Louisiana’s hands-free law does more than prohibit texting. It also addresses holding a phone, browsing applications, and watching or creating images while driving. But several details matter: hands-free GPS is expressly permitted, the statute makes an exception for a vehicle that is lawfully stationary, and the fine depends on where the alleged violation occurred.
The governing law is R.S. 32:59, enacted in 2025. Its warning-only period ended January 1, 2026. A separate 2026 amendment, effective August 1, defines school zones for this phone-use law. Those are two different changes, with two different dates.
What can you do with a phone while driving?
A hands-free call can use Bluetooth, an appropriate attachment, or another feature that lets you converse without using either hand. The statutory definition permits using a hand to activate, deactivate, or initiate a function. That limited allowance should not be confused with permission to compose a message or browse applications while the vehicle is moving.
| Situation | How the statute treats it |
|---|---|
| A Bluetooth or other hands-free conversation | Permitted under the hands-free telephone definition. |
| Viewing navigation on a hands-free GPS | Expressly covered by a navigation exception. |
| Holding a phone in either hand while moving | Included in the prohibited conduct, subject to the statute’s exceptions. |
| Typing a destination, reading messages, or browsing social media while moving | Falls within the law’s broad restrictions on manual entries and electronic communications. |
| Using a phone while lawfully stationary | An express exception applies, provided the use does not violate another law. |
Can you use your phone at a red light?
The text of Louisiana’s law answers this more precisely than a blanket “never touch your phone” slogan. Its definition of lawfully stationary includes a vehicle stopped in a travel lane to comply with a traffic signal. The definition does not require every stopped vehicle to be shifted into park.
A vehicle properly stopped at a red light can therefore fall within the stationary exception. The same reasoning can apply to a lawful stop necessary to avoid a conflict with traffic. It does not authorize stopping unlawfully in a travel lane just to use a phone, and the exception ends when the vehicle starts moving. A driver must still obey the signal and other traffic laws.
Setting the route before leaving and using voice directions avoids the problem of finishing a task after traffic begins to move. If a task requires sustained attention, choose a safe, lawful place to stop rather than trying to complete it between changing lights.
Does a phone mount make every use legal?
A mount can support hands-free navigation and calling. It is not blanket permission to type, watch a video, or scroll while driving. R.S. 32:59 specifically permits hands-free navigation, while its list of prohibited operations reaches manual entries and a broad range of application use.
For example, viewing a mounted navigation map and listening to directions fits the GPS exception. Manually entering a new address while the vehicle is moving raises a different issue. Likewise, moving a phone out of your hand does not turn reading a text conversation into navigation.
The location changes the fine and the reason for a stop
The law classifies a violation of R.S. 32:59 as a nonmoving violation. It then distinguishes school and highway construction zones from other locations. “Nonmoving” describes the legal classification; it does not mean the officer must allege that your vehicle was stopped.
| Location | Enforcement | Statutory fine |
|---|---|---|
| School zone or highway construction zone | Primary offense | $250; a judge may reduce it to $100 with qualifying community service. |
| Other locations | Secondary offense when the officer detains the driver for an alleged violation of another provision of the traffic chapter | $100; a judge may reduce it to $50 with qualifying community service. |
For the community-service alternatives, the statute allows no more than 15 hours and requires at least half to consist of the specified litter-abatement work. If the person is involved in a crash at the time of the violation, the statute doubles the fine imposed under the applicable provision. Neither reduction is automatic.
For a secondary-offense citation, R.S. 32:59 also requires a clear, unobstructed view of the prohibited phone use. The law restricts searches, seizure of the device, and custodial arrest based solely on that secondary offense, while preserving its stated warrant exception. Those provisions do not erase an independently lawful basis for another action.
What changed for school zones in August 2026?
Act 677 of 2026 took effect August 1. For R.S. 32:59, it defines a properly marked school zone adjacent to a public or private kindergarten-through-12th-grade school or a postsecondary institution. Its definition requires the zone to extend at least 250 feet before its beginning and specifies 60-minute periods before and after the school day’s start and end.
This amendment addresses the school-zone classification in the phone-use statute. It does not create a universal 250-foot speed limit or replace every school-zone sign. A speeding charge, a phone-use charge, and a mailed camera notice can involve different rules. Our Louisiana school-zone guide explains why identifying the kind of citation matters.
What if you were reporting an emergency?
The statute recognizes exceptions for reporting a collision, medical emergency, other emergency, serious road hazard, or a perceived risk of serious injury or death. It also addresses calling 911 to report a crime in progress, certain official emergency-vehicle duties, and specified dispatcher communications using an affixed device.
Use within a statutory exception is an affirmative defense, and the driver may support it with documentary or other evidence. Preserve the relevant call history or other records if the reason for the phone use is disputed. An ordinary call about being late is not the same as reporting an emergency.
If you received a hands-free citation
Start with the offense number, date, location, and issuing court. Then compare the allegation with what the phone was doing and whether the vehicle was moving. For an alleged school-zone violation, the school schedule and signs may matter to the enhanced classification. For another location, review the alleged basis for the initial detention.
The warning-only rule applies to violations occurring before January 1, 2026; it is not an ongoing grace period. Before paying, understand that the statute’s payment procedure includes a guilty or no-contest plea and a waiver of the right to contest the charge. If the facts or classification are disputed, send our team the citation so the allegation and available response can be reviewed together.
Sources checked October 2, 2026: R.S. 32:59, Act 288 of 2025, and Act 677 of 2026.