What Are Louisiana Statutes and How Are They Organized?

The Louisiana Revised Statutes are the state’s codified body of enacted general law, organized into 56 numbered titles that each cover a subject area such as criminal law, taxation, motor vehicles, or environmental regulation. They sit alongside, but separate from, Louisiana’s Civil Code and its procedural codes, and they are maintained in a free searchable database by the Louisiana State Legislature at legis.la.gov.1Louisiana State Legislature. Home – Louisiana State Legislature

What the Revised Statutes Contain

The Revised Statutes handle Louisiana’s regulatory and public law: criminal offenses, licensing, taxation, environmental rules, government administration, and commercial regulation. Each title groups laws on a related subject. Not every number between 1 and 56 is in use; some are reserved, leaving gaps in the sequence. Within a title, content generally runs from definitions through specific rules and penalties, and chapters and sections subdivide the material.

A few titles show the range:

Louisiana has also adopted several uniform laws that most states share. The Uniform Commercial Code sits in Title 10 alongside other provisions on banks and financial institutions, adapted to fit Louisiana’s civil law framework, so the state’s version is not always identical to another state’s.6Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 10 – Commercial Laws When the legislature passes a new act, its provisions are incorporated into the appropriate title and section, keeping the codified text current.

How to Read a Citation

A typical Revised Statutes reference looks like La. R.S. 14:30. The three parts tell you exactly where to go. “La. R.S.” identifies the source as the Louisiana Revised Statutes. The number before the colon is the title; 14 is Criminal Law. The number after the colon is the section; Section 30 defines first-degree murder.2Justia. Louisiana Code RS 14-30 – First Degree Murder

When a citation adds a letter and number in parentheses, like La. R.S. 14:30(C)(1), it narrows the reference to a specific subsection. In that example, subsection C(1) addresses the penalty when the district attorney seeks a capital verdict. Precision at the subsection level matters, because one section can contain very different rules depending on which paragraph applies.

Where the Revised Statutes End and Other Codes Begin

The Revised Statutes are the largest body of Louisiana law, but they are not the only one. Louisiana maintains several separate codes, each with its own numbering. Searching the wrong one is one of the most common mistakes people make when looking up Louisiana law.

  • The Civil Code covers private law: obligations, contracts, property, marriage, divorce, and successions.
  • The Code of Civil Procedure governs how civil lawsuits move through the courts.
  • The Code of Criminal Procedure sets the rules for criminal prosecutions, from arrest through appeal.
  • The Code of Evidence establishes what evidence courts can consider and how it must be presented.
  • The Children’s Code is a self-contained body of law for juvenile justice, child welfare, adoption, and foster care, separate from both the Civil Code and the Revised Statutes.7Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Laws Table of Contents

Citations to these other codes use different abbreviations. A Civil Code article appears as La. C.C. art. 2315, a Code of Criminal Procedure article as La. C.Cr.P. art. 782, and a Children’s Code article as La. Ch.C. art. 302. A reference to “C.C. art. 2315” points to the Civil Code, not the Revised Statutes, even though the same legislature enacts both. If you’re researching a custody question, you may need to know whether the governing law sits in the Civil Code, the Children’s Code, or both.

Why Louisiana’s Civil Law Tradition Matters When You Read a Statute

Louisiana is the only state whose legal system grew out of French and Spanish colonial law rather than English common law. Its private law was codified in 1808 through the Digest of the Civil Laws, drawing on both traditions. The practical consequence for anyone reading a Louisiana statute today is that the written text comes first. When a Louisiana judge hears a case, the starting point is the relevant statute or code provision, not a prior court ruling. Even when a higher court interprets a statute, that interpretation carries persuasive weight rather than the kind of binding precedent you would find in a common law state. The actual language of the statute does more work here than in most of the country, which is a reason to read the text carefully and to pay attention to subsections and definitions.

Finding and Confirming the Current Text

The Louisiana State Legislature’s site at legis.la.gov hosts a free, searchable database of all enacted law.1Louisiana State Legislature. Home – Louisiana State Legislature You can browse the Revised Statutes by title or search by keyword. Before searching, select which body of law you want: the Constitution, the Revised Statutes, the Civil Code, the Children’s Code, or one of the procedural codes. Choosing the wrong database returns irrelevant results.

Justia also publishes the full text of the Revised Statutes and the separate codes, organized by title and section, which some researchers find easier to navigate.8Justia. 2025 Louisiana Laws – Revised Statutes Whatever source you use, check the publication date or session year to confirm you’re reading the current version. The legislature amends statutes every session, and an outdated version can give you the wrong answer.

For questions that cross multiple codes, or that require tracing how a statute has changed over successive sessions, the Law Library of Louisiana offers collections and staff assistance that go beyond keyword searching. That kind of help is useful when a question touches both the Civil Code and the Revised Statutes, or when the history of a provision matters as much as its current wording.