By Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce · Published · Updated
No fixed residency period — being domiciled in Louisiana is enough — then 180 days from service, or 365 with minor children. Legal separation was repealed for ordinary marriages.
Louisiana is the only U.S. state built on a civil law tradition rather than English common law, and that shapes divorce from the vocabulary in your paperwork to how property gets divided — the Louisiana-specific parts are what preparation should focus on.
| Residency requirement | No fixed durational period — you or your spouse must be domiciled in Louisiana. Suit must be filed in the parish where either spouse lives, or the parish of your last matrimonial domicile (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3941). |
|---|---|
| Grounds | No-fault separation is the main route: living separate and apart for 180 days (no minor children) or 365 days (minor children). An Article 102 divorce is filed before that period ends and finalized after; an Article 103 divorce is filed once the period has already run. Article 103 also allows fault grounds — adultery, a felony conviction with a death or hard-labor sentence, or abuse of the filing spouse or a child. Covenant marriages (a small minority) require longer separation and prior counseling. |
| Waiting period | 180 days (no minor children) or 365 days (minor children), running from service of the petition or a signed written waiver of service (Art. 102), or already completed before filing (Art. 103). |
| Legal separation | Repealed for ordinary marriages. Louisiana no longer has an action for legal separation for traditional, non-covenant marriages — couples separated before the repeal remain so. Covenant marriages still have an action for separation from bed and board. |
| If you were never married | Louisiana does not create common-law marriage, and living together gives neither partner property or support rights. Claims rest on agreements between you. A common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them is generally still recognised. |
| Where you file | Petition for divorce is filed with the clerk of court (district/family court division) in the parish where you or your spouse is domiciled, or the parish of your last shared marital residence. |
| Filing fee | Set individually by each parish clerk of court, so the amount varies — confirm the current fee with the clerk where you're filing. If you can't afford it, you can ask the court to proceed In Forma Pauperis (fee deferral) under La. C.C.P. arts. 5181–5188 by filing a sworn affidavit. Filing fees are set by the court and change without notice: check the current schedule on the court's own website before you file, and ask about a fee waiver if the cost is a barrier. |
| Starting forms | Self-Represented Litigant 'Petition for 102 Divorce' or 'Petition for 103(1) Divorce' (versions with and without minor children), available free through the Law Library of Louisiana and the LSBA/Louisiana Access to Justice Commission, or from your parish clerk of court. |
| Simplified option | Yes — an uncontested Article 103 divorce, filed once the separation period has already run and both spouses aren't disputing terms, is the simplified track and can often proceed on the pleadings without a contested hearing. |
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Louisiana divorce runs on the Louisiana Civil Code, not case law precedent the way most other states operate. Filings go to the district court for the parish where a spouse is domiciled — Louisiana uses parishes instead of counties, and pleadings refer to a 'petitioner' and 'respondent.' You generally need to be domiciled in Louisiana to file there, so confirm which parish's court has jurisdiction over your situation before anything else.
Property is governed by Louisiana's community property regime, called the 'community of acquets and gains' in the Civil Code. Broadly, income and property acquired during the marriage belong to both spouses equally, while property owned before the marriage, or received individually by gift or inheritance, stays separate — but only if you can document and trace it. Because Louisiana's rules and terminology differ from every neighboring state, generic divorce guides written for common-law states can be misleading here; confirm anything jurisdiction-specific with a Louisiana family lawyer.
Louisiana offers two main paths to divorce. Under Civil Code Article 103, a spouse can seek an immediate divorce based on specific fault grounds, such as adultery or certain felony convictions, without any waiting period. Under Article 102, spouses who don't have those grounds can divorce once they have lived separate and apart continuously for a set period — commonly discussed as 180 days if the couple has no minor children, and 365 days if they do.
Timing details matter and are easy to get wrong. The separation period generally has to run continuously, without reconciliation, and the point at which it starts counting (from separation itself, versus from filing or service of the petition) depends on which article you proceed under. Courts generally expect clear proof of the separation date, so note it in writing early and keep any letter or message that references when you began living apart — it may become evidence later.
A minority of Louisiana marriages are 'covenant marriages,' an opt-in status chosen at the time of marriage that requires premarital counseling and a signed declaration of intent. If you're not sure whether yours is a covenant marriage, check your marriage license and any counseling affidavit filed with it — it changes the entire divorce process.
Covenant marriages generally can't be dissolved on the same easy no-fault terms as a standard Louisiana marriage. Courts typically require either proof of specific fault grounds or a longer period of living separately than the standard track, along with documented marital counseling before a covenant divorce can proceed. If this applies to you, confirm the current requirements with a Louisiana family lawyer before assuming any timeline.
Louisiana's disclosure culture centers on the Sworn Detailed Descriptive List, often called the SDDL — a document each spouse prepares and files listing every item of community and separate property and debt, along with values, as part of dividing the marital estate. Starting your own detailed descriptive list early, well before you're required to file one, is one of the most useful things you can do; list bank, investment, retirement, and business accounts, real estate, vehicles, and debts, with your best estimate of value and which spouse acquired them and when.
The community property regime generally terminates as of the date the divorce petition is filed, and that date can matter for what counts as community versus separate property going forward. If you're claiming anything as separate — property owned before the marriage, an inheritance, a gift from a third party — gather the paper trail now: purchase records, account statements from before the marriage, and anything showing the money's path into what you own today. Louisiana courts expect tracing to be documented, not just asserted.
