Adverse Possession in Louisiana: Acquisitive Prescription at Ten or Thirty Years
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Louisiana · Last updated October 5, 2026
Louisiana does not have adverse possession, and treating it as though it does gets the law wrong from the first step. The Civil Code institution that does the same job is acquisitive prescription, a mode of acquiring ownership or other real rights by possession for a period of time (La. Civ. Code art. 3446), under which a person who possesses land belonging to someone else becomes its owner once the Code's requirements have been met for the full period. Louisiana then runs two periods rather than one. Ownership of immovables may be acquired by the prescription of thirty years without the need of just title or possession in good faith (art. 3486), or by the prescription of ten years (art. 3473) where the possessor satisfies all four requisites: possession of ten years, good faith, just title, and a thing susceptible of acquisition by prescription (art. 3475). Good faith, which many states ignore entirely, is what cuts the period by two thirds. A possessor is in good faith when he reasonably believes, in light of objective considerations, that he is owner of the thing he possesses (art. 3480). A just title must be written, valid in form, and filed for registry in the conveyance records of the parish where the immovable sits (art. 3483). Possession itself must be continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal (art. 3476). Nothing in the chapter asks the possessor to pay taxes. Ownership is recognised through a petitory action, where the plaintiff may prove acquisition by acquisitive prescription (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3653). Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
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How long does acquisitive prescription take in Louisiana?
Thirty years, or ten in one situation. Ownership and other real rights in immovables may be acquired by the prescription of thirty years without the need of just title or possession in good faith (La. Civ. Code art. 3486), or by the prescription of ten years where good faith and just title are both present (arts. 3473 and 3475).
Do you have to pay the property taxes to acquire Louisiana land by prescription?
No. The Civil Code states the requisites as a closed list and tax payment is not on it. For ten years they are possession of ten years, good faith, just title, and a thing susceptible of acquisition by prescription (art. 3475). The thirty year prescription adds no condition beyond the period and the possession itself (art. 3486).
Which written act counts as a just title in Louisiana?
A just title is a juridical act, such as a sale, exchange, or donation, sufficient to transfer ownership or another real right, and the act must be written, valid in form, and filed for registry in the conveyance records of the parish in which the immovable is situated (La. Civ. Code art. 3483).
Can land owned by the State of Louisiana be acquired by prescription?
Not state, school board or levee district land. Lands and mineral interests of the state, of a school board, or of a levee district shall not be lost by prescription except as authorised in Paragraph C (La. Const. art. IX, Sec. 4(B)). Prescription also shall not run against the state in any civil matter unless otherwise provided.
Louisiana acquisitive prescription at a glance
Acquiring land by long possession means becoming the legal owner of ground belonging to someone else once every legal requirement has been met for the full period. Louisiana is the only civil law state, so it reaches that result through acquisitive prescription under the Civil Code rather than common law adverse possession, and the two do not map cleanly. There is no hostility requisite and no open and notorious requisite. The Code asks instead for corporeal possession that is continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal (art. 3476), for thirty years (art. 3486), or for ten where the possessor also has good faith and a just title filed for registry in the parish conveyance records (arts. 3475 and 3483). Prescription does not run at all in favour of a precarious possessor (art. 3477), and taxes are never a requisite.
An act of sale in Iberville Parish that was signed but never filed
Consider a cane field headland bought in 2013 from a neighbour who believed he owned it. The buyer has farmed it openly ever since, and on good faith the Code looks satisfied, since he reasonably believed in light of objective considerations that he was owner (La. Civ. Code art. 3480). Then the parish conveyance records come back and the act of sale was never filed for registry. Article 3483 requires a just title to be written, valid in form, and filed for registry in the conveyance records of the parish where the immovable is situated. Without that filing the ten year route in art. 3475 has a missing requisite, and the only period left is the thirty years of art. 3486. Whether these facts satisfy the Code is a question for the district court.
Relevant Laws
La. Civ. Code art. 3486 (thirty year prescription of immovables)
Provides that ownership and other real rights in immovables may be acquired by the prescription of thirty years without the need of just title or possession in good faith. This is the route open to a possessor who holds no deed.
La. Civ. Code arts. 3473 and 3475 (ten year prescription and its requisites)
Article 3473 provides that ownership and other real rights in immovables may be acquired by the prescription of ten years. Article 3475 states the requisites for that prescription as possession of ten years, good faith, just title, and a thing susceptible of acquisition by prescription.
La. Civ. Code art. 3476 (attributes of possession)
Requires the possessor to have corporeal possession, or civil possession preceded by corporeal possession, to acquire a thing by prescription, and requires that the possession be continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal.
La. Civ. Code arts. 3480 to 3482 (good faith)
Article 3480 defines good faith as reasonably believing, in light of objective considerations, that one is owner of the thing possessed. Article 3481 presumes good faith, states that neither error of fact nor error of law defeats the presumption, and allows rebuttal on proof the possessor knows or should know he is not owner. Article 3482 provides that commencement in good faith suffices and later bad faith does not prevent accrual of the ten year prescription.
