Louisiana Booster Club Filing Requirements

Forming a Nonprofit Corporation in Louisiana

A booster club incorporates by filing Articles of Incorporation, Louisiana Nonprofit (Form 395), with the Secretary of State’s Commercial Division. The filing fee rose to $95 on October 1, 2026. The articles must be notarized or acknowledged, name a registered agent with a Louisiana address, and should include the IRS-required purpose and dissolution clauses.

Every Louisiana nonprofit corporation files an annual report by the anniversary date of its incorporation, with a $10 fee (La. R.S. 12:205.1). The Secretary of State’s online form becomes available up to four weeks before the due date. A corporation that stops filing receives a notice of intent to revoke and has 30 days to file; after that its charter is revoked, and it must reinstate before it can act in its own name.

State Tax Exemption

An organization exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) is generally exempt from Louisiana corporation income tax and corporation franchise tax without a separate state application. A club with unrelated business income reports it to the LDR. Confirm current filing requirements with the LDR.

Sales Tax

Purchases. Louisiana does not exempt nonprofit organizations as a class from sales tax on their purchases. A booster club pays state and local sales tax on supplies, equipment, and items it donates to the school.

Fundraiser sales. La. R.S. 47:305.14 exempts sales of tangible personal property at, admission charges for, and parking fees associated with events sponsored by nonprofit civic, educational, charitable, and similar organizations when the entire proceeds, after necessary expenses, are used for educational, charitable, religious, or historical restoration purposes. The exemption requires an annual exemption certificate from the LDR on Form R-1048.

1. List every fundraising event planned for the year on Form R-1048, with a supplement sheet for each additional event.
2. Submit the application at least 30 days before the first event.
3. Add new events later by sending a supplement sheet with the original application.
4. Tell outside vendors at the club’s events that they must still collect and remit sales tax on their own sales.

The statute applies to “taxing authorities,” which includes parish taxes, but parishes administer their own sales tax. The club confirms with the parish sales tax collector that the state certificate is honored locally.

Charitable Solicitation Registration

Louisiana does not require a charitable organization to register with the Attorney General unless it uses a professional solicitor (La. R.S. 51:1901.1). A volunteer-run booster club does not register. A club that hires a paid solicitor registers annually with the Attorney General, with a $150 fee, renewed by the anniversary of its first registration. The Attorney General’s office also publishes a Charitable Exemption Form for organizations that want to document an exemption.

Raffles and Gaming

Raffles in Louisiana fall under the Charitable Raffles, Bingo and Keno Licensing Law (La. R.S. 4:701 and following). Two layers apply.

1. Local option. Raffles are allowed only in a municipality or parish whose governing authority has decided to permit raffles, bingo, and keno (R.S. 4:706). The club checks with the city or parish first.
2. State license. A local government may not license an organization unless it first holds a charitable gamingCharitable gamingRaffles, bingo, and other games of chance that state law allows a nonprofit to run to raise money, often under a state or local license with limits on prizes and on how proceeds are used. Whether a booster club may hold them varies by state.All terms license from the LDR’s Office of Charitable Gaming (R.S. 4:707(G)). The standard license fee is $75.
3. Limited raffle license. Since 2023, an organization whose raffles award no more than $10,000 in aggregate prizes over a 12-month license period may hold a limited raffle license for $25, waived if total prizes are $250 or less (R.S. 4:707.1; LAC 42:I.1722). It does not need a separate charitable gaming account. A 50/50 or split-the-pot raffle, and prizes such as cars, do not qualify.
4. School-support exemption. R.S. 4:707(F), as amended in 2022, lets a charitable organization that supports a public or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school apply to the municipality or parish for a limited license that exempts it from the state licensing and reporting procedures for raffles, when the entire net proceeds support the school’s activities. The local government must permit raffles. The interaction with the state licensing rule is not clearly explained in published guidance, so the club confirms the process with both the parish or city and the Office of Charitable Gaming.

Online raffle ticket sales are not addressed in these provisions; the club asks the Office of Charitable Gaming before selling online.

Public Funds and the Legislative Auditor

Under La. R.S. 24:513(A)(1)(b)(iv), any not-for-profit organization that receives or expends any local or state assistance in a fiscal year is a “quasi public agency or body” subject to the Legislative Auditor. Assistance includes grants, loans, transfers of property, and direct appropriations of state or local public funds; membership dues and vendor contracts are excluded. A booster club that receives public funds or property from a school board or parish must meet the Legislative Auditor’s reporting rules for that assistance, which scale from a sworn financial statement for small amounts to a compilation, review, or full audit as revenue rises past $75,000, $200,000, and $500,000. Keeping booster money separate from school activity funds avoids triggering these requirements unintentionally.

Annual Compliance Calendar for Louisiana