Art. 983. Costs of expungement of a record; fees; collection; exemptions; disbursements

A. Except as provided for in Articles 894 and 984, the total cost to obtain a court order expunging a record shall not exceed five hundred fifty dollars.

B. The nonrefundable processing fees for a court order expunging a record shall be as follows:

(1) The Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information may charge a processing fee of two hundred fifty dollars for the expungement of any record of arrest when ordered to do so by the court in compliance with the provisions of this Title.

(2) The sheriff may charge a processing fee of fifty dollars for the expungement of any record of arrest when ordered to do so by the court in compliance with the provisions of this Title.

(3) The district attorney may charge a processing fee of fifty dollars for the expungement of any record of arrest when ordered to do so by the court in compliance with the provisions of this Title.

(4) The clerk of court may charge a processing fee not to exceed two hundred dollars to cover the clerk's costs of the expungement.

C. The clerk of court shall collect all processing fees at the time the motion for expungement is filed.

D.(1) The clerk shall immediately direct the collected processing fee provided for in Subparagraph (B)(1) of this Article to the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, and the processing fee amount shall be deposited immediately upon receipt into the Criminal Identification and Information Fund.

(2) The clerk shall immediately direct the collected processing fees provided for in Subparagraphs (B)(2) and (3) of this Article to the sheriff and the district attorney, and the processing fee amount shall be remitted immediately upon receipt in equal proportions to the office of the district attorney and the sheriff's general fund.

E. The processing fees provided for by this Article are nonrefundable and shall not be returned even if the court does not grant the motion for expungement.

F. An applicant for the expungement of a record shall not be required to pay any fee to the clerk of court, the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, sheriff, the district attorney, or any other agency to obtain or execute an order of a court of competent jurisdiction to expunge the arrest from the individual's arrest record if a certification obtained from the district attorney is presented to the clerk of court which verifies that the applicant has no felony convictions and no pending felony charges under a bill of information or indictment and at least one of the following applies:

(1) The applicant was acquitted, after trial, of all charges derived from the arrest, including any lesser and included offense.

(2) The district attorney consents, and the case against the applicant was dismissed or the district attorney declined to prosecute the case prior to the time limitations prescribed in Chapter 1 of Title XVII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the applicant did not participate in a pretrial diversion program.

(3) The applicant was arrested and was not prosecuted within the time limitations prescribed in Chapter 1 of Title XVII of the Code of Criminal Procedure and did not participate in a pretrial diversion program.

(4) The applicant was determined to be factually innocent and entitled to compensation for a wrongful conviction pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 15:572.8.

(5) Concerning the arrest record which the applicant seeks to expunge, the applicant was determined by the district attorney to be a victim of a violation of R.S. 14:67.3 (unauthorized use of "access card"), a violation of R.S. 14:67.16 (identity theft), a violation of R.S. 14:70.4 (access device fraud), or a violation of any other crime which involves the unlawful use of the identity or personal information of the applicant.

G. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a juvenile who has successfully completed any juvenile drug court program operated by a court of this state shall be exempt from payment of the processing fees otherwise authorized by this Article.

H. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, an applicant for the expungement of a record, other than as provided in Paragraphs F and G of this Article, may proceed in forma pauperis in accordance with the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure Article 5181 et seq.

Acts 2014, No. 145, §1; Acts 2016, No. 8, §1; Acts 2018, No. 404, §1.