Louisiana Criminal Statute of Limitations by Crime Type

The Louisiana criminal statute of limitations sets two separate deadlines: one for the state to file charges after an offense, and a second for the state to bring the case to trial after those charges are filed. Filing windows range from six months for the lowest misdemeanors to six years for the most serious felonies, with no deadline at all for crimes punishable by death or life imprisonment. The rules live in Articles 571 through 579 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure.

Filing Deadlines by Offense Type

The deadline to institute prosecution — meaning to file an indictment, bill of information, or affidavit — depends entirely on how the offense is classified and what punishment it carries.

Felonies

Louisiana splits felony filing deadlines into two tiers. For felonies that carry a mandatory sentence of hard labor, prosecutors have six years from the date of the offense. For felonies where hard labor is possible but not required, the window is four years.¹ If none of the qualifying charging documents is filed before the deadline, the case is time-barred.

Misdemeanors

Any misdemeanor punishable by a fine, jail time, or both must be charged within two years. That covers most misdemeanor charges, including simple battery and first-offense DWI. For the lowest tier — misdemeanors punishable only by a fine or forfeiture of property — the deadline is six months.¹

Crimes That Can Be Charged at Any Time

Article 571 lifts the deadline entirely for any crime punishable by death or life imprisonment.² First-degree murder is the clearest example, but the rule reaches any offense whose sentencing range includes life.

The same article names two additional offenses that have no filing deadline regardless of their sentencing range: second-degree rape, and molestation of a juvenile or a person with a physical or mental disability.²

Sex Offenses Against Minors

Sex offenses involving victims under eighteen that are not already in the no-deadline category get a thirty-year prosecution window under Article 571.1. This applies to any sex offense as defined in Louisiana’s sex offender registration statute where the victim was a minor.³

The thirty-year clock does not run from the offense. It runs from the victim’s eighteenth birthday.³ A child who was ten at the time of the offense could see charges filed as late as their forty-eighth birthday.

The DNA Identification Exception

Even after the ordinary filing deadline has passed, Article 572(B) allows prosecution of any sex offense once the offender is identified through a DNA profile. From the date of that identification, prosecutors have three years to file charges.¹

When the Clock Starts Running

For most offenses, the limitation period begins the day the crime is committed. Article 573 delays that start for several categories where the crime typically stays hidden.

If someone entrusted with money or property through employment, public office, or a fiduciary role misappropriates it, the clock does not start until that relationship ends.⁴ The same delayed start applies to extortion or false accounting by a public employee acting in an official capacity, and to public bribery.

For felony crimes of violence and cruelty to juveniles committed against a victim under eighteen, the clock likewise does not start until the victim turns eighteen — unless a longer period already applies under Article 571.1 or another provision.⁴

What Pauses the Filing Deadline

Article 575 interrupts the filing period when the defendant flees the state, stays outside the state, or hides from their usual residence to avoid detection or prosecution. The clock is also paused when a defendant lacks the mental capacity to proceed at trial and has been committed for treatment.⁵ The interruption lasts as long as the condition does. Once it ends, the remaining time resumes.

The Deadline to Begin Trial

Filing charges on time only satisfies the first requirement. Under Article 578, the state also has to actually start trial within a set period after charges are filed:

Capital cases: three years from the date charges were filed.
Other felonies: two years.
Misdemeanors: one year.

These deadlines run independently of the filing deadlines in Article 572.⁶ A felony charge filed on day one still fails if trial does not commence within two years.

What Interrupts the Trial Deadline

Article 579 pauses the trial-commencement clock when the defendant flees the state or is absent to avoid prosecution, when the defendant cannot be tried due to insanity, when the state cannot obtain the defendant’s presence through legal process, or for any other cause beyond the state’s control.⁷ When the interruption ends, the clock resets and runs fresh rather than picking up where it stopped.

The clock also stops when a defendant who received actual notice of a court proceeding fails to appear.⁷ After a later arrest, the clock does not restart until the defendant physically appears in open court on the original charge, or until the prosecuting district attorney is notified of the defendant’s custodial location.

Refiling After a Dismissal

A dismissal before trial does not automatically end the state’s chance to prosecute. Article 576 allows a new prosecution for the same offense if the original charges were timely filed and the dismissal happened before the first witness was sworn, was made with the defendant’s consent, or resulted from a court finding a defect in the indictment. The state has whichever is longer: the time remaining under the original limitation, or six months from the date of dismissal.⁸

If the district attorney was the one who dismissed the case, the state must also show the dismissal was not used to avoid the trial-commencement deadline under Article 578.⁸

Enforcing the Deadline

When the state files after the filing deadline has passed, or when the trial-commencement deadline lapses without a trial starting, the defendant’s remedy is a motion to quash. Article 532 lists the expiration of either time limit as a valid ground.⁹ A successful motion permanently ends the prosecution for that offense. Courts will not raise the issue on their own. The defense has to file the motion and argue it; if no one raises the deadline, the case moves forward as if it never applied.

1
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 572 – Limitation of Prosecution of Noncapital Offenses
2
Justia. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 571 – Crimes for Which There Is No Time Limitation
3
Justia. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 571.1 – Time Limitation for Certain Sex Offenses
4
Justia. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 573 – Computation of Time Limitations
5
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 575 – Interruption of Time Limitations
6
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 578 – General Rule
7
Justia. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 579 – Interruption of Time Limitation
8
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 576 – Filing of New Charges Upon Dismissal of Prosecution
9
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 532 – General Grounds for Motion to Quash