What is a motion for contempt called in Louisiana?

A Rule for Contempt, a rule to show cause why the other parent should not be adjudged guilty of constructive contempt for wilful disobedience of a family court order, filed under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Articles 224(2) and 225(A) in the same case, under the same docket number, that produced the order.

Can the other parent go to jail for contempt in Louisiana?

The court alone decides whether contempt occurred and what sanction, if any, follows; it is never automatic and never the filer's choice. A private party's general Rule for Contempt is capped at a $500 fine or 3 months imprisonment, or both, with probation of up to 2 years available for support, custody, or visitation contempt, while the Department of Children and Family Services' own child support track caps jail at 90 days and a $500 fine.

What if I cannot afford to pay the child support I owe in Louisiana?

Contempt requires wilful disobedience of the order, and an obligor can defend by proving incarceration during the period of nonpayment. On the Department of Children and Family Services' child support track, the court must expressly find the obligor had the capacity to pay, or could have obtained it through diligence, before holding the obligor in contempt, and must consider present ability to comply before sentencing.

Isn't it okay to withhold child support in Louisiana because the other parent denied parenting time, or the reverse?

No. Withholding child support because parenting time was denied, or withholding parenting time because support is unpaid, is not a lawful response and can itself be treated as contempt of the underlying order. File a Rule for Contempt instead.

Is there another way to enforce a Louisiana child support order besides filing a Rule for Contempt myself?

Yes. The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services Child Support Enforcement program can pursue income withholding and run its own contempt track without a private motion, and treats contempt as a last resort rather than a first step.

Louisiana Motion for Contempt

Q: Is there an official Louisiana form for a Rule for Contempt?

No mandatory statewide form exists. The Louisiana Access to Justice Commission publishes a non-mandatory Self-Represented Litigant Rule for Contempt packet for parishes without their own local form, and courts may accept, require, or decline it. Check with the clerk of the court that issued your order for any local form.

Louisiana lets the sheriff, or after five days any adult non-party Louisiana resident with a notarized return, serve the rule by leaving the papers at the other parent's home instead of handing them over in person.

Find out where you stand in Louisiana

What court order is not being followed?

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Introduction

In Louisiana, the pleading used to enforce a family court order is called a Rule for Contempt, a rule to show cause why the other parent or former spouse should not be adjudged guilty of constructive contempt for wilful disobedience of a lawful judgment or order, filed under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Articles 224(2) and 225(A) in the same family case, under the same docket number, that produced the order. Louisiana has no mandatory or official statewide contempt form. The Louisiana Access to Justice Commission publishes a non-mandatory statewide Self-Represented Litigant Rule for Contempt packet for parishes without their own local form, but courts may accept, require, or decline it, and many district and family courts, including the specialized family courts in parishes such as East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Caddo, and St. Tammany, set their own local rules and forms, so check with the clerk of the court that issued your order before filing. The rule to show cause must state the facts alleged to constitute the contempt; in practice, it also identifies the order violated and each act of disobedience. Service works like service of a subpoena, in the same manner as a citation: a certified copy of the motion and the rule to show cause must be served on the person charged with contempt by personal or domiciliary service, not personal service only, ordinarily by the sheriff, or by any adult non-party Louisiana resident with a notarized return if the sheriff has not completed service within 5 days, and that service must reach the other parent at least 48 hours before the hearing. Louisiana runs two separate statutory tracks with different caps. A private party's general Rule for Contempt is capped by La. R.S. 13:4611 at a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment of not more than 3 months, or both, with probation of up to 2 years available for support, custody, or visitation contempt; the court may also award discretionary attorney fees to the prevailing party and, for a denied period of custody or visitation, order make-up parenting days, attendance at a parent education course or counseling, and payment by the violating parent of the other party's costs and attorney fees. If the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services Child Support Enforcement program is the moving party instead, its own track under La. R.S. 46:236.6 caps jail at 90 days and a $500 fine, requires the court to find the obligor had the ability to pay or could have obtained it through diligence, and lets an obligor purge the contempt and be released from jail by paying the full arrearage. The court alone decides whether contempt occurred and what sanction, if any, follows; a finding of contempt and jail are never automatic, and jail is not something the filer gets to choose. Contempt requires wilful disobedience, and an accused obligor can defend by proving incarceration during the period of nonpayment. Do not withhold child support because the other parent denied parenting time, and do not withhold parenting time because support is unpaid; either can itself be treated as contempt of the underlying order. This motion does not modify the underlying support or custody order; use DocDraft's child support modification and parenting plan pages to request a change, and if there is domestic violence or a safety risk, use DocDraft's getting a restraining order guide instead of confronting the other parent directly. DCFS Child Support Enforcement can also pursue income withholding and its own contempt track without a private motion, and treats contempt as a last resort. Attorney review is available before you file.

