Louisiana
Louisiana writes the rule into its Civil Code, and the bar for striking a deposit is high. A deposit kept on a no-show fits the Civil Code’s articles on stipulated damages, its term for damages agreed in advance: the shop need not prove what the no-show cost it, and a court changes the amount only if it is so plainly unreasonable that it goes against public policy. It comes with 3 limits: the deposit has to be agreed in advance; it is the shop’s whole remedy, so keeping it and billing for more conflicts with the Code; and a client with a valid excuse is relieved of it, a term the article does not define.
Does a non-refundable deposit hold up in Louisiana?
A deposit kept on a no-show fits the Civil Code’s stipulated damages articles: the shop need not prove its actual loss (art. 2009), and a court may change the amount only if it is so plainly unreasonable that it goes against public policy (art. 2012). In Lombardo v. Deshotel, the Supreme Court of Louisiana held a seller to a $1,000 deposit-forfeiture clause although she had won $25,000 in damages at trial; the clause binds both sides, so the party keeping the deposit recovers no more and no less. It is the whole remedy for a no-show (art. 2007), and a client whose failure is justified by a valid excuse is relieved of it (art. 2008).
“Stipulated damages may not be modified by the court unless they are so manifestly unreasonable as to be contrary to public policy.” La. Civ. Code art. 2005 · La. Civ. Code art. 2012 · Lombardo v. Deshotel, 647 So. 2d 1086 (La. 1994)
Showing your refund policy
No refund-policy disclosure statute was found. Title 51 of the Revised Statutes (Trade and Commerce, 1,237 sections) was searched by section title for refund, return, cancel and deposit rules; the refund rules it has are for particular businesses, such as dance studios, fitness contracts and lemon-law vehicles. The only statute found that wants a service charge disclosed in advance, R.S. 51:1419, covers appliance-repair house calls only.
Body-art rules and money
Nothing about deposits, refunds, cancellations or client prices in the Sanitary Code’s commercial body art part, all 31 sections read in their current text. Its only money is registration and renewal fees, and the client record it requires holds the client’s name and address, each service and the pigment’s lot number, and no payment record.
Read: La. Admin. Code tit. 51, Part XXVIII (Commercial Body Art)
What reaches your deposit page
The deposit is the whole remedy; a valid excuse relieves the client
Stipulated damages bind both sides: the shop recovers the agreed deposit, no more and no less. Article 2007 lets the shop demand the stipulated damages or the performance, not both, so a policy that keeps the deposit and also bills the client for more conflicts with it. Article 2008 relieves a client whose failure to perform is justified by a valid excuse.
“The obligee can recover no more nor less than the stipulated damages.” Lombardo v. Deshotel, 647 So. 2d 1086 (La. 1994)
This page summarizes public law in plain language, with the source each point comes from, read at the source on 2026-09-23. It is not legal advice.