§429.4. Installment agreement; outstanding penalties, fines, and fees owed to the office of
motor vehicles
A. Installment agreements and eligibility. (1)(a) All outstanding penalties, fines,
and fees owed to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of motor vehicles,
hereinafter referred to as the "office of motor vehicles", shall be paid no later than the date
allowed by law. However, the office of motor vehicles shall enter into installment
agreements, as authorized by this Section, with eligible persons for payment of their
outstanding fines, penalties, and fees owed to the office of motor vehicles. All notices of any
outstanding fines, penalties, and fees owed to the office of motor vehicles shall inform the
debtor that he may qualify to pay sums due by installment agreement, if eligible, and shall
include instructions on how to inquire with the office of motor vehicles to determine
eligibility and terms.
(b) An installment agreement shall not be used to pay sales or use taxes or related
penalties and interest, vehicle registration license taxes, or titling fees when submitting a
transaction to title or register a motor vehicle. However, if the office of motor vehicles has
previously sent a notice to the debtor that the payment made on a motor vehicle title or
registration transaction was dishonored by a bank processing the transaction, the office of
motor vehicles may accept an installment agreement to collect that dishonored payment in
addition to any outstanding fees, penalties, or interest that may be added to the total due to
the dishonored payment.
(2) A debtor who owes the office of motor vehicles two hundred fifty dollars or more
in outstanding fines, penalties, or fees, or any combination thereof, is eligible to pay such
amounts by means of an installment agreement with the office of motor vehicles, should all
of the following conditions be met:
(a) All conditions of reinstatement other than payment of outstanding fines,
penalties, and fees owed to the office of motor vehicles have been satisfied.
(b) A request for an installment agreement is made as required by and within the time
provided for in the notice from the office of motor vehicles informing the debtor of any
outstanding fines, penalties, and fees owed to the office of motor vehicles.
(3) Upon termination of an installment agreement executed pursuant to this Section,
all outstanding amounts due under the installment agreement shall be final debt as defined
by R.S. 32:8 or R.S. 47:1676. Any installment agreement entered into pursuant to this
Section shall constitute a waiver by the debtor of any right to administrative or judicial
review regarding sums due under an installment agreement. Any notices provided to a debtor
who enters into an installment agreement pursuant to this Section shall constitute satisfaction
of the notice requirements of R.S. 32:8 and R.S. 47:1676.
(4) Any installment agreement entered into by the office of motor vehicles and a
debtor shall be in writing and signed by both parties. The office of motor vehicles shall
develop an official form to be utilized for installment agreements authorized by this Section.
Installment agreements not on this form shall be invalid.
B. Installment agreement payment schedule. Any installment agreement shall
require a debtor to provide fixed and equal monthly payments in the following amounts, with
the first payment due upon the execution of the agreement:
(1) If the debtor owes two hundred fifty dollars, the debtor shall pay six equal
monthly installments.
(2) If the debtor owes from two hundred fifty-one dollars to seven hundred fifty
dollars, the debtor shall pay twelve equal monthly installments.
(3) If the debtor owes from seven hundred fifty-one dollars to one thousand five
hundred dollars, the debtor shall pay twenty-four equal monthly installments.
(4) If the debtor owes from one thousand five hundred one dollars to two thousand
five hundred dollars, the debtor shall pay thirty-six equal monthly installments.
(5) If the debtor owes from two thousand five hundred one dollars to four thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine dollars, the debtor shall pay forty-eight equal monthly installments.
(6) If the debtor owes five thousand or more, the debtor shall pay up to sixty monthly
installment payments. However, the commissioner of the office of motor vehicles may grant
longer payment terms for amounts of five thousand dollars or more owed based on proof of
income indicating a debtor's financial limitations to pay within sixty months.
C. Payments. (1) All installment agreement payments shall be made through an
electronic automated transaction initiated by the office of motor vehicles or a third party on
behalf of the office of motor vehicles. Such installment agreement payments may be made
by bank draft, electronic funds transfer, or credit or debit card, including but not limited to
reloadable prepaid credit or debit cards. All debtors shall provide necessary information for
installment payments to be paid by bank draft, electronic funds transfer, or credit or debit
cards.
(2) The debtor shall be issued a statement or receipt indicating the amount paid and
the amount outstanding under the installment agreement each time an installment agreement
payment is made.
(3) Prepayment of sums due on an installment agreement may be made without the
imposition of a penalty.
