- Living apart first
- 180 days
180 days living separate and apart (365 days when there are minor children of the marriage), for the no-fault ground[3]
Key facts: divorce in Louisiana
| Waiting period | 180 days (365 days with minor children)[1] details ↓ |
|---|---|
| Residency requirement | Domicile in Louisiana at filing[2] details ↓ |
| No-fault divorce | Yes[3] details ↓ |
| Property division | Community property[4] details ↓ |
| Court mediation for custody | Court may order[5] details ↓ |
| Court mediation fees | Paid by the parties (court-approved)[5] details ↓ |
Statutes and court rules as checked October 26, 2026. Not legal advice.
What are the divorce laws in Louisiana?
Not legal advice. These are plain-English summaries of Louisiana’s statutes and court rules as of the date shown on each; they can change and courts apply them case by case. Read the linked source or ask a lawyer licensed in Louisiana.
Waiting period
180 days (365 days with minor children)
In a no-fault divorce under Article 102, the final motion can be filed only after 180 days have passed since the petition was served (or service was waived), or 365 days when there are minor children of the marriage; the spouses must also have lived apart that long.[1]
La. Civ. Code arts. 102 and 103.1 · checked October 26, 2026
Show statute text
“a divorce shall be granted upon motion of a spouse when either spouse has filed a petition for divorce and upon proof that the requisite period of time, in accordance with Article 103.1, has elapsed from the service of the petition, or from the execution of written waiver of the service,”
“(1) One hundred eighty days where there are no minor children of the marriage. (2) Three hundred sixty-five days when there are minor children of the marriage at the time the rule to show cause is filed in accordance with Article 102 or a petition is filed in accordance with Article 103.”
Residency requirement
Domicile in Louisiana at filing
A divorce may be filed in Louisiana if at least one spouse is domiciled in the state when the case is filed; a spouse who has kept a residence in a parish for six months is presumed (rebuttably) to be domiciled there.[2]
La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 10(A)(7) and 10(B) · checked October 26, 2026
Show statute text
“(7) An action of divorce, if, at the time of filing, one or both of the spouses are domiciled in this state.”
“if a spouse has established and maintained a residence in a parish of this state for a period of six months, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that he has a domicile in this state in the parish of such residence.”
No-fault divorce
Yes, fault grounds also exist
Outside covenant marriages, a divorce is granted after the spouses have lived separate and apart for 180 days (365 days with minor children), either before filing (Art. 103) or after service and before the final motion (Art. 102); fault grounds such as adultery, a felony sentence, and abuse also exist.[3]
La. Civ. Code arts. 103 and 103.1 · checked October 26, 2026
Show statute text
“(1) The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously for the requisite period of time, in accordance with Article 103.1, or more on the date the petition is filed. (2) The other spouse has committed adultery.”
Property division
Community property
Each spouse owns a present undivided one-half interest in community property, and on partition the court divides community assets and liabilities so each spouse receives property of equal net value.[4]
Community property in Louisiana: the statute quoted →
La. Civ. Code art. 2336; La. R.S. 9:2801(A)(4)(b) · checked October 26, 2026
Show statute text
“(b) The court shall divide the community assets and liabilities so that each spouse receives property of an equal net value.”
“Each spouse owns a present undivided one-half interest in the community property.”
Court mediation for custody
Court may order
In a custody or visitation case a Louisiana court may order the parties to mediate and may pause the custody ruling for up to 30 days; a parent who shows the court that they or a child were victims of family violence by the other parent cannot be ordered to mediate.[5]
La. R.S. 9:332(A); La. R.S. 9:363 · checked October 26, 2026
Show statute text
“The court may order the parties to mediate their differences in a custody or visitation proceeding. The mediator may be agreed upon by the parties or, upon their failure to agree, selected by the court.”
