Jury Duty in Louisiana: Pay, Exemptions, Excuses and What to Expect (2026)

Louisiana runs jury service parish by parish. Each parish's jury commission draws names at random from voter registration lists and, where the district judges allow it, other lists such as licensed drivers. If you're a U.S. citizen, at least 18, and have lived in the parish for a year, the clerk of court may send you a questionnaire or a summons.

The headline numbers depend on the kind of case. State law sets juror pay at $25 a day in criminal cases and $50 a day in civil cases, plus mileage, though some parishes pay pool jurors less until they're picked for a trial. Louisiana also makes employers pay something: your employer must give you one day of jury leave without loss of wages, and it can't fire you for serving. Skipping jury duty can bring a fine of up to $50 or up to 3 days in jail, and a judge can also treat it as contempt of court.

The rules are spread across the Louisiana Constitution (art. V, § 33), the Code of Criminal Procedure (arts. 401 to 419), Title 13 of the Revised Statutes (§§ 13:3041 to 13:3057), Louisiana Supreme Court rules, and R.S. 23:965 for employers. Everything below is current as of November 2026.

Louisiana jury duty at a glance

Who can serve

The Louisiana Constitution sets the floor: a citizen of the state who has reached the age of majority may serve in the parish where he or she is domiciled, and the legislature may add qualifications (La. Const. art. V, § 33(A)). It has. Article 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure lists six requirements. To serve, you must:

1. be a citizen of the United States and of Louisiana who has lived in the parish for at least one year right before your service;
2. be at least 18;
3. be able to read, write and speak English;
4. not be under interdiction or unable to serve because of a mental or physical infirmity;
5. not be under indictment, in prison, or on probation or parole for a felony within the five years before your service; and
6. not have been convicted, at any time, of a felony crime of violence or a felony sex offense.

(C.Cr.P. art. 401)

Hearing loss is no bar. The article says "no person shall be deemed incompetent solely because of the loss of hearing in any degree." When a deaf or hard-of-hearing person is summoned, the court must provide a sworn interpreter, who may stay with the jury during deliberations without taking part (C.Cr.P. art. 401.1).

Civil and criminal juries differ on one point. Civil jurors must meet the same Article 401 tests, except that the lifetime bar for a felony crime of violence or sex offense applies only to criminal juries (R.S. 13:3041(B)). That bar is new; it took effect August 1, 2026 (see the changes section below). For other felonies, the bar is temporary: once five years have passed since you were last under indictment, in prison, or on probation or parole, you can serve on either kind of jury.

Where names come from. Each judicial district decides whether to draw names only from voter registration lists or from other lists too; if a district uses driver's license records, the state supplies them to the clerk each year (C.Cr.P. art. 408.1). East Baton Rouge, for example, combines the parish voter list with Louisiana licensed-driver records and mails a qualification form before any summons (19th JDC i-Juror FAQ).

Exemptions and excuses

Louisiana leaves most exemptions to its Supreme Court. Article 403 of the Code of Criminal Procedure says exemptions "shall be as provided by rules of the Louisiana Supreme Court," and civil courts follow the same rule (C.Cr.P. art. 403; R.S. 13:3042(A)). Job-based exemptions are gone: Calcasieu Parish's clerk notes that public officers, physicians, lawyers, judges, police, firefighters, military members and clergy are no longer exempt (Calcasieu Clerk).

Age 70. This exemption is written into the state constitution itself:

Persons who are seventy years of age or older shall be exempt from jury service and may decline to serve as jurors, but may elect to serve as jurors if they meet the other qualifications for service as jurors.

(La. Const. art. V, § 33(B)) It's your choice, not an automatic release. Orleans Parish's civil court asks for a photo ID showing your date of birth (Orleans Civil District Court).

Recent service. Under Supreme Court Rule 25, you're exempt if you served as a grand or petit juror in a criminal case, or on a civil jury, in the two years before you were selected (26th JDC). The Bossier-Webster court reminds jurors that the exemption "is personal to you and must be claimed by you if you are to be excused."

