The Louisiana state code is the body of written law that governs the state, and it is organized differently from the law of any other state in the country. Louisiana built its legal system on the civil law tradition inherited from France and Spain, which means the written code comes first and judicial decisions play a smaller role than they do elsewhere. The main pieces are the Louisiana Civil Code, the criminal statutes in Title 14 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Louisiana Administrative Code for agency regulations.
Why Louisiana’s Code Is Different
Every other state built its law on English common law, where courts developed rules case by case over centuries. Louisiana organized its law into a written code instead. Judges apply the code’s principles to specific disputes rather than treating prior decisions as binding precedent. That single structural fact shapes how property is divided in a marriage, how estates are inherited, how long you have to sue, and how courts fill gaps when no statute speaks directly to a problem.
The Pieces of the Code
The Louisiana Civil Code governs private law: contracts, property, family relationships, and inheritance. It was originally enacted in 1825 and still reflects the influence of the Napoleonic Code and earlier Spanish principles.
Criminal offenses and their penalties live in Title 14 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes – Title 14 – Criminal Law The Revised Statutes also contain dozens of other titles covering subjects from drug control to education, each divided into chapters and numbered sections.
Two separate procedural codes handle how cases move through court: the Code of Civil Procedure for lawsuits and the Code of Criminal Procedure for criminal prosecutions. These do not define rights or offenses; they set the rules of the road.
The Louisiana Administrative Code compiles the regulations adopted by state agencies, which carry the force of law and fill in operational details the statutes leave open.2Louisiana Division of Administration. Louisiana Administrative Code
Civil Code Rules That Catch People Off Guard
Community Property in Marriage
Louisiana is a community property state. Under Civil Code Article 2338, property acquired during a marriage through the work or effort of either spouse belongs to both spouses jointly. Wages, business income, and anything purchased with community funds all count. Property one spouse owned before the marriage, or received as a separate gift or inheritance, stays separate.3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 2338 – Community Property
Forced Heirship
Louisiana enforces a rule virtually unknown in the rest of the country: certain children cannot be completely disinherited. Under Civil Code Article 1493, forced heirs include children age 23 or younger when the parent dies, and children of any age who are permanently unable to care for themselves because of mental incapacity or physical disability.4Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1493 – Forced Heirs
The forced portion depends on how many forced heirs survive the parent. One forced heir is entitled to at least one-quarter of the estate. Two or more forced heirs share at least one-half. What remains is the “disposable portion” the deceased could freely leave by will or donation.5Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 1495 – Amount of Forced Portion
When someone dies without a will, Civil Code Article 880 sends the estate first to descendants, then to ascendants and other blood relatives, and to the surviving spouse if the couple was not judicially separated.6Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 880 – Intestate Succession
Comparative Fault in Injury Claims
For personal injury claims, Civil Code Article 2323 directs courts to assign each person a percentage of fault for what happened. Your damages are reduced by your share. There is a hard cutoff: a plaintiff found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing.7Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 2323 – Comparative Fault
Criminal Law Under Title 14
First-Degree Murder
Louisiana’s first-degree murder statute covers killings committed under specific aggravating circumstances: murders during certain violent felonies like armed robbery or aggravated kidnapping, murders of law enforcement officers or firefighters, murders of children under 12 or adults 65 and older, contract killings, and murders of witnesses to prevent testimony. If the district attorney seeks a capital verdict, the punishment is death or life in prison without parole.8Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:30 – First Degree Murder
Habitual Offender Sentences
Louisiana’s habitual offender law (R.S. 15:529.1) increases sentences sharply for repeat felony convictions. A second felony can double the maximum sentence, and a third can push it higher still. A third felony conviction where all three are for violent crimes or sex offenses carries life without parole. The enhancements apply whether the prior convictions came from Louisiana or another state.
