In suits in a parish court or a city court, written pleadings shall be required; provided, that a court may by rule provide for oral pleadings for suits in which the amount in dispute is two thousand dollars or less, and prescribe the form of such pleadings.
Art. 4901.Pleadings In Parish and City Courts
Book VIII. Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction · Title II. Procedure In Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction · Chapter 1. Parish and City Courts · Last amended 1987 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 4901 requires written pleadings in parish and city court suits as the default, while letting a court adopt a local rule permitting oral pleadings, in a form the court prescribes, for suits with two thousand dollars or less in dispute.
Full Text of Art. 4901
Amendment History
Acts 1986, No. 156, §1; Acts 1987, No. 249, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Article 4901 opens Title II's chapter on parish and city court procedure, and it does so by setting the baseline: pleadings in these courts are written, the same starting point Book II uses for ordinary district court proceedings.
The article carves out one exception aimed squarely at the smallest cases these courts handle. A parish or city court may adopt a local rule permitting oral pleadings — skipping the writing altogether — for suits where the amount in dispute, the value of what is being fought over, is two thousand dollars or less.
Nothing about that exception is automatic. A court has to adopt the rule affirmatively, and the rule itself prescribes the form the oral pleading takes. A litigant with a small claim cannot assume oral pleading is available; the local court's own rule controls whether that shortcut exists and what it looks like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do parish and city court pleadings have to be in writing?
Yes, as the default rule under Article 4901.
Can I plead orally in a small claim?
Only if the local court has adopted a rule permitting oral pleadings for claims of two thousand dollars or less.
Who decides the form oral pleadings take?
Each individual court's own rule prescribes the form, since Article 4901 leaves the exception to local rulemaking.
Is oral pleading available in every parish or city court?
No. It is available only where that court's own rules specifically permit it.
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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