Louisiana Small Claims Filing Guide — File in the Right Court, the First Time

Two Courts, One Claim — and the Wrong Choice Waives Your Appeal

You are owed money and you want it back. Maybe a contractor took a deposit and disappeared. Maybe your landlord kept the security deposit past the 30-day deadline. Maybe a customer stopped paying invoices. The claim is under $5,000, and you have heard that small claims court is the way to handle it without a lawyer.

Then you start looking into it and discover that Louisiana is not like other states. There is no single "small claims court." There are City Court Small Claims Divisions — where filing is fast and cheap but your appeal rights are permanently waived — and Justice of the Peace Courts, where you keep the right to a de novo appeal but the process and fees differ. Pick the wrong one, and you either lose your ability to appeal a bad decision or pay more and wait longer than you needed to.

Free court forms exist. The clerks' offices publish them online. What the forms do not include is the sequence — which demand to send first and why it triggers statutory penalties, which court to choose based on your specific situation, how to serve someone who has moved or is dodging you, and how to organize your evidence for a judge who hears dozens of cases in a morning.

The Louisiana Dual-Track Filing System — Every Step in Order

This guide is built around Louisiana's unusual dual-court structure. Instead of leaving you to piece together fragments from court websites, legal aid pages, and Reddit threads, it puts the entire filing process in a single printable reference — from the first demand letter to the judge's decision.

It is not a form pack. It is not legal advice. It is a procedural roadmap that tells you what to file, where to file it, how to serve it, and what to bring to the hearing — with the Louisiana-specific statutory citations, prescription deadlines, and penalty triggers that national guides miss entirely.

What You Get

• Forum selection matrix — a side-by-side breakdown of City Court Small Claims Divisions vs. Justice of the Peace Courts covering filing fees, appeal rights, service methods, and attorney rules, so you make the choice that fits your case before you spend a dollar
• Demand letter framework — step-by-step templates for the mandatory pre-suit demand under La. R.S. 9:2781 (open accounts) and the 30-day trigger that unlocks double-deposit penalties under the Lessee's Deposit Act (La. R.S. 9:3252)
• Prescription deadline calculator — the three main filing windows (10-year written contracts, 3-year open accounts, 2-year tort and property damage) with exact statutory citations so you know whether your clock has run
• Filing forms and fees guide — which document each court requires, what to include in the petition, the current fee schedule, and how to request an In Forma Pauperis fee waiver
• Service of process tracker — how to serve via certified mail, City Marshal, or Parish Sheriff, with a printable log for tracking return receipts and proof of service
• Evidence binder worksheets — printable organizers for contracts, demand letters, bank statements, text messages, repair estimates, and photographs, structured for a courtroom presentation
• Four worked examples — contractor deposit recovery, security deposit claim, unpaid business invoice, and property damage dispute, each walked through from demand to hearing
• Free checklist — a one-page filing checklist covering the limit, prescription deadlines, forms, fees, and service steps for quick reference

Who This Is For

• A homeowner whose contractor took a deposit and never finished the work
• A tenant whose landlord has not returned the security deposit within the legal deadline
• A small landlord owed rent or property damage beyond the held deposit
• A sole trader or small business with an unpaid invoice under $5,000
• A buyer who was refused a refund for a defective product or vehicle
• Anyone in Louisiana with a money dispute under $5,000 who wants to handle it without hiring a lawyer

Why Not Just Google It?

You can find pieces of this information online — a filing fee here, a form there, a Reddit thread about someone's experience in Orleans Parish. What you will not find is a single resource that connects the pieces in order, with Louisiana-specific statutory citations, and accounts for the differences between the two court tracks.

National guides like Nolo's Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court are written for common-law states. They use terms like "statute of limitations" instead of Louisiana's "liberative prescription." They do not explain that choosing the City Court Small Claims Division waives your appeal rights. They do not cover the mandatory 30-day demand letter for open accounts or the double-deposit penalty trigger for security deposits. And they cost more than this guide while covering Louisiana in a single paragraph.

Legal tech subscription services generate documents on demand, but they charge a monthly fee and do not provide a printable procedural workflow you can review offline, annotate, and bring to the courthouse.

This guide costs less than most Louisiana City Court filing fees — and it is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. For the price of , you get a complete procedural reference you can use from the demand letter through the hearing.

What This Guide Does Not Do

This is an independent publication. It is not affiliated with any Louisiana court, government agency, or legal aid organization. It does not provide legal advice, evaluate the merits of your case, or predict whether you will win. It explains the procedure — clearly, in order, with the citations and tracking tools to help you follow it correctly.

If you are being sued and need to respond, see the Louisiana Small Claims Response Guide. If you already have a judgment and need to collect, see the Louisiana Judgment Collection Guide.

Full Refund, No Time Limit

If the guide is not what you expected, email [email protected] for a full refund. No time limit, no questions.