Mississippi Nonprofit Compliance

Bona fide duly constituted religious institutions and such separate groups or corporations which form an integral part of religious institutions, provided that:

• Such religious institutions, groups or corporations are tax exempt pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code;
• No part of their net income inures to the direct benefit of any individual; and
• Their conduct is primarily supported by government grants or contracts, funds solicited from their own membership, congregations and fees charged for services rendered.

Miss. Code Ann. Section 79-11-501(a)(iii)

Religious organizations that meet the definition in Miss. Code Ann. Section 79-11-501(a)(iii) are excluded from registration requirements.

• All educational institutions that are recognized by the State Board of Education or that are accredited by a regional accrediting association or by an organization affiliated with the National Commission on Accrediting, any foundation having an established identity with any of the aforementioned educational institutions, any other educational institution which makes the solicitation of contributions solely by its student body, alumni, faculty and trustees and their families or a library established under the laws of this state
• Fraternal, patriotic, social, educational, alumni organizations and historical societies when solicitation of contributions is made solely by their membership; however, posts of the American Legion and posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States may utilize nonmembers to assist designated supervisors in the conduct of bingo under the Charitable Bingo Law and qualify for this exemption. This exemption shall be extended to any subsidiary of a parent or superior organization if such solicitation is made solely by the membership of the subsidiary, parent or superior organization
• Persons requesting any contributions for the relief or benefit of any individual, specified by name at the time of the solicitation, if the contributions collected are turned over to the named beneficiary, first deducting reasonable expenses for costs of banquets or social gatherings, if any, provided all fund-raising functions are carried on by persons who are unpaid, directly or indirectly, for such services
• Any charitable organization which does not intend to solicit and receive and does not actually receive contributions in excess of $25,000 during any twelve-month period, provided all of its fund-raising functions are carried on by persons who are unpaid for such services
• Any charitable organization receiving an allocation from an incorporated community chest or united fund, provided such chest or fund is complying with the provisions of § 79-11-501 through § 79-11-529 relating to registration and filing of annual reports with the Secretary of State, and provided such organization does not actually receive, in addition to such allocation, contributions in excess of $25,000 during any twelve-month period and provided further, that all the fund-raising functions of such organization are carried on by persons who are unpaid for such services
• All volunteer fire departments or rescue units, rural or otherwise, chartered under the laws and statutes of the State of Mississippi as nonprofit corporations
• Any humane society organized under the laws of Mississippi which contracts with counties or municipalities for the care and keeping of estrays

Online

$50 + $4 online filing fee.

Miss. Code Ann. Section 79-11-505(1)

Notices of exemption do not expire, but charities must update their exemption within 30 days if any information changes.

• List of officers and directors
• Bylaws
• Articles or Incorporation (if applicable)
• IRS determination letter (if applicable)

Online

$50 + $3.14 online filing fee.

1 week

• The CFO and president (or other authorized officer) must sign the application electronically.
• The state will return a Ceritificate of Registration upon approval.
• Some Mississippi counties and municipalities may require charities that solicit in-person to register prior to fundraising.

Domestic Applicants:

• Check the available exemptions to see if your charity is eligible for exemption from the full registration requirement.
• Appoint a registered agent to receive legal documents in Mississippi.
• If your charity meets the audit threshold, obtain an audited financial report to submit with your registration application.
• Look through the list of required attachments and make sure that you have each required document in hand before starting the registration application.

Foreign Applicants:

• Check the available exemptions to see if your charity is eligible for exemption from the full registration requirement.
• Appoint a registered agent to receive legal documents in Mississippi.
• If your charity meets the audit threshold, obtain an audited financial report to submit with your registration application.
• Look through the list of required attachments and make sure that you have each required document in hand before starting the registration application.
• If you will foreign qualify in Mississippi, obtain a certificate of good standing from your home state to submit during the foreign qualification process. The certificate cannot be more than 60 days old when filing foreign qualification documents.