Court mediation fees
Paid by the parties (court-approved)
There is no set statewide fee; the court may order either or both parties to pay mediation costs in advance, may split them if agreement is reached, taxes them as court costs if no agreement is reached, and must approve them.[5]
La. R.S. 9:332(A) · checked October 26, 2026
Show statute text
“The court may order the costs of mediation to be paid in advance by either party or both parties jointly. The court may apportion the costs of the mediation between the parties if agreement is reached on custody or visitation. If mediation concludes without agreement between the parties, the costs of mediation shall be taxed as costs of court. The costs of mediation shall be subject to approval by the court.”
Alimony
Court decides, within limits
Louisiana courts may award interim spousal support while a divorce is pending and final periodic support to a spouse who is in need and was not at fault before the divorce filing, weighing nine listed factors. Final periodic support generally may not exceed one-third of the paying spouse’s net income, and interim support generally ends 180 days after the divorce judgment.
Divorce rate
0.8 per 1,000 residents (2024)
Louisiana’s courts granted 0.8 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2024; the U.S. rate was 2.3. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 survey, 7.6 of every 1,000 women 15 and older in Louisiana divorced in the past year (±1.2; U.S. 6.9), a different measure.[7][8]
Divorce rates by state, with sources → · CDC/NCHS NVSS; Census ACS · checked October 27, 2026
Estimate your divorce cost in Louisiana: mediation vs. court →
How child support is calculated in Louisiana →
Mediators per 100,000: MediationList listings from official court and government rosters in Louisiana (72) ÷ population (4,597,740, U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates (July 1, 2024)) × 100,000, the same figure as mediator statistics.[6]
Questions about divorce in Louisiana
How long does a divorce take in Louisiana?
The law sets the minimum, not the total: In a no-fault divorce under Article 102, the final motion can be filed only after 180 days have passed since the petition was served (or service was waived), or 365 days when there are minor children of the marriage; the spouses must also have lived apart that long. How long it takes after that depends on whether you agree and on the court's calendar. — La. Civ. Code arts. 102 and 103.1[1]
How long do you have to live in Louisiana to file for divorce?
A divorce may be filed in Louisiana if at least one spouse is domiciled in the state when the case is filed; a spouse who has kept a residence in a parish for six months is presumed (rebuttably) to be domiciled there. — La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 10(A)(7) and 10(B)[2]
Is Louisiana a no-fault divorce state?
Outside covenant marriages, a divorce is granted after the spouses have lived separate and apart for 180 days (365 days with minor children), either before filing (Art. 103) or after service and before the final motion (Art. 102); fault grounds such as adultery, a felony sentence, and abuse also exist. — La. Civ. Code arts. 103 and 103.1[3]
Is Louisiana a community property state?
Yes. Each spouse owns a present undivided one-half interest in community property, and on partition the court divides community assets and liabilities so each spouse receives property of equal net value. — La. Civ. Code art. 2336; La. R.S. 9:2801(A)(4)(b)[4]
Is mediation required for custody in Louisiana?
In a custody or visitation case a Louisiana court may order the parties to mediate and may pause the custody ruling for up to 30 days; a parent who shows the court that they or a child were victims of family violence by the other parent cannot be ordered to mediate. — La. R.S. 9:332(A); La. R.S. 9:363[5]
How much does court mediation cost in Louisiana?
There is no set statewide fee; the court may order either or both parties to pay mediation costs in advance, may split them if agreement is reached, taxes them as court costs if no agreement is reached, and must approve them. — La. R.S. 9:332(A)[5]
More
Compare nearby states
Sources
Louisiana’s statutes and court rules, read on the official site, plus federal statistics; each with the date we checked it.
- La. Civ. Code arts. 102 and 103.1 (Louisiana State Legislature)↩
- La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 10(A)(7) and 10(B) (Louisiana State Legislature)↩
- La. Civ. Code arts. 103 and 103.1 (Louisiana State Legislature)↩
- La. Civ. Code art. 2336; La. R.S. 9:2801(A)(4)(b) (Louisiana State Legislature)↩
- La. R.S. 9:332(A); La. R.S. 9:363 (Louisiana State Legislature)↩
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county and state population estimates (July 1, 2024)↩
- CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System: Divorce rates by State: 1990, 1995, and 2000-2024↩
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, table https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2024.B12503↩