Quick answer
| Topic | What the statute says | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| First payment deadline | No deadline as such; interest from 120 days after first sale (later receipt date for a substituted payor) | Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39; Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(2) |
| Later payments | No interest if paid within 60 days after the month of sale | Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39 |
| Minimum payment and aggregation | No interest on $100 or less if paid at least every 120 days | Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39 |
| Interest on late payments | Greater of 8% a year or 2% above the federal discount rate | Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39 |
| Suspense and withheld payments | Suspended royalty still earns interest; lower rate for unmarketable title | Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39; Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(7) |
| Division orders | Interest can be waived only by a separate bold-print form | Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39 |
| Owner remedies, notice and attorney fees | Lien on the proceeds for unpaid royalty | Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(4); Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(3); Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(6) |
| Check-stub disclosures | Only: the interest rate must be shown on the payment document | Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39 |
| Unclaimed royalties (escheat) | No mineral-specific period in the unclaimed property instructions; five years for business-held property | Mississippi Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, Miss. Code §§ 89-12-1 to 89-12-57, as set out in State Treasurer holder instructions, Part VIII; Mississippi State Treasurer, FAQs for Holders |
Mississippi does not state a payment deadline as such. Instead, purchasers of oil or gas production owe interest on royalty proceeds not paid by 120 days after the date of first sale (where an operator or lessee pays in place of the purchaser, from the later of that date or its receipt of the proceeds). 'First sale' means the first commercial sale after the well is completed, not test sales. If a disbursing agent has not paid within that 120-day window, the royalty owner also gets a statutory lien.
Purchasers owe interest on royalty proceeds not disbursed to royalty owners from and after 120 days following the date of first sale. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “Purchasers of oil or gas production from any oil or gas well shall be liable for the payment of interest on royalty proceeds which have not been disbursed to the royalty owners from and after one hundred twenty (120) days following the date of the first sale of oil or gas.”
'First sale' means the first commercial sale after completion of the well and excludes sales during initial testing. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “"first sale" shall mean the first commercial sale of production after completion of the well and shall not include sales of oil or gas during initial testing prior to completion of the well.”
If a disbursing agent that is a first purchaser has not paid within 120 days after first sale (or, if not the first purchaser, within 120 days after receiving the proceeds), the royalty owner has a lien on those proceeds. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(2))
Statute text “such royalty owner shall have a lien to secure the payment of the royalty proceeds. The lien shall attach to the proceeds from such production received by the disbursing agent attributable to the royalty owner's interest.”
For royalty payments regularly disbursed in the normal course of business, no interest is owed if payment is made no later than 60 days after the end of the calendar month in which the production was sold.
No interest is required on regular royalty payments made no later than 60 days after the end of the month of sale. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “nothing in this section shall be construed to require the payment of interest on royalty payments disbursed to the royalty owners no later than sixty (60) days after the end of the calendar month within which such royalty production was sold.”
If 120 days of accumulated monthly proceeds owed to a royalty owner total $100 or less, no interest accrues, provided the accumulated amount is paid at least once every 120 days.
No interest accrues on 120-day accumulations of $100 or less, if they are paid at least once each 120-day period. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “whenever the aggregate of one hundred twenty (120) days' accumulation of monthly proceeds payable to any royalty owner does not exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00), no interest shall accrue or be payable thereon, provided that the disbursement of such accumulated proceeds be made to the royalty owner no later than once each 120 day period.”
Since July 1, 1992, interest on undisbursed royalty is the greater of 8% a year or 2% above the federal discount rate in effect on January 2 of each year interest is payable. It runs from 120 days after first sale or, where the operator or lessee takes on payment responsibility in place of the purchaser, from the later of that date or the date it receives the proceeds. Where proceeds cannot be paid because title is not marketable, the rate is the federal reserve discount rate. Accrued interest is paid along with the royalty, and the rate must appear on the disbursement document. A royalty owner can waive this interest only by signing a separate bold-print form attached to the division order.
From July 1, 1992, the rate is the greater of 8% per annum or 2% above the federal discount rate in effect on January 2 of each year interest is payable. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “from and after July 1, 1992, the rate of interest shall be the greater of eight percent (8%) per annum or two percent (2%) above the federal discount rate in effect as of the second day of January of each year during which interest on such royalty proceeds is payable”
Where proceeds cannot be paid because title is not marketable, the rate equals the federal reserve discount rate in effect on January 2. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “except in those instances where the royalty proceeds cannot be paid because the title thereto is not marketable, in which case the rate of interest on a per annum basis shall be equal to the federal reserve discount rate”
Where the operator or lessee takes on payment responsibility in place of the purchaser, interest runs from the later of the statutory date or the date it receives the proceeds. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “the interest provided for hereinabove shall accrue from the date set forth hereinabove or from the date of such operator and/or owner's receipt of the proceeds of such production, whichever is the later date.”
