Any party may serve on any other party a request (1) to produce and permit the party making the request, or someone acting on his behalf, to inspect, copy, test, and sample any designated documents or electronically stored information, including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, phono- records, sound recordings, images, and other data or data compilations in any medium from which information can be obtained, translated, if necessary, by the respondent through detection and other devices into reasonably usable form, or except as provided in Article 1462(E), to inspect and copy, test, or sample any tangible things which constitute or contain matters within the scope of Articles 1422 through 1425 and which are in the possession, custody, or control of the party upon whom the request is served; or (2) except as provided in Article 1462(E), to permit entry upon designated land or other property in the possession or control of the party upon whom the request is served for the purpose of inspection and measuring, surveying, photographing, testing, or sampling the property or any designated object or operation thereon, within the scope of Articles 1422 through 1425.
Art. 1461.Production of Documents and Things; Entry Upon Land; Scope
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title III. Production of Evidence · Chapter 3. Discovery · Last amended 2007 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1461 lets any party demand that another party produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things for inspection and copying, or allow entry onto land the party controls for inspection, testing, and photographing, within the scope of ordinary discovery.
Full Text of Art. 1461
Amendment History
Acts 1976, No. 574, §1; Acts 2007, No. 140, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Article 1461 is Louisiana's core request-for-production tool. It lets a party serve on any other party a request to inspect, copy, test, or sample documents and electronically stored information -- writings, photographs, sound recordings, data compilations, and anything else information can be pulled from -- as well as tangible things that bear on the case. The request reaches whatever is in the possession, custody, or control of the party served, whether or not that party generated it.
The article also covers a different kind of demand: entry onto land or other property the responding party possesses or controls, so the requesting party can inspect, measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample the property or something on it. That's the tool a party uses to send an engineer onto a defendant's job site or an expert onto disputed property before trial.
Both kinds of requests are limited to matters within the scope of ordinary discovery -- relevant and not privileged. And both are limited to parties. Reaching documents or property held by someone outside the lawsuit takes a different tool, the subpoena duces tecum described in Article 1463.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I ask another party to hand over under Article 1461?
Documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things within the scope of discovery that are in that party's possession, custody, or control.
Can I ask to go onto someone's property to inspect it?
Yes. Article 1461 also lets a party demand entry onto land or other property the opposing party possesses or controls, for inspecting, measuring, surveying, photographing, testing, or sampling.
Does Article 1461 reach documents held by someone who isn't a party?
No. This article only reaches parties. Getting documents or property access from a nonparty requires a subpoena duces tecum under Article 1463.
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: request for productionRFPdocument requestsentry upon landinspection demand