A. No deputy clerk of a district court, except the chief deputy clerk, may exercise any of the powers and authority granted to the clerk of the district court under Articles282 and 283. B. Whether the judge or the clerk, or both, are absent from the parish or not, the chief deputy clerk of a district court may exercise all of the powers and authority granted to the clerk of a district court under Articles282 and 283.
Art. 286.Powers of District Court Clerk Which May Not Be Exercised By Deputy; Powers of Chief Deputy Clerk
Title I. Courts · Chapter 5. Clerks · Enacted 1991 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 286 reserves the quasi-judicial powers in Articles 282 and 283 for the clerk personally and the chief deputy clerk, barring any other deputy from exercising them, while confirming that the chief deputy may use those powers regardless of whether the judge, the clerk, or both are absent from the parish.
Full Text of Art. 286
Amendment History
Acts 1991, No. 174, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Article 255 lets any deputy clerk exercise the clerk's own powers, but Article 286 narrows that for the specific powers in Articles 282 and 283. Signing orders and judgments, granting appeals, handling uncontested successions — none of that is open to just any deputy.
Only the clerk personally, or the chief deputy clerk, may exercise those powers. An ordinary deputy clerk, no matter how experienced, doesn't get to sign an executory process order or probate an uncontested will under this chapter.
The chief deputy's authority doesn't wait on anyone's absence, either. Whether the judge is out of the parish, the clerk is out of the parish, or both are, the chief deputy clerk may still exercise the full range of powers Articles 282 and 283 grant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any deputy clerk sign an order under Article 282 or 283?
No. Article 286 limits those powers to the clerk personally and the chief deputy clerk; other deputies may not exercise them.
What if both the judge and the clerk are out of the parish?
The chief deputy clerk may still exercise the powers granted under Articles 282 and 283, regardless of whether the judge, the clerk, or both are absent.
Why does the law single out the chief deputy clerk?
These powers carry real legal weight — signing orders and judgments in place of a judge — so the legislature reserved them for the clerk and the clerk's top deputy rather than every staff member.
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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