POLISCOPE
Back to bills
Part ofFamily Law →

The civic record

Read. Follow. Verify.
HB 154LOUISIANASession 2026State BillSigned into law
Enacted

Louisiana sets age limits and judicial approval rules for minor parents acknowledging paternity

Original title: CHILDREN/SUPPORT: Provides relative to paternity and the collection of child support

Last action · May 15, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsor: Dixon McMakin

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Does

Louisiana prohibits s under sixteen from acknowledging paternity and requires judicial authorization for 16- and 17-year-olds starting August 1, 2026. The measure also allows courts to consider a parent's status as an unemancipated minor when deciding whether to deviate from child support guidelines.

Why it matters

Changes the legal requirements for young parents establishing paternity by introducing age restrictions and court oversight, impacting how minor parents formalize legal parentage and how courts calculate child support obligations.

Background
  • The Louisiana State Law Institute is an official advisory law revision commission that prepares codifications, revisions, and law reform recommendations for the Louisiana Legislature. context

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

minor parents

Minor parents aged 16 and 17 must obtain judicial authorization to acknowledge paternity, while those under 16 are barred from doing so.

Directly affected

parents subject to child support guidelines

Courts are explicitly permitted to consider a parent's status as an unemancipated minor when deciding whether to deviate from standard child support guidelines.

Key Facts

  • Unemancipated minors under sixteen years of age are prohibited from entering into an acknowledgment of paternity.
  • Unemancipated minors who are sixteen or seventeen years of age cannot enter into an acknowledgment of paternity without judicial authorization.
  • A request for judicial authorization can be submitted in the parish where the minor parent is domiciled or where the child is domiciled.
  • Courts may authorize the acknowledgment of paternity ex parte after considering the best interests of both the minor parent and the child.
Show all 7 facts
  • Courts may require the minor parent to be present to evaluate their understanding of the acknowledgment, their right to blood and tissue tests, and whether they discussed the matter with parents or a tutor.
  • Court considerations for deviating from child support guidelines may include a parent's status as an unemancipated minor with limited capacity, availability of support, and educational continuation.
  • The law takes effect on August 1, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a 15-year-old sign an acknowledgment of paternity in Louisiana?
No. Under the new law, an under sixteen years of age is prohibited from entering into an .
What is required for a 17-year-old to acknowledge paternity?
A 17-year-old must obtain judicial authorization from a court of competent jurisdiction before entering into an .
Where can a minor parent apply for judicial authorization to acknowledge paternity?
The request may be submitted to a court in the parish where the minor parent executing the acknowledgment is domiciled or in the parish where the child to be domiciled resides.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

28 actions
  1. May 15, 2026HouseEnrolled
    Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 130.
  2. May 15, 2026House
    Effective date: 08/01/2026.
  3. May 13, 2026SenateEnrolled
    Signed by the President of the Senate.
  4. May 13, 2026House
    Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
  5. May 12, 2026House
    Received from the Senate without amendments.
  6. May 12, 2026HouseEnrolled
    Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
Show 22 earlier actions
  1. May 11, 2026SenateFloor
    Read by title, passed by a vote of 34 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
  2. May 4, 2026SenateFloor
    Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
  3. Apr 29, 2026SenateIntroduced
    Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
  4. Apr 28, 2026SenateCommittee
    Reported favorably.
  5. Apr 14, 2026SenateCommittee
    Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary A.
  6. Apr 13, 2026House
    Called from the calendar.
  7. Apr 13, 2026HouseFloor
    Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 92, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
  8. Apr 13, 2026Senate
    Received in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
  9. Apr 9, 2026House
    Called from the calendar.
  10. Apr 9, 2026HouseIntroduced
    Read by title, returned to the calendar.
  11. Apr 9, 2026House
    Notice given.
  12. Apr 9, 2026House
    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/13/2026.
  13. Apr 8, 2026House
    Notice given.
  14. Apr 8, 2026House
    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/09/2026.
  15. Apr 7, 2026HouseIntroduced
    Read by title, returned to the calendar.
  16. Apr 1, 2026House
    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/07/2026.
  17. Mar 31, 2026HouseFloor
    Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
  18. Mar 30, 2026HouseCommittee
    Reported favorably (7-0).
  19. Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroduced
    Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
  20. Feb 13, 2026House
    Prefiled.
  21. Feb 13, 2026HouseCommittee
    Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
  22. Feb 13, 2026House
    First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/13/2026.

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Dixon McMakinHouse · District 68RepublicanPrimary sponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Introduction of Age-Based Paternity Restrictions for Minors

Louisiana established a bright-line ban for minors under 16 and a judicial authorization requirement for 16- and 17-year-olds regarding paternity acknowledgments, aligning these rules with existing marriage contract laws.

Louisiana State Law Institute

Connected Entities

Louisiana State Law Institute
OrganizationLouisiana State Law Institute“Recommended the legislation”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.legis.la.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance50
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy15
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz10
    Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools

Share or embed this record

POLISCOPE publisher tools

Share or embed this record