To get emergency temporary custody in Louisiana, you file a verified petition and a proposed order under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 3945 with the Clerk of Court in the parish where the child lives. There is no single statewide Louisiana ex parte temporary custody form — each judicial district publishes its own packet — so your first call is to the local clerk’s office to request the ex parte custody packet used in that parish. The statute sets what the documents must contain; the local clerk tells you which fillable forms to use.
The Emergency Standard You Have to Meet
Before you spend time on the paperwork, know what the judge is looking for. CCP 3945 requires that your verified petition or a supporting affidavit show, through specific facts, that the child will suffer immediate and irreparable injury before the other parent or their attorney can appear and respond.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 3945 That bar is deliberately high. Disagreements over schedules or general complaints about the other parent will not meet it. Judges expect concrete, recent facts: credible evidence of physical abuse, sexual abuse, substance abuse endangering the child, or a documented plan by the other parent to flee the state with the child.
What to Gather Before You Fill Anything Out
Have all of this in hand before you sit down with the form. A missing piece can push filing back by days.
- The child’s full legal name, date of birth, and current physical address.
- A written, dated chronology of the specific incidents showing immediate danger, with witness names, locations, and any supporting evidence you have (photos, text messages, police reports, medical records).
- A certified copy of any existing custody judgment or order. If none exists, you’ll note that in the petition.
- The other parent’s full legal name, home address, and workplace address, which the court needs to arrange service after the order is signed.
Some districts also require a separate affidavit alongside the verified petition. The Louisiana Supreme Court’s Appendix 29.0C, which sets local rules for ex parte custody filings, states that petitions seeking an ex parte order “shall be accompanied by a separate affidavit of the party seeking custody setting forth” the factual basis for emergency relief.2Louisiana Supreme Court. Louisiana District Court Rules – Title IV Appendix 29.0C Ask the clerk whether a standalone affidavit is required in your parish.
Completing the Verified Petition
The verified petition is the main document. You fill in the designated fields with the child’s identifying information, the facts justifying emergency relief, and the specific custody arrangement you want the judge to order. Field layouts differ by parish; the legal requirements do not.
At the end of the petition is a verification where you swear every factual statement is true. Louisiana district court forms generally use language along the lines of “I have read the foregoing petition and all facts contained therein are true and correct,” followed by a signature block and a notary attestation.3Louisiana Supreme Court. Louisiana District Court Rules – Title IV Chapter 38 You must sign in front of a notary public. Without the notary seal, the clerk will reject the filing before it ever reaches a judge. Most clerk offices have a notary on staff, but confirm it before you go.
Preparing the Proposed Order
Along with the petition, you prepare a separate document — commonly titled “Proposed Order” or “Ex Parte Order of Temporary Custody” — that the judge will sign if the request is granted. Because the judge signs what you drafted, the proposed order has to contain everything the statute requires.
Under CCP 3945, the signed order must give the other parent temporary visitation of at least forty-eight hours during any fifteen-day period, unless the petition demonstrates that even supervised visitation would cause immediate and irreparable injury to the child.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 3945 The order must also be endorsed with the date the judge signs it and the date and hour of the rule to show cause hearing that follows.
Local districts can add requirements. The 15th, 18th, and 19th Judicial District Courts, for example, all require the order to prohibit both parents from moving the child’s residence outside the court’s jurisdiction.2Louisiana Supreme Court. Louisiana District Court Rules – Title IV Appendix 29.0C Build in whatever your district requires. The clerk can tell you, and the local appendix to the district court rules spells it out.
Attorney Certification of Notice
CCP 3945 also requires a written certification addressing notice to the other parent. Your attorney must state in writing either the specific efforts made to give the other parent reasonable notice of when the order would be presented to the judge, or the reasons why notice should not be required.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 3945 Without this certification, the judge cannot sign the order.
Louisiana allows you to file without an attorney, but this is one requirement that gets harder on your own, because the certification has to either describe your notice efforts or argue legally that notice would defeat the purpose of the emergency order. Some courts fold the certification language into the petition form; others require a separate document. Ask the clerk’s office how self-represented filers handle it in your district.
Filing the Petition
Once the petition is notarized, bring the original documents to the Clerk of Court in the parish where the child lives, or in the parish where a related custody or divorce case is already pending. The clerk file-stamps the documents, collects the filing fee, and routes the file to the judge’s chambers for immediate review.
Fees vary widely and are often higher than people expect. Lafayette Parish charges a $700 advanced deposit for an ex parte custody filing.4Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court. Fees Caddo Parish charges $450 for a new domestic suit plus $100 when the suit includes a rule to show cause or temporary restraining order.5Caddo Parish Clerk of Court. Civil Court Costs Call your local clerk for the exact amount, and bring a money order or cashier’s check. Many clerk offices will not accept personal checks or cash for larger amounts.
If you cannot afford the fee, CCP Article 5181 lets anyone unable to pay court costs due to poverty file in forma pauperis.6Justia Law. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 5181 You submit the Louisiana Supreme Court’s standardized In Forma Pauperis Affidavit, which lays out your income, expenses, and assets, plus a second affidavit from someone who knows you personally (not your attorney) confirming your financial situation.7Louisiana Supreme Court. In Forma Pauperis Affidavit If you receive public assistance or your income is below 125 percent of the federal poverty line, you can skip the detailed income-and-expense schedule.
After the Judge Signs: Service and the Clock
If the judge signs the order, you have temporary custody, but only temporarily, and only once the other parent is served. By default, the civil sheriff’s office in the parish where the other parent is located handles service, with a deputy physically delivering the court papers and the signed order.8Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1293 If the sheriff cannot complete service within ten days, you can ask the court to appoint a private process server. Proof of service must be filed before the hearing can go forward.
The order expires automatically thirty days after the judge signs it. One extension of up to fifteen additional days is available if you show good cause before the original order expires; no further extensions are available under CCP 3945.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 3945 The rule to show cause hearing must be scheduled no more than thirty days after the order is signed. At that hearing, both parents appear, the other parent gets to respond, and the judge decides whether to continue, modify, or dissolve the temporary custody. If the hearing isn’t scheduled within the window, the order lapses and the temporary custody goes with it.
If the judge denies the petition, no temporary order takes effect. The judge may still set a standard custody hearing date, but you have no emergency protection in the meantime.
Domestic Violence Cases Use Different Forms
CCP 3945 does not apply when the petition alleges domestic abuse covered by the Domestic Abuse Assistance Act (R.S. 46:2131 and following), the Post-Separation Family Violence Relief Act (R.S. 9:361 and following), or certain Children’s Code provisions. The statute explicitly exempts those cases.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 3945 If the emergency involves abuse, you likely need a protective order under the Domestic Abuse Assistance Act, which can include temporary custody along with no-contact and move-out provisions. The Post-Separation Family Violence Relief Act applies when family violence is established in the context of an existing separation or divorce, and the court cannot order mediation in those cases.9Louisiana Judicial College. Bench Card – Domestic Abuse Ask the clerk for the protective order forms and the Uniform Abuse Prevention Order rather than the standard ex parte custody packet.