La. Ch. Code art. 641

This is the official text of La. Ch. Code art. 641, part of Louisiana’s Children's Code — governs child custody, child protection, and juvenile justice in Louisiana.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Service and return; nonresident parent

Official statutory text

A. If a parent does not reside within this state, service of the petition and notice, and summons if issued by the court, shall be made not less than five days prior to commencement of the adjudication hearing on the matter by any of the following means:

(1) Certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address indicated in the petition.

(2) Electronic mail to the electronic mail address expressly designated by the parent in a pleading, at the continued custody or continued safety plan hearing, or at any other hearing at which the parent personally appeared before the court.

B. If service was made by certified mail, the person effecting the service shall file the return receipt as proof of service.

C. Service by electronic mail is complete upon transmission but is not effective if the serving party learns the transmission did not reach the party to be served.

Acts 1991, No. 235, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 2015, No. 124, §1, eff. June 19, 2015.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.