Running inflatables legally in Mississippi

What the amusement decal law actually covers

Mississippi's amusement ride act, effective January 1, 2021, put the Department of Revenue in charge of a permit program for rides. Its own definition decides whether your inventory is in it.

The enrolled act defines an amusement ride as a mechanical device that carries or conveys passengers along, around or over a fixed or restricted route or course, for the purpose of giving the passengers amusement, pleasure, thrills or excitement. It names what is excluded, too: bungee jumping, zip lines, waterslides, and obstacle, challenge or adventure courses.

A bounce house is fabric kept inflated by a blower. It has no mechanism, no course, and it carries no one along a route. On the plain text, a standard inflatable rental inventory, bounce houses, slides and obstacle courses, is not a set of amusement rides under this act. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's bulletin describes the category exactly: devices made of flexible fabric, kept inflated by continuous air flow, relying on air pressure to hold their shape.

That reading is why most Mississippi bounce house operators hold a sales tax permit and no decal. It is a definition argument, not a loophole, and the next section is what to do when the answer is less clean.

Mississippi's amusement ride act defines an amusement ride as a mechanical device that carries or conveys passengers along a fixed or restricted route or course. — Mississippi Department of Archives and History, enrolled House Bill 999 of 2020, retrieved 2026-09-29

The CPSC bulletin describes inflatable amusement devices as made of flexible fabric, kept inflated by continuous air flow by one or more blowers. — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

When a unit crosses the line

The line is mechanical and it carries passengers. A trackless train, a spinning kiddie ride, a mechanical surf simulator: each is a mechanical device carrying passengers along a course, and each belongs in the decal program.

The act's requirement is strict about timing. An amusement ride may not be operated in the state unless the Department of Revenue has issued an operating permit decal for it within the preceding twelve months. An application must be submitted at least fifteen business days before the first time the ride is operated in Mississippi.

The application carries three things: a certificate of insurance of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, a fee the Department has set at $100, and proof of a satisfactory inspection by a qualified inspector. One fee covers multiple rides listed on one application form, which the act expressly allows.

One exemption worth knowing: the act does not apply to a nonprofit owner or operator running ten rides or less. That exemption is for nonprofit operators, not for a rental business serving one.

When a unit is borderline, put the question to the Department rather than to the booking calendar. The Department's page gives the contact, amusementdecals@dor.ms.gov, and it lists approved inspectors.

15 business daysMississippi's amusement ride act bars operating a ride without a Department of Revenue decal issued within the preceding twelve months, applied for 15 business days before first operation. — Mississippi Department of Archives and History, enrolled House Bill 999 of 2020, retrieved 2026-09-29

10 ridesMississippi's amusement ride act exempts any nonprofit owner or operator who operates ten rides or less. — Mississippi Department of Archives and History, enrolled House Bill 999 of 2020, retrieved 2026-09-29

$100The Department of Revenue's amusement ride page requires a $1,000,000 per-occurrence certificate of insurance, a non-refundable $100 application fee, and proof of inspection. — Mississippi Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

The inspection and the decal

The inspection is not a self-check. The Department's page sets who may perform it, and it is deliberately narrow.

A qualified inspector must hold certification from the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials at Level I or higher, or an equivalent certification from the Amusement Industry Manufacturers and Suppliers International. The inspector needs twenty-four months of employment experience in amusement ride inspection, and must not be the ride's owner, operator, employee or agent. Your cousin with a checklist does not qualify, and neither does your own staff.

The certificate of inspection must certify substantial compliance with ASTM International Standard F770-19, the standard practice for ownership, operation, maintenance and inspection of amusement rides and devices. The act requires owners and operators to keep operating in substantial compliance with that same standard.

Once the application clears, the decal is issued through the Department's TAP system, from a Statewide Privilege Amusement Account, and the Department requires it to be displayed on the equipment in clear view of the public, within sight of the operator's station. The application is annual, and the Department's approved inspector list is updated monthly.

24 monthsThe Department of Revenue requires inspectors certified by NAARSO at Level I or by AIMS at an equivalent level, with 24 months of inspection experience, who are not the owner's employee or agent. — Mississippi Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

ASTM F770-19Mississippi's amusement ride act requires the certificate of inspection to certify substantial compliance with ASTM International Standard F770-19. — Mississippi Department of Archives and History, enrolled House Bill 999 of 2020, retrieved 2026-09-29

The Department of Revenue requires the decal to be displayed on the equipment in clear view of the public, within sight of the operator's station. — Mississippi Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

The CPSC rules reach every inflatable anyway

Whether or not a decal hangs on it, every inflatable you rent out carries federal safety guidance, and the CPSC bulletin is the document to build your setup routine from.