D. Suspension of installment agreement. The commissioner of the office of motor
vehicles may suspend an installment agreement executed pursuant to this Section for up to
sixty days following a request by the debtor based upon good cause. Good cause shall be
determined by the commissioner. During the term of the suspension of the installment
agreement, no payments shall be accepted on the installment agreement. Payments shall
resume upon the day following the last day of the suspension period. Any suspension of an
installment agreement pursuant to this Subsection shall extend the term of the installment
agreement by the length of any suspension. A debtor's driving privileges shall remain active
during the suspension period unless otherwise blocked, revoked, or suspended.
E. Termination of installment agreement upon failure to make payment. (1) If any
installment payment is not paid on or before the date fixed for its payment, the entire amount
unpaid pursuant to the installment agreement shall be paid by the debtor within a sixty-day
period from the date of notice and demand from the commissioner of the office of motor
vehicles. The notice shall further advise the debtor that his driver's license shall be
suspended upon the expiration of the sixty-day period if the payments due pursuant to the
installment agreement are not made current within that sixty-day period or the agreement is
not reinstated by the commissioner of the office of motor vehicles within that sixty-day
period. This notice shall be known as "Notice of Installment Agreement Termination and
Demand".
(2) The Notice of Installment Agreement Termination and Demand shall satisfy all
notice requirements of R.S. 32:8 and R.S. 47:1676. In the event an installment agreement
includes payment of delinquent or final debt as defined by R.S. 32:8, such notice shall
include all information required by R.S. 32:8. In the event that an installment agreement
includes payment of delinquent or final debt as defined by R.S. 47:1676, such notice shall
include all information required by R.S. 47:1676. The notice required by this Paragraph shall
satisfy the notice requirements of R.S. 32:8 and R.S. 47:1676.
(3) Upon request of the debtor within the sixty-day period from the date of the notice
and demand required in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection and approval of the commissioner
of the office of motor vehicles, the office of motor vehicles may reinstate the installment
agreement after payment of the missed installment.
(4) If no request for reinstatement of an installment agreement is made within sixty
days of the notice and demand required by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, or if the
commissioner of the office of motor vehicles rejects a request to reinstate an installment
agreement, the installment agreement shall be terminated and any remaining sums due under
the installment agreement shall be delinquent and final debt as defined by R.S. 32:8 or R.S.
47:1676 for which the following shall apply:
(a) For sums due which are not debt as defined by R.S. 32:8, the office of motor
vehicles may refer any unpaid balance due under the installment agreement for collection by
the appropriate office pursuant to R.S. 47:1676 and this Section.
(b) For sums due which are debt as defined by R.S. 32:8, the office of motor vehicles
shall refer any unpaid balance due under the installment agreement to the Department of
Revenue, office of debt recovery, for collection as provided in R.S. 32:8 and R.S. 47:1676.
F. Driving privileges and vehicle registration. (1) A debtor's Class "E" driving
privileges and motor vehicle or truck registration privileges shall be reinstated when an
installment agreement is executed by the debtor and the office of motor vehicles. All blocks
on the debtor's license record shall be removed at that time. The office of motor vehicles
may include the applicable fee for reinstatement of driving privileges in the total to be owed
pursuant to an installment agreement entered into pursuant to this Section.
(2) If a debtor fails to timely make an installment payment and no request for
reinstatement of the installment agreement is made following the commissioner's sending the
Notice of Installment Agreement Termination and Demand, or the commissioner of the
office of motor vehicles rejects a request to reinstate an installment agreement, the debtor's
driving privileges and motor vehicle or truck registration privileges shall be suspended. The
provisions of R.S. 32:414 shall apply with regard to judicial review of the suspension and
reinstatement of the suspension.
G. Administration of installment agreements. (1) The Department of Public Safety
and Corrections, public safety services, may authorize a third party, including but not limited
to the Department of Revenue, office of debt recovery, to administer installment agreements
executed pursuant to this Section. Such authorized third party may collect payments due
pursuant to installment agreements executed pursuant to this Section. Any such authorized
third party shall be an authorized agent of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections,
public safety services, and may collect the following fees for each transaction completed
pursuant to this Section:
(a) A fee not to exceed three dollars for each payment made pursuant to an
installment agreement.
(b) Fees authorized by R.S. 40:1322.
(c) Fees authorized pursuant to R.S. 49:316.1.
(2) The provisions of R.S. 47:1576.2 shall not apply to services provided by the
Department of Revenue, office of debt recovery, pursuant to this Subsection.
(3) For purposes of this Section, the office of motor vehicles and the office of debt
recovery shall not be considered a collection agency as defined in R.S. 9:3534.1.
H. Rules. The office of motor vehicles and the Department of Revenue, office of
debt recovery, may adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act to implement the provisions of this Section.
Acts 2016, No. 397, §1, eff. June 8, 2016.