Statute of Limitations for Class D / 4th Degree Felony in Mississippi

Overview

In Mississippi, the statute of limitations (SOL) sets a deadline for the state to file criminal charges (or, depending on the stage of the case, to proceed within time constraints). For a Class D felony—often described in practice as a “4th degree felony”—the starting point is the general SOL found in the Mississippi Code.

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator is designed to apply that baseline deadline and then adjust for key timing inputs (like the “start date” you choose). Based on the jurisdiction data provided here, Mississippi’s general SOL period is 3 years under Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49, and no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for the class/degree label. That means the guidance below reflects the general/default period rather than a special carve-out.

Limitation period

Default (general) SOL for Class D / 4th degree felonies in Mississippi

• General SOL period: 3 years
• Default statute: Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49
• Rule type: General/default, because no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for the class/degree category described as “Class D / 4th degree felony.”

How to think about the 3-year clock

To use the SOL logic consistently in any calculator, you need a definition for the start of the period. Common approaches include:

• Date of offense (most straightforward)
• Date the relevant act occurred (if the wording of the charging theory points to a particular event date)
• A later event date, if your facts match a statutory trigger (some statutes use discovery or other triggers; however, this page uses the general/default period you supplied)

DocketMath can help you standardize the timeline by letting you select the start date, then adding the 3-year duration to generate an end date for the baseline SOL.

What changes the output in the calculator

Even if the SOL length is fixed (3 years), your calculated deadline will change depending on your inputs. In practice, three inputs drive most outcomes:

• Start date (offense date / event date):

  • Move the date forward, and the SOL deadline shifts forward.
  • Move it backward, and the deadline shifts backward.
• Jurisdiction selection:

  • DocketMath applies the Mississippi SOL period and Mississippi statutory structure.
• Whether you adjust for tolling/exception logic:

  • This page describes “key exceptions” conceptually (next section), but the calculator’s actual output depends on whether you input additional adjustments.

If you keep the same start date, the output end date will be approximately:

• Start date + 3 years

(Exact computation can depend on how the tool treats dates at the day/month level, but the statutory duration remains 3 years.)

Key exceptions

No claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for “Class D / 4th degree felony” beyond the general/default period provided. Still, SOL analysis in Mississippi can be affected by exceptions and tolling, which may alter the effective deadline.

Because this page is scoped to the general SOL baseline, here are the exception categories you should watch for when modeling timelines (without treating any single fact pattern as an automatic override):

• Tolling events (time periods that “pause” or extend the limitations clock)

  • Examples (conceptual): absence from the state, certain procedural delays, or other legally recognized reasons that prevent counting time normally.
• Statutory triggers tied to particular circumstances

  • Some offenses have special statutory timing rules. This content reflects the finding that no category-specific sub-rule was identified for the class/degree label, so you should verify whether the specific offense statute creates a different timing trigger.
• Multiple offense dates

  • When charges relate to repeated conduct, the effective timing may depend on which conduct the charging instrument treats as the offense date.

Practical checklist before you rely on the 3-year deadline

Use this to prepare inputs for your own review:

Statute citation

The general statute of limitations period applied here is:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49

  • General SOL period: 3 years
  • Application in this guide: treated as the general/default period for the class/degree label described (Class D / 4th degree felony), because no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for this category.

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator helps you turn the statutory period into a concrete deadline: /tools/statute-of-limitations.

1. Go to the tool:

   • **/tools/statute-of-limitations
2. Select:

   • Jurisdiction: **Mississippi (US-MS)
3. Enter:

   • Start date (the date you want to anchor the limitation period to)
4. Review:

   • The resulting baseline SOL end date computed using the 3-year general period from Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49.

How output changes with your inputs

• If you enter a start date of 2022-03-15, the output deadline will be 3 years later (approximately 2025-03-15).
• If you enter 2021-11-01, the deadline shifts accordingly (approximately 2024-11-01).
• Changing only the jurisdiction would change the statutory duration and therefore the end date. For Mississippi here, the duration is 3 years.

Sources and references

Start with the primary authority for Mississippi and confirm the effective date before relying on any output. If the rule has been amended, update the inputs and rerun the calculation.

• Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49

Related reading

• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Vermont — Tool comparison
• Statute of limitations in Singapore: how to estimate the deadline — How-to guide
• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Connecticut — Tool comparison