A competent major and a competent emancipated minor have the procedural capacity to sue.
Art. 682.Individuals Having Procedural Capacity
Title III. Parties · Chapter 2. Parties Plaintiff · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 682 identifies which individuals can sue in their own name without anyone else standing in for them: a competent adult and a competent emancipated minor, leaving every other category of person to the specific rules that follow in this chapter.
Full Text of Art. 682
Plain-English Summary
Article 682 draws the line between people who can walk into court and sue on their own, and people who need someone else to sue for them. Two groups qualify to act alone: a competent major, meaning an adult who has reached the age of majority and has not been interdicted, and a competent emancipated minor, meaning a minor who has been freed from parental authority through Louisiana's emancipation process and is likewise not interdicted.
Everyone outside those two groups needs a representative to sue on their behalf, and this chapter spells out exactly who that representative is for each category: an unemancipated minor under Article 683, an interdict under Article 684, and so on. Article 682 is the starting point that makes those later articles necessary — it defines the narrow set of people who do not need one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has procedural capacity to sue without a representative in Louisiana?
A competent adult and a competent emancipated minor — anyone else needs a representative, such as a tutor or curator, under the articles that follow.
What does competent mean in Article 682?
It means the person has not been interdicted; an adult or emancipated minor who has been judicially declared incapable of managing their own affairs loses procedural capacity under Article 684 despite otherwise qualifying under Article 682.
Does turning 18 automatically give a minor procedural capacity to sue?
Reaching the age of majority does, since that makes the person a competent major. A minor who has been emancipated before turning 18 also qualifies, but an unemancipated minor under 18 does not.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the vLex (Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, 2026 Edition). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: who can sue on their own in Louisianaprocedural capacity Louisiana civil procedurecompetent major emancipated minorArticle 682 Louisiana Code of Civil Procedurecapacity to sue Louisiana