A. To determine the amount due to the owner of any mortgage, security interest, lien, privilege, or other encumbrance that is superior to that of the seizing creditor, hereinafter "superior encumbrance", the sheriff or the seizing creditor may cause a subpoena duces tecum to be issued by the clerk of court to the owner or servicer of an obligation secured by a superior encumbrance, requiring that the owner or servicer of any such obligation produce to the sheriff or to the seizing creditor a document setting forth the amount due to the owner of the obligations secured by the superior encumbrance, as of the scheduled date of the sheriff's sale. The subpoena duces tecum shall be served on the owner or servicer of the superior encumbrance at least fourteen calendar days before the response is due, and shall be made returnable at least seven calendar days prior to the scheduled date of the sheriff's sale, at the office of the sheriff or at the office of the seizing creditor or its attorney. If the owner or servicer of the superior encumbrance has a registered agent for service of process in the state, service of process shall be made by one of the following methods:
Art. 2336.1.Determination of Superior Encumbrances Or Privileges
Book IV. Execution of Judgments · Title II. Money Judgments · Chapter 2. Judicial Sale Under Fieri Facias · Enacted 2022 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2336.1 lets the sheriff or the seizing creditor obtain, through a subpoena duces tecum served on the holder or servicer of a superior mortgage or lien, a sworn accounting of exactly what is owed on that encumbrance as of the sale date, with set deadlines for service, response, and later updates if the sale is postponed.
Full Text of Art. 2336.1
(1) The subpoena shall be served on the registered agent by the sheriff.
(2) If service is made through certified mail or overnight courier, the envelope shall be directed to the attention of the registered agent.
B. The owner or servicer shall respond to the sheriff or the seizing creditor, depending on who has caused the subpoena duces tecum to issue, at least seven calendar days prior to the scheduled sheriff's sale. The response shall include the total amount of all obligations secured by the superior encumbrance, and shall itemize the amount due on each obligation by setting out the principal, accrued interest, any negative or positive escrow, any other charges or expenses of all obligations secured by the superior encumbrance, and any attorney fees, court costs, and sheriff's costs that have been incurred in connection with the enforcement of the superior encumbrance or the obligations secured by the superior encumbrance. If a response is timely made, no personal appearance shall be required in connection with the subpoena duces tecum.
C. The subpoena duces tecum may be served by the sheriff or by the seizing creditor either in accordance with the procedure for subpoenas in Chapter 1 of Title III of Book II of this Code, or by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by commercial courier. The subpoena duces tecum may be served within or outside of the state.
D. More than one subpoena duces tecum may be issued in connection with a superior encumbrance.
E. If the date of the sheriff's sale is postponed, or stopped and thereafter rescheduled, the seizing creditor may request that the owner or servicer of the superior encumbrance update the amounts due. The request shall be made in writing and served on the owner or servicer of the superior encumbrance either in the manner required for subpoenas, or by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by recognized overnight courier, at least fourteen days before the response is due. The response shall be due at least seven days prior to the sale date. If the owner or servicer of the superior encumbrance has a registered agent for service of process in the state, service of process shall be made by one of the following methods:
(1) The request shall be served on the registered agent by the sheriff.
(2) If service is made through certified mail or overnight courier, the envelope shall be directed to the attention of the registered agent.
F. Nothing in this Article shall prohibit the owner or servicer of a superior encumbrance from voluntarily providing the requested information without the necessity of a subpoena duces tecum or written request, or from voluntarily waiving or accepting service of the subpoena duces tecum or written request.
G. The owner or servicer of the superior encumbrance may update or correct its latest response by providing to the sheriff or the seizing creditor, depending on at whose request the latest subpoena duces tecum or written request was issued, with an updated or corrected response, if the updated or corrected response is received at least twenty-four hours before the time scheduled for the sheriff's sale.
H. If the owner or servicer of the superior encumbrance is a bank as defined in R.S.6:333(A) or an affiliate as defined in R.S.6:333(A), then it will be entitled to charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed twenty-five dollars, for each time that information is requested or updates of information provided. The fee shall be payable only after the requested information has been provided to the person requesting the information, which fees shall be taxed as costs.
Amendment History
Added by Acts 2022, No. 91, §1, eff. 8/1/2022.
Plain-English Summary
Articles 2335 through 2338 all depend on knowing the precise dollar amount owed on any mortgage, security interest, lien, or privilege that outranks the seizing creditor, whether to calculate the two-thirds floor net of that superior debt, to determine whether a bid clears the costs-plus-superior-encumbrance line under Article 2337, or to figure out what a purchaser is taking on. Article 2336.1 supplies a formal tool for pinning that figure down before the sale happens, rather than leaving the sheriff or the creditor to rely on informal requests to the superior lienholder.
The mechanism is a subpoena duces tecum, a court-issued demand for documents, served through the clerk of court on the owner or servicer of the superior encumbrance. It requires that party to produce a written statement of the total amount due as of the scheduled sale date, itemized by principal, accrued interest, any escrow balance, other charges, and any attorney fees, court costs, and sheriff's costs tied to enforcing that superior debt. The subpoena has to be served at least fourteen calendar days before the response is due, and the response itself is due at least seven calendar days before the sale; if the lienholder has a registered agent in the state, service goes through that agent.
The article builds in flexibility for a process that does not always run on schedule. More than one subpoena can be issued on the same superior encumbrance, and if the sale gets postponed or stopped and later rescheduled, the seizing creditor can request an updated figure on a similar timetable. A lienholder can also volunteer the payoff information without waiting for a subpoena, or correct an earlier response, so long as the update reaches the sheriff or creditor at least twenty-four hours before the sale.
Where the lienholder is a bank or an affiliate of one, it may charge a modest fee, capped at twenty-five dollars, each time it supplies or updates this information. That fee is payable only after the information has been delivered, and it gets taxed as a cost of the proceeding rather than absorbed by the party who requested it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would the sheriff need a subpoena to find out what's owed on someone else's mortgage?
Because the sale's price floors and disclosure rules under Articles 2335 through 2338 depend on knowing the exact amount owed on any superior encumbrance, and Article 2336.1 provides a formal way to compel that accounting from the lienholder or its servicer.
How long before the sale must a superior lienholder respond to the subpoena?
The response is due at least seven calendar days before the scheduled sheriff's sale, and the subpoena itself must be served at least fourteen calendar days before the response is due.
Can a superior lienholder just volunteer the payoff figure without being subpoenaed?
Yes. Article 2336.1(F) allows the owner or servicer to provide the information voluntarily, or to waive or accept service of the subpoena, without requiring the formal process.
What happens if the sale date changes after the payoff figure was already provided?
The seizing creditor can request an updated figure from the lienholder on a similar notice-and-response timetable, and the lienholder can also update or correct its earlier response up to twenty-four hours before the sale.
Can a lender charge a fee for supplying this payoff information?
If the lienholder is a bank or bank affiliate, it can charge up to twenty-five dollars each time information is requested or updated, payable once the information is delivered and taxed as a cost.
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: subpoena duces tecum superior mortgage payoff Louisianadetermining superior lien payoff before sheriff's saleArticle 2336.1 Louisianamortgage servicer payoff statement sheriff's salesuperior encumbrance amount due Louisiana