The following orders and judgments may be signed by the district judge in any place where the judge is physically located:
Art. 194.Power of District Court to Act; Signing Orders and Judgments
Title I. Courts · Chapter 4. Power and Authority · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 194 lists the categories of orders and judgments — including succession and estate matters, ex parte orders, writs, discovery orders, and executory process orders — that a Louisiana district judge may sign from any place the judge happens to be physically located, without needing to be at the courthouse.
Full Text of Art. 194
(1) Order directing the taking of an inventory; judgment decreeing or homologating a partition, when unopposed; judgment probating a testament ex parte; order directing the execution of a testament; order confirming or appointing a legal representative, when unopposed; order appointing an undertutor or an undercurator; order appointing an attorney at law to represent an absent, incompetent, or unrepresented person, or an attorney for an absent heir; order authorizing the sale of property of an estate administered by a legal representative; order directing the publication of the notice of the filing of a tableau of distribution, or of an account, by a legal representative; judgment recognizing heirs or legatees and sending them into possession, when unopposed; all orders for the administration and settlement of a succession, or for the administration of an estate by a legal representative.
(2) Order to show cause; order directing the issuance and providing the security to be furnished by a party for the issuance of a writ of attachment or sequestration; order directing the release of property seized under a writ of attachment or sequestration and providing the security to be furnished therefor; order for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and providing the security therefor; order for the issuance of a writ, or alternative writ, of habeas corpus, mandamus, or quo warranto.
(3) Order for the seizure and sale of property in an executory proceeding.
(4) Order for the taking of testimony by deposition; for the production of documentary evidence; for the production of documents and things for inspection, copying, or photographing; for permission to enter land for the purpose of measuring, surveying, or photographing.
(5) Order or judgment deciding or otherwise disposing of an action, proceeding, or matter that may be tried or heard in chambers.
(6) Order or judgment that may be granted on ex parte motion or application, except an order of appeal on an oral motion.
(7) Any other order or judgment not specifically required by law to be signed in open court.
Amendment History
Amended by Acts 2021, No. 68, §1, eff. 1/1/2022. Amended by Acts 2018, No. 195, §1, eff. 8/1/2018.
Plain-English Summary
Article 194 removes a limitation that once tied certain judicial signatures to a particular place. Rather than requiring a district judge to be at the courthouse, or within a particular office, to sign specific orders and judgments, this article lists categories of orders that the judge may sign wherever the judge is physically located at the time.
The list is long because it gathers many kinds of routine and time-sensitive orders together: succession and estate administration orders, orders appointing or confirming legal representatives, orders authorizing sales of estate property, judgments probating testaments and recognizing heirs when unopposed, orders to show cause, orders setting security for attachment or sequestration writs, temporary restraining orders, writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, or quo warranto, orders for the seizure and sale of property in executory proceedings, discovery-related orders such as those for depositions or document production, and any order or judgment that may be decided on an ex parte motion. A final catch-all covers any other order or judgment not specifically required by law to be signed in open court.
Article 194 addresses where a judge may be when signing — it does not, by itself, address whether the judge may sign from outside the court’s territorial jurisdiction; that separate question is answered by Article 196.1. Read together, the two articles reflect how routine judicial paperwork has moved away from requiring a judge’s physical presence in a specific courtroom.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a district judge have to be at the courthouse to sign an order?
Not for the orders and judgments listed in Article 194. The judge may sign these from wherever the judge is physically located at the time.
What kinds of orders does Article 194 cover?
A broad range: succession and estate administration matters, ex parte orders and judgments, orders to show cause, writs such as habeas corpus and mandamus, discovery orders, executory process orders for seizure and sale, and any other order or judgment the law does not specifically require to be signed in open court.
Does Article 194 let a judge sign from outside the court’s territorial jurisdiction?
Article 194 addresses physical location generally; the question of signing while outside the court’s territorial jurisdiction is addressed separately in Article 196.1.
Are all judgments covered by Article 194?
No. Article 194 excludes an order of appeal taken on an oral motion from the category of ex parte matters it covers, and its final catch-all only reaches orders and judgments not specifically required by law to be signed in open court.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the vLex (Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, 2026 Edition). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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