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La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3204 (2026)

Service of process

✓ current as of May 2026
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§3204.  Service of process

A.  In a suit under R.S. 13:3201, a certified copy of the citation or the notice in a divorce under Civil Code Article 102 and of the petition or a certified copy of a contradictory motion, rule to show cause, or other pleading filed by the plaintiff in a summary proceeding under Code of Civil Procedure Article 2592 shall be sent by counsel for the plaintiff, or by the plaintiff if not represented by counsel, to the defendant by registered or certified mail, or actually delivered to the defendant by commercial courier, when the person to be served is located outside of this state or by an individual designated by the court in which the suit is filed, or by one authorized by the law of the place where the service is made to serve the process of any of its courts of general, limited, or small claims jurisdiction.

B.  If service of process cannot be made on the nonresident by registered or certified mail or by actual delivery, the court shall order that service of process be made on an attorney at law appointed to represent the defendant pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Article 5091.

C.  Service of process so made has the same legal force and validity as personal service on the defendant in this state.

D.  For purposes of this Section, a "commercial courier" is any foreign or domestic business entity having as its primary purpose the delivery of letters and parcels of any type, and which:

(1)  Acquires a signed receipt from the addressee, or the addressee's agent, of the letter or parcel upon completion of delivery.

(2)  Has no direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the matter to which the letter or parcel concerns.

