Mississippi Borrowed, Non-Owned & Rental Vehicles

Conventional rentals

Mississippi law requires rental companies to verify renter licensing and retain specified rental records. The renter’s personal policy, rental-company protection products, and the vehicle owner’s coverage should all be reviewed. For qualifying rental and leasing companies, the federal Graves Amendment generally bars vicarious liability based solely on ownership while preserving direct negligence and other statutory obligations.

Peer-to-peer car sharing began January 17, 2025

Mississippi’s Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Program Act, Title 63, Chapter 39, creates a separate sharing-period framework. Section 63-39-5 requires the P2P program to assume specified liability during the car-sharing period at no less than the statutory financial-responsibility minimum, subject to the Act. Section 63-39-11 requires sharing-use records and retention for at least the three-year period referenced to § 15-1-49. Section 63-39-13 aligns vicarious-liability treatment with the Graves Amendment.

Rig Masters adds a current ownership/control warning

Rig Masters, Inc. v. Colenberg (Miss. June 11, 2026) addresses ownership, title, insurance, respondeat superior, and negligent entrustment after an employee acquired a vehicle and later caused a fatal crash after employment ended. Title or insurance paperwork alone did not automatically create employer liability.