Louisiana is a genuine exception and the answer is dated rather than simply yes or no. For traditional marriages — which is nearly everyone — Louisiana no longer has an action for legal separation. It was repealed. Couples who were legally separated before the repeal are still considered separated, but no new action can be brought.
The exception is covenant marriage, a distinct and far less common form of marriage Louisiana offers. Covenant marriages retain an action for separation from bed and board. If you did not specifically enter a covenant marriage, this does not apply to you.
Do not confuse either of these with simply living apart. Physical separation — living separate and apart for the period Louisiana requires — is still how a no-fault divorce is obtained here, and it is unaffected by the repeal. What no longer exists is the court status; the practical route of separating and then divorcing is intact.
Louisiana does not create common-law marriage. There is no number of years of living together that turns into a marriage here, and none of the divorce machinery on this page applies to a couple who never married — no property division, no spousal support, no residency requirement to satisfy, because there is nothing to dissolve.
What unmarried partners have instead are ordinary civil claims: whatever you agreed between yourselves, in writing or by clear conduct, and claims over property you actually hold jointly. These are argued like any other contract or property dispute rather than as family-law entitlements, and they turn on what can be proved.
One qualification runs the other way and matters. A common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them — Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas or Utah — is generally recognised elsewhere. A couple who met that state's test while living there, and later moved here, are married, and separating means divorcing. Children are unaffected either way: custody and child support are decided on the same basis whether or not the parents married.
1) Confirm your domicile parish and, separately, whether your marriage is a standard or covenant marriage — this determines which rules and timelines apply to you. 2) Start your own detailed descriptive list of community and separate property now, before positions harden. 3) Pull tracing documents for anything you'll claim as separate property. 4) Note your separation date in writing and preserve any communication that references it. 5) Get a consultation with a Louisiana family lawyer early, even if you plan to handle much of the process yourself — the civil law framework here has enough differences from other states that a short paid consultation is usually worth it. 6) Track every letter and deadline from the moment either side's lawyer starts writing, since Louisiana family cases tend to move through a steady exchange of formal filings and correspondence.
Louisiana does not recognize common-law marriage formed in-state, so unmarried couples who separate don't need a court divorce — this process is only for people with a valid marriage license. If you're validly married, proceed below.
You must file in the parish where you or your spouse currently live, or the parish where you last lived together as a married couple (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3941) — this venue rule can't be waived.
If you haven't yet been separated for the full 180/365-day period, file under Article 102 to start the clock. If you've already lived apart the required time (or have fault grounds like adultery or a hard-labor felony conviction), an Article 103 petition is usually faster and simpler.
Use the free Self-Represented Litigant 'Petition for 102 Divorce' or 'Petition for 103(1) Divorce' (with or without minor children) from the Law Library of Louisiana or LSBA's Access to Justice Commission, or ask your parish clerk of court for their local version.
File the completed petition with the clerk of court in the proper parish and pay the filing fee, which is set by that parish clerk. If you can't afford it, file a Petition to Proceed In Forma Pauperis with a supporting affidavit to have costs deferred.
Your spouse must be formally served by the sheriff, or sign a written waiver of service. Under Article 102, the separation clock for finalizing the divorce runs from this service or waiver date.
Wait out the required 180 days (no minor children) or 365 days (minor children) of continuous separation before the divorce can be finalized.
Once the waiting period has elapsed, an Article 102 case requires filing a Rule to Show Cause with a supporting affidavit; an uncontested Article 103 case can often move straight to a judgment of divorce.
Address child custody, child support, spousal support, and division of community property — by agreement or separate motions, since the basic divorce forms don't cover these. Once the judge signs the Judgment of Divorce, the marriage is legally ended.
Not necessarily. Louisiana's no-fault path generally requires living separate and apart continuously for 180 days if there are no minor children, or 365 days if there are — but fault-based grounds such as adultery or certain felony convictions can allow an immediate filing without any waiting period. Confirm which applies to your situation with a Louisiana lawyer.
A covenant marriage is an opt-in status chosen at the time of marriage that involves premarital counseling and a signed declaration. If your marriage is a covenant marriage, courts generally require either specific fault grounds or a longer separation period, plus documented counseling, before granting a divorce — check your marriage paperwork if you're unsure.
It's a sworn document each spouse prepares listing all community and separate property and debts with their values, used to divide the marital estate in a Louisiana divorce. Starting your own version early, before it's formally required, makes the rest of the process much easier to manage.
Generally no. Louisiana repealed the action for legal separation for traditional, non-covenant marriages, so no new legal separation can be obtained — though couples who were legally separated before the repeal remain so. The exception is covenant marriage, a distinct form of marriage in Louisiana, which retains an action for separation from bed and board. This is separate from physically living apart, which is still how a no-fault divorce is obtained.
No. Louisiana does not create common-law marriage, and living together for any length of time gives neither partner property division nor spousal support. Unmarried partners rely instead on agreements between themselves and on claims over jointly held property, argued as ordinary civil matters. One important exception: a common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them — such as Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas or Utah — is generally recognised here, so that couple would need a divorce. Custody and child support apply regardless of marriage.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For support with domestic violence, contact Louisiana's 24/7 statewide line at 1-888-411-1333. Nationally you can also reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788 if a call is not safe. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Last reviewed August 2026. Researched and written by Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice — laws, fees and forms change, so please confirm current details with the official sources above or a local family lawyer.
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