Deed Execution and Recording Formalities in Louisiana

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Louisiana is the only civil-law state, so the vocabulary is different from the other fifty jurisdictions. There is no common-law "deed of grant"; instead the Civil Code governs a "transfer of immovable property." The rules that matter for an ordinary sale or gift of land sit in a few places: article 1839 (how an immovable transfer is made and when it binds outsiders), the two "form" articles for the instruments that transfer it (arts. 1833 and 1836), the community-property articles (arts. 2347 and 2353), the mandate (agency) articles (arts. 2989–3034), and Title XXII-A "Of Registry" (arts. 3338–3368). This page covers an ordinary voluntary transfer of a present ownership interest by an individual owner. Judicial sales, tax sales, transfers through a succession, and donations carry their own extra rules.

Writing and grantor signature

The core rule is one sentence: "A transfer of immovable property must be made by authentic act or by act under private signature" (art. 1839). Both are written instruments signed by the transferor — Louisiana simply gives you two forms to choose from (described in the next two sections). The article does recognize a narrow oral transfer, "valid between the parties when the property has been actually delivered and the transferor recognizes the transfer when interrogated on oath," but that is a courtroom fallback, not a way to convey or record land in practice. No seal, no recital of price, and no magic granting words are required for the transfer to be valid.

Witnesses

How many witnesses you need depends on which form you pick. An authentic act — the usual Louisiana deed — is executed "before a notary public ... in the presence of two witnesses, and signed by each party who executed it, by each witness, and by each notary public" (art. 1833). So the standard deed carries a notary plus two witnesses. An act under private signature is valid between the parties with no witnesses at all; two witnesses come back into the picture only when that private act is later acknowledged before a notary (art. 1836). Because most Louisiana conveyances are drawn as authentic acts, "notary plus two witnesses" is what you will see on almost every deed.

Acknowledgment or notarization

Notarization in Louisiana is about proof, and it works differently for the two forms. An authentic act is already "self-proving" — it was signed in front of a notary and two witnesses, so nothing more is needed to establish it. An act under private signature is a valid transfer even without a notary, but it is only "regarded prima facie as the true and genuine act of a party executing it when his signature has been acknowledged" (art. 1836) — acknowledged before a court, notary, or other officer in the presence of two witnesses. Acknowledgment is what makes a private act stand on its own as evidence; it is not, in Louisiana, a gate the deed must pass through to be recorded, because third-party effect turns on filing (see below). One limit: an acknowledged private act "cannot substitute for an authentic act when the law prescribes such an act."

Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder

Louisiana's marital-signature rule is a community-property rule, not a homestead rule. "The concurrence of both spouses is required for the alienation, encumbrance, or lease of community immovables" and of the furniture or furnishings in the family home (art. 2347). If a spouse tries to convey a community immovable alone, the transfer "is relatively null unless the other spouse has renounced the right to concur" (art. 2353) — meaning the non-signing spouse can have it undone. A spouse's own separate immovable can be conveyed by that spouse alone. Louisiana abolished dower and curtesy long ago and has no general "both spouses must sign" rule for separate property, so the question is always: is this land community or separate?

Signing through an agent or representative

An agent who signs a Louisiana deed acts under a "mandate" (also called a procuration). Two rules matter. First, form follows the act: "when the law prescribes a certain form for an act, a mandate authorizing the act must be in that form" (art. 2993). Since a land transfer must be an authentic act or an acknowledged private act, the power to sell the land must be in that same form — a bare signed note will not do. Second, "the authority to alienate ... must be given expressly," although "neither the property nor its location need be specifically described" (art. 2996): a general power to buy and pay bills is not enough, but the mandate does not have to name the parcel. In practice the mandate is filed in the parish conveyance records with the deed so the agent's authority is on the public record.

Recording office and statewide content

Record the deed in the parish where the land is located. The constitutional provision begins, "Section 28.(A) Powers and Duties; Deputies. In each parish a clerk of the district court shall be elected for a term of four years." That clerk "shall be ex officio notary public and parish recorder of conveyances, mortgages, and other acts" (La. Const. art. V, § 28). Orleans Parish is the exception: its recorder is the Clerk of the Civil District Court. Two content points are statewide. A conveyance "shall designate the name of the person responsible for all property taxes and assessments and include the address where ... notices are to be mailed" (La. R.S. 9:2721(A)) — the tax-notice designation Louisiana recorders look for. And article 3352 lists items an instrument "shall contain when appropriate" — the parties' full names, domiciles, and mailing addresses, their marital status, the property's municipal number, and the notary's ID or the drafting attorney's bar number. But those items are directory, not mandatory: "the recorder shall not refuse to record an instrument because it does not contain" them, and their omission "does not impair the validity of an instrument or the effect given to its recordation." Fees, cover-sheet format, and margins are set locally — check with the parish clerk.

