A. Service of citation or other process on a domestic or foreign corporation is made by personal service on any one of its agents for service of process. B. If the corporation has failed to designate an agent for service of process, if there is no registered agent by reason of death, resignation, or removal, or if the person attempting to make service certifies that he is unable, after due diligence, to serve the designated agent, service of the citation or other process may be made by any of the following methods:
Art. 1261.Domestic Or Foreign Corporation
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title II. Citation and Service of Process · Chapter 3. Service On Legal and Quasi Legal Persons · Last amended 1995 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1261 requires service on a corporation, domestic or foreign, through personal service on any one of its registered agents for service of process, and, if that fails, permits service on an officer or director, on a suitable employee at a place of business, or under Louisiana's long-arm statute, with banks served under a separate banking statute.
Full Text of Art. 1261
(1) By personal service on any officer, or director, or on any person named as such in the last report filed with the secretary of state.
(2) By personal service on any employee of suitable age and discretion at any place where the business of the corporation is regularly conducted.
(3) By service of process under the provisions of R.S.13:3204, if the corporation is subject to the provisions of R.S.13:3201. C. Service of citation or other process on a bank is made pursuant to R.S.6:285(C).
Amendment History
Amended by Acts 1988, No. 37, §1, eff. 6/10/1988; Acts 1991, No. 656, §2; Acts 1995, No. 859, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1257, §1.
Plain-English Summary
A corporation can't be handed papers directly, so Louisiana routes citation through a person authorized to receive it. Article 1261's first rule: serve any one of the corporation's designated agents for service of process, the person or entity the corporation registered with the state for exactly this purpose.
When that route fails — the corporation never designated an agent, the registered agent died, resigned, or was removed, or the process server certifies that diligent effort couldn't locate the agent — Article 1261 opens three backup paths. The server may personally serve any officer or director, or anyone named as an officer or director in the corporation's most recent report to the secretary of state. The server may personally serve any employee of suitable age and discretion found where the corporation regularly does business. Or, if the corporation is subject to Louisiana's long-arm statute, service can proceed under that separate statutory procedure.
Banks follow a different statute entirely, referenced but not restated in Article 1261, reflecting the state's separate regulatory framework for financial institutions. And if none of Article 1261's methods succeed for an ordinary corporation, Article 1262 supplies a final fallback: service on the secretary of state.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a corporation normally served with citation in Louisiana?
By personal service on any one of the corporation's agents for service of process, the person or entity it has designated with the state to receive service.
What if the corporation doesn't have a registered agent, or the agent can't be found?
The server can personally serve an officer or director, or someone named as one in the corporation's last report to the secretary of state, or an employee of suitable age and discretion at a place where the corporation does business.
Are banks served the same way as other corporations?
No. Article 1261 directs that banks be served under a separate statute governing banking institutions rather than the general corporate service rules.
What happens if none of these methods work?
Article 1262 allows service on the secretary of state as a last resort, once the process server certifies that diligent effort to serve the corporation directly has failed.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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