Key Things to Know

1
Louisiana calls this a Rule for Contempt, asking the court to hold someone in constructive contempt for wilful disobedience of a family court order, filed under Code of Civil Procedure Articles 224(2) and 225(A) in the same case as the underlying order. There is no mandatory statewide form; the Access to Justice Commission's Self-Represented Litigant Rule for Contempt packet is non-mandatory, and courts may accept, require, or decline it, so check local parish rules first.
2
Service works like service of a subpoena, in the same manner as a citation: personal or domiciliary service, not personal service only, ordinarily made by the sheriff or, if the sheriff has not served within 5 days, by any adult non-party Louisiana resident with a notarized return. The rule to show cause must reach the other parent at least 48 hours before the hearing, a far shorter window than a notice period measured in days or weeks.
3
Louisiana runs two contempt tracks with different caps. A private party's general Rule for Contempt under La. R.S. 13:4611 is capped at a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment of not more than 3 months, or both, with probation of up to 2 years available for support, custody, or visitation contempt; the Department of Children and Family Services' own child support track under La. R.S. 46:236.6 instead caps jail at 90 days and a $500 fine.
4
Contempt requires wilful disobedience of the order, and an obligor can defend a support contempt motion by proving incarceration during the period of nonpayment. On the DCFS track, the court must expressly find the obligor had the capacity to pay, or could have obtained it through diligence, before holding the obligor in contempt, and must consider present ability to comply before sentencing.
5
Do not withhold child support because the other parent denied parenting time, and do not withhold parenting time because support is unpaid; either one can itself be treated as contempt of the underlying order.
6
For a denied period of custody or visitation, the court may order make-up parenting days, attendance at a parent education course or counseling, and payment by the violating parent of the other party's costs and attorney fees; in any Rule for Contempt, the court may also award discretionary attorney fees to the prevailing party.
7
The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services Child Support Enforcement program can pursue income withholding and its own contempt track without a private motion, and treats contempt as a last resort. The court, not the filer, decides whether contempt occurred and what sanction follows; this motion does not modify the underlying support or custody order, and a safety risk should go through DocDraft's getting a restraining order guide instead.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Motion for Contempt in Louisiana, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Motion for Contempt guide walks through them.

Open the Motion for Contempt guide

Customize your Motion for Contempt Template with DocDraft

NO. [DOCKET NUMBER] DIVISION [DIVISION LETTER]

[PETITIONER NAME]

VERSUS

[RESPONDENT NAME]

[COURT THAT ISSUED THE ORDER: [NUMBER] JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, OR THE PARISH FAMILY COURT OR JUVENILE COURT] PARISH OF [PARISH], STATE OF LOUISIANA

MOTION AND RULE FOR CONTEMPT

NOW INTO COURT, through undersigned, comes [MOVANT NAME], who respectfully represents:

On [DATE OF ORDER], this Court rendered [NAME OF JUDGMENT OR ORDER, SUCH AS A JUDGMENT OF DIVORCE OR A CONSENT CUSTODY AND SUPPORT ORDER] in this proceeding, ordering [RESPONDENT NAME] to [PROVISION VIOLATED, SUCH AS PAY A STATED MONTHLY AMOUNT OF CHILD SUPPORT OR ALLOW MOVANT'S PERIODS OF PHYSICAL CUSTODY].

[RESPONDENT NAME] had knowledge of this order and the ability to comply with it, and has wilfully disobeyed it as follows: [DATE OF EACH VIOLATION, WITH THE AMOUNT DUE AND THE AMOUNT PAID, OR THE DATE AND THE PERIOD OF CUSTODY OR VISITATION DENIED].

As of [DATE OF THIS MOTION], the total arrearage owed under the order is [DOLLAR AMOUNT], after credit for payments of [AMOUNT PAID TO DATE].

[RESPONDENT NAME]'s disobedience of this Court's order constitutes constructive contempt of court under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 224(2).

WHEREFORE, [MOVANT NAME] prays that:

a. a rule issue directing [RESPONDENT NAME] to show cause, on a date and time this Court sets, why [RESPONDENT NAME] should not be adjudged guilty of contempt of court for the violations described above;

b. after hearing, this Court find [RESPONDENT NAME] in contempt of court;

c. this Court impose whatever sanction, if any, it finds appropriate under law for any contempt found;

d. this Court award [MOVANT NAME], as the prevailing party, reasonable attorney fees;

e. for a denied period of custody or visitation, this Court order additional days to replace the time denied and order the violating parent to pay all court costs and reasonable attorney fees of [MOVANT NAME]; and

f. this Court grant [MOVANT NAME] all other relief the law and equity allow.

Respectfully submitted,

[SIGNATURE] [MOVANT NAME] [ADDRESS] [CITY, LOUISIANA ZIP] [PHONE] [EMAIL]

PLEASE SERVE:

[RESPONDENT NAME] [RESPONDENT ADDRESS]

by the Sheriff of the Parish of [PARISH], personally or domiciliary, at least 48 hours before the hearing on this rule.

Louisiana Requirements for Motion for Contempt

Rule for Contempt Filed in the Same Case
The pleading is a Rule for Contempt, a rule to show cause for constructive contempt under wilful disobedience of a lawful order, filed in the same family case and docket number that produced the order (La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 224(2), 225(A)).
No Mandatory Statewide Form
Louisiana has no mandatory or official statewide contempt form. The Access to Justice Commission's Self-Represented Litigant Rule for Contempt packet is non-mandatory, and courts may accept, require, or decline it; local district and family courts may set their own forms and rules.
Citation-Style Personal or Domiciliary Service
The motion and rule to show cause must be served on the person charged with contempt in the same manner as a subpoena, which is served the same way as a citation (La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 225(A), 1355(A)); Louisiana allows personal or domiciliary service, not personal service only, ordinarily by the sheriff.
Five-Day Sheriff Window Before Private Service
If the sheriff has not completed service within 5 days, any adult non-party Louisiana resident may instead serve the motion and rule to show cause, with a notarized return.
48-Hour Minimum Notice Before the Hearing
A certified copy of the motion and rule to show cause must be served on the person charged with contempt at least 48 hours before the time assigned for trial of the rule (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 225(A)).
Two Statutory Tracks With Different Penalty Caps
A private party's general Rule for Contempt is capped at a $500 fine or 3 months imprisonment, or both, with probation of up to 2 years available for support, custody, or visitation contempt (La. R.S. 13:4611(1)(d)(i), (3)); the Department of Children and Family Services' own child support track instead caps jail at 90 days and a $500 fine (La. R.S. 46:236.6(B)(1)).
DCFS Ability-to-Pay Findings and Purge Condition
On the Department of Children and Family Services' track, the court may find contempt only after finding the obligor had the ability to pay, or could have obtained it through diligence, and an obligor may purge the contempt and be released from jail by paying the full arrearage owed (La. R.S. 46:236.6(A)(4), (B)(3)).
Incarceration-Period Defense
It is a defense to a charge of contempt for failure to comply with a child support order that the obligor was incarcerated during the period of noncompliance, limited to the actual time incarcerated (La. R.S. 9:311.1).
Identify the Order, the Violations, and the Relief Requested
The rule to show cause must state the facts alleged to constitute the contempt (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 225(A)). In practice, following the Access to Justice Commission template, it also identifies the order violated, its date, and each act of disobedience.

Find out where you stand in Louisiana

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Motion for Contempt Template with DocDraft

Louisiana Requirements for Motion for Contempt

Rule for Contempt Filed in the Same Case

No Mandatory Statewide Form

Citation-Style Personal or Domiciliary Service

Five-Day Sheriff Window Before Private Service

48-Hour Minimum Notice Before the Hearing

Two Statutory Tracks With Different Penalty Caps

DCFS Ability-to-Pay Findings and Purge Condition

Incarceration-Period Defense

Identify the Order, the Violations, and the Relief Requested

Frequently Asked Questions