Nonrecording effect and defect cures

A Louisiana deed is fully good between the buyer and seller the moment it is signed. What recording changes is the outside world: "an instrument involving immovable property shall have effect against third persons only from the time it is filed for registry" (art. 1839), and the registry article says the rights it creates are "without effect as to a third person unless the instrument is registered" (art. 3338). Louisiana's public-records doctrine is a pure race system built on that filing: recordation, not who knew what, decides the contest, so an unrecorded transfer is generally without effect against a third person even one who actually knew about it. This is why recording promptly is essential. Recording is not a validation stamp, though — it "does not create a presumption that the instrument is valid or genuine" or as to the parties' capacity (art. 3341), and it cures no forgery, incapacity, or lack of ownership. It does bind the signers: "a party to a recorded instrument may not contradict the terms of the instrument" to the prejudice of a later third person who relies on the record (art. 3342).

What trips people up

• "I knew about the earlier sale, so I lose." Not in Louisiana. Under the public- records doctrine, an unrecorded transfer is generally without effect against a third person even one with actual knowledge of it (arts. 1839, 3338). The race to the parish recorder — not notice — is what settles competing claims, so record the day you close.
• Selling a community-property home on one signature. A community immovable conveyed by one spouse alone is relatively null: the other spouse can undo it (arts. 2347, 2353). Confirm whether the property is community or separate before relying on a single signature.
• Using a general power of attorney to sign the deed. A mandate to sell land must be in the same form the land transfer requires — an authentic act or acknowledged private act — and must expressly authorize alienation (arts. 2993, 2996). A garden-variety "handle my affairs" power will not carry a real-estate sale.
• Assuming the recorder vouches for the deed. The clerk records without judging the deed, and recording "does not create a presumption that the instrument is valid or genuine" (art. 3341). Acceptance is not a ruling that the seller owned the land or signed freely.

Common questions

Do I have to use a notary to sell my Louisiana house? In practice, yes. The standard Louisiana deed is an authentic act, which by definition is signed before a notary and two witnesses (art. 1833). The Code technically allows an act under private signature too, but to be self-proving and to fit smoothly into the records it is acknowledged before a notary anyway (art. 1836).

Does an unrecorded Louisiana deed still transfer the property? Yes, between you and the person you sold to — the transfer is valid on signing. What you lose by not filing is protection against everyone else: until the deed is "filed for registry" it has no effect against third persons (arts. 1839, 3338), and a later buyer who records first can win.

My spouse is not on the title — do they still have to sign? If the home is community property, yes. Both spouses must join to convey a community immovable, and a one-spouse deed is relatively null (arts. 2347, 2353). If the property is your separate property, you can sign alone.

Where do I record the deed? With the clerk of court, acting as parish recorder of conveyances, in the parish where the land sits (La. Const. art. V, § 28) — or, in Orleans Parish, the Clerk of the Civil District Court. Include the tax-notice name and mailing address the recorder expects (La. R.S. 9:2721(A)).

Statutes and sources

• La. Civ. Code art. 1839 — transfer of an immovable by authentic act or act under private signature; third-party effect from filing. https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=109078 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 1833 — definition of an authentic act (notary plus two witnesses). https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109072 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 1836 — act under private signature duly acknowledged. https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109075 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 2347 — concurrence of both spouses to alienate community immovables. https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109417 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 2353 — one-spouse alienation of community property is relatively null. https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109424 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 2993 — a mandate must be in the form the law prescribes for the act. https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110030 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 2996 — authority to alienate must be given expressly. https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110033 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 3338 — recordation required for an immovable-transfer instrument to affect third persons. https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110389 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 3341 — limits on the effect of recordation (no presumption of validity, genuineness, or capacity). https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110390 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 3342 — a party to a recorded instrument may not contradict it to a third person's prejudice. https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=110391 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Civ. Code art. 3352 — required information in a recorded act; omission does not bar recording or impair validity. https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=321903 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. R.S. 9:2721(A) — filed conveyance must designate the tax-responsible person and mailing address. https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=107158 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• La. Const. art. V, § 28 — clerk of the district court is ex officio parish recorder of conveyances. https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?p=y&d=206466 (accessed 2026-07-16)