Is it illegal to charge extra for debit cards in Louisiana?

Yes. Since August 1, 2026, Act 751 (formerly SB 254, codified at R.S. 51:3081) prohibits adding a surcharge or fee to a debit-card payment, regardless of what the fee is called or how the card was run.

Can a business still charge a fee for credit cards?

Act 751 does not ban credit-card surcharges. But the business must keep the fee reliably off debit cards - including debit cards run as credit - and that operational line is where many credit-only fee programs break the law.

What if the fee is called a service fee or non-cash adjustment?

The name does not matter. If an extra amount was added to the posted price because the customer paid with a debit card, it is a surcharge under Louisiana law - whether it is called a card fee, service fee, convenience fee, or non-cash adjustment.

When did the debit-fee ban take effect?

August 1, 2026. Senate Bill 254 was signed into law by Governor Jeff Landry on June 2, 2026 as Act 751, and the debit-surcharge ban has been in force statewide since the effective date.

Is It Legal to Charge a Debit-Card Fee in Louisiana?

No - not anymore. Since August 1, 2026, Louisiana law prohibits a business from adding a surcharge or extra fee when you pay with a debit card. The ban was passed as Senate Bill 254, signed into law as Act 751, and is codified at R.S. 51:3081. Here is what that covers, what it doesn't, and what you can do when a business charges the fee anyway.

For years, "card fees" at Louisiana registers sat in a gray zone - some legal, some against card-network rules, most never checked. Act 751 ended the ambiguity for one category: debit. If the card you paid with pulls money from your bank account, the business cannot lawfully add a fee for using it.

What exactly is banned

The law prohibits imposing a surcharge - any extra amount added to your price - because you paid with a debit card. The label on the receipt does not matter: "card fee," "service fee," "convenience fee," "processing fee," "non-cash adjustment" - if it is an added amount you would not have paid in cash, and it was applied to a debit-card payment, it is the thing the law bans.

It also does not matter how the card was run. Whether you entered a PIN, tapped, or signed - a debit card is a debit card. Some businesses believe running debit "as credit" moves the transaction out of the ban; it does not. Our guide on PIN vs. signature debit explains why that distinction catches so many "credit-only" fee programs.

What's still legal

Three things, and the distinctions matter:

One price for everyone. A business can simply price its goods to cover card costs. Nothing in the law regulates ordinary pricing.

A genuine cash discount. A business may post one price and offer a discount for paying cash. The key word is discount - a reduction off the posted price, not an add-on for cards dressed up in discount language. The line between the two is exactly what the law turns on; see cash discount vs. surcharge for how to tell them apart.

Credit-card surcharges. Act 751 does not ban surcharges on credit cards. A business surcharging credit must keep the fee reliably off debit cards - which is harder than it sounds - but a fee applied only to true credit-card payments is not prohibited by this law.

Quick test: Would you have paid less by handing over cash at the posted price? If paying with your debit card added an amount on top of the posted price, that added amount is what Act 751 prohibits.

What you can do about it

If a business charged you a debit-card fee after August 1, 2026, you have two independent moves - and you can make both. First, report it: the Louisiana Attorney General takes complaints through the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-351-4889 and the online consumer complaint form. Second, get your money back: the law gives you a refund path - a written notice that starts a 30-day clock for the business to fix the practice and reimburse the fee.

Either way, the evidence is your receipt. If you are not sure what you are looking at, our guide to spotting an illegal debit-card fee on a receipt walks through the common disguises.

What it costs the business

Enforcement runs on two tracks. The Attorney General can bring a civil action against a violating business - and a business that defies a resulting administrative or court order faces civil penalties of up to $500 per violation, plus the AG's fees and costs. Separately, customers hold a private right of action for willful, repeated, or uncured violations, and can sue for actual damages without any class action.