About the Cameron Parish Clerk of Court
Susan Racca is Clerk of Court for Cameron Parish, and the Louisiana Clerks of Court Association (LCCA) directory shows Racca in the office since July 2016. The LCCA entry leaves the chief deputy line blank; the clerk's About page lists a chief deputy who also heads the civil, criminal, and elections departments.
Census figures put its land area at about 1,285 square miles, third among Louisiana parishes, and it adds roughly 652 square miles of water. Yet the 2020 Census base counted only 5,620 residents, second fewest in the state after Tensas, and the July 2024 estimate is 4,678, about 17 percent lower. Wikipedia explains the gap: so much of the parish is marsh and wetland, much of it on the Chenier Plain, that few people live there.
The parish was organized in 1870 from parts of Calcasieu and Vermilion parishes. Its name honors Simon Cameron, a Pennsylvanian who served as Abraham Lincoln's first secretary of war, according to the state's Local Louisiana page.
A small office still carries the full constitutional load. Cameron's clerk keeps the record of the 38th Judicial District Court, serves as ex officio notary public, and is the parish recorder of conveyances, mortgages, and other acts. Election law makes the clerk the parish's chief election officer as well. The clerk's site lists notary services and passports among the office's offerings, together with birth and death certificates, jury duty, and elections. Contacts for the other 63 parishes are in the Louisiana Clerks of Court directory.
Court records in Cameron Parish
The civil department takes new suits, successions, adoptions, name changes, and other filings for the 38th Judicial District Court. The clerk's Services page (viewed October 2026) lists an advance deposit of $350 for a new suit with one service and links civil forms published by the 38th Judicial District Court.
Filing rules changed at the start of 2026. According to the Services page, civil filing by U.S. mail ceased as of January 1, 2026, with only walk-in or e-filing accepted, and all fax filing was discontinued on the same date. Two e-filing routes are named: eClerks LA, the statewide portal of the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority, and Clerk Connect. Filers who used to drop paperwork in the mail need one of those systems now, or a trip to the courthouse.
For research, the clerk directs users to eClerks LA's parish search. The eClerks LA Statewide Portal indexes land records, marriage licenses, and civil, family, and probate records across parishes for free behind an account login, while its parish search sells subscriptions for images. The clerk's site does not say which Cameron records or years are online.
The office also issues mortgage, civil, criminal, and clear lien certificates; the Services page (October 2026) lists a 10-year civil certificate for one name at $20, a criminal certificate for one name at $20, and a clear lien certificate at $30 per name. On the civil side, copies cost $1 per page, a conformed copy $3, and a certified copy $5.
Louisiana's Public Records Law gives any person the right to copy a public record unless an exception applies. Juvenile matters (other than traffic) are confidential, and an expunged record is closed to the public while still available to law enforcement. The statewide guides to court records and criminal records explain those limits.
Land, mortgage, and property records
Conveyances, mortgages, cancellations, and UCC filings are recorded by this office. The Services page posts a simple fee ladder (October 2026), and each tier includes ten indexed names and one certified copy:
- 1 to 5 pages: $100 plus a $5 portal fee
- 6 to 25 pages: $200 plus a $5 portal fee
- 26 to 50 pages: $300 plus a $5 portal fee
Instruments of 51 pages or more cost $300 plus the $5 portal fee plus $5 for each additional page. In-house copies of recorded documents cost $2 per page and a certified copy $10. A mortgage certificate for one name and one property, in a 10-year increment, is listed at $20. E-recording is available through eClerks LA, according to the clerk's Services page.
The Civil Code requires an act affecting land to be recorded in the parish where the land sits, with mortgages in the mortgage records and most other instruments in the conveyance records. Cameron shares borders with three Louisiana parishes. Tracts that cross the line into Calcasieu are also searched with the Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court in Lake Charles, and land along the Vermilion line may need the Vermilion Parish Clerk of Court in Abbeville. Records for land on the Jefferson Davis side of the line are with the Jefferson Davis Parish Clerk of Court in Jennings. Jefferson and Orange counties in Texas border Cameron too, and Louisiana clerks do not record land there.
