No technical forms of pleading are required. All allegations of fact of the petition, exceptions, or answer shall be simple, concise, and direct, and shall be set forth in numbered paragraphs. As far as practicable, the contents of each paragraph shall be limited to a single set of circumstances.
Art. 854.Form of Pleading
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title I. Pleading · Chapter 1. General Dispositions · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 854 dispenses with technical pleading forms in Louisiana, requiring only that factual allegations in a petition, exception, or answer be simple, concise, and direct, set out in numbered paragraphs that each cover, as far as practicable, a single set of circumstances.
Full Text of Art. 854
Plain-English Summary
Louisiana does not ask drafters to chase a required form or magic words. Article 854 requires only that the factual allegations in a petition, exception, or answer be simple, concise, and direct — telling the court and the other side what happened in plain terms.
Those allegations have to appear in numbered paragraphs, and as far as it is practicable to do so, each paragraph should be limited to a single set of circumstances. That structure lets the other side admit or deny each numbered allegation cleanly, and lets everyone — the parties, the court, and later filings — refer back to a specific fact by paragraph number instead of by a vague description.
This flexibility on the front end of drafting pairs with Article 865's instruction on the back end: courts construe pleadings to reach substantial justice. Together, the two articles favor a case decided on its merits over one lost to a drafting misstep.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need special legal language to draft a Louisiana petition?
No. Article 854 requires no technical forms of pleading, only that the factual allegations be simple, concise, and direct.
Why do Louisiana pleadings use numbered paragraphs?
Numbering lets the other side respond to each allegation individually and lets the parties and the court refer back to a specific fact by paragraph number rather than by a general description.
What does 'a single set of circumstances' per paragraph mean?
It means each numbered paragraph should, so far as practicable, cover one factual point rather than mixing several unrelated facts together, which keeps the pleading easy to admit or deny.
Is there a required form for a Louisiana pleading?
No required form exists. What matters is that the allegations are simple, concise, direct, and organized into numbered paragraphs.
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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