Louisiana Repossession Law

You thought Louisiana repossession laws were odd and confusing before. Are you aware of the recent changes in Louisiana repossession laws?

Before you determine if the old Louisiana repossession law is applicable for your repossession assignment, or if the new Louisiana repossession law is applicable to your repossession assignment, you need to know if the promissory note that pledged the car as collateral was signed before January 1st, 2005 or after.

For repossession assignments where the promissory note was signed before January 1st, 2005, the old Louisiana repossession law would apply to your repossession assignment. The old Louisiana repossession law states that:

The vehicle cannot be repossessed by self help repossession. That is to say that the vehicle cannot under any circumstances be repossessed by stealth of night. The debtor must be confronted and demand that they voluntarily surrender the collateral back to the lien holder. The debtor must sign a Louisiana voluntary repossession consent form.

In exchange for the debtor voluntarily surrendering the vehicle to be repossessed, the lien holder is barred under Louisiana law from pursuing the debtor for the deficiency balance on the loan.

If the debtor refuses to sign the Louisiana voluntary repossession surrender form, the lien holder must file a replevin action against the debtor. The Louisiana courts will then grant the lien holder a court order to seize the collateral. The debtor can then be held liable for the loan deficiency balance, the court costs and reasonable attorney fees that were required to obtain the replevin order.

Lien holders where the promissory note was signed in another state but is now located in Louisiana are subjected to the Louisiana repossession laws.

For any repossession assignments where the promissory note was signed on or after January 1st 2005, the new Louisiana repossession law is the applicable repossession law to follow. The new Louisiana repossession law states that:

The loan for which the collateral is to be repossessed is at least 60 days past due.

The debtors must be sent a right to cure notice stating that:: "Louisiana repossession law permits the repossession of motor vehicles without judicial process."

The entire right to cure notice must be in at least 12 point type. The notice has to be sent to the debtor certified mail, and the notice must be signed for.

You can then repossess the vehicle using a normal self help repossession service. You can repossess the vehicle by stealth of night without notifying the debtor at the time of repossession.

What's your opinion?

Reader Comments:

RepoRick says:

Wow, and I thought Missouri had strange repossession laws. Louisiana repossession laws are much more complex. Perhaps Missouri isn't so bad after all.