Drug Penalties
Penalties for controlled substance offenses depend on the schedule of the drug and whether the charge is possession or distribution. Distributing a Schedule I narcotic like heroin can bring 10 to 50 years of hard labor on a first offense, while simple possession of a Schedule I narcotic carries 4 to 10 years. Marijuana distribution is treated separately from other Schedule I substances, with 5 to 30 years on a first offense.9Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 40:966 – Penalty for Distribution or Possession With Intent to Distribute
The 85 Percent Rule
Starting in 2024, Louisiana tightened the rules on good-time credit. Inmates convicted of felonies can now earn a reduction of no more than 15 percent of their sentence, meaning at least 85 percent must actually be served. The rule applies to both violent and non-violent offenses, and people convicted of sex offenses or sentenced as habitual offenders cannot earn any good-time credit at all.10Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 15:571.3.1
Procedural Rules Worth Knowing
Executory Process in Foreclosure
Under Article 2631 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a lender can seize and sell mortgaged property without first going through a full trial, as long as the mortgage was executed as an authentic act, meaning a document signed before a notary and witnesses that includes a confession of judgment. It is one of the fastest foreclosure mechanisms in the country.11Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 2631 – Use of Executory Proceedings
Bail Restrictions
Code of Criminal Procedure Article 312 limits bail for violent crimes and serious drug offenses. A person charged with one of these offenses who previously failed to appear in court and had a warrant issued is generally not eligible to be released on the original bond. After conviction of a capital offense, bail is prohibited outright.12Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 312 – Right to Bail Before and After Conviction
Unanimous Jury Verdicts
For decades Louisiana allowed felony convictions on a 10-2 jury vote. A 2018 constitutional amendment requires unanimous verdicts for all crimes committed on or after January 1, 2019. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Ramos v. Louisiana later held that the Sixth Amendment requires unanimity in all state criminal trials, though Louisiana still applies the old rule to some pre-2019 cases on direct review.13Supreme Court of the United States. Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. 83 (2020)
Deadlines: Prescription and Peremption
Louisiana uses the term “prescription” where most states say “statute of limitations.” For personal injury and other tort claims, the prescriptive period is two years from the date of injury, updated by a 2024 law effective July 1, 2024.14Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 3493.1 – Delictual Actions Contract claims carry a much longer prescriptive period of 10 years.
Peremption is the stricter cousin. Where prescription can be paused when a person is a minor or when the defendant acknowledges the debt, peremption runs continuously and cannot be interrupted or suspended for any reason. It extinguishes the right itself, not just the remedy. Some of Louisiana’s most consequential deadlines are peremptive rather than prescriptive, and mistaking one for the other can forfeit a claim entirely.
How Courts Read the Code
The rules for interpreting Louisiana statutes are written into the Civil Code itself. Under Article 9, when a law is clear and applying it does not produce absurd results, courts must apply the text as written and cannot look beyond it for legislative intent.15Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 9 – Clear and Unambiguous Law
When the language can reasonably support more than one reading, Article 10 directs courts to choose the interpretation that best conforms to the purpose of the law.16Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 10 – Language Susceptible of Different Meanings
When no statute or established custom addresses a dispute at all, Article 4 requires the court to decide according to equity, drawing on justice, reason, and prevailing usages.17Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 4 – Absence of Legislation or Custom
Louisiana courts do not follow the strict stare decisis doctrine used in common law states. They do recognize a related concept called jurisprudence constante: a long and consistent line of decisions applying the same rule carries significant persuasive weight, even though no single prior case is technically binding. In practice, Louisiana courts treat well-established jurisprudence constante much like binding precedent, departing from it only with good reason.
Where to Read the Code Yourself
The most authoritative free source is the Louisiana State Legislature’s website at legis.la.gov, which hosts the full text of the Revised Statutes, the Civil Code, both procedural codes, and the Louisiana Constitution. Search tools let you look up provisions by keyword, title number, or specific citation, and the site is updated as new legislation takes effect.
The Louisiana Administrative Code is published separately through the Division of Administration’s website, where agency rules are organized by title and subject area.2Louisiana Division of Administration. Louisiana Administrative Code
Justia Law also hosts a free, searchable version of Louisiana’s codes and is useful for reading historical versions of statutes. For deeper research, subscription databases like Westlaw and LexisNexis provide annotated statutes with cross-references to the court decisions interpreting each provision. Parish law libraries, particularly those in courthouses, remain a reliable option for accessing statutes and opinions in person, and LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center maintains a publicly accessible legal research collection as well.