How to Fill Out and Record a Louisiana Lien Release Form

A Louisiana lien release form is a signed, notarized document that tells the parish Recorder of Mortgages to cancel a recorded claim or privilege against your property. Once the claimant signs it and you file it with the Clerk of Court in the parish where the property sits, the encumbrance comes off the public record and stops clouding the title.¹ The form itself is short. Getting the details right is what makes it work.

What Belongs on the Form

The Recorder of Mortgages has to match your release to the original lien entry before it can cancel anything. Every name, number, and legal description on the release should match the original statement of claim exactly, even if the original contains minor errors. Pull a copy of the recorded lien first and copy from it directly.

Full legal name of the claimant who filed the lien and the property owner named in the original filing.
Legal description of the property: lot number, subdivision, parish, and municipal address as they appear in the original statement.
Recording data for the original lien: the instrument number, book, and page. Without this, the Recorder’s office cannot find the entry to cancel.
A clear statement that the obligation has been paid or otherwise extinguished, and that the claimant requests cancellation of the recorded statement.

The standard cancellation form that banks use under La. R.S. 9:5173 asks for the obligee’s name, the date of the original instrument, the parish of recordation, the recording data, and the legal description of the property.² That structure works as a template even when the claimant is an individual contractor rather than a lender.

Signing Before a Notary and Two Witnesses

Louisiana treats a recorded release as an authentic act. That means the claimant signs in front of a notary public and two witnesses, and all four people (the signer, both witnesses, and the notary) sign the document. Each person’s typed or printed name must also appear legibly under their signature.³ This is stricter than the notary-only formality most other states accept.

The notary verifies the signer’s identity with government-issued ID and confirms the signing is voluntary. Both witnesses have to be physically present. They cannot be added afterward. If any signature or the notary seal is missing, the parish recording office will reject the document on sight. Line up two competent adult witnesses before you head to the notary; some notary offices keep witnesses on staff, but call ahead to confirm rather than assume.

Banks and licensed lenders have a shortcut. Under La. R.S. 9:5172, a financial institution can execute the statutory cancellation form with the signatures of two authorized officers and no notary.² If a bank filed your lien, the institution handles execution internally and you only need to make sure the release actually gets recorded.

Recording It with the Parish Recorder

Once the release is signed, witnessed, and notarized, file it with the Recorder of Mortgages in the parish where the property is located. You can walk it in or send it by certified mail. Recording fees are standardized statewide, so the cost does not change from parish to parish.

For a straightforward cancellation of a single mortgage, lien, or privilege, the fee is $50. If the release is recorded as a general filing rather than a simple cancellation (for example, because it covers multiple liens or includes extra provisions), fees run by page count: $100 for one to five pages, $200 for six to twenty-five pages, and $300 for twenty-six to fifty pages, plus $5 per page beyond fifty.⁴ The document must be on standard letter or legal paper; other sizes trigger an extra $20 per page. Individual parishes may tack on small surcharges.

The recording fee includes one certified copy of the recorded document. Keep it. That certified copy is your proof the lien was cleared if the cancellation ever comes up during a title search or a closing. Once the Recorder indexes the release against the original lien entry, the encumbrance stops appearing on mortgage certificates issued by the parish.

When You Can Force a Claimant to Sign

Louisiana law gives owners two grounds to demand cancellation of a recorded claim or privilege: the claim was improperly filed, or the underlying debt has been paid or otherwise extinguished.¹ You send a written request to the person who filed the claim, and that person has ten days from receiving your demand to deliver a written cancellation directed to the Recorder of Mortgages.

A recorded claim can also die on its own. If the claimant does not file a notice of pendency of action (proof that a suit to enforce the lien has been filed) within one year after recording the statement, the lien loses its effect against third parties. After that year, the Recorder will cancel the recorded statement upon receiving a signed written application from the owner or any interested person.¹ If a contractor filed a lien over a year ago and never sued, you may not need the contractor’s signature at all.

If the Claimant Won’t Cooperate

The ten-day window in La. R.S. 9:4833 carries real consequences. A claimant who fails to deliver the cancellation without reasonable cause is liable for the damages the delay causes you and for the attorney fees you spend forcing the cancellation.¹ Damages can include a lost sale, a higher interest rate on a delayed refinance, or extended closing costs.

If the claimant ignores your demand or refuses outright, you can file suit under La. R.S. 44:114 asking the court to declare the claim extinguished and order the Recorder to cancel the filing.¹ The same suit can recover your damages and attorney fees. Keep proof that your written demand was delivered, such as a certified mail receipt. Without it, you cannot show the ten-day clock ever started.

If the claimant has gone out of business or cannot be found, judicial cancellation is your only path. A certified copy of the court’s judgment substitutes for the claimant’s signature, and the Recorder cancels the lien on that basis.

Check Whether the Lien Was Filed on Time

Before chasing down a claimant, look at when the lien was filed. In most cases, a subcontractor or supplier must file a statement of claim or privilege within sixty days after a notice of termination is filed or after the work is substantially completed or abandoned.⁵ Different deadlines apply when a notice of contract was properly filed at the start of the project.

A lien filed after the applicable deadline was improperly filed from the start. That gives you grounds to demand cancellation under La. R.S. 9:4833 or to ask a court to strike it, no matter what the claimant thinks the debt is. Checking the filing date can save you a lot of negotiation.

Mistakes That Get Releases Rejected

Mismatches between the release and the original filing are the most common reason a release gets bounced. Transposed digits in the instrument number, a slightly different spelling of the owner’s name, or a legal description missing a lot number will all trigger a rejection. Copy from the recorded original, not from memory or from a corrected version.

Showing up at the notary with only the signer is the next most common stumble. The two-witness requirement is not optional for an authentic act, and adding witnesses later does not fix a document that was signed without them.

Keep your written demand separate from the release itself. The demand is a letter asking the claimant to deliver a cancellation. The release is what the claimant signs and you record. Skipping the written demand, or blurring the two, weakens your position if you later need to pursue damages or a court order.

1
Justia. Louisiana Code 9-4833 – Request to Cancel the Inscription of Claims and Privileges; Cancellation; Notice of Pendency of Action
2
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 9-5173 – Mortgage or Privilege Cancellation by Financial Institution Standard Form
3
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Article 1833 – Authentic Act
4
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 13-844 – Fees of Ex Officio Recorders
5
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 9-4822 – Preservation of Claims and Privileges