6.2 Costs

All costs are controlled by La. C.Cr.P. arts. 983–984. Under La. C.Cr.P. art. 983, the statutory fee of $550 is divided between the following agencies: the Louisiana State Police ($250), the clerk of court (up to $200), the sheriff ($50), and the district attorney ($50). Any agency may choose to charge less than the statutory maximum or not collect the fee at all, but these reductions in fees are extremely rare, and most agencies charge the legal maximum.

Under La. C.Cr.P. art. 984, there is an extra $50 fee to expunge a conviction for Driving While Intoxicated; this is paid to the Office of Motor Vehicles. This $50 is paid a single time, either when the person receives a Set Aside under Article 894 or when the person applies for an expungement if there was no Set Aside. This fee is statutorily capped at a single $50 payment and should never be paid twice. The only time a fee can be charged when filing a Motion to Set Aside is if the conviction was for a DWI offense. In all other cases, filing the Motion to Set Aside is free, and there are no statutorily allowable fees.

Disclaimer: The articles in the Gillis Long Desk Manual do not contain any legal advice.