Dealing With Debt Collectors in Louisiana (2026)
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Louisiana · Last updated August 13, 2026
Louisiana is a civil-law state, so it does not use the term statute of limitations. It uses liberative prescription, and the deadlines and rules are set by the Louisiana Civil Code rather than a limitations statute. Open accounts and credit card debt prescribe in three years under La. Civ. Code art. 3494, while ordinary written contracts and other personal actions prescribe in ten years under La. Civ. Code art. 3499. On top of these prescription rules, federal law (the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. 1692) and CFPB Regulation F govern how third-party collectors may contact you, and Louisiana law protects most of your wages and your homestead from seizure. This page explains how prescription, interruption, and Louisiana exemptions affect what a collector can do to you.
What is the prescription period on credit card debt in Louisiana?
Louisiana calls it prescription, not a statute of limitations. Credit card and other open-account debt prescribes in three years under La. Civ. Code art. 3494, generally running from the last activity. Ordinary written contracts and other personal actions prescribe in ten years under La. Civ. Code art. 3499.
Can a debt collector garnish my wages for a credit card in Louisiana?
Yes, but only after suing and winning a judgment. Louisiana protects seventy-five percent of your disposable weekly earnings under La. R.S. 13:3881, so a collector can garnish at most twenty-five percent, and never below the floor of thirty times the federal minimum wage. Child and spousal support allow larger garnishment.
How do I stop a debt collector from contacting me in Louisiana?
Send a written cease-communication letter. Under the federal FDCPA (15 U.S.C. 1692c(c)), once a third-party collector receives your letter it must stop contacting you except to confirm it is stopping or to say it may pursue a specific remedy such as a lawsuit. Keep proof of mailing.
Can making a payment restart the clock on old debt in Louisiana?
Yes. Under La. Civ. Code art. 3464, acknowledging a debt, including by making a partial payment, interrupts prescription and restarts the full period from zero. Article 3449 also lets you renounce prescription after it accrues. Confirm a debt is prescribed before you pay or promise anything.
Louisiana is a civil-law state that speaks of prescription, not limitations
Unlike the other 49 states, Louisiana follows a civil-law tradition rooted in the Louisiana Civil Code, so debt deadlines are governed by liberative prescription rather than a statute of limitations. Open accounts, money lent, and services rendered prescribe in three years under La. Civ. Code art. 3494, while ordinary written contracts and other personal actions carry the ten-year prescription of La. Civ. Code art. 3499. Prescription can be interrupted by filing suit (art. 3462) or by the debtor's acknowledgment, including a partial payment (art. 3464), which restarts the full period, and prescription may be renounced only after it accrues (art. 3449). Louisiana has no comprehensive state fair-debt-collection statute of its own, so third-party collectors are governed mainly by the federal FDCPA and CFPB Regulation F. Collection agencies must register with the Louisiana Secretary of State under Act 534 of 2006, and consumer complaints go to the Louisiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section. Louisiana also shields most wages under La. R.S. 13:3881 and a substantial homestead from seizure by ordinary judgment creditors.
Relevant Laws
La. Civ. Code art. 3494 — Three-year liberative prescription
Subjects open accounts, money lent, and actions for compensation for services rendered (which courts apply to credit card balances and similar consumer debt) to a three-year prescription. This is the shortest and most commonly relevant deadline for Louisiana consumer debt.
La. Civ. Code art. 3499 — Ten-year prescription for personal actions
Provides that, unless otherwise fixed by legislation, a personal action is subject to a ten-year liberative prescription. This is the default period for ordinary written contracts that are not open accounts.
La. R.S. 13:3881 — General exemptions from seizure
Exempts seventy-five percent of disposable weekly earnings from garnishment, with a floor of thirty times the federal minimum wage, capping most consumer garnishment at twenty-five percent. It also lists other property exempt from seizure by judgment creditors.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. 1692
The federal statute governing third-party collectors that applies in Louisiana alongside the Civil Code. It bars harassment (1692d) and false or misleading representations (1692e), and creates the debt validation and cease-communication rights (1692g, 1692c).
Regional Variances
Louisiana prescription (liberative prescription) by debt type
Open account / credit card
Three years under La. Civ. Code art. 3494, which covers open accounts and money lent. Courts generally treat revolving credit card debt as an open account, so three years is the usual deadline, running from the last activity on the account.
Written contract
Ten years under La. Civ. Code art. 3499 as a personal action, when the contract is a written agreement that is not an open account. Classification matters, because an open-account arrangement can fall under the three-year rule of art. 3494 instead.
Oral contract
Louisiana, as a civil-law state, does not draw the common-law written-versus-oral distinction for prescription. An oral agreement that is a personal action generally falls under the ten-year prescription of La. Civ. Code art. 3499 unless a shorter period such as art. 3494 applies.: confirm the precise oral-contract classification for your specific debt with counsel or the Civil Code.