Medical condition or hardship: the 24-month waiver. Under R.S. 13:3042(B), you may apply for a waiver of petit jury service for up to 24 months if:

• a mental or physical condition makes you unable to serve, shown by documentation from a licensed physician; or
• service would cause "undue or extreme physical or financial hardship" to you or someone in your care.

The statute defines hardship narrowly: having to leave someone in your care with no substitute caregiver, costs that would seriously hurt your ability to pay basic living expenses, or physical hardship from an existing illness. Missing work, by itself, doesn't count. You must bring documents such as tax returns, medical statements or proof of guardianship, and get a ruling before your reporting date. A judge, or a court official acting as part of the judiciary, decides. (R.S. 13:3042) The official text carries an editor's note that the section is superseded by Supreme Court Rule 25, so check your court's own forms.

Other local opt-outs. Some courts add their own. East Baton Rouge lets full-time college students opt out with an enrollment verification from the registrar (19th JDC i-Juror FAQ).

How to ask. Use your parish's form or website, and send proof. The 21st Judicial District (Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa) takes exemption requests by email with your summons and documents such as an ID or proof of prior service (21st JDC). Orleans Parish's civil court won't take excuse requests by phone; it wants them in writing, with documents, at least seven business days before your date if you answered online. Until the court tells you a request was granted, you still have to appear (Orleans Civil District Court).

Postponing jury duty

No statute sets a statewide postponement rule, so each court sets its own. Two examples:

• East Baton Rouge (19th JDC). You may ask for a first-time postponement by phone or online and pick a new date within 90 days. A second one is allowed only for an emergency you couldn't foresee (19th JDC i-Juror FAQ).
• Livingston Parish (21st JDC). You may defer once for a valid reason. Contact the clerk before your date and choose a new date within six months when court is in session (21st JDC).

Orleans Parish's criminal court takes hardship, medical and postponement requests online, with supporting documents (Orleans Criminal District Court). Travel booked before your summons arrived is a common reason; bring the itinerary.

Juror pay

Pay is set in R.S. 13:3049, and it depends on whether you sit on a criminal or a civil case. For criminal jurors:

The compensation shall be twenty-five dollars for each day of attendance in court, and the mileage allowance shall be an amount equal to the rate in effect for state officials for each mile necessarily traveled in going to and returning from the courthouse.

For civil jurors:

Except as provided by special law, the jurors in civil cases who attend may demand and receive fifty dollars for each day of attendance in court and an amount equal to the rate in effect for state officials for each mile necessarily traveled in going to and returning from the courthouse.

(R.S. 13:3049(B))

What that means:

• $25 a day in criminal cases. The district judges, sitting together, fix criminal juror pay, subject to approval by the parish governing authority. The money comes from court costs charged to convicted defendants.
• $50 a day in civil cases, paid by the clerk out of the jury deposit the party who asked for a jury must post.
• Mileage. You're paid for each mile to and from the courthouse, one charge each way, at the rate the state pays its officials. Since August 1, 2026, the same full rate applies in criminal cases; the old 16-cent floor is gone.
• Grand jurors get the same pay and mileage as petit jurors in their district (R.S. 13:3049(C)).
• Parishes vary. East Baton Rouge says pool jurors are paid $12 a day plus 16 cents a mile, rising to $25 a day once seated on a jury; its page may not yet reflect the 2026 mileage change (19th JDC i-Juror FAQ). Orleans Parish's criminal court pays $10.00 a day, and only to jurors selected for a trial (Orleans Criminal District Court). Orleans Parish's civil court pays $50.00 for each day you actually serve on a jury, by check at the end of the trial (Orleans Civil District Court). Jefferson Parish follows the state rates (R.S. 13:3049.1).
• Long trials. A 2003 law created a Lengthy Trial Fund to pay up to $300 a day to jurors on trials longer than ten days, but by its own terms it takes effect only once the legislature funds it, and the official text notes the resolution it depended on failed (R.S. 13:3050). Don't count on it.

