Louisiana Tax Clearance Certificate: How to Apply and When You Need One

A Louisiana tax clearance certificate is a signed confirmation from the Louisiana Department of Revenue that your tax returns and payments are current. You request one by making sure your account is in good standing, then contacting the Department by phone, email, or through its online portal. Which clearance you actually need depends on why you need it — the Department issues separate certificates for alcohol and tobacco permits, gaming and lottery licenses, state procurement contracts, driver’s license reinstatement, and other situations, each with its own rules.

How to Request a Clearance

If you’re a new business applying for an alcohol or tobacco permit, register first for a Louisiana Department of Revenue account number. Once you have an account, you can request the clearance by calling 225-219-2272 or emailing Tax.Clearance@la.gov, and the Department will mail it to the address on file.¹

Existing taxpayers can also pull a copy of a clearance through the Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point, or LaTAP, the Department’s online portal. LaTAP handles returns, payments, refund status, and clearance documents in one place.²

If someone else is handling the request for you, the Department needs a completed Power of Attorney form (Form R-7006) authorizing that representative to act on your account.³

Which Clearance You Actually Need

Louisiana doesn’t issue one all-purpose certificate. Each clearance is tied to a specific licensing situation, and the eligibility standards vary. The most common are:

ATC clearance for alcoholic beverage and tobacco permits.
Video poker clearance for video poker license applications and renewals.
Lottery clearance for new or renewed lottery retailer licenses.
Driver’s license clearance, needed when you owe more than $1,000 in final, non-appealable individual income tax.
Hunting and fishing clearance, needed when you owe more than $500 in final, non-appealable individual income tax.
Indian gaming and casino employment clearances for licensing through Louisiana State Police or for casino workers.

All of them require that you be current on the applicable returns and have no unpaid balances, but the specific thresholds and options differ by category.¹

Alcohol and Tobacco Permits

The ATC clearance is the one most Louisiana businesses deal with. State law requires a signed sales tax clearance from the Department of Revenue before the Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco Control will grant or renew a permit. The Department has seven business days to act on the request. If it doesn’t act within that window, and all other requirements are met, the permit must be issued.⁴

For renewals, the Department issues clearances automatically 60 days before a permit’s expiration date for dealers who don’t owe taxes. If yours hasn’t arrived within 30 days of expiration, call 225-219-2272 or email Tax.Clearance@la.gov.⁵

Once you hold a permit, keeping it depends on staying current. If you fall delinquent or miss an installment on a payment plan, the permit is revoked until the liability is paid. The Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco Control can also suspend or revoke a tobacco permit on its own under RS 26:916(H) when a permit holder fails to pay state taxes.¹

State Procurement Contracts and Resale Certificates

Under Louisiana Revised Statute 47:1678, any state procurement contract requiring central purchasing agency approval cannot be finalized unless the chief procurement officer receives a tax clearance from the Department showing you’re current on returns and payments. That covers capital construction, consulting and professional services, supplies and major repairs, medical equipment, and property leases.⁶

One point catches bidders off guard: you don’t need a clearance to bid on or solicit a contract. It’s only required for contract approval, so you can compete for the work first and resolve tax issues before closing. The statute also carves out emergency procurements and sole-source contracts.⁶

The same statute governs sales tax resale certificates. If your business uses one and has fallen behind, the state won’t issue or renew it until you’re current.

Driver’s License, Hunting, and Fishing

Individuals need clearances too. Louisiana can suspend your driver’s license if you have an outstanding individual income tax balance of $1,000 or more that is final and non-appealable. To get the clearance letter, pay the tax in full or enter a payment plan. If the assessment was estimated because you never filed, you also have to file the return for that period.⁷

The clearance itself is only step one. You still have to take the letter to the Office of Motor Vehicles and pay a reinstatement fee before your license is actually restored. You can pick up the clearance in person at any LDR office.⁷

Hunting and fishing licenses follow the same pattern at a lower threshold: $500 in final, non-appealable individual income tax. Pay in full or set up a payment plan, and the Department releases the hold.¹

What If You Owe Taxes

The Department won’t issue a clearance while an account is unresolved, but “resolved” is not always “paid in full.” For ATC, driver’s license, and hunting and fishing clearances, entering into a payment plan is enough. Casino employment clearances likewise recognize accepted payment schedules for back taxes.¹

That option matters for operators. If you owe $15,000 in sales tax, you don’t necessarily have to produce the whole amount before renewal; you need a formal arrangement with the Department, and you can set one up through LaTAP.

There’s a trap on the back end. Miss a payment on the plan after your clearance or permit is issued, and the permit is revoked until the full liability is paid. A broken payment plan is treated as seriously as a new delinquency.⁵

Video poker and lottery clearances are stricter. Those statutes require no delinquent taxes, penalties, or interest and don’t mention payment plans as an alternative. Items under formal appeal or protest are excluded from the calculation, so a disputed assessment won’t block your clearance while the appeal is pending.¹

Buying a Business

Buyers need to think about clearances too. Under Louisiana Revised Statute 47:337.21, if you purchase a business or its stock of goods and don’t withhold enough of the purchase price to cover any unpaid taxes, you become personally liable for the seller’s tax debts. The statute is direct: the buyer must hold back purchase money until the former owner produces either a receipt showing taxes are paid or a certificate stating nothing is owed.⁸

The seller has duties as well. On the sale or closure of a business, the seller must file a final return and pay within fifteen days. If the seller reopens a similar business under the same ownership afterward, they remain liable for any unpaid taxes from the original business.⁸

Practically, insist on a tax clearance certificate before closing on any Louisiana business acquisition. Contract language stating the seller retains liability will not override what the statute imposes on a buyer who fails to withhold funds.

Dissolving a Corporation

Corporate dissolution is not handled through a Department of Revenue clearance certificate the way permits are. For a long-form dissolution, you file the application with the Louisiana Secretary of State, who notifies the Department of Revenue, the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and in some cases the Department of Environmental Quality. Each agency reviews your account independently, notifies the Secretary of State if you’re clear, and the Secretary of State then issues the formal clearance and dissolves the charter.⁹

For the simpler dissolution by notarized affidavit, the affidavit must state that shareholders agreed to dissolve, that the corporation owes no outstanding debt, and that it doesn’t own immovable property. The Secretary of State does not issue a clearance in this scenario, so the responsibility falls on you to confirm your tax accounts are actually clean before signing.⁹

1
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Tax Clearances
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Louisiana Department of Revenue. Louisiana Department of Revenue – Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point (LaTAP)
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Louisiana Department of Revenue. Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
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Louisiana State Legislature. ACT No. 382 – Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:78, 26:278
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Louisiana Department of Revenue. How Do I Obtain the Tax Clearance Required to Obtain an Alcoholic Beverage or Tobacco Permit
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Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1678 – Tax Clearances; Resale Certificates; Certain Procurement Contracts
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Louisiana Department of Revenue. Driver’s License Suspension Due to Nonpayment of Taxes
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Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:337.21 – Termination or Transfer
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Louisiana Department of Revenue. How Does a Louisiana Corporation Dissolve Its Charter