The appellate procedure provided by Book III for appeals from the district court shall be applicable.
Art. 5003.Procedure For Appealing
Book VIII. Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction · Title II. Procedure In Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction · Chapter 3. Appeals From City and Parish Courts · Enacted 1986 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 5003 folds appeals from parish and city courts into the same appellate procedure Book III uses for appeals from the district court, without a separate set of rules specific to this smaller tier of trial court.
Full Text of Art. 5003
Amendment History
Acts 1986, No. 156, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Rather than build a freestanding appellate procedure for parish and city courts, Article 5003 borrows one wholesale. It declares that the appellate procedure Book III provides for appeals from the district court applies to these appeals as well.
That single cross-reference does considerable work. Everything Book III covers on this site about perfecting an appeal, the appellate briefing process, the record on appeal, and how the court of appeal handles the case once it arrives, applies without modification to an appeal governed by this chapter, once the party has met Article 5002's ten-day deadline for taking the appeal.
The narrow role Article 5003 plays here fits the structure of this chapter: Article 5001 sends the appeal to the court of appeal, Article 5002 sets the deadline, and Article 5003 supplies the mechanics for getting there by pointing back to the procedure that already governs district court appeals, rather than repeating it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an appeal from parish or city court follow a different procedure than a district court appeal?
No. Article 5003 applies the same appellate procedure Book III sets out for district court appeals to parish and city court appeals.
Where can I find the rules that govern how to perfect this kind of appeal?
In Book III, which covers appellate procedure generally. Article 5003 incorporates those rules rather than restating them for parish and city courts.
Why didn't Louisiana write separate appellate rules for parish and city courts?
Because Article 5001 already routes these appeals to the ordinary court of appeal, the same body that hears district court appeals, so applying the same procedure under Article 5003 keeps the system consistent.
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: appellate procedure parish city court LouisianaArticle 5003 LouisianaBook III appeals parish courthow to appeal a parish court judgment Louisiana