Louisiana earns a D+ for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Low bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove by preponderance of the evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 80% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (60% to the seizing agencies and 20% to the prosecuting district attorneys’ offices; the remaining 20% goes to the state’s criminal court fund).
The letter grade reflects Louisiana’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Louisiana?
Under Louisiana law, prosecutors’ and court deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 360 days, but the wait may be longer as the deadline for the hearing can be extended. While you wait, the government has your property, but if you act quickly, you can try to get it back while the case continues by requesting a probable cause hearing.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $259 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Louisiana Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $4,483,550 | $1,993,010 | $428,000 | $6,904,560 |
| 2001 | $3,110,304 | $1,415,443 | $172,000 | $4,697,747 |
| 2002 | $4,800,449 | $930,075 | $4,513,000 | $10,243,524 |
| 2003 | $4,635,865 | $2,158,907 | $81,000 | $6,875,772 |
| 2004 | $7,928,592 | $1,501,057 | $0 | $9,429,649 |
| 2005 | $4,992,415 | $1,670,434 | $188,000 | $6,850,849 |
| 2006 | $8,242,709 | $2,149,234 | $1,398,000 | $11,789,943 |
| 2007 | $7,439,139 | $2,796,426 | $160,000 | $10,395,565 |
| 2008 | $6,665,129 | $2,772,516 | $560,000 | $9,997,645 |
| 2009 | $8,925,206 | $4,039,358 | $657,000 | $13,621,564 |
| 2010 | $6,387,868 | $2,510,668 | $545,000 | $9,443,536 |
| 2011 | $7,902,238 | $6,664,987 | $331,000 | $14,898,225 |
| 2012 | $8,396,655 | $4,935,726 | $188,000 | $13,520,381 |
| 2013 | $8,356,682 | $1,919,675 | $522,000 | $10,798,357 |
| 2014 | $7,079,489 | $1,546,928 | $522,000 | $9,148,417 |
| 2015 | $6,488,597 | $4,138,006 | $115,000 | $10,741,603 |
| 2016 | $12,616,134 | $1,409,787 | $81,000 | $14,106,921 |
| 2017 | $9,782,037 | $4,413,440 | $34,000 | $14,229,477 |
| 2018 | $9,442,254 | $2,639,147 | $8,000 | $12,089,401 |
| 2019 | $13,492,329 | $3,484,313 | $169,000 | $17,145,642 |
| 2020 | $6,542,929 | $1,304,564 | $295,000 | $8,142,493 |
| 2021 | $13,376,607 | $1,262,618 | $1,150,000 | $15,789,225 |
| 2022 | $8,466,554 | $2,019,230 | $68,000 | $10,553,784 |
| 2023 | $5,430,860 | $2,486,557 | $67,000 | $7,984,417 |
| Totals | $184,984,591 | $62,162,106 | $12,252,000 | $259,398,697 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Louisiana does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Louisiana agencies have generated more than $74 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, 66 Louisiana agencies, or an estimated 21% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Louisiana Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
Louisiana does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
Louisiana does not report the types of property forfeited.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
Louisiana does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Agencies do not provide detailed data on seized or forfeited property, resulting in limited transparency into forfeiture activity in the state.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
FStatewide Forfeiture Reports
FPenalties for Failure to File a Report
FAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
FAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
DFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
DFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Forfeiture reports for district attorneys statewide were obtained via public records requests to the state attorney general and governor. Revenues represent disbursements of forfeited currency and proceeds of forfeited property sold, as well as the estimated value of vehicles put into service, in a calendar year. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Preponderance of the evidence.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2612(G).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2605.
Financial incentive: 80% (60% to the law enforcement agencies that seized the property, 20% to the district attorney’s office(s) that handled the forfeiture action). The remaining 20% goes to the criminal court fund.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2616(B)(3).
Process: La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2601 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); La. Code Civ. Proc. Ann. art. 1201 (service of complaint); id. art. 1844 (default judgment).