When your final paycheck is due in Mississippi
Mississippi has no law that sets a deadline for a final paycheck. In practice it is paid on the next regular payday.
- Fired or laid off
- No state law sets a deadline. Federal law does not require immediate payment; the U.S. Department of Labor says to seek help if the regular payday for the last pay period has passed.
- If you quit
- No state law sets a deadline. The same federal guidance applies.
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets no final-pay deadline, but minimum wage and overtime still apply to the final check. Federal claims go to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
The law
No state final-pay statute (federal guidance: U.S. Department of Labor, Last Paycheck). Read the statute or the state agency’s page.
Checked against the statute in October 2026. Laws change, so confirm the current rule before you rely on it.
What to do next
If your pay has not arrived by the next regular payday, ask for the wages in writing first and keep a copy. The free first letter in the Wage Claim Letters kit does this. If that doesn’t work, small claims court is the usual next step. The final paycheck lookup compares states side by side.
Other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
General information about Mississippi law, not legal advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Wage Claim Letters is a self-help template kit from Kits For That.