Art. 1457.Interrogatories to Parties; Availability; Additional, Hearing Required
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title III. Production of Evidence · Chapter 3. Discovery · Last amended 1997 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1457 lets any party serve up to thirty-five written interrogatories on another party without asking the court first, allows one additional batch of thirty-five on a simple ex parte motion, and requires a contested hearing and good cause before a court will approve any interrogatories beyond that.
Full Text of Art. 1457
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A. Any party may serve upon any other party written interrogatories to be answered by the party served or, if the party served is a public or private corporation or a partnership or association or governmental agency, by any officer or agent, who shall furnish such information as is available to the party. Interrogatories may accompany the petition or be served after commencement of the action and without leave of court.
B. During an entire proceeding, written interrogatories served in accordance with Paragraph A shall not exceed thirty-five in number, including subparts, without leave of court. Additional interrogatories, not to exceed thirty-five in number including subparts, shall be allowed upon ex parte motion of any party. Thereafter, any party desiring to serve additional interrogatories shall file a written motion setting forth the proposed additional interrogatories and the reasons establishing good cause why they should be allowed to be filed. The court after contradictory hearing and for good cause shown may allow the requesting party to serve such additional interrogatories as the court deems appropriate. Local rules of court may provide a greater restriction on the number of written interrogatories.
Interrogatories are written questions one party sends another party to answer under oath. Article 1457 lets any party serve them on any other party in the case, and if the party served is a corporation, partnership, or government agency, an officer or agent answers on its behalf using whatever information the entity has available. Interrogatories can go out with the petition itself or at any point after the suit begins, and neither move requires the court's permission.
What does require attention is the numeric cap. A party can serve up to thirty-five interrogatories, counting subparts, without asking the court for anything. Need more? A second batch of up to thirty-five is available just by filing an ex parte motion, no hearing, no opposing argument. Only once a party wants to go beyond seventy total does the process get harder: a written motion spelling out the proposed questions and the good cause for asking them, followed by a contradictory hearing where the other side can push back.
The cap exists to stop discovery from turning into an open-ended fishing expedition. Subparts count toward the limit, so a single numbered question with five lettered subparts uses up five of the thirty-five. And local court rules can set a lower ceiling than the Code does, so it pays to check the rules of the district where the case is pending before drafting a set of questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many interrogatories can I send in a Louisiana lawsuit?
Up to thirty-five, including subparts, without needing the court's permission. A second set of up to thirty-five more is available on a simple ex parte motion.
Do I need the court's permission for the first thirty-five?
No. Article 1457 lets a party serve interrogatories with the petition or at any time afterward, up to the thirty-five-question cap, without leave of court.
What happens if I want to ask more than seventy interrogatories total?
A party must file a written motion setting out the proposed additional questions and the reasons they're needed, and the court holds a contradictory hearing before deciding how many more, if any, to allow.
Can a local court limit interrogatories to fewer than thirty-five?
Yes. Article 1457 expressly allows local rules of court to set a greater restriction on the number of written interrogatories than the Code itself provides.
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
Also known as:interrogatoriesROGwritten interrogatoriesinterrogatory limit35 interrogatories rule