Louisiana Parish & City Tax Collectors
Compliance Cycle Reference
Statutory Workflow Reference

Louisiana Tax Sale
Compliance Cycle

Louisiana law imposes a strict, sequential pre-auction compliance process. Every milestone below is a statutory deadline — not a guideline. Missing any step creates a voidable sale. JurisDeed manages the entire workflow, tracks every cost per-account, and delivers a compliant documentation package for your records. This cycle applies to both pre-2026 parcels and 2026 Act 774 tax lien parcels unless otherwise noted.

Pre-2026 = Ownership Bid-Down Act 774 (2026) = Interest Rate Bid-Down
Compliance Timeline

Annual Tax Sale Cycle — Parish Fiscal Year

Each phase below corresponds to a statutory deadline. Per-account costs are shown in bold. All charges are encodable to the delinquent tax bill account for statutory recovery.

Oct – Nov
Roll Intake & Pre-Sale Research
RS 47:2153

JurisDeed receives the delinquent tax roll and begins account-level research.

  • Account origination — each parcel assigned a unique compliance record ($10/account)
  • LTC change order research — confirm current assessed ownership ($10/account)
  • Tax debtor bankruptcy search — PACER/bankruptcy registry check ($10/account)
  • Identify Act 384 trigger parcels (vacant, blighted, or tax-adjudicated properties)
Pre-2026Act 774
First Monday of February
Certified Notice Campaign Launches
RS 47:2153(A)

Certified mail notices must be sent to each last-known address of the tax debtor and every mortgagee of record.

  • Certified mail notice of tax sale dispatched ($22/notice)
  • First-class mail notice dispatched simultaneously ($3/notice)
  • Delivery confirmation tracked per USPS return receipt
Upon Returned Mail
Skip-Trace & Follow-Up Campaign — Triggered
RS 47:2153(B)

When certified mail is returned undeliverable, skip-trace is triggered. This phase incurs costs only on affected parcels.

  • Skip-trace research — locate alternative address(es) ($60/parcel)
  • Phone noticing campaign to known numbers ($28/parcel)
  • First-class mail to current occupant(s) if different from record owner ($3/notice)
  • Act 384 certified mail campaign on applicable parcels ($22/notice + $35 research)
Triggered only — not charged on every parcel
20 Days Before Auction
Official Journal Publication
RS 47:2153(C)

Each delinquent parcel must be published in the official journal of the parish at least 20 days before the sale.

  • Publication list prepared and submitted to official journal (As quoted — varies by parish publication)
  • Publication rates set by newspaper; government rate may or may not apply
  • Passed through at actual cost plus coordination markup
Pre-Auction Week
Final Research Run & Compliance Certification
RS 47:2153; RS 47:2156

Second LTC and bankruptcy research runs completed. Pre-sale compliance certificate issued for each parcel.

  • LTC change order final check ($10/account — 2nd run)
  • Bankruptcy final search ($10/account — 2nd run)
  • Pre-sale compliance certificate per parcel ($15–$25)
  • Affidavit of Costs (RS 47:2156) prepared and delivered to collector before payment received
Auction Day
Tax Sale — Auction Coordination
RS 47:2153–2154; Act 774

JurisDeed coordinates with your parish's selected auction platform. We are vendor-neutral — no platform conflicts.

  • Auction day coordination support ($15/parcel — Track 2 only)
  • Payment processing coordination ($10/parcel — Track 2 only)
  • Act 774 (2026): interest-rate bid-down mechanism used for post-2026 parcels
  • Pre-2026: ownership bid-down structure used for prior-year parcels
  • Unsold certificates identified for OTC sale process (RS 47:2246)
Pre-2026 = Ownership Bid-DownAct 774 = Interest Rate Bid-Down
Within 30 Days of Auction
Certificate Filing & Post-Sale Noticing
RS 47:2154–2156

Tax sale certificates must be filed in the parish mortgage records within 30 days of the sale — strict statutory deadline.

  • Tax lien certificate filing in mortgage records ($150/certificate — Track 2B only)
  • Post-sale research and noticing ($175/certificate — Track 2B only)
  • OTC lien management for unsold certificates (RS 47:2246) ($25–$40/certificate)
  • Cost ledger export delivered for your tax bill account encoding
Ongoing
Adjudicated Property & Gov-Own Parcels
RS 47:2236; RS 47:2236(F)

Adjudicated properties and government-owned parcels require separate compliance tracks with independent notice and certification requirements.

  • Adjudicated property notice preparation ($45–$75/property)
  • Affidavit of Compliance (Gov-Own, RS 47:2236(F)) ($50–$100/property)
  • Available as a standalone engagement or add-on to Track 1 or Track 2

Cost Recovery Reminder

Every cost in this cycle is a per-account charge with a specific statutory basis. Your staff can encode each line item directly to the delinquent tax bill account using your existing software — no flat contract fees that resist encoding.

JurisDeed delivers a cost ledger export formatted for direct import into most parish accounting systems.

Timeline Color Key

Mandatory statutory milestone — every parcel
Triggered cost — incurred only when applicable condition is met
Ongoing / adjudicated property services