Art. 3604.Form, Contents, and Duration of Restraining Order
Book VII. Special Proceedings · Title I. Provisional Remedies · Chapter 2. Injunction · Last amended 2014 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3604 sets the formal requirements for a temporary restraining order, including the date and hour of issuance, the reasons for proceeding without notice, and a duration capped at ten days with extensions for good cause, and adds special duration rules for divorce-related and domestic-violence-related restraining orders and financial-institution compliance provisions.
A. A temporary restraining order shall be endorsed with the date and hour of issuance; shall be filed in the clerk's office and entered of record; shall state why the order was granted without notice and hearing; and shall expire by its terms within such time after entry, not to exceed ten days, as the court prescribes. A restraining order, for good cause shown, and at any time before its expiration, may be extended by the court for one or more periods not exceeding ten days each. The party against whom the order is directed may consent that it be extended for a longer period. The reasons for each extension shall be entered of record.
B. Nevertheless, in a suit for divorce, a temporary restraining order issued in conjunction with a rule to show cause for a preliminary injunction shall remain in force until a hearing is held on the rule for the preliminary injunction prohibiting a spouse from:
(1)Disposing of or encumbering community property;
(3)Removing a child from the jurisdiction of the court.
C.
(1)A temporary restraining order issued in conjunction with a rule to show cause for a protective order filed in an action pursuant to the Protection from Family Violence Act, R.S.46:2121 et seq., and pursuant to the Protection From Dating Violence Act, R.S.46:2151, shall remain in force until a hearing is held on the rule for the protective order or for thirty days, whichever occurs first. If the initial rule to show cause is heard by a hearing officer, the temporary restraining order shall remain in force for fifteen days after the hearing or until the judge signs the protective order, whichever occurs last. At any time before the expiration of a temporary restraining order issued pursuant to this Paragraph, it may be extended by the court for a period not exceeding thirty days.
(2)In the event that the hearing on the rule for the protective order is continued by the court because of a declared state of emergency made in accordance with R.S.29:724, any temporary restraining order issued in the matter shall remain in force for five days after the date of conclusion of the state of emergency. When a temporary restraining order remains in force under this Paragraph, the court shall reassign the rule for a protective order for hearing at the earliest possible time, but no later than five days after the date of conclusion of the state of emergency. The reassignment of the rule shall take precedence over all matters except older matters of the same character.
D. To be effective against a federally insured financial institution, a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction issued in accordance with Subparagraph (B)(1) of this Article shall be served in accordance with the provisions of R.S.6:285(C). A temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction granted pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall be effective only against accounts, safe deposit boxes, or other assets listed or held in the name of the following:
(1)One or both of the spouses named in the injunction.
(2)Another party or business entity specifically named in the injunction.
E. A federally insured financial institution shall not be liable for loss or damages resulting from its actions to comply with a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction provided that the requirements of this Article have been met.
A temporary restraining order's short life span is one of its defining features, and Article 3604 spells out exactly how short. The order must be endorsed with the date and hour it was issued, filed and entered of record in the clerk's office, and must state why it was granted without notice and a hearing, tying back to the no-notice conditions in Article 3603. Its default duration cannot exceed ten days.
Extensions are possible but constrained. For good cause shown, the court can extend the order for one or more additional periods, each no longer than ten days, with the reasons for every extension entered into the record. The party the order restrains can agree to a longer extension by consent, which is not itself capped the way a court-ordered extension is.
Divorce cases and domestic-violence-related protective order cases each get their own extended duration rules layered onto this general framework. A TRO issued alongside a rule to show cause for a preliminary injunction in a divorce action, restraining a spouse from disposing of community property, harming the other spouse or a child, or removing a child from the court's jurisdiction, stays in force until the preliminary injunction hearing rather than expiring after ten days. A TRO tied to a protective-order rule to show cause under the domestic and dating violence statutes remains in force until that hearing or thirty days, whichever comes first, with its own rules for hearing-officer referrals and emergency continuances. The article closes with provisions making certain community-property TROs binding on federally insured financial institutions holding the listed accounts, and shielding those institutions from liability for complying in good faith.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Louisiana temporary restraining order last?
By default, no more than ten days from entry, though the court can extend it for one or more additional periods of up to ten days each for good cause, or the restrained party can consent to a longer extension.
What information does a TRO have to include?
The date and hour of issuance, and a statement of why it was granted without notice and a hearing, under Article 3604, in addition to being filed and entered of record.
Does a divorce-case restraining order expire after ten days too?
Not necessarily. A TRO issued with a rule to show cause for a preliminary injunction in a divorce action, covering community property disposal, harm to a spouse or child, or removing a child from the court's jurisdiction, stays in force until the preliminary injunction hearing.
How long does a domestic-violence-related TRO last before the protective-order hearing?
Until the hearing on the rule for the protective order or thirty days, whichever occurs first, subject to the article's rules for hearing-officer referrals and state-of-emergency continuances.
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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