There is no single answer to how many terms a mayor can serve in Louisiana, because the state sets no uniform limit. Each municipality decides for itself. New Orleans caps its mayor at two consecutive terms, Baton Rouge allows three, and the roughly 247 smaller towns governed by the Lawrason Act have no term limits at all unless local voters adopt them.
Why the Answer Depends on Your City
Louisiana municipalities operate under one of three systems: a home rule charter, the Lawrason Act, or an older special legislative charter. About 33 cities have home rule charters, 247 run under the Lawrason Act, and 23 keep special legislative charters.1Louisiana Legislative Auditor. Limitations of Home Rule Charter Authority
Home rule cities write their own governance rules, which includes setting any term limits on the mayor. The authority comes from Article VI, Section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution, which lets local governments adopt and amend charters as long as they do not conflict with the state constitution or general law.2FindLaw. Louisiana Constitution of 1974 Art. VI, Section 5 – Home Rule Charter
The Lawrason Act, codified at Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:321 through 33:463, provides a default mayor-board of aldermen structure for every other incorporated municipality. The statute itself imposes no term limits.3Louisiana Legislative Auditor. Lawrason Act FAQ So in most Louisiana towns, a mayor can keep running indefinitely as long as voters keep electing them.
New Orleans: Two Consecutive Terms
Section 4-201 of the New Orleans Home Rule Charter limits the mayor to two consecutive terms. The specific language bars anyone who has served more than one and a half terms within two consecutive terms from running for the succeeding term. That “one and one-half” threshold catches someone who finished out a large portion of a predecessor’s unexpired term and then won a full term of their own — they may already be at the limit.
The restriction applies only to consecutive service. A former mayor who sits out the next cycle becomes eligible again. In theory, someone could serve two terms, step aside for one, then return for two more.
Baton Rouge: Three Consecutive Terms
In the consolidated government of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish, voters approved a 1995 charter amendment limiting the Mayor-President to three consecutive full terms. The limit applies to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1997.4Baton Rouge, LA – BRLA.gov. Chapter 4 Mayor-President The same election put an identical three-term limit on Metropolitan Council members.5Baton Rouge, LA – BRLA.gov. Chapter 2 Governing Bodies
As in New Orleans, the restriction is a consecutive-term cap, not a lifetime ban. A Mayor-President who has served three full terms is only barred from the next one, and remains free to run again after sitting out.
Smaller Cities and Towns: Usually No Limit
Because 247 Louisiana municipalities run under the Lawrason Act, the most common arrangement in the state is no term limit at all.6Louisiana State Legislature. RS 33:321 – Municipalities Governed by Mayor-Board of Aldermen Form of Government If your town is a Lawrason Act municipality and has not separately adopted a limit, its mayor can serve for as many terms as voters are willing to grant.
A 2023 Attorney General opinion confirmed that a board of aldermen in a Lawrason Act town can place a term-limit proposition on the ballot under Article VI, Section 7(A) of the state constitution. If voters approve it, the board can then enact term limits by ordinance.3Louisiana Legislative Auditor. Lawrason Act FAQ That guidance is relatively recent, and whether individual towns pursue it is up to each community.
To find out whether a specific Louisiana town limits its mayor, check the municipal charter or ordinances directly. The default is no limit unless the charter or a local ordinance says otherwise.
Consecutive Terms, Not Lifetime Bans
Neither New Orleans nor Baton Rouge permanently bars a former mayor from office. Both use consecutive-term limits, which force a pause but allow a return. A mayor who hits the cap can run again after sitting out at least one term. That is a different rule from a lifetime ban, which would end the person’s eligibility for good. Louisiana’s two largest cities have both chosen the softer version.
How a City Can Adopt or Change Its Term Limits
For a home rule charter city, changing the term-limit rule means amending the charter. The governing body can prepare a written amendment, publish it for three weeks in a local newspaper (or post it in three public places if no newspaper exists), and submit it to the governor, who forwards it to the Attorney General for a legal opinion.7Louisiana State Legislature. RS 33:1181 – Preparation, Publication, Approval and Recording of Amendments If at least one-tenth of the municipality’s voters formally protest within 30 days of publication, the governor cannot approve the amendment until voters ratify it at an election held within 60 days of the protest.
A city can also convene a charter commission to draft broader changes. Residents can force the question by petition: signatures from at least ten percent of registered voters, or ten thousand voters, whichever is fewer, compel the governing body to call an election for charter commissioners.8Louisiana State Legislature. RS 33:1395 – Uniform Guidelines for All Charter Commissions
For a Lawrason Act town, the mechanism is simpler. The board of aldermen puts a term-limit proposition on the ballot. If voters approve it, the board enacts the limits by ordinance. Either way, voter approval is required before the restriction takes effect.