings outside the district, sets the clerk's office hours and routine authority, and requires the clerk to notify parties when an order or judgment is entered.
Full Text of Rule 77
(b) Trials and Hearings; Orders in Chambers. All trials upon the merits shall be conducted in open court, except as otherwise provided by statute. All other acts or proceedings may be done or conducted by a judge in chambers, without the attendance of the clerk or other court officials and at any place within the state either within or without the district; but no hearing shall be conducted outside the district without the consent of all parties affected thereby.
(c) Clerk’s Office and Orders by Clerk. The clerk’s office with the clerk or a deputy clerk in attendance shall be open during business hours on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. All motions and applications to the clerk for issuing process, for issuing process to enforce and execute judgments, for entering defaults, and for other proceedings which do not require allowance or order of the court are grantable of course by the clerk; but his action may be suspended or altered or rescinded by the court upon cause shown.
(d) Notice of Orders or Judgments. Immediately upon the entry of an order or judgment the clerk shall serve a notice of the entry in the manner provided for in Rule 5 upon each party who is not in default for failure to appear, and shall make a note in the docket of the service. Any party may in addition serve a notice of such entry in the manner provided in Rule 5 for the service of papers. Lack of notice of the entry by the clerk does not affect the time to appeal, nor relieve, nor authorize the court to relieve, a party for failure to appeal within the time allowed, except as permitted by the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Advisory Committee Notes
Rule 77(a) provides that the courts shall be deemed always open for the purpose of filing papers and issuing and returning process and making motions and orders. This does not mean that the office of the clerk must be physically open at all hours or that the filing of papers can be effected by leaving them in a closed or vacant office. Under Rule 5(e)(1) papers may be filed out of business hours by delivering them to the clerk or to the judge if he or she permits. See Miss. Const. § 24 (all courts shall be open).
Rule 77(b) requires that the “all trials upon the merits” be conducted in “open court”; all other acts or proceedings may be done or conducted by a judge “in chambers,” without the necessity of the attendance of the clerk or other court official and at any place within the state. However, no hearing, other than one heard ex parte, shall be conducted outside the district without the consent of all parties affected thereby. See Corporate Mgmt., Inc. v. Greene Rural Health Ctr. Bd. of Trustees, 47 So. 3d 142, 146 (Miss. 2010).
Rule 77(d) requires that the clerk provide copies of all orders and judgments, immediately upon their entry, to all parties who are not in default for failure to appear.
M.R.A.P. 4(h) provides that a party who did not receive notice of entry of a judgment or order from the clerk or any party within 21 days of its entry may move the trial court to reopen the time for appeal.
Rule 77(d) gives a prevailing party who wants to ensure that the time for appeal is not reopened pursuant to M.R.A.P. 4(h), the opportunity to serve notice of entry of the judgment or order upon opposing parties in the manner provided in Rule 5. Although prevailing parties may take the initiative to assure that their adversaries receive effective notice, the clerk retains the duty to give notice of entry of judgments and orders.
Amendment History
Effective July 1, 1997, Rule 77(d) was amended to allow for service of notices of the entry of orders and judgments by parties. 689-692 So. 2d LXII (West Miss. Cas. 1997.)
Effective February 1, 1990, Rule 77 was amended by adding subsection (d), requiring the clerk of the court to give notice of the entry of orders and judgments to the interested parties. 553-556 So. 2d XLII (West Miss. Cas. 1990).
Plain-English Summary
Rule 77(a) declares the courts always open for filing pleadings and other papers, issuing and returning process, and handling interlocutory motions and orders. That doesn't mean the clerk's office is staffed around the clock; it means filing isn't confined to a narrow window, and other rules let papers reach the clerk, or a judge who permits it, outside regular business hours.
Rule 77(b) draws a line between trials and everything else. Trials on the merits must be conducted in open court, except as a statute otherwise provides, but a judge can handle other proceedings in chambers, without the clerk or other court staff present, anywhere in the state. A hearing outside the judge's own district, however, requires the consent of every party affected by it.
Rule 77(c) sets the clerk's office hours — business hours on every day except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays — and gives the clerk authority to grant certain routine matters as a matter of course: issuing process, issuing process to enforce judgments, and entering defaults among them. The court can still suspend, alter, or rescind the clerk's action for cause.
Rule 77(d) requires the clerk to serve notice immediately whenever an order or judgment is entered, on every party who isn't in default for failing to appear, and to note that service in the docket. Any party may serve its own notice of entry too. The rule is careful to say that a lack of notice from the clerk doesn't extend the time to appeal, beyond what the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure allow for a party who never received notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I file a pleading with the court outside normal business hours?
Rule 77(a) deems the courts always open for filing pleadings, issuing and returning process, and handling interlocutory motions and orders. That doesn't mean the clerk's office is staffed around the clock, but other rules allow papers to be delivered to the clerk, or to a judge who permits it, outside regular hours.
Where can a judge hold a hearing that isn't a trial on the merits?
Rule 77(b) lets a judge conduct most proceedings other than trials on the merits in chambers, without the clerk or other court staff present, anywhere in the state. A hearing outside the judge's own district, however, requires the consent of every party affected by it.
What routine requests can the clerk grant without asking a judge?
Rule 77(c) allows the clerk to grant, as a matter of course, motions and applications that don't call for the court's own judgment — issuing process, issuing process to enforce judgments, and entering defaults among them. The court can still suspend, alter, or rescind the clerk's action for cause.
If the clerk never sends me notice that a judgment was entered, does that extend my time to appeal?
Not automatically. Rule 77(d) requires the clerk to serve notice of entry, but a lack of that notice doesn't extend the appeal deadline except as the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure allow, which lets a party who received no notice within 21 days of entry move the trial court to reopen the time for appeal.
Can I serve my own notice that a judgment was entered, instead of waiting on the clerk?
Yes. Rule 77(d) lets any party serve notice of the entry as well, using the same method the rules use for serving other papers. Prevailing parties often do this to remove any doubt about whether the other side got timely notice.
Source & verification. Rule text and Advisory Committee Notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Mississippi. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: clerk office hours mississippi civil courtcourt always open for filing mississippinotice of entry of judgment mississippijudge chambers hearing mississippi civil