Louisiana Identity Theft Laws

Louisiana ties identity theft penalties directly to the dollar value taken, from a misdemeanor under $300 up to ten years in prison at $1,000 or more, and adds a mandatory minimum sentence at every one of those value tiers when the victim is 60 or older, a person with a disability, or under 17. A third or subsequent conviction carries up to ten years and a fine of up to $20,000 no matter what the amount was. Louisiana also gives victims a specific set of statutory rights against the creditors and lenders involved, not just against the thief.

This page covers Louisiana's identity theft statute and its dollar-value penalty tiers, the state's own protected-person credit freeze law, the victim rights created by La. R.S. § 9:3568, and how to report identity theft to Louisiana's Attorney General. For the federal rights that apply everywhere, see our identity theft laws hub.

Louisiana's Identity Theft Statute and Penalty Tiers

La. R.S. § 14:67.16 defines identity theft as the intentional use, possession, transfer, or attempted use, with fraudulent intent, of another person's personal identifying information to obtain, possess, or transfer credit, money, goods, services, or anything else of value, without that person's authorization or consent. «Personal identifying information» includes a Social Security number, driver's license number, checking or savings account numbers, credit or debit card numbers, an electronic identification number, digital signatures, a birth certificate, date of birth, mother's maiden name, an armed forces or government-issued ID number, a financial institution account number, and, since a 2018 amendment, a telephone number when inserted into a caller-ID system for «caller ID spoofing.»

The penalty is tiered by the dollar value of what was obtained, possessed, or transferred. Under $300 carries up to 6 months imprisonment and up to a $500 fine, a misdemeanor. From $300 to $499, up to 3 years and up to a $3,000 fine. From $500 to $999, up to 5 years and up to a $5,000 fine. At $1,000 or more, up to 10 years, with or without hard labor, and up to a $10,000 fine. Those tiers are not applied incident by incident: subsection (E) provides that when there has been a theft by a number of distinct acts of the offender, the aggregate of the amount of the theft determines the grade of the offense, so a run of small charges can be graded as a single higher-tier offense.

Louisiana's mandatory minimum for protected victims is not confined to the top tier, which is where it is most often described. When the victim is 60 years of age or older, a person with a disability, or under the age of 17, subsection (C) attaches a floor to every value level: not less than 6 months and not more than 1 year for a value under $300 (and, unlike the standard sub-$300 misdemeanor, that term may be served with or without hard labor), not less than 1 year and not more than 3 years from $300 to $499, not less than 2 years and not more than 5 years from $500 to $999, and not less than 3 years and not more than 10 years at $1,000 or more. The fine ceilings match the standard tiers at each level.

Subsection (D) then sets a separate ceiling for repeat offenders that has nothing to do with the amount taken. On a third or subsequent conviction under this section, the offender shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than 10 years, or may be fined not more than $20,000, or both. That fine is double the $10,000 maximum at the highest value tier, and because the ten-year exposure applies regardless of value, a third conviction for a sub-$300 theft carries the same maximum prison term as a first conviction at $1,000 or more.

A person convicted must be ordered to make full restitution to the victim, and to anyone else who suffered a financial loss; if the offender is indigent, the court orders a periodic payment plan instead of requiring a lump sum.

Louisiana's Minor and Protected-Person Credit Freeze Law

Louisiana has its own protected-person credit freeze statute, La. R.S. § 9:3571.3, enacted in 2014 and effective January 1, 2015, roughly three and a half years before the federal minor-freeze provision (15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1(j)) took effect. A «protected person» is defined more broadly than a simple age cutoff: an individual under age 16 at the time of the freeze request, or an interdicted person with a curator, or an incapacitated person with a guardian or conservator.

A representative, such as a parent, guardian, or curator, must submit sufficient proof of identity for both the protected person and themselves, plus proof of their authority to act, such as a court order, power of attorney, or notarized statement. The statute text allows a credit reporting agency to charge up to $10 to place or remove the freeze, waived if the representative supplies an identity-fraud report, or if the protected person is under 16 and the agency already has a credit report on file for them. Whether that $10 fee is still charged in practice given the 2018 federal free-freeze mandate was not confirmed during this page's research.

Statutory Rights for Louisiana Identity Theft Victims

La. R.S. § 9:3568 gives Louisiana identity theft victims a set of specific rights that go beyond the criminal statute itself. Under subsection (A), a victim has the statutory right to file an identity theft police report with the Louisiana Attorney General's office, in addition to local police; the statute states that the AG's office or local police «shall receive and file any report of identity theft filed by victims.» Under subsection (B), a victim has the right to obtain application and transactional records, such as copies of monthly billing statements, from a creditor who extended credit as a result of the identity theft, so the victim can document and unwind the fraud. Under subsection (C), once a creditor or lender receives notice of a security alert on a credit application, it may not lend money, extend credit, or authorize the application without taking reasonable steps to verify the applicant's identity.