Proceeds suspended for any reason still earn interest. It runs from the date payments stopped, but never earlier than 120 days after first sale. Proceeds suspended because title is not marketable earn the lower federal reserve discount rate. Marketability is judged under real property law as recognized when payments were suspended. The lien statute does not limit a disbursing agent's right to withhold funds when title, ownership or the right to sell is questioned. In a dispute, a good-faith tender to the person the owners agree on, or to the court, counts as tender to both.
Purchasers owe interest on royalty proceeds suspended for any reason. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “Whenever the disbursal of royalty proceeds is suspended for any reason whatsoever, the purchasers of production shall be liable for the payment of interest on the royalty proceeds which have been suspended.”
Interest on suspended proceeds runs from the date payments were halted, but not earlier than 120 days after first sale. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “shall be computed from the date that the royalty payments were halted or suspended; provided, however, that if such date is less than one hundred twenty (120) days after the first sale of oil or gas, then such interest shall be computed from the date of one hundred twenty (120) days after such first sale.”
Marketability of title is determined under real property law as recognized when payments were suspended or not paid. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “For the purposes of this section, marketability of title shall be determined in accordance with real property law governing title to oil and gas interests as recognized at the time the royalty payments were suspended or not paid.”
The lien statute does not impair a disbursing agent's right to withhold funds when title, ownership or the right to sell is questioned. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(7))
Statute text “This section does not impair a disbursing agent's right to withhold funds in the event a question is raised concerning the title or ownership of, or right to sell, the oil or gas production.”
The only division-order rule we found concerns interest: a royalty owner cannot waive or reduce statutory interest unless they sign a bold-print statement on a separate form attached to the division order. We found no Mississippi statute on when a division order may be required or on whether it may change the lease.
Statutory interest may not be waived or reduced unless the royalty owner attests to a bold-print statement on a separate form attached to the division order. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “may not be waived or reduced by a royalty owner entitled to such interest payment unless said royalty owner shall attest to a statement which shall be typed in bold print on a separate form and attached”
A royalty owner not paid within the 120-day window has a lien on the proceeds the disbursing agent received for the owner's interest. The lien is effective against third parties only after a financing statement is filed, and it expires one year after it becomes effective, unless judicial proceedings to assert it or insolvency proceedings by or against the disbursing agent have begun; then it stays effective until the insolvency proceedings end or the one year runs, whichever is later. Statutory interest is owed regardless (see late-payment interest). We found no Mississippi statutory notice-and-cure procedure, attorney-fee award or lease-cancellation rule for nonpayment in the Title 53 chapters we read.
The lien expires one year after it becomes effective against a third party, unless judicial proceedings to assert it or insolvency proceedings by or against the disbursing agent have been commenced; then it remains effective until the insolvency proceedings terminate or the one-year period expires, whichever is later. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(4))
Statute text “(4) The lien provided by this section shall expire one (1) year after it becomes effective against a third party, unless judicial proceedings have been commenced to assert it or unless insolvency proceedings have been commenced by or against the disbursing agent, in which event the lien shall remain effective until termination of the insolvency proceedings or until expiration of the one year period, whichever occurs later.”
The lien is effective against third parties only after a financing statement is filed, as with other financing statements. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(3))
Statute text “The lien provided by this section shall be effective against a third party only from the time a financing statement evidencing such lien is filed”
The filing is a UCC financing statement that the debtor need not sign, and it is effective for one year. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(6))
Statute text “it shall not be necessary for the debtor to sign the financing statement, and the filing shall be effective for a period of only one (1) year from the date of filing.”
The only payment-document rule we found is that the interest rate applied to late or suspended royalty must be displayed on the disbursement document. We found no Mississippi statute listing check-stub contents in the Title 53 chapters we read.
Accrued interest is paid with the accrued royalty, and the rate of interest must be shown on the disbursement document. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Statute text “The accrued interest shall be paid to the royalty owners at the time of the payment of the accrued royalty proceeds, such rate of interest to be displayed on the disbursement document.”