Your job is protected

Louisiana's employer statute, R.S. 23:965, does two things: it protects your job, and it gives you one paid day.

No firing. No employer may fire you, or take any adverse employment action against you, "without cause," for being called to or serving on any jury, including a grand jury. The protection depends on notice: tell your employer within a reasonable time after you get the summons and before you report. An employer who fires a juror must reinstate the worker with the same pay, benefits and conditions and is fined $100 to $1,000 for each employee fired (R.S. 23:965(A)).

One paid day. Subsection B gives regular employees one day of paid jury leave:

Any person who is regularly employed in the state of Louisiana shall, upon call or subpoena to serve on a state petit or grand jury, or central jury pool, be granted a leave of absence by his employer, of up to one day, for that period of time required for such jury duty. Such leave of absence shall be granted without loss of wages, or sick, emergency, or personal leave or any other benefit.

An employer who refuses must pay you your full wages for that one day, with no cut to your leave, and is fined $100 to $500 for each offense (R.S. 23:965(B)).

After the first day, the law doesn't require pay. Many employers pay anyway, so check your company's policy. The jury office will give you a letter or complete your employer's attendance form (19th JDC i-Juror FAQ).

What happens if you don't show up

R.S. 13:3049(A) requires every person summoned to attend "punctually and for the time for which he is selected," and sets the penalty:

The district judge may enforce the attendance of any juror by imposing a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment in the parish jail for not more than three days, or both, in his discretion, for each violation.

(R.S. 13:3049(A))

Failing to come is also contempt of court. The Code of Civil Procedure lists, as a direct contempt, the "Contumacious failure to attend court to serve as a juror after being accepted as such, or to attend court as a member of a jury venire, when proof of service of the summons appears of record" (C.C.P. art. 222(6)). The general penalty for that kind of contempt is a fine of up to $500, up to three months in jail, or both (R.S. 13:4611(1)(d)). In Jefferson Parish, willful failure to attend after actual notice is contempt punishable by a $100 fine for each violation (R.S. 13:3049.1(A)). Orleans Parish's civil court warns that an absent juror may be arrested by the sheriff and brought in for contempt the same day.

If you have an emergency, call the jury office before your reporting time. A real reason, raised early, is a different matter from ignoring the summons.

Your first day

Details vary by parish, so follow your summons. Louisiana's larger courts work like this:

• Call the night before. Most courts use a recorded line. The 21st JDC asks jurors to call the evening before for reporting instructions. Orleans Parish's civil court asks you to call after 5:30 p.m. the evening before each trial date, and its criminal court asks you to call after 5:00 p.m. the day before and report to the jury lounge by 8:30 a.m.
• Expect a week. East Baton Rouge's normal term is five days, and no juror is released until every judge has picked a jury, so plan for the whole week (19th JDC i-Juror FAQ). By statute, a juror seated on a trial that runs past the week stays until the verdict (R.S. 13:3047).
• Security. You'll go through a metal detector. East Baton Rouge bars weapons, cameras, tools, lighters and e-cigarettes from the building, and Orleans Parish's civil court bans camera phones in court.
• Dress. Business casual is safe. Courts ban shorts and tank tops; East Baton Rouge adds flip-flops, and Bossier and Webster parishes add hats (26th JDC). Bring a sweater; courtrooms run cold.
• Bring something to do. Waits can be long. Bring a book, and snacks if you need them.
• Parking. East Baton Rouge validates parking at the River Center garages, and both Orleans courts offer free juror parking at set lots.
• Proof for your employer. Ask the jury office for an attendance certificate or letter.

