When no written pleadings are required, the justice of the peace or the clerk of court shall record in a permanent book or case file the title of the case, the docket number, the name and address of all parties, a brief statement of the nature and amount of the claim, the issuance and service of citation, the defenses pleaded, motions and other pleas made, the names of witnesses who testified, a list of the documents offered at the trial, the rendition of judgment, and any appeal therefrom.
Art. 4918.Record of the Case; Subsequent Entries; Justice of the Peace Courts; District Courts With Concurrent Jurisdiction
Book VIII. Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction · Title II. Procedure In Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction · Chapter 2. Civil Jurisdiction For Justice of the Peace Courts · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 4918 requires the justice of the peace or clerk of court to keep a permanent written record of each case pleaded orally, capturing the parties, the claim, service of citation, defenses and motions raised, witnesses, documents offered, the judgment, and any appeal.
Full Text of Art. 4918
Amendment History
Acts 1986, No. 156, §1; Acts 2004, No. 679, §1, eff. 1/1/2005.
Plain-English Summary
Oral pleading under Article 4917 saves parties the trouble of drafting papers, but it leaves a gap someone has to fill: without written filings, how does anyone later confirm what was claimed, what was answered, or what the court decided? Article 4918 answers that by shifting the record-keeping duty onto the court itself.
When no written pleadings are required, the justice of the peace or the clerk of court must record the case in a permanent book or case file. That entry has to include the case title and docket number, the name and address of every party, a brief description of the nature and amount of the claim, when citation issued and how it was served, the defenses pleaded and any motions or other pleas made, the names of witnesses who testified, a list of the documents offered at trial, how judgment came out, and whether anyone appealed.
The result functions like a substitute case file, giving the parties, a reviewing court, or the justice of the peace at a later trial date a written account of a proceeding that otherwise unfolded entirely in spoken words.
Frequently Asked Questions
If pleadings in justice of the peace court are oral, is there any written record at all?
Yes. Article 4918 requires the justice of the peace or clerk to record the case in a permanent book or case file whenever no written pleadings were filed.
What has to appear in that record?
The case title and docket number, the parties' names and addresses, the nature and amount of the claim, citation issuance and service, defenses and motions raised, witnesses, documents offered at trial, the judgment, and any appeal.
Who is responsible for keeping this record?
The justice of the peace or the clerk of court, under Article 4918, rather than the parties themselves.
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: record keeping justice of the peace courtArticle 4918 Louisianacase file oral pleadings Louisianajustice of the peace court docket record