The bulletin's commercial section is specific about anchoring: anchor every ride per the manufacturer's requirements, every time it is set up, indoor and outdoor alike. Where the manufacturer's instructions permit sandbags or ballasts instead of stakes, the stated weight must be used. And the bulletin is blunt about what never anchors a unit: no attaching anchors to motor vehicles or other nonstationary objects, and no using non-load-bearing positioning loops as tie-down points.

The injury record behind the guidance is real. The Commission counted an estimated 113,272 emergency department-treated injuries associated with inflatable amusements from 2003 through 2013, an annual average of about 16,903, with 12 deaths in that window. The incidents reviewed were attributable primarily to improper operation, supervision and setup.

The event-day checklist turns this bulletin into an order of work, and the rental agreements page covers what the bulletin wants you to hand the customer at booking.

16,903 a yearThe CPSC bulletin estimates approximately 113,272 emergency department-treated inflatable injuries from 2003 through 2013, about 16,903 a year, mostly from improper setup and supervision. — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

The CPSC bulletin requires commercial operators to anchor rides per the manufacturer's requirements at every setup, and never to attach anchors to motor vehicles. — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

Operator duties at the event

Mississippi's act sets operator duties for rides it covers, and the CPSC sets them for inflatables. A party rental business should meet both, because they describe the same job.

The act says a ride operator must be at least sixteen years old, may operate only one amusement ride at a time, must be in attendance whenever the ride is operating, and must operate the ride in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications. Operators may deny entrance to anyone whose participation may jeopardize safety.

The CPSC bulletin sets headcount. A large inflatable slide over fifteen feet tall needs a minimum of two operators. A bounce house or small slide under fifteen feet needs one, and inflatables designed for younger children need two, one monitoring capacity, one monitoring riders. Operators must keep a direct line of sight to all riders, with no blind spots, adding operators until there are none.

A one-operator staffing plan for a school carnival with two units and a line of children is the failure mode both documents are describing.

16 yearsMississippi's amusement ride act requires a ride operator to be at least sixteen years old, to attend only one ride at a time, and to operate it to the manufacturer's specifications. — Mississippi Department of Archives and History, enrolled House Bill 999 of 2020, retrieved 2026-09-29

2 operatorsThe CPSC bulletin sets two operators minimum for a slide over 15 feet tall, one for a bounce house or small slide under 15 feet, and two for units designed for younger children. — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

What to do when someone is hurt

For rides in the decal program, Mississippi's reporting clock runs in hours, not weeks, and the same discipline serves an inflatable operator outside it.

The act requires the owner or operator to keep an incident report log covering rider injuries and illnesses, held for a minimum of three years. The log must record the date, the injured rider's name, address, telephone number and age, the manufacturer's name and serial number of the unit involved, a description of the injury and its cause, and any first aid given.

Serious injuries that do not result in death must be reported to the Department of Revenue in writing within seventy-two hours of the operator being notified. A death must be reported within two hours, verbally if needed, with a written report within twenty-four hours. After a serious injury, the ride is to be shut down and its condition preserved pending investigation, except to prevent imminent harm.

An inflatable operator outside the program should still run this clock. The same facts decide an insurance claim, and the CPSC asks that injuries be reported to it at SaferProducts.gov.

72 hoursMississippi's amusement ride act requires an incident report log kept three years, serious injuries reported to the Department of Revenue in writing within 72 hours, and deaths within two hours. — Mississippi Department of Archives and History, enrolled House Bill 999 of 2020, retrieved 2026-09-29

The CPSC bulletin asks that any ride accidents resulting in injuries be reported to the local or state authority and to the Commission at SaferProducts.gov. — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

Where cities can add their own rules

The state law does not close the door on local rules, and the act itself is the evidence. When the legislature passed it, it brought forward Section 21-19-33 of the Mississippi Code, which gives municipal governing authorities the power to adopt ordinances regulating circuses, shows, theaters, amusement parks and devices, and other similar things.

A city can lawfully require more of a festival operator than the state does. Park permits, event permits and fire marshal inspections are the usual shapes.

The local licenses page covers what to ask a city before a first booking, and the insurance page covers the certificate a festival organizer will ask for before your truck rolls. The honest rule for this trade: the state defines the floor, the city adds what it wants, and the venue adds what it is afraid of.

Section 21-19-33 of the Mississippi Code, brought forward by the 2020 act, grants municipalities power to adopt ordinances regulating circuses, shows, theaters, amusement parks and devices. — Mississippi Department of Archives and History, enrolled House Bill 999 of 2020, retrieved 2026-09-29

Questions