Louisiana

From the 50 State Visitor Guide

La. Rev. Stat. 2023 §§ 15:541, 15:542, et seq., 15:543, et seq., and 15:544.

La. R.S. §§14:91.2, 14:91.5, 14:91.9, 14:313, 14:313.1, 15:551, and 15:553

La. R.S. §§40:1321(J) and 32:412(I)

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 business days for Initial reg. and updates. La. R.S. §15-542.  New residents to the state have 3 business days to register and to provide information to police and the community as required by §§15:542.1.3 and 15:542.1.  Residence defined as: “a dwelling where an offender regularly resides, regardless of the number of days or nights spent there.” Added Aug. 2024.

Resident registrants planning to acquire “temporary lodging” for 7 consecutive days or more must register within 3 business days before establishing temporary lodging. §542.1.2(F)(1).  Employees and students must register within 3 business days of beginning.  §542.1.3(C), (D). 

Visitors: Per Louisiana SOR office, visitors must register if in state 7 consecutive days (no limit per year).

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence and presence restrictions apply to registrants convicted of offenses involving victims under the age of 13, including parks and libraries, youth centers, public pools, video arcades, etc. with few exceptions.  §14:91.2

Use of “social networking websites” by registrants with computer-related crimes or where victim was a minor, is prohibited. §14:91.5.  Registrants must obtain and possess “special identification cards” from the DPSC, and branded drivers licenses.  §§40:1321(J), 32:412(I).

Registrants may not wear “masks or hoods” or disguise their identity in public during holidays (including Mardi Gras). §14:313 Candy or other gifts may not be given by offenders to persons under 18 on holidays, with exceptions. 14:313.1  Certain occupations prohibited to SO’s. 15:553.  Updated Aug. 2024

NOTE: Per Louisiana SOR office, these restrictions DO apply to not-yet-registered visitors.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life based on tier. §15:544.  Updates based on tiers:  TI – annual, TII – 6 mo., TIII – 3 mo. §15:52.1.1

Most recent visit: April 2025

This is the first time I am posting about Louisiana.  I have been to New Orleans several times but that was before I ruined my life, and it was usually on business.  I have driven through Louisiana without stopping many more times but that’s because I and my ex live in Florida and our son lives in Texas, and we have to go through Louisiana to visit him.

If you scan back through Louisiana’s ridiculous registry restrictions set forth above you’ll see the two most problematic items are: (a) if your victim was under 13 (and why do I have to keep reminding people that includes CP images?) you can’t go to any of the usual suspect locations but in particular the parks where many of the events you may be interested in are taking place, and (b) you can’t wear masks or disguise your identity in public and you can’t give candy or trinkets to anyone under the age of 18.

It’s pretty obvious where this stuff is coming from – the good citizens of Louisiana are terrified that an army of criminal perverts is invading to take over Mardi Gras.  But wait – aren’t perversions what Mardi Gras is all about …?  Anyway, just be on your toes and mindful of these rules.

Since I began travelling I’ve wanted to visit Louisiana, and of course the time you’re supposed to do that is Mardi Gras.  However … it so happens that Mardi Gras usually occurs very close to March 3, the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s infamous (to us PFR’s) Smith vs. Doe decision that legitimized America’s disgusting registry system.  Since 2023 ACSOL and NARSOL have cooperated to hold DC conferences and vigils on the Supreme Court steps to mark this anniversary.  Every registered person and their loved ones need to be in DC every year to participate – we will never get anywhere with public opinion until we can have 10,000 PFR’s vigilling at the Supreme Court and get some actual press coverage.  Even that would be just 1% of everyone on America’s registries today.

New Orleans

That makes it kind of hard to go to Mardi Gras.  However … it recently occurred to me that if I was a business owner in the French Quarter I’d definitely want to turn Mardi Gras into a season, so I’d have more time to sell beads and trinkets and alcohol.  So in April 2025 as part of my South Central US tour I made an “off-season” exploratory trip to New Orleans to see how it all works. 

I made an advance motel reservation, arrived mid-afternoon and wandered around the French Quarter until the evening to see what it was like on an off-season Saturday night.  Then the next morning I stopped at the new New Orleans Welcome Center to ask them whether Mardi Gras is a season (the Welcome Center has moved – my gps took me to the wrong place).

Small brass band, off-season Saturday afternoon

The answer to that is Yes, of course it’s a season, but not as long as I had supposed – only about a week and a half.  Evenings start cranking up on that weekend before the weekend before, with at least one parade every day usually late afternoon.  From that point the excitement builds day by day until you get to actual Mardi Gras Day, when the partying and parades start around 9 am and go until they scrape the last drunk off the sidewalk Ash Wednesday morning.  There are no special events like scheduled jazz performances on a stage like you might see on Beale Street in Memphis, for example (I asked).  It’s all Mardi Gras all the time.

Street performers, off-season Saturday afternoon

One positive about this arrangement is that you as a visitor get to choose your desired intensity level.  I’m an old geezer and a real stick in the mud too because I don’t drink or gamble.  But even I can go stick my toe into it let’s say about a week before, have as much fun as I can stand and say I did it.

When I do go for my Mardi Gras road trip I think I’ll add a day of other New Orleans site seeing a couple of days exploring Cajun country.  Those should come before the day I do Mardi Gras so I can run from there to DC in plenty of time for the Vigil.  That would be about four days in Louisiana all together, well within the 6 available consecutive days we’re allowed (no limit per calendar year).