SB 475 Louisiana Senate · 2026 Regular Session

CIVIL PROCEDURE: Provides relative to fees for service of process. (8/1/26)

This bill updates Louisiana civil procedure rules to clarify how courts handle fees for serving legal documents, specifically citations, to defendants. It requires court clerks to send filing parties a confirmation of their request along with a statement of initial fees, and any additional fees must be paid within a specified timeframe to keep the case active. The law also states that a case will not be automatically dismissed for lack of service if the required fees were paid on time, even if the actual delivery of the document was delayed or incorrect. These changes apply only to lawsuits filed after the bill takes effect and do not affect individuals who are allowed to sue without paying court costs.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Mar 31, 2026 Signed Apr 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB475 Original → SB475 Act 36 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the rules for paying court fees related to serving legal documents (service of citation). It clarifies that requests are timely if fees are paid within 90 days of the request, even if the initial service attempt was flawed. It also establishes a specific 90-day window for paying additional fees if they arise later, extending the deadline to 30 days after receiving a notice of those extra fees.

Scope change

The bill applies to all civil actions requiring service of citation, but explicitly excludes litigants who are allowed to proceed without paying court costs.

REQUIREMENT

Added a 90-day payment window for initial service fees to ensure requests are considered timely, even if the service itself was initially insufficient or erroneous.

Established a secondary deadline for paying additional fees: 90 days from the request or 30 days from receiving a notice of additional fees, whichever is longer.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified that the new fee payment rules do not apply to litigants permitted to litigate without paying costs.

TECHNICAL

Removed the original bill title and summary digest, replacing them with standard enrolled act formatting and signatures.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 13, 2026 · House Apr 28, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

Apr 13, 2026

D Democratic12

12 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican28

27 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 94, nays 0. Finally passed, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Introduced

Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments.

lower

Apr 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (6-0). Referred to the Legislative Bureau.

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.

lower

Apr 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read by title, passed by a vote of 38 yeas and 0 nays, and sent to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

Apr 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

Rules suspended. Reported favorably.

upper

Mar 31, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate. Read by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors