What a Louisiana Clerk of Court does
Each parish elects a clerk of the district court to a four-year term under Article V, Section 28 of the Louisiana Constitution. One office, several jobs:
- Clerk of the district court. The clerk keeps the record of civil and criminal cases filed in the parish's district court, judgments included (R.S. 13:914).
- Recorder of conveyances and mortgages. Deeds, mortgages, and other acts affecting land are recorded in the parish where the property sits (R.S. 44:71; Civil Code art. 3346).
- Ex officio notary public, under the same constitutional section.
- Chief election officer of the parish (R.S. 18:422). Local candidates qualify with the clerk. Registering voters is a separate office, the registrar of voters.
- Marriage licenses, everywhere except Orleans (R.S. 9:221).
By statute the offices open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, though a clerk may open earlier or close later (R.S. 13:756).
Orleans Parish works differently
Act 15 of 2026 abolished the separate clerk of criminal district court at the end of May 3, 2026 and moved its records to the clerk of court for the parish of Orleans. The Criminal District Court itself still exists. Orleans marriage licenses come from the state registrar of vital records or a city court judge, not the clerk. See the Orleans Parish Clerk of Court page and the Orleans Parish district courts.
Which parish holds the record you need
Records stay with the clerk of the parish where they were made, so the real question is which parish.
- Land: the parish where the land is, not where the owner lives. See Louisiana property records.
- Lawsuits and criminal cases: the parish where the case was filed. See court records and criminal records.
- Divorce: the clerk in the parish where the divorce was granted, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. See divorce records.
- Marriage: the parish that issued the license, which can differ from where the wedding happened (R.S. 9:222; R.S. 9:253). See marriage records.
Know the town but not the parish? The Louisiana parish map explains how to look up an address.
What you can and cannot search online
R.S. 13:754 created the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority (LCRAA) and required every district clerk to offer electronic filing, recording, and remote access through its portal by January 1, 2026. That portal, eClerks LA, searches indexes of land records, marriage licenses, and civil, family, and probate records across all 64 parishes. The search is free with an account; document images usually require a paid subscription to one parish's system.
No single public search covers every Louisiana court case, and eClerks LA does not describe a statewide criminal case search. The State Police calls Louisiana "a closed record state" for criminal history. Juvenile records (other than traffic matters) and expunged records are confidential. For the rest, contact the clerk; no fee may be charged just to examine a public record (R.S. 44:32).
How this directory is maintained
Clerk names, addresses, phones, and websites start from the Louisiana Clerks of Court Association directory and are checked against each clerk's own site, which controls when the two disagree. The directory is re-checked every six months, with extra attention to parishes that held a clerk election since the last review. Spot something outdated? Use the correction link at the bottom of this page. For how the courts connect, see Louisiana courts; for other record types, the Louisiana public records hub.