The State Treasurer's holder instructions show no separate period for mineral proceeds. Intangible property not otherwise covered (including monies, checks and income held in the ordinary course of business) is presumed abandoned when unclaimed for more than five years after it became payable or distributable. The Treasurer's FAQ states five years for all checks.
Intangible personal property not otherwise covered, held in the ordinary course of business and unclaimed for more than five years after it became payable or distributable, is presumed abandoned. (Mississippi Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, Miss. Code §§ 89-12-1 to 89-12-57, as set out in State Treasurer holder instructions, Part VIII)
Statute text “Any intangible personal property not otherwise covered by the provisions of this act, including any income or increment thereon and deducting any charges that may have accrued, that is held in the ordinary course of the holder's business and has remained unclaimed by the owner for more than five (5) years after it became payable or distributable shall be presumed abandoned.”
The Treasurer's FAQ: the dormancy period is five years for all checks. (Mississippi State Treasurer, FAQs for Holders)
Statute text “In Mississippi, it is five years for all checks, 15 years for traveler's checks, and seven years for money orders.”
Official unclaimed property search: Mississippi State Treasurer - Unclaimed Money.
Mississippi does not state a payment deadline as such. Instead, purchasers of oil or gas production owe interest on royalty proceeds not paid by 120 days after the date of first sale (where an operator or lessee pays in place of the purchaser, from the later of that date or its receipt of the proceeds). 'First sale' means the first commercial sale after the well is completed, not test sales. If a disbursing agent has not paid within that 120-day window, the royalty owner also gets a statutory lien. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39; Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(2))
For royalty payments regularly disbursed in the normal course of business, no interest is owed if payment is made no later than 60 days after the end of the calendar month in which the production was sold. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
If 120 days of accumulated monthly proceeds owed to a royalty owner total $100 or less, no interest accrues, provided the accumulated amount is paid at least once every 120 days. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Since July 1, 1992, interest on undisbursed royalty is the greater of 8% a year or 2% above the federal discount rate in effect on January 2 of each year interest is payable. It runs from 120 days after first sale or, where the operator or lessee takes on payment responsibility in place of the purchaser, from the later of that date or the date it receives the proceeds. Where proceeds cannot be paid because title is not marketable, the rate is the federal reserve discount rate. Accrued interest is paid along with the royalty, and the rate must appear on the disbursement document. A royalty owner can waive this interest only by signing a separate bold-print form attached to the division order. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
Proceeds suspended for any reason still earn interest. It runs from the date payments stopped, but never earlier than 120 days after first sale. Proceeds suspended because title is not marketable earn the lower federal reserve discount rate. Marketability is judged under real property law as recognized when payments were suspended. The lien statute does not limit a disbursing agent's right to withhold funds when title, ownership or the right to sell is questioned. In a dispute, a good-faith tender to the person the owners agree on, or to the court, counts as tender to both. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39; Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(7))
The only division-order rule we found concerns interest: a royalty owner cannot waive or reduce statutory interest unless they sign a bold-print statement on a separate form attached to the division order. We found no Mississippi statute on when a division order may be required or on whether it may change the lease. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
A royalty owner not paid within the 120-day window has a lien on the proceeds the disbursing agent received for the owner's interest. The lien is effective against third parties only after a financing statement is filed, and it expires one year after it becomes effective, unless judicial proceedings to assert it or insolvency proceedings by or against the disbursing agent have begun; then it stays effective until the insolvency proceedings end or the one year runs, whichever is later. Statutory interest is owed regardless (see late-payment interest). We found no Mississippi statutory notice-and-cure procedure, attorney-fee award or lease-cancellation rule for nonpayment in the Title 53 chapters we read. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(4); Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(3); Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-41(6))
The only payment-document rule we found is that the interest rate applied to late or suspended royalty must be displayed on the disbursement document. We found no Mississippi statute listing check-stub contents in the Title 53 chapters we read. (Miss. Code Ann. § 53-3-39)
The State Treasurer's holder instructions show no separate period for mineral proceeds. Intangible property not otherwise covered (including monies, checks and income held in the ordinary course of business) is presumed abandoned when unclaimed for more than five years after it became payable or distributable. The Treasurer's FAQ states five years for all checks. (Mississippi Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, Miss. Code §§ 89-12-1 to 89-12-57, as set out in State Treasurer holder instructions, Part VIII; Mississippi State Treasurer, FAQs for Holders)
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Educational only — not legal advice; statutes change, so confirm the current version and consult a qualified attorney for your situation. For a question about a specific payment, consult an attorney licensed in Mississippi.
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