Domestic Applicants:

1. Create an online filing account and submit entity formation documents with the Mississippi Secretary of State.
2. Create an online charity filing account and submit a charitable organization registration, along with all required attachments, to the Mississippi Secretary of State - Charities Division.

Foreign Applicants:

1. Determine whether or not your charity will need to foreign qualify based on your activity in Mississippi. If not required, skip to number 3.
2. Create an online filing account and submit foreign qualification documents with the Mississippi Secretary of State.
3. Create an online charity filing account and submit a charitable organization registration, along with all required attachments, to the Mississippi Secretary of State - Charities Division.

• IRS form 990
• Audited financials (if applicable)
• Articles of incorporation
• Bylaws
• IRS determination letter
• List of officers and directors
• Professional fundraising contracts

Online

$50 + $3.14 online filing fee.

• Annually by the 15th of the 5th month following a charity's fiscal year end. If your fiscal year ends on December 31, renewal is due by May 15.
• There is no official start to the renewal period, so renewals may be submitted as soon as financials become available for the most recently completed fiscal year.

Due dates can be extended for 180 days beyond the original due date by submitting a request for extension through the online portal. A copy of IRS form 8868 must be included when requesting an extension.

• Organizations can renew a registration up to 6 months past its due date. After this point, they will receive a registration revocation notice from the Secretary of State giving them 30 days to submit the late renewal. Once the registration is revoked, an organization must undergo the reinstatement process.
• Note the list of attachments required including IRS Form 990. Larger organizations may need to attach an audited financial statement.

• IRS form 990
• Audited financials (if applicable)
• List of officers and directors
• Professional fundraising contracts
• Only if amended: IRS determination letter, articles of incorporation, and bylaws

1. Organizations wishing to reinstate a revoked registration must call the Charities Division to get approved for reinstatement.
2. Once approved, organizations file an online renewal for the most recent fiscal year and pay the required renewal fee. The application and fee will be forwarded to the legal team who drafts a consent agreement. The agreement will be sent back to the charity for completion. 
3. Upon receiving the consent agreement, organizations should complete it and mail it back to the Division with the required reinstatement fee. 

Mail and online

• $50 renewal fee + $3.14 online filing fee
• $1,000 reinstatement fee

Charities suspected of violating Mississippi Code §79-11-501 - §79-11-527 are subject to investigation(s) by the Secretary of State and/or Attorney General. Upon application from either one of these agencies, the court can issue the following judgments: 

• administrative penalties of up to $25,000/violation
• restraining orders
• injunctions 
• enjoinment
• appointments of receivers/conservators of funds
• restitution

The Secretary of State, in addition to other remedies authorized by the law, may issue one or more of the following remedies:

• denial, suspension, or revocation of the organization's registration
• cease and desist orders
• administrative penalties of up to $25,000/violation
• citations to an organizations director(s)/officer(s)/member(s)
• administrative dissolution of domestic corporations
• revocation of foreign corporations Certificate of Authorization to do business in the State of Mississippi

A conviction of knowingly violating this Act is a misdemeanor charge and is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 1 year in county jail. In connection with any solicitation, any attempt to defraud or obtain money or property using false pretenses is a felony conviction and is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 5 years. 

Organizations can renew a registration up to 6 months past its due date. After this point, they will receive a registration revocation notice from the Secretary of State which gives them 30 days to submit the late renewal. Once the registration is revoked, an organization must undergo the reinstatement process.

• Most recent IRS form 990
• Most recent Audited Financials (if applicable)
• List of officers and directors
• Professional Fundraising Contractors
• Only if amended: IRS determination letter, articles of incorporation, and bylaws

$0

1-2 business days

Fiscal year can be changed during the standard renewal process.

Online

$0

To close out your registration, file a final report and attach the necessary documents.

• IRS form 990
• Audited financials (if applicable)
• A statement signed by an officer of the charitable organization certifying that the organization has ceased charitable solicitations within the state