At 18 you can vote; Join the military without parental consent and buy a rifle or shotgun…but you are not an Adult for Mississippi law purposes.

MS Code § 1-3-21 (2025), defines [t]he term “infant,” when used in any statute, shall include any person, male or female, under twenty-one years of age.

Recent legislation died in committee trying to bring Mississippi in-line with every other state. Most states consider a child an adult when they attain the age of 18 or 19 if still attending high school.

In Mississippi, that age is 21. That means child support is until 21.

There are some exceptions where a child can lose that status by joining the military, getting married, going to prison, or moving from home and working full-time. This is called emancipation.

So, Mississippi is unique for reasons that may not make us so special…

Matthew Thompson is a family law and child welfare attorney and has supported common sense changes in Mississippi family law and is still holding out hope that some may come to fruition…one day.