Promissory note
A negotiable promissory note is a personal action generally subject to the ten-year prescription of La. Civ. Code art. 3499, running from maturity.: confirm the exact prescription rule and starting point for negotiable instruments under Louisiana law, as special rules can apply.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Confirm the Louisiana prescription period before responding
Within 5 days of first contact days after startingIdentify the debt type and confirm whether it has prescribed: three years for open accounts and credit cards (La. Civ. Code art. 3494) or ten years for written contracts (art. 3499). Note the date of last activity, and do not acknowledge or pay until you verify, because acknowledgment interrupts prescription under art. 3464.
Send a written debt validation letter
Within 30 days of receiving the validation notice days after startingIf you do not recognize the debt or the amount looks wrong, mail a written dispute and request for verification within the 30-day window under 15 U.S.C. 1692g. This forces the collector to stop collecting until it mails you proof of the debt.
Send a cease-and-desist letter if you want contact to stop
As soon as you decide to stop contact days after startingUnder 15 U.S.C. 1692c(c), a written cease-communication letter requires a third-party collector to stop contacting you once received, except to confirm it is stopping or to state it may pursue a specific remedy. Keep proof of mailing.
Document contacts and preserve your Louisiana exemptions
Ongoing days after startingKeep a call log and save all letters, emails, and texts. Note that La. R.S. 13:3881 protects seventy-five percent of your disposable wages and the Louisiana homestead exemption protects home equity, so record income and property a collector cannot reach even with a judgment.
File a complaint with the Louisiana Attorney General and CFPB
Within 1 year of any FDCPA violation days after startingSubmit a complaint to the Louisiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section at ag.louisiana.gov or (800) 351-4889, and to the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Because 15 U.S.C. 1692k generally requires suit within one year, consult an attorney promptly about statutory damages up to $1,000 plus fees.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm the Louisiana prescription period before responding | Identify the debt type and confirm whether it has prescribed: three years for open accounts and credit cards (La. Civ. Code art. 3494) or ten years for written contracts (art. 3499). Note the date of last activity, and do not acknowledge or pay until you verify, because acknowledgment interrupts prescription under art. 3464. | - | Within 5 days of first contact |
| Send a written debt validation letter | If you do not recognize the debt or the amount looks wrong, mail a written dispute and request for verification within the 30-day window under 15 U.S.C. 1692g. This forces the collector to stop collecting until it mails you proof of the debt. | debt-validation-letter | Within 30 days of receiving the validation notice |
| Send a cease-and-desist letter if you want contact to stop | Under 15 U.S.C. 1692c(c), a written cease-communication letter requires a third-party collector to stop contacting you once received, except to confirm it is stopping or to state it may pursue a specific remedy. Keep proof of mailing. | cease-and-desist-letter | As soon as you decide to stop contact |
| Document contacts and preserve your Louisiana exemptions | Keep a call log and save all letters, emails, and texts. Note that La. R.S. 13:3881 protects seventy-five percent of your disposable wages and the Louisiana homestead exemption protects home equity, so record income and property a collector cannot reach even with a judgment. | - | Ongoing |
| File a complaint with the Louisiana Attorney General and CFPB | Submit a complaint to the Louisiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section at ag.louisiana.gov or (800) 351-4889, and to the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Because 15 U.S.C. 1692k generally requires suit within one year, consult an attorney promptly about statutory damages up to $1,000 plus fees. | - | Within 1 year of any FDCPA violation |
Frequently Asked Questions
Louisiana is the only civil-law state, with a legal system derived from French and Spanish codes rather than English common law. Its Civil Code uses liberative prescription to describe the period after which a creditor loses the right to enforce a debt in court. The concept works like a statute of limitations, but the terminology, rules, and article numbers come from the Louisiana Civil Code.
An ordinary written contract that is not an open account is a personal action subject to the ten-year liberative prescription of La. Civ. Code art. 3499. Open accounts, money lent, and services rendered instead prescribe in three years under art. 3494. Because classification affects the deadline, an attorney can help determine which article applies to your specific debt.
A collector may contact you and ask you to pay a prescribed debt, but it cannot sue you to enforce a debt on which prescription has accrued, and it cannot falsely threaten such a suit under 15 U.S.C. 1692e. Be careful: acknowledging the debt or making a payment can interrupt prescription under La. Civ. Code art. 3464 and revive the collector's ability to sue.
For ordinary consumer debt, a collector with a judgment can garnish no more than twenty-five percent of your disposable earnings, because La. R.S. 13:3881 exempts seventy-five percent, and never below a floor of thirty times the federal minimum wage per week. Child support and spousal support obligations allow larger garnishments of fifty and sixty percent.
Yes. Under Act 534 of 2006, a collection agency must register with the Louisiana Secretary of State. The Office of Financial Institutions does not license collection agencies; it directs consumers to the Louisiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section or the FTC for complaints. Registration is separate from the collector's duties under the federal FDCPA.
Other Louisiana guides
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