Art. 5181.Privilege of Proceeding Without Prior Payment of Costs

Book IX. Miscellaneous Provisions and Definitions · Title I. Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 5. Payment of State Inheritance Taxes · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 30, 2026

In one sentenceArticle 5181 lets an individual too poor to pay court costs prosecute or defend a judicial proceeding without prepaying them, while imposing a separate, more restrictive advance-cost schedule tied to present assets on an incarcerated felon who seeks to sue.

Full Text of Art. 5181

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A. Except as provided in Paragraph B of this Article, an individual who is unable to pay the costs of court because of poverty and lack of means may prosecute or defend a judicial proceeding, including a succession proceeding, in any trial or appellate court without paying the costs in advance or as they accrue or furnishing security therefor.

B. In the event any person seeks to prosecute a suit in a court of this state while incarcerated or imprisoned for the commission of a felony without paying the costs in advance as they accrue or furnishing security thereof, the court shall require such person to advance costs in accordance with the following schedule:

Prisoner's Present Assets Advance Cost To Be Paid Minimum Amount Maximum Amount Minimum Amount Maximum Amount

$ 0.00 $ 20.00 $ 0.00 $ 3.00

$ 20.01 $ 45.00 $ 3.00 $ 9.00

$ 45.01 $ 65.00 $9.00 $15.00

$ 65.01 $ 85.00 $15.00 $21.00

$ 85.01 $105.00 $21.00 $27.00

$105.01 $125.00 $27.00 $33.00

$125.01 $145.00 $33.00 $39.00

$145.01 $165.00 $39.00 $45.00

$165.01 $185.00 $45.00 $51.00

$185.01 $205.00 $51.00 $57.00

$205.01 $225.00 $57.00 $63.00

$225.01 $245.00 $63.00 $69.00

$245.01 $265.00 $69.00 $75.00

$265.01 $285.00 $75.00 $81.00

$285.01 $305.00 $81.00 $87.00

$305.01 $325.00 $87.00 $93.00

$325.01 $345.00 $93.00 $99.00

$345.01 $365.00 $99.00 $105.00

$365.01 Up $105.00 to all advance costs.

C. The court for good cause shown may require a prisoner to pay more or less advance cost than is required by the schedule in Paragraph B of this Article if the court finds that the prisoner's prior financial record makes reliance on his present economic status inappropriate.

Amendment History

Amended by Acts 2025, No. 34, §1, eff. 8/1/2025. Amended by Acts 1964, No. 336, §1; Acts 1972, No. 663, §1. Acts 1984, No. 509, §1.

Plain-English Summary

Chapter 5's heading, carried over from an earlier codification, still reads "Payment of State Inheritance Taxes." Its articles have nothing to do with inheritance taxes; they govern the privilege of litigating without paying court costs upfront because of poverty. This mismatch is an artifact of how the Code has been amended over the decades — the substance of the Chapter was replaced at some point while its heading was not — and it is worth naming plainly here so a reader is not thrown off by a title that no longer matches the text beneath it.

What Article 5181 establishes is Louisiana's version of what other American jurisdictions call proceeding in forma pauperis: a mechanism letting someone who cannot afford court costs go forward with a lawsuit, or defend one, without paying those costs in advance, without paying them as they accrue, and without posting security to cover them. Paragraph A states the general rule broadly, covering any judicial proceeding, including a succession proceeding, in any trial or appellate court, so long as the individual is unable to pay because of poverty and lack of means.

Paragraph B carves out a distinct and more cautious rule for a narrower group: a person incarcerated or imprisoned for a felony who wants to prosecute a suit. Rather than the open-ended poverty privilege available to everyone else, an incarcerated litigant faces a graduated schedule tying the advance costs owed to the specific dollar range of the prisoner's present assets, starting near zero for someone with almost nothing and rising toward full advance costs for a prisoner holding several hundred dollars or more. The schedule functions as a calibrated safeguard against frivolous prisoner litigation, requiring some real financial skin in the game from an incarcerated plaintiff whose present assets can bear it, without shutting the courthouse door on one who truly cannot pay anything.

Paragraph C keeps that schedule from being applied mechanically in every case. If the court finds that a prisoner's financial history makes relying on their present asset level inappropriate, for good cause shown, the court can require the prisoner to pay more or less than the schedule would otherwise dictate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this Chapter say "Payment of State Inheritance Taxes" when the articles are about court costs?

The heading is a leftover from an earlier version of the Code. At some point the Chapter's substantive articles were replaced with the poverty-privilege provisions now in force, but the structural heading above them was never updated to match.

What is the privilege of proceeding without prior payment of costs?

It is Louisiana's version of proceeding in forma pauperis: a person who cannot afford court costs because of poverty and lack of means can prosecute or defend a judicial proceeding, including a succession proceeding, without paying those costs in advance, as they accrue, or posting security for them.

Does an incarcerated person get the same poverty privilege as anyone else?

No. Paragraph B of Article 5181 requires an incarcerated felon who wants to sue to pay advance costs on a graduated schedule tied to present assets, rather than receiving the unrestricted privilege available under Paragraph A.

Can a court deviate from the incarcerated litigant's cost schedule?

Yes. Paragraph C lets the court require a prisoner to pay more or less than the schedule specifies, for good cause shown, where the prisoner's prior financial record makes relying on present assets alone inappropriate.

Does the schedule in Paragraph B list an exact dollar figure for every prisoner?

It sets graduated brackets: as a prisoner's present assets rise through a series of dollar ranges, the required advance cost rises correspondingly, from close to nothing for a prisoner with minimal assets up to the full advance costs once assets pass a set threshold.

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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