After deducting the costs, the sheriff shall first pay the amount due the seizing creditor, then the inferior security interests, mortgages, liens, and privileges on the property sold, and shall pay to the debtor whatever surplus may remain.
Art. 2373.Distribution of Proceeds of Sale
Book IV. Execution of Judgments · Title II. Money Judgments · Chapter 3. The Adjudication and Its Effect · Enacted 1989 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2373 sets the order in which the sheriff pays out the proceeds of a judicial sale: first the costs, then the seizing creditor, then inferior security interests, mortgages, liens, and privileges, with any leftover balance going to the judgment debtor.
Full Text of Art. 2373
Amendment History
Acts 1989, No. 137, §18, eff. 9/1/1989.
Plain-English Summary
Once the property is sold, someone has to divide the money among everyone with a claim to it. Article 2373 lays out that sequence. The sheriff deducts the costs of the seizure and sale first, since those expenses made the recovery possible in the first place.
After costs, the seizing creditor gets paid the amount due on the judgment that triggered the seizure. Only then does the sheriff turn to the inferior security interests, mortgages, liens, and privileges on the property, paying them in whatever order their own ranking calls for. Whatever remains after every claim is satisfied belongs to the judgment debtor, since the sale can only be used to collect what creditors are owed.
This distribution sequence assumes there is enough money to go around. Articles 2374 and 2377 address the more complicated situations, where a superior encumbrance changes how much the purchaser pays the sheriff in the first place, or where the proceeds fall short of paying every inferior claim in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who gets paid first from a Louisiana sheriff's sale?
The costs of the seizure and sale come out first, followed by the amount owed to the seizing creditor, then the inferior security interests, mortgages, liens, and privileges on the property.
Does the judgment debtor ever see any money from the sale?
Only if something is left over after the costs, the seizing creditor, and every inferior claim have been paid in full. Article 2373 directs any surplus to the debtor.
What if there isn't enough money to pay every inferior lienholder?
Article 2377 addresses that situation, allowing the sheriff to deposit the remaining funds with the court and proceed by contradictory motion to sort out the inferior creditors' competing claims.
Does Article 2373 cover claims superior to the seizing creditor?
No. A superior security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege is handled differently, under Articles 2372 and 2374, because the property is sold subject to it rather than paid out of the sheriff's proceeds.
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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