The clerk of the trial court shall have the duty of preparing the record on appeal. He shall cause it to be lodged with the appellate court on or before the return day or any extension thereof. Failure of the clerk to prepare and lodge the record on appeal either timely or correctly shall not prejudice the appeal.
Art. 2127.Record On Appeal; Preparation
Book III. Proceedings in Appellate Courts · Title I. Appellate Procedure · Chapter 2. Procedure For Appealing · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2127 places the duty to prepare the record on appeal on the trial court clerk, who must lodge it with the appellate court by the return day or any extension, and provides that a clerk's late or flawed preparation does not prejudice the appellant's appeal.
Full Text of Art. 2127
Amendment History
Amended by Acts 1977, No. 178, §1, eff. 1/1/1978. Acts 1984, No. 937, §1.
Plain-English Summary
The record on appeal is the compiled case file sent up to the appellate court: pleadings, exhibits, minute entries, and, where relevant, the trial transcript, giving the appellate judges everything they need to review the case without hearing it again from scratch. Article 2127 places the job of assembling that record on the trial court clerk, not on the parties.
The clerk has to cause the record to be lodged with the appellate court on or before the return day fixed under Article 2125, or any extension of it. This ties the clerk's preparation work directly to the deadlines discussed in the two preceding articles.
Article 2127 then adds a protective rule that runs through the rest of this chapter's record-preparation articles: if the clerk is late, or gets something wrong while putting the record together, that failure does not prejudice the appellant's appeal. The consequences of a clerk's error fall on the process, not on a litigant who paid the required costs and did everything the law asked. Articles 2127.1 through 2128.1 build out the details of how the clerk and court reporters carry out this duty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for putting together the record on appeal in Louisiana?
The trial court clerk, who has the duty of preparing the record and lodging it with the appellate court by the return day or any extension of it.
What is included in the record on appeal?
The pleadings, exhibits, minute entries, and, where relevant, the trial transcript — everything the appellate court needs to review the case without retrying it.
What happens if the clerk lodges the record late or makes a mistake preparing it?
The appellant's appeal is not prejudiced. Article 2127 specifically insulates the appellant from the clerk's failure to prepare or lodge the record timely or correctly.
By when does the record have to reach the appellate court?
On or before the return day set under Article 2125, or any extension of that date.
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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