Act 751 (formerly SB 254) - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — they are the same law. Louisiana Senate Bill 254 (SB 254) was the bill number during the legislative session; when Gov. Jeff Landry signed it on June 2, 2026 it became Act 751, codified at La. R.S. 51:3081. It prohibits charging a customer an extra amount for paying with a debit card. It was framed as a consumer-protection measure, aligning Louisiana with the existing federal prohibition on debit-card surcharges under the Dodd-Frank Act. It has been in effect since August 1, 2026.

Nothing about the law itself changed — only its label, and that's simply how Louisiana's legislative process works. While a proposal is still moving through the Legislature it carries a bill number: "SB" for a Senate bill, "HB" for a House bill. This one was Senate Bill 254.

Once both chambers pass the bill and the Governor signs it, the enrolled law is given a sequential Act number for that session. When Gov. Landry signed it on June 2, 2026, Senate Bill 254 became Act 751 of the 2026 Regular Session. Its permanent home is the Louisiana Revised Statutes, where it's codified at R.S. 51:3081.

So "SB 254" and "Act 751" are the same debit-surcharge ban at two different stages: SB 254 is what it was called while it was a bill (and what most people searched for over the past few months), and Act 751 is its name now that it's law. Same rules, same penalties, same August 1, 2026 effective date.

August 1, 2026 - the law is now in effect. The bill passed both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature (Senate 35-0, House 83-14) and was signed into law by Governor Jeff Landry. Unlawful surcharges may be reported to the Attorney General through its Consumer Protection Hotline (1-800-351-4889) or the consumer complaint form on the AG's official website (ag.louisiana.gov).

Almost certainly, if you sell to the public in Louisiana and accept debit cards. Restaurants, retail shops, salons, and service businesses are all in scope - the law reaches retail sellers broadly, so the safest assumption is that it applies to you. The real question isn't whether it applies, but whether the way you take card payments complies. The Risk Scorecard walks you through it in four questions.

Two channels. First, a private right of action - a customer can sue for actual damages, with no class action required, for willful, repeated, or uncured violations. Second, the Attorney General, who can bring a civil action directly; potential violations may be reported through the AG's Consumer Protection Hotline - 1-800-351-4889 - or the consumer complaint form on the AG's official website (ag.louisiana.gov), supported by the customer's own receipt. A complaint should include the business's name and address, the transaction date and amount, the surcharge amount, and the receipt or documentation. Customers: see what you can do about a debit-card fee, including a free written-notice letter.

No - not since August 1, 2026. SB 254 prohibits charging a customer an extra amount for paying with a debit card. Credit-card surcharging is not banned by this law, and genuine cash discounts remain legal - the line the law draws is debit.

No. SB 254 targets debit cards. Surcharging credit cards is not prohibited by this law - but only if debit is reliably and verifiably excluded. The common trap is a "credit-only" surcharge that the point-of-sale system can't actually keep off debit, so debit gets charged anyway.

Yes - a genuine cash discount is allowed. The key is structure: there must be one posted price everyone sees, with cash buyers getting a discount off it. That's different from a base price with a fee added for paying by card, which is a surcharge in substance even if it's labeled a discount.

The structure controls, not the label. A surcharge starts from a base price and adds an extra amount at checkout for paying by card. A cash discount starts from one posted price that everyone sees and takes an amount off for paying cash. They can cost the customer the same dollar, but now that SB 254 is in effect, only the cash-discount structure is legal. See the side-by-side comparison on the homepage.

Dual pricing built as a genuine cash discount remains legal: one posted price with a discount for cash, disclosed consistently. What Act 751 bans is adding an extra amount for paying with a debit card. The structure controls, not the industry - a "card price" that quietly adds a fee to debit at the pump or the register is the thing the law prohibits. If the program is built and disclosed correctly, cash/card pricing itself is not outlawed.

Not if it reaches a debit card. The label does not matter - if an extra amount is added because the customer paid with a debit card, it is a surcharge in substance, whatever the receipt calls it. Renaming the fee is the most common way a prohibited surcharge hides in plain sight.

Because of who the law covers. Act 751 (La. Act 751 of the 2026 Regular Session) applies to retail businesses. Paying a utility bill, a tax, or a government fee is generally not a retail sale, and the convenience fees on those payments are often charged by a third-party payment processor rather than the biller itself, so they sit outside this law's reach. Many business owners find that inconsistent - but the line comes from how the statute defines who it covers, and a retail business cannot borrow it: an extra fee on a debit card at a retail checkout is still banned, whatever it is called.

The law as written prohibits imposing a surcharge on a customer who pays with a debit card - it does not carve out online, phone, or card-on-file payments. The safe reading for a business is that an extra fee on debit is a problem in any channel. For your specific situation, consult a qualified professional.

Not to the law - the law follows the card, not the button. PIN debit is still a debit card, and a debit card routed as signature debit through a credit network (often just a swipe or tap, no PIN) is still a debit card: it pulls from a deposit account either way, so SB 254 applies regardless of how it's run. The trap is point-of-sale systems that can't tell debit from credit and so can't reliably exclude debit from a "credit-only" surcharge. Full breakdown: PIN vs. signature debit.

No - it changed who can be asked to pay them. Card networks like Visa and Mastercard, and the processors that ride on them, still collect their fees on every debit transaction, same as before August 1. What Act 751 removed is the option of passing that cost to the customer as a debit surcharge, so it now comes out of the business's margin. That makes this a good moment to actually read your merchant statement: legal structures like a genuine cash discount, or a credit-card surcharge that reliably excludes debit, remain available when built correctly.

A private right of action lets a customer sue for actual damages with no class action required - it applies to willful, repeated, or uncured violations. Separately, the Attorney General can bring a civil action, and potential violations may be reported through the Consumer Protection Hotline (1-800-351-4889) or the consumer complaint form on the AG's official website, backed by the customer's receipt; violating an administrative or court order carries civil penalties of up to $500 per violation, plus the AG's attorney fees and costs. The law has been in effect since August 1, 2026.

Before suing, a customer must send the business written notice of the violation. If the business cures it and reimburses the surcharge within 30 days of receiving that notice, no private suit can arise from it. The catches: it doesn't cover willful or repeated violations, every affected customer can trigger their own notice, and it doesn't limit the Attorney General's enforcement at all. That's why the goal is to confirm compliance now, not to lean on the window after a complaint arrives.

Yes. The law applies to the retail business, not the company that configured your equipment. If your terminal is surcharging debit, that's your exposure - even if you didn't set it up and didn't know. "My processor handles that" is the most common way a compliant-looking program quietly charges debit, and it isn't a defense.

The fastest tell is your merchant processing statement - it shows whether you're surcharging, at what rate, and through which processor. Take the Risk Scorecard for an instant read, or request a free compliance check to have it confirmed against the text of the law.

Call the Louisiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-351-4889 or file the AG's online consumer complaint form (see ag.louisiana.gov), including the business's name and address, the transaction date and amounts, and your receipt. You can also start the law's 30-day refund clock yourself: see what you can do about a debit-card fee, which includes a free written-notice letter generator.

At a concept level: confirm how you currently take card payments, and confirm that debit is never charged an extra amount - no matter how a debit card is run. If you can't confirm that, treat it as urgent - the law is already in force, and checking now beats waiting for a complaint. Because enforcement guidance is still developing and every setup differs, consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your business.