(a) When Permissible. The conference of circuit, chancery and county court judges may hereafter make uniform rules and amendments thereto concerning practice in their respective courts not inconsistent with these rules. Likewise, any court by action of a majority of the judges thereof may hereafter make local rules and amendments thereto concerning practice in their respective courts not inconsistent with these rules. In the event there is no majority, the senior judge shall have an additional vote.
Rule 83.Local Court Rules
Chapter XI: General Provisions · Last amended July 1, 2010 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 83 lets the statewide conference of circuit, chancery, and county judges adopt uniform rules, and lets any individual court adopt local rules by a majority vote of its judges, but neither takes effect until the Mississippi Supreme Court approves it, and approved rules go on to be published.
Full Text of Rule 83
(b) Procedure for Approval. All such local rules and uniform rules adopted before being effective must be filed in the Supreme Court of Mississippi for approval. Such motions shall also include a copy of the motion and of the proposed rules in an electronically formatted medium (such as USB Flash Drive or CD-ROM). Upon receipt of such proposed rules and prior to any approval of the same, the Supreme Court may submit them to the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules for advice as to whether any such rules are consistent or in conflict with these rules or any other rules adopted by the Supreme Court.
(c) Publication. All local and uniform rules hereinafter approved by the Supreme Court shall be submitted for publication in the Southern Reporter (Mississippi cases).
Advisory Committee Notes
Practitioners may access local rules that have been approved by the Mississippi Supreme Court on the Court’s website.
Amendment History
Rule 83 was amended March 10, 1994, effective retroactively from and after January 1, 1993, by deleting the word “hereinafter” in Rule 83(b) following the words, “uniform rules”; by deleting Rule 83(c) in its entirety; and by renumbering 83(d) as 83(c). 632-635 So.2d XXIII-XXIV (West Miss.Cases 1994).
[Adopted August 21, 1996.]
Plain-English Summary
Rule 83(a) creates two paths for making local procedural rules in Mississippi. The statewide conference of circuit, chancery, and county judges may adopt uniform rules covering practice in their courts, and any individual court may adopt its own local rules by a majority vote of its judges, so long as those rules aren't inconsistent with the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. If the judges on a court can't reach a majority, the rule gives the senior judge an additional vote to break the tie.
Neither kind of rule takes effect on its own, though. Rule 83(b) requires the proposed rules to be filed with the Mississippi Supreme Court for approval before they take effect, along with an electronic copy of the motion and the proposed rules. The Supreme Court may forward the proposal to its Advisory Committee on Rules for advice on whether the proposed rules are consistent with the civil rules or any other rules the Court has adopted.
Once the Supreme Court approves local or uniform rules, Rule 83(c) requires them to be submitted for publication in the Southern Reporter's Mississippi cases. The official notes add a practical tip: practitioners can also find a court's approved local rules on the Supreme Court's own website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can individual circuit, chancery, or county courts adopt their own procedural rules?
Yes. Rule 83(a) lets a court, by a majority vote of its judges, adopt local rules covering practice in that court, so long as the rules aren't inconsistent with the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. The statewide conference of circuit, chancery, and county judges can likewise adopt uniform rules.
Do local court rules take effect as soon as the judges vote to adopt them?
No. Rule 83(b) requires the proposed rules to be filed with the Mississippi Supreme Court for approval before they take effect, along with an electronic copy of the motion and the proposed rules.
What happens if the judges on a court can't reach a majority on a proposed local rule?
Rule 83(a) gives the senior judge an additional vote in that situation, so a majority can still be reached even when the judges are otherwise evenly split.
Where can I find a Mississippi court's approved local rules?
According to the official notes, practitioners can find local rules the Supreme Court has approved on the Court's website. Rule 83(c) also requires approved local and uniform rules to be submitted for publication in the Southern Reporter's Mississippi cases.
Can a local rule override something the statewide civil rules require?
No. Rule 83(a) only permits local and uniform rules that are not inconsistent with the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Supreme Court's approval process in Rule 83(b) is meant to catch any rule that conflicts.
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
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