Book III. Proceedings in Appellate Courts · Title I. Appellate Procedure · Chapter 2. Procedure For Appealing · Last amended 1995 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2126 requires the trial court clerk to estimate the appeal's costs and notify the parties, gives the appellant 20 days to pay with a possible extension or a reduction procedure, and lets the trial court, after a hearing, dismiss the appeal as abandoned if the appellant misses the deadline.
A. The clerk of the trial court, immediately after the order of appeal has been granted, shall estimate the cost of the preparation of the record on appeal, including the fee of the court reporter for preparing the transcript and the filing fee required by the appellate court. The clerk shall send notices of the estimated costs by certified mail to the appellant and by first class mail to the appellee.
B. Within twenty days of the mailing of notice, the appellant shall pay the amount of the estimated costs to the clerk. The trial court may grant one extension of the period for paying the amount of the estimated costs for not more than an additional twenty days upon written motion showing good cause for the extension.
C. The appellant may question the excessiveness of the estimated costs by filing a written application for reduction in the trial court within the first twenty-day time limit, and the trial court may order reduction of the estimate upon proper showing. If an application for reduction has been timely filed, the appellant shall have twenty days to pay the costs beginning from the date of the action by the trial court on application for reduction.
D. After the preparation of the record on appeal has been completed, the clerk of the trial court shall, as the situation may require, either refund to the appellant the difference between the estimated costs and the actual costs if the estimated costs exceed the actual costs, or send a notice by certified mail to the appellant of the amount of additional costs due, if the actual costs exceed the estimated costs. If the payment of additional costs is required, the appellant shall pay the amount of additional costs within twenty days of the mailing of the notice.
E. If the appellant fails to pay the estimated costs, or the difference between the estimated costs and the actual costs, within the time specified, the trial judge, on his own motion or upon motion by the clerk or by any party, and after a hearing, shall:
(1)Enter a formal order of dismissal on the grounds of abandonment; or
(2)Grant a ten day period within which costs must be paid in full, in default of which the appeal is dismissed as abandoned.
F. If the appellant pays the costs required by this Article, the appeal may not be dismissed because of the passage of the return day without an extension being obtained or because of an untimely lodging of the record on appeal.
Preparing a record on appeal costs money: the court reporter's fee for the transcript and the appellate court's filing fee both have to be paid before the record can move forward. Article 2126 makes the trial court clerk responsible for estimating that cost immediately after the order of appeal is granted, notifying the appellant by certified mail and the appellee by first class mail.
The appellant has 20 days from that mailing to pay the estimated costs, and the trial court may grant one extension of up to 20 additional days on a written motion showing good cause. An appellant who thinks the estimate is too high can file a written application for reduction within that first 20-day period; if the trial court reduces the estimate, the appellant then gets a fresh 20 days from that ruling to pay.
Once the record is prepared, the clerk reconciles the estimate against the real cost: refunding the difference if the estimate was too high, or sending a certified-mail notice of the shortfall if it was too low, with 20 more days to pay any additional amount due.
If the appellant misses a payment deadline, the trial judge, after a hearing prompted by the judge's own motion, the clerk's motion, or a party's motion, either dismisses the appeal outright as abandoned or grants one final 10-day grace period, after which nonpayment triggers dismissal. But an appellant who does pay is protected: once the required costs are paid, the appeal cannot be dismissed just because the return day passed without an extension or because the record was lodged late.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides how much a Louisiana appeal will cost, and when?
The trial court clerk, who must estimate the cost of preparing the record immediately after the order of appeal is granted and mail notice of that estimate to the parties.
How long do I have to pay estimated appeal costs?
Twenty days from the mailing of notice, with the trial court able to grant one extension of up to 20 additional days for good cause.
Can I dispute the clerk's cost estimate?
Yes. Article 2126 lets an appellant file a written application for reduction within the first 20-day period, and the trial court can reduce the estimate on a proper showing.
What happens if I don't pay the estimated costs in time?
After a hearing, the trial court either dismisses the appeal as abandoned or grants a final 10-day period to pay, after which nonpayment results in dismissal.
Does paying the required costs protect my appeal even if the record is lodged late?
Yes. Article 2126 provides that once the appellant pays the required costs, the appeal cannot be dismissed for the passage of the return day without an extension or for an untimely lodging of the record.
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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