Grand jury service

A Louisiana grand jury has 12 members plus two to four alternates, drawn from a grand jury venire (C.Cr.P. art. 413). Each parish impanels a grand jury twice a year (Cameron Parish at least once), and a regular grand jury sits for four to eight months (C.Cr.P. art. 414). At the district attorney's request, the court may add grand juries that sit for up to a year, with a possible six-month extension (C.Cr.P. art. 415.2). In East Baton Rouge, grand jurors usually meet one day a week. Grand jurors meet the same qualifications as trial jurors and get the same daily pay and mileage, and a judge may release a grand juror who can no longer serve without undue hardship (C.Cr.P. art. 403.1).

Jury duty scams

Scammers call or email pretending to be deputies or court staff, claim you missed jury duty, and demand money or personal information to avoid arrest. Orleans Parish's criminal court says plainly:

Please be aware that Criminal District Court does not and will not request payment from individuals in connection with jury service duty.

The 19th JDC in Baton Rouge adds that warrants are always served in person by an officer, that the court never asks for prepaid cards or bank numbers, and that any fine for missing jury duty comes only after an in-person hearing before a judge (19th JDC scam alert). If you get such a call, hang up and call your parish's jury office at the number on its official website (Orleans Criminal District Court; see also the federal courts' juror scam warning).

Recent and pending changes

Both 2026 laws are on the legislature's bill pages (HB 108; HB 233). Many parish websites still list the older Article 401 text without the new bar. We found no other jury-service bills enacted or pending as of November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much does jury duty pay in Louisiana?

State law sets juror pay at $25 a day in criminal cases and $50 a day in civil cases, plus mileage at the state officials' rate. Parishes vary in practice: East Baton Rouge pays $12 a day until you're seated, and Orleans Parish's criminal court pays $10.00 a day only to jurors picked for a trial. Your employer must also pay you for one day.

Can my employer fire me for jury duty in Louisiana?

No. If you tell your employer within a reasonable time after getting your summons, it can't fire you or take adverse action against you for jury service. It must also give you up to one day of leave without loss of pay or leave time. An employer who fires a juror must reinstate the worker and faces a fine of $100 to $1,000.

How do I get out of jury duty in Louisiana?

You may claim an exemption if you're 70 or older or served on a jury in the past two years. You can also apply for a waiver of up to 24 months for a medical condition, backed by a doctor's documentation, or for an undue physical or financial hardship, backed by records. Missing work alone isn't a hardship. Ask well before your reporting date, and appear unless the court tells you the request was granted.

What happens if I miss jury duty in Louisiana?

A judge can fine you up to $50, jail you for up to three days, or both, for each time you fail to appear. Missing jury duty after proper service is also contempt of court, which can carry a fine of up to $500 or up to three months in jail. If you have an emergency, call the jury office before your reporting time.

How often can you be called for jury duty in Louisiana?

There's no fixed waiting period, since names are drawn at random and some people are picked more than others. But if you served as a juror in the past two years, you may claim an exemption. You have to ask for it; it isn't automatic.

Is there an age limit for jury duty in Louisiana?

You must be at least 18. There's no upper limit, but the Louisiana Constitution lets anyone 70 or older decline to serve. If you'd like to serve, you can, as long as you meet the other qualifications.

Where these rules live

• La. Const. art. V, § 33 — Juror eligibility and the age-70 exemption
• C.Cr.P. art. 401 — Qualifications of jurors
• C.Cr.P. art. 403 — Exemptions set by Supreme Court rule
• R.S. 13:3041 — Civil juror qualifications
• R.S. 13:3042 — 24-month waiver for medical condition or hardship
• R.S. 13:3049 — Duty to attend, penalty and juror pay
• R.S. 23:965 — Employer protection and one paid day
• C.C.P. art. 222 — Failing to attend as a juror is direct contempt
• R.S. 13:4611 — Punishment for contempt
• East Baton Rouge i-Juror FAQ (19th Judicial District Court)
• Louisiana's civil jury articles on this site (art. 1751 and following)
• Law schools in Louisiana