Added by Acts 1964, No. 47, §3.  Acts 1989, No. 120, §1; Acts 1992, No. 787, §1; Acts 1995, No. 205, §1; Acts 1995, No. 331, §1; Acts 1995, No. 943, §1; Acts 1999, No. 395, §2; Acts 2003, No. 619, §1.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 153 cases (31 in the last 5 years), 1969–2026 · leading case: Mooring Fin. Corp. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan v. Mitchell, 15 So. 3d 311 (La. Ct. App. 2009).
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Mooring Fin. Corp. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan v. Mitchell, 15 So. 3d 311 (La. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 8× “R.S. 13:3204 [2] (the Louisiana Long Arm Statute) via certified mail addressed to Mortgage Electronic at a post office box in Flint, Michigan.”
McFarland v. Dippel, 756 So. 2d 618 (La. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 9× “R.S. 13:3204, which sets forth the mandatory service of process requirements in a suit brought pursuant to the long-arm statute, La.”
Clay v. Clay, 389 So. 2d 31 (La. 1980). · cites it 4× “1975), "The word shall in R.S. 13:3204 setting forth the methods of service, means that the provisions of this section are mandatory.”
Anderson v. Norfolk S. R. Co., 814 So. 2d 659 (La. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 4× “R.S. 13:3204 A, it is the plaintiff's responsibility to mail, by certified or registered mail, the citation and petition to the defendant.”
Barrie v. City of New Orleans, 248 So. 3d 483 (La. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 5× “"To allow a defendant to defeat service of process by refusing to claim a certified letter at the post office would *488 make a mockery of R.S. 13:3204 and render it completely ineffective.”
Thomas Organ Co. v. Universal Music Co., 261 So. 2d 323 (La. Ct. App. 1972). · cites it 5× “The evidence shows that an envelope containing the petition and the amended petition were received and the receipt signed by a member of Dunnam's family at his domiciliary establishment, he being absent from the state at the time, all of which defendant Dunnam fully admits, but…”
Boykin v. Lindenkranar, 252 So. 2d 467 (La. Ct. App. 1971). · cites it 6× “R.S. 13:3204 provides that a certified copy of citation and petition "shall be sent by counsel for the plaintiff to the defendant by registered or certified mail, or actually delivered to the defendant * * *.”
Bickford v. Lutz, 339 So. 2d 1268 (La. Ct. App. 1976). · cites it 3× “R.S. 13:3204, et seq. (Louisiana's Long-Arm Statute).”
Corte v. Cash Tech., Inc., 843 So. 2d 1162 (La. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 2× “R.S. 13:3204 A sets forth the mandatory manner in which service of process must be made under the Long Arm Statute: A certified copy of the citation and of the petition in a suit under R.”
Howard Ave. Realty Corp. v. McIntosh, 352 So. 2d 348 (La. Ct. App. 1978). · cites it 3× “As required in LSA-R.S. 13:3204, a copy of the petition was sent to the non-resident defendant by certified mail.”
Tatum v. Ridgeway Props., 348 So. 2d 1323 (La. Ct. App. 1977). · cites it 6× “LSA-R.S. 13:3204 and 3205, being parts of the Long Arm Statute which are applicable here, provide: "§ 3204.”
Mayeux v. Hughes, 333 So. 2d 273 (La. Ct. App. 1976). · cites it 4× “Thereafter, on September 16, 1975, the plaintiff filed suit in Lafourche Parish and attempted to serve the defendant under the provisions of LSA-R.S. 13:3204, which provides that if a certified copy of the citation and the petition in a suit under LSA-R.”
Show all 153 citing cases →
La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3204(A): 23 cases
Punctual Abstract Co. v. U.S. Land Title, 28 So. 3d 459 (La. Ct. App. 2009).
Barrie v. City of New Orleans, 248 So. 3d 483 (La. Ct. App. 2018). “"To allow a defendant to defeat service of process by refusing to claim a certified letter at the post office would *488 make a mockery of R.S. 13:3204 and render it completely ineffective.”
Donnelly v. Quatroy, 866 So. 2d 917 (La. Ct. App. 2004).
Grevemberg v. G.P.A. Strategic Forecasting Grp., Inc., 959 So. 2d 914 (La. Ct. App. 2007).
Dukov v. 701 Corp., 668 So. 2d 379 (La. Ct. App. 1996).
La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3204(B): 7 cases
Barrie v. City of New Orleans, 248 So. 3d 483 (La. Ct. App. 2018). “"To allow a defendant to defeat service of process by refusing to claim a certified letter at the post office would *488 make a mockery of R.S. 13:3204 and render it completely ineffective.”
Adair Asset Mgmt., LLC/US Bank v. Honey Bear Lodge, Inc., 138 So. 3d 6 (La. Ct. App. 2014).
Osborne v. McKenzie, 962 So. 2d 501 (La. Ct. App. 2007).
Rando v. Rando, 722 So. 2d 1165 (La. Ct. App. 1998).
Moffett v. Moffett, 911 So. 2d 928 (La. Ct. App. 2005).
La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3204(C): 4 cases
HTS, INC. v. Seahawk Oil & Gas, Inc., 889 So. 2d 442 (La. Ct. App. 2004).
Barrie v. City of New Orleans, 248 So. 3d 483 (La. Ct. App. 2018). “"To allow a defendant to defeat service of process by refusing to claim a certified letter at the post office would *488 make a mockery of R.S. 13:3204 and render it completely ineffective.”
Smith v. Ports Am. Louisiana, LLC (E.D. La. 2021).
Holly Leigh Wood & Matthew W. Wood, Co-Executors of the Succession of Jerry W. Wood v. Joe M. Hackler, 276 So. 3d 1136 (La. Ct. App. 2019).
La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3204(D): 8 cases
Swinea v. Humana Inc., 215 So. 3d 897 (La. Ct. App. 2017).
Graham v. Crawford, 176 So. 3d 1148 (La. Ct. App. 2015).
Louisiana State Bd. of Ethics v. Murray, 968 So. 2d 1076 (La. Ct. App. 2007).
State v. Titus, 274 So. 3d 591 (La. Ct. App. 2019).
Dnc v. Katie Hobbs (9th Cir. 2020).
La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3204(D)(1): 1 case
Walker v. Dupart (E.D. La. 2021).
La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3204(a): 2 cases
Hardy v. Dowe Co., 674 So. 2d 452 (La. Ct. App. 1996).
James v. Nat'l Cont'l Ins. Co. (M.D. La. 2024).
La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3204(e): 1 case
Booker v. Reyes (M.D. La. 2021).
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