Wikipedia says Cameron was organized in 1870 from parts of Calcasieu and Vermilion, so research into land titles from before then may lead to those parishes; ask the Cameron office what it holds for the early years. The Louisiana property records guide describes the recording system in general.
Marriage licenses and family records
The Cameron clerk issues marriage licenses and posts a fillable application and a marriage officiant registration form. The Services page (October 2026) lists these charges, all cash only for the license:
- License: $39.50
- Certified copy, mailed: $15, including postage and handling
- Faxed copy: $8
- Reissuing an unexpired license: $15
The page also says the rules changed on January 1, 2016, and asks applicants to check the website or call for current requirements. State law requires each application to include a certified birth certificate (or a judge's waiver order) and a valid and unexpired driver's license, a government-issued identification card, or a passport or visa as the statute describes; the clerk's office can say which documents it wants to see.
Under state law, an officiant may not perform the ceremony until 24 hours after the license issues, unless a judge or authorized justice of the peace waives the delay for serious and meritorious reasons. The license is valid for 30 days. Within ten days after the ceremony, the officiant files copies of the certificate with the clerk who issued the license.
So the Cameron clerk, not the state, is where certified copies of Cameron marriages come from. The Louisiana Department of Health keeps marriage records only for Orleans Parish licenses, and it does not issue divorce decrees; a certified decree comes from the clerk in the parish where the divorce was granted. See the guides to marriage records and divorce records for more.
Courts that serve Cameron Parish
Cameron Parish is the only parish in the 38th Judicial District Court. The court's website lists a single division, Division A, along with orders and forms, frequently asked questions, a Zoom link for remote proceedings, and protective order forms.
No city court exists in Cameron Parish according to the sources reviewed for this page. That leaves the district court with the parish's civil, criminal, family, and juvenile matters; outside the four parishes with special juvenile courts, the Children's Code gives district courts original juvenile jurisdiction.
The Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, which sits in Lake Charles, hears appeals from the 38th Judicial District Court.
Visiting the Cameron Parish courthouse
The clerk's office is Room 21 of the Cameron Parish Courthouse on Smith Circle in the town of Cameron. Other parish offices share the street: the Louisiana Assessors' Association lists the assessor at 110 Smith Circle, and the police jury lists its office at 148 Smith Circle.
Wikipedia's article on architect Herman J. Duncan lists a Cameron Parish courthouse (1938) among his works and says he designed it to survive hurricanes; it describes the building as a refuge for many people during Hurricane Audrey.
The clerk's About page lists hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and posts a 2026 holiday schedule that includes General Election Day, November 3, 2026. Check that list before planning a visit near a holiday or election.
Two courthouse rules appear on the clerk's site. Cell phones are not allowed in the courthouse, and the dress code section adds that they are not allowed on the second floor, where the main courtroom is; shorts, men's hats, muscle shirts, and halters are among the clothing the page rules out. Jurors are paid $25 per day for petit jury service and $50 per day for civil juries, plus mileage and any applicable ferry fees, according to the Services page, which also says the jury venire is updated monthly from the Registrar of Voters.
The clerk's mailing address is a post office box in Cameron. The clerk's site does not post a fax number.
Other Cameron Parish offices
The Louisiana Sheriffs' Association lists Chris Savoie as Cameron Parish Sheriff, with the office on Recreation Center Lane in Cameron and online at cameronso.org. The sheriff enforces the law, runs the jail, and collects property taxes for the parish. The guides to Louisiana sheriff's offices and inmate search explain those functions.
H. Scott Lavergne is the assessor, according to the Louisiana Assessors' Association, and the office is online at cameronassessor.com. For how assessments and the homestead exemption work, see the assessors guide.
The Cameron Parish Police Jury is the parish governing authority. More on police juries is in the parish government guide.