3.8.1 General Principles

Citation and service of the divorce petition and ancillary matters as well as service in general can be frustrating in family law actions. Self-represented litigants often struggle with Louisiana rules for service of process. There exist some avenues of assistance, although they are limited. For example, the local volunteer lawyer program may offer advice clinics or assist pro se litigants. Moreover, knowledgeable staff in the local clerk’s office may be able to assist. A litigant cannot obtain a default divorce or have a hearing on a rule for custody, support, etc., unless the adverse party has been properly noticed by service of the pleadings. Every time a rule is continued for lack of service, the court costs increase. This is just one more reason to check the court record prior to going to court.

You should check that the clerk has allowed sufficient time for the setting of any rule dates. For example, service on prisoners1 and non-residents2 can easily take 45 days or more to complete. A hearing (other than on a protective order) cannot be heard unless there is at least 30- day notice to a non-resident. If you need to subpoena third-party witnesses for the rule hearing, be aware that some judges will not enforce a subpoena unless it has been issued 30 days before the hearing.

Service of the citation must be requested on all named defendants within 90 days of commencement of the action.3 Failure to do so may result in an involuntary dismissal “unless good cause is shown why service could not be requested.”4

Citation and service of the divorce petition are made as described in the following sections. Similar rules apply for service of other pleadings. Refer to La. C.C.P. arts. 1312–1313 for the manner of service of pleadings filed after the original pleading.5

• 1La. C.C.P. art. 1235.1; on serving incarcerated individuals, see Section 3.9.1.
• 2On serving absent persons, see Section 3.9.2.
• 3La. C.C.P. art. 1201(C).
• 4La. C.C.P. art. 1672(C).
• 5For instance, La. C.C.P. art. 1313 allows pleadings subsequent to the petition to be served by mail, delivery, or electronic means “except as otherwise provided by law.” The revision comments to Article 1313 describe some of these exceptions.