Subsection (D) creates civil liability, but it is important not to mistake its scope: it makes a creditor, potential creditor, credit reporting agency, or other entity that violates the statute's provisions liable to the victim for documented out-of-pocket expenses caused by that mishandling, plus reasonable attorney fees. That is liability against a creditor or reporting agency that mishandles a victim's dispute, not a general civil cause of action against the person who actually stole the identity. A victim seeking to sue the thief directly would need to rely on general Louisiana tort or fraud law, which is outside the scope of this statute.

Reporting Identity Theft to the Louisiana Attorney General

The Louisiana Department of Justice's website lists four online complaint intake forms: Consumer Dispute (for unfair or deceptive business practices), Medicaid Fraud and Abuse, Housing Discrimination, and Security Data Breach (for businesses to notify the office of breaches affecting Louisiana residents). There is no separately labeled «identity theft» complaint category; a Louisiana resident with an identity theft complaint would most likely use the general Consumer Dispute channel, or contact the office directly at 877-297-0995, constituentservices@ag.louisiana.gov, or by mail at 1885 North Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802 (Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). As noted above, La. R.S. 9:3568(A) also gives victims the separate, statutory right to file an identity theft report with the AG's office directly.

The Federal Layer

Louisiana's own protections sit alongside the federal baseline available to every state. Since 2018, federal law has required free credit freezes and free freeze removals nationwide. A fraud alert placed with one credit bureau is shared with the other two, lasts one year by default, and extends to seven years once you have filed an FTC Identity Theft Report. Under FCRA § 605B (15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2), a victim with an identity theft report can get specific fraudulent information blocked from a credit report. IdentityTheft.gov, the FTC's free recovery site, builds a personalized recovery plan and, for account holders, pre-fills the letters and forms most victims need. See our guide to reporting identity theft and our comparison of credit freezes versus fraud alerts for more.

If You Are a Victim of Identity Theft in Louisiana

File a police report, either with local law enforcement or directly with the Attorney General's office under your statutory right in R.S. 9:3568(A). Request transactional records from any creditor that extended credit because of the theft, which the same statute entitles you to. Report to the FTC through IdentityTheft.gov and place a freeze with all three major credit bureaus. If a child's information was used, Louisiana's protected-person freeze process under R.S. 9:3571.3 covers minors under 16 directly.

Information last verified on 2026-08-13, drawn directly from La. R.S. §§ 14:67.16, 9:3571.3, and 9:3568, and the Louisiana Department of Justice's complaints page. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Related Resources

• Identity Theft Laws: Federal Rules and State Penalties
• How to Report Identity Theft
• Credit Freeze vs. Fraud Alert
• Child Identity Theft: Warning Signs, Credit Checks, and the Minor Freeze Right

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Last updated: 2026-08-13.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is identity theft a felony in Louisiana?

It can be. La. R.S. 14:67.16 tiers the offense by dollar value: under $300 is a misdemeanor, and $1,000 or more can bring up to 10 years in prison, with or without hard labor, and up to a $10,000 fine. Two things push past that baseline: a mandatory-minimum sentence applies at every tier when the victim is 60 or older, a person with a disability, or under 17, and under subsection (D) a third or subsequent conviction carries up to 10 years and a fine of up to $20,000 regardless of the amount taken.

What extra protection does Louisiana give elderly or disabled identity theft victims?

When the victim is 60 or older, a person with a disability, or under 17, Louisiana attaches a mandatory minimum at every value tier, not only the highest one: not less than 6 months and not more than 1 year for a value under $300, 1 to 3 years from $300 to $499, 2 to 5 years from $500 to $999, and 3 to 10 years at $1,000 or more. The fine ceilings stay the same as the standard tiers.

What happens on a repeat identity theft conviction in Louisiana?

La. R.S. 14:67.16(D) provides that on a third or subsequent conviction under the section, the offender shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than 10 years, or may be fined not more than $20,000, or both. That applies regardless of the dollar value, so a third conviction involving less than $300 carries the same 10-year maximum as a first conviction at $1,000 or more.

Do several small identity theft incidents get charged separately in Louisiana?

Not necessarily. La. R.S. 14:67.16(E) provides that when there has been a theft by a number of distinct acts of the offender, the aggregate of the amount of the theft determines the grade of the offense, so a series of small-dollar acts can be graded as one higher-tier offense rather than several misdemeanors.

Can I sue the person who stole my identity in Louisiana?

La. R.S. 9:3568(D) creates civil liability against a creditor or credit reporting agency that mishandles your identity-theft dispute, not against the thief directly. A claim against the thief would rely on general Louisiana tort or fraud law.

Does Louisiana have its own minor credit freeze law?

Yes. La. R.S. 9:3571.3, enacted in 2014, predates the federal minor-freeze law by about three and a half years, and covers anyone under 16, plus interdicted or incapacitated persons with a curator, guardian, or conservator.

Can I report identity theft directly to the Louisiana Attorney General?

Yes. La. R.S. 9:3568(A) gives victims the statutory right to file an identity theft report with the Attorney General's office, in addition to local police, and the office must receive and file it.

What can a creditor do once a security alert is on my Louisiana credit file?

Under La. R.S. 9:3568(C), once a creditor or lender receives notice of a security alert on a credit application, it may not lend money, extend credit, or authorize the application without taking reasonable steps to verify the applicant's identity.