(a) General Docket. The clerk shall keep a book known as the “general docket” of such form and style as is required by law and shall enter therein each civil action to which these rules are made applicable. The file number of each action shall be noted on each page of the docket whereon an entry of the action is made. All papers filed with the clerk, all process issued and returns made thereon, all appearances, orders, verdicts, and judgments shall be noted in this general docket on the page assigned to the action and shall be marked with its file number. These entries shall be brief but shall show the nature of each paper filed or writ issued and the substance of each order or judgment of the court and of the returns showing execution of process. The entry of an order or judgment shall show the date the entry is made. In the event a formal order is entered, the clerk shall insert the order in the file of the case.
Rule 79.Books and Records Kept by the Clerk and Entries Therein
Chapter X: Courts and Clerks · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 79 requires the clerk to keep a general docket recording every filing, process, and order in a civil action with the date each entry is made, a Minute Book copying every judgment and order, indexes and trial calendars, and other required records, and bars removing a case file from the clerk's office without permission.
Full Text of Rule 79
(b) Minute Book. The clerk shall keep a correct copy of every judgment or order. This record shall be known as the “Minute Book.”
(c) Indexes; Calendars. Suitable indexes of the general docket shall be kept by the clerk under the direction of the court. There shall be prepared, under the direction of the court, calendars of all actions ready for trial.
(d) Other Books and Records. The clerk shall also keep such other books and records as may be required by statute or these rules. The documents required to be kept under this rule may be recorded by means of an exact-copy photocopy process.
(e) Removing the File in a Case. The file of a case shall not be removed from the office of the clerk except by permission of the court or the clerk.
Advisory Committee Notes
Rule 79(a) specifies that the docket entries reflect the date on which entries are made in the general docket. Since several important time periods and deadlines are calculated from the date of the entry of judgments and orders, these entries must accurately reflect the actual
date of the entries rather than another date, such as the date on which a judgment or order is signed by the judge. See, for example, Rule 58 mandating that a judgment is effective only when entered as provided in Rule 79(a), and Rule 59 which requires that motions to alter or amend judgments be filed within ten days after the entry of judgment.
Amendment History
Effective April 1, 2002, the Comment to Rule 79(a) was amended to underscore that docket entries must accurately reflect the actual date of entry. 813-815 So. 2d LXXXVIII (West Miss. Cases 2002).
Plain-English Summary
Rule 79 puts the paperwork behind every Mississippi civil case into a predictable structure. The clerk keeps a "general docket" — one running record per case, marked with the file number on every page — noting each paper filed, each piece of process issued and its return, every appearance, and every order, verdict, or judgment. The entries don't need to be long, but they have to show the nature of what was filed or issued and the substance of what the court ordered, and each entry has to carry the date the entry was made. When a formal order comes in, the clerk places it in the case file itself.
That entry date carries real weight elsewhere in the rules. A judgment isn't effective until it's entered under Rule 79(a), and the ten-day window in Rule 59 for asking the court to alter or amend a judgment runs from that same entry date, not from whenever the judge happened to sign the order. The official notes stress that docket entries have to reflect the true date of entry for exactly this reason: get that date wrong, and every deadline measured from it goes wrong too.
Beyond the general docket, Rule 79(b) requires a separate "Minute Book" holding a correct copy of every judgment and order. Rule 79(c) adds indexes to the general docket and calendars of actions ready for trial, both kept under the court's direction, and Rule 79(d) covers whatever other books or records a statute or the rules require, which can be kept through an exact-copy photocopy process rather than as handwritten originals.
Rule 79(e) closes with a practical safeguard: a case file can't leave the clerk's office except with the court's or the clerk's permission. That keeps the official record intact and in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information does the clerk have to record in a case's general docket?
Rule 79(a) requires the clerk to note every paper filed, all process issued and its return, every appearance, and every order, verdict, or judgment, with each entry marked with the file number and showing the nature of the filing or the substance of the court's action.
Why does the exact date shown on a docket entry matter so much?
Because deadlines are measured from it. A judgment takes effect only when it's entered under Rule 79(a), and the ten-day period in Rule 59 to move to alter or amend a judgment runs from that entry date, so the docket has to show the actual date the entry was made rather than the date the judge signed the order.
What is the Minute Book, and how is it different from the general docket?
Rule 79(b) requires the clerk to keep a Minute Book containing a correct copy of every judgment or order. The general docket, by contrast, is a brief running log of everything filed and ordered in a case, referenced by file number, rather than a copy of the judgments and orders themselves.
Can I take my case file out of the clerk's office to review it?
Not without permission. Rule 79(e) states that a case file can't be removed from the clerk's office except with the permission of the court or the clerk.
Does the clerk have to keep original paper records for every filing?
No. Rule 79(d) allows the clerk to keep the required books and records through an exact-copy photocopy process rather than as original paper documents.
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: general docket clerk requirements mississippiminute book mississippi civil courtdate of entry of judgment mississippiremoving case file from clerk office ms