La. Civ. Code arts. 3483 and 3484 (just title)
Article 3483 defines a just title as a juridical act, such as a sale, exchange, or donation, sufficient to transfer ownership or another real right, and requires the act to be written, valid in form, and filed for registry in the conveyance records of the parish in which the immovable is situated. Article 3484 limits a just title to an undivided interest to that interest only.
La. Civ. Code arts. 3477 to 3479 (precarious possessors)
Article 3477 provides that acquisitive prescription does not run in favour of a precarious possessor or his universal successor. Article 3478 sets when a co-owner or other precarious possessor may commence to prescribe. Article 3479 provides that a particular successor taking under an act translative of ownership possesses for himself from the commencement of his possession.
La. Civ. Code arts. 3485 to 3488 (scope, extent and shared rules)
Article 3485 provides that all private things are susceptible of prescription unless prescription is excluded by legislation. Article 3487 provides that for acquisitive prescription without title, possession extends only to that which has been actually possessed. Article 3488 applies the ten year rules to the thirty year prescription so far as compatible.
La. Civ. Code arts. 3464 to 3466 (interruption)
Article 3465 provides that acquisitive prescription is interrupted when possession is lost, and that the interruption is considered never to have occurred if the possessor recovers possession within one year or later by an action brought within the year. Article 3466 provides that interrupted time is not counted and prescription runs anew from the last day of interruption. Article 3464 covers interruption by acknowledgment.
La. Civ. Code arts. 792 and 794 (fixing a boundary by prescription)
Article 794 provides that when a party proves acquisitive prescription the boundary is fixed according to limits established by prescription rather than titles, and that thirty years of uninterrupted possession within visible bounds of more land than the title called for fixes the boundary along those bounds. Article 792 fixes the boundary by possession where neither party proves ownership.
La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 3651 to 3655 (petitory and possessory actions)
Article 3651 defines the petitory action. Article 3652 sets parties and venue. Article 3653 requires the plaintiff to prove acquisition of ownership from a previous owner or by acquisitive prescription, or a better title than the defendant in all other cases. Article 3654 covers proof of title in a declaratory judgment or similar proceeding, and art. 3655 defines the possessory action.
La. Const. art. IX, Sec. 4 (prescription against public land)
Paragraph B provides that lands and mineral interests of the state, of a school board, or of a levee district shall not be lost by prescription except as authorised in Paragraph C. Paragraph C is the named Terrebonne Parish exception for lands near Bayou Dularge affected by an error in the original governmental survey completed around 1838.
La. Const. art. XII, Sec. 13 (prescription against the state)
Provides that prescription shall not run against the state in any civil matter, unless otherwise provided in the constitution or expressly by law.
Regional Variances
Louisiana acquisitive prescription rules at a glance
Name of the doctrine
Acquisitive prescription, not adverse possession. The Civil Code defines it as a mode of acquiring ownership or other real rights by possession for a period of time (art. 3446). The common law element names do not appear in the Code.
Statutory period
Two periods. Thirty years without the need of just title or possession in good faith (art. 3486), or ten years where the possessor has good faith and just title (arts. 3473 and 3475).
Property taxes
Irrelevant. Article 3475 states the ten year requisites as a closed list of four and tax payment is not among them, and art. 3486 adds no condition to the thirty year prescription beyond the period and the possession.
Possession required
Corporeal possession, or civil possession preceded by corporeal possession, that is continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal (art. 3476). There is no hostility requisite and no open and notorious requisite.
Good faith
Required for ten years only. Reasonably believing, in light of objective considerations, that you are owner of the thing possessed (art. 3480). Presumed and rebuttable (art. 3481). Commencement in good faith suffices and later bad faith does not prevent accrual (art. 3482).
Just title
Louisiana's nearest counterpart to colour of title, and the mapping is imperfect. It must be a written juridical act, valid in form, and filed for registry in the parish conveyance records (art. 3483). A signed but unfiled act does not meet that description.
Acreage cap
None. No article in the acquisitive prescription chapter mentions acres. Extent is limited instead: for prescription without title, possession extends only to that which has been actually possessed (art. 3487).
Boundary disputes
The boundary is fixed according to limits established by prescription rather than titles, and thirty years within visible bounds of more land than the title called for fixes the boundary along those bounds (art. 794).
Who cannot prescribe
A precarious possessor or his universal successor (art. 3477). A co-owner may commence only on overt and unambiguous acts giving notice of intent to possess for himself (art. 3478).
Public land
Lands and mineral interests of the state, of a school board, or of a levee district shall not be lost by prescription except as authorised in Paragraph C (La. Const. art. IX, Sec. 4(B)), and prescription shall not run against the state in any civil matter unless otherwise provided (art. XII, Sec. 13).
Perfecting ownership
A petitory action in district court, where the plaintiff must prove acquisition of ownership from a previous owner or by acquisitive prescription, or a better title than the defendant in all other cases (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3653). Venue follows art. 80(A)(1) (art. 3652).
Source verification status
Every citation on this page was checked against the Louisiana Legislature's own published article text and an independent codified republication, which agree. Because the legislature's live site could not be reached on the verification date, attorney review is available and a re-check against legis.la.gov is recommended.
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