About the Jackson Parish Clerk of Court
Rachel Shively took over the Jackson Parish clerk's office at the start of 2026. The Louisiana Clerks of Court Association lists her in office since January 2026, and the clerk's website now carries her name. Older references, including some third-party court directories printed before she took office, may still name her predecessor, so treat the clerk's own site as current.
Her office holds nearly a century and a half of the parish's paper, though with gaps. According to the clerk, Jackson Parish was established in 1845 with Vernon as its seat, and a March 1911 election moved the seat to Jonesboro. A fire at the old Vernon courthouse destroyed most of the earlier records, which is why the clerk says court, marriage, and land records generally date back only to about 1880. Jonesboro's first courthouse, built in 1912, was then almost completely destroyed by an explosion, and the present courthouse went up in 1938.
The office does what every Louisiana parish clerk does. It is clerk of the district court for Jackson Parish's share of the 2nd Judicial District, recorder of conveyances and mortgages, ex officio notary, and chief election officer. The clerk's home page also lists non-support matters and "officer of the court" duties. According to the About page, the Jackson Parish Police Jury supplies the office space and utilities.
The parish is named for President Andrew Jackson. Census figures put the 2020 base population at 15,031 and the July 2024 estimate at 14,797, on about 569.4 square miles of land.
All 64 parish clerks are listed in the Louisiana Clerks of Court directory.
Court records in Jackson Parish
The civil department takes civil suits, small claims under $5,000, and probate matters such as successions, interdictions, and emancipations. Adoptions are filed here too but are not public, according to the clerk. The criminal department keeps criminal suits and the traffic docket, along with juvenile files, which the clerk lists as closed; the Children's Code makes juvenile court records confidential, apart from traffic violations. Expungement motions are also filed with this department.
Jackson moved its court records online in stages. A clerk's notice dated January 1, 2020, announced that Clerk Connect would add civil, probate, and criminal records to the property and marriage records already there. As listed in that notice:
- Civil suits: index from January 1, 1988, images from January 1, 1994.
- Probate: index and images from 1880.
- Criminal and traffic: index from January 1, 1988.
- Conveyances: index from 1970, images from 1972.
- Mortgages: index from 1987, images from 1999.
- Marriage licenses: index and images.
The posted prices in that notice were $20 for a day, $100 for a month, and $1,200 for a year, payable by credit card. Because the notice dates from 2020, confirm current rates on Clerk Connect. Civil e-filing became available in October 2023 through either Clerk Connect or eClerks LA, according to a later clerk's notice.
A certified copy from the clerk's record can stand in for a lost or destroyed original in court under Louisiana law, which matters in a parish that lost most of its pre-1880 records to the Vernon courthouse fire. The clerk adds that few, if any, records were destroyed in the later Jonesboro explosion. Anyone of the age of majority may inspect public records, and the custodian may generally ask only about the requester's age and identification, plus questions to clarify which records are wanted. The clerk's site asks that public records requests be sent to Rachel Shively, Clerk of Court, at P.O. Box 730 in Jonesboro. More on these rules is in the court records and civil records guides.
Land, mortgage, and property records
The recording department records land transactions, UCC filings, and miscellaneous instruments such as bonds, oaths, affidavits, and discharges. Its recording fees took effect August 1, 2017; ask the office for the current schedule. Electronic recording is available through Clerk Connect.
The clerk's FAQ makes a practical point: land records are indexed by owner name, not by location. If you know a tract's location but not the owner, the FAQ sends you to the assessor first; then bring the owner's name to the clerk. Louisiana assesses land and residential improvements at 10 percent of fair market value, and the assessor sets that value.
Jackson borders Bienville, Caldwell, Lincoln, Ouachita, and Winn parishes. Land is recorded only in the parish where it lies, so property near a line may need searches in two offices. The Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court in Monroe and the Caldwell Parish Clerk of Court in Columbia keep the books for two of those neighbors, and the Winn Parish Clerk of Court keeps Winn's. Jackson joined the statewide eClerks LA portal in October 2016, according to the clerk's news list, so its land index can be searched alongside other parishes there. See the property records guide for the statewide system.
Marriage licenses and family records
The Jackson clerk issues marriage licenses for $27.50, paid in cash or by money order, according to its marriage license page (October 2026). Both parties need certified birth certificates; if one of you was born in Louisiana and lacks a copy, the office says it can usually print one in about 15 minutes. The license is good for 30 days and can be used anywhere in Louisiana.
The clerk's page cites Act 276, the 2018 law that set Louisiana's 24-hour waiting period, and notes that a district judge or justice of the peace can waive it. Ministers who perform marriages in the parish must register with the clerk. After the ceremony, the officiant files the certificate with the clerk who issued the license, and the clerk sends a copy on to the state registrar of vital records each month.
Recorded Jackson marriages stay here; the state registry holds marriage records only for Orleans licenses. The clerk also sells certified birth certificates ($34, or $48 with a birth card) and death certificates ($26) for certificates filed from July 2012 forward. Divorce and child support judgments from the 2nd Judicial District Court are part of the civil record, and certified copies come from this office. The marriage records and divorce records guides cover the rest.
Courts that serve Jackson Parish
Jackson is one of three parishes in the 2nd Judicial District Court, with Bienville and Claiborne. Under R.S. 13:621.2, Division B is the Jackson Parish division. The three judges are elected by voters across the district for six-year terms, and a judge must live in the district though not necessarily in the division's parish. No standalone court website could be loaded in October 2026. The clerk's FAQ gives the judge's office number for jury excuses as (318) 259-3442.
Cases are kept where they are filed. A Bienville case is at the Bienville Parish Clerk of Court in Arcadia, and a Claiborne case is with the Claiborne clerk in Homer. The Supreme Court's 2025 Guide to Louisiana Courts lists no city court in Jackson Parish, and the 2nd JDC hears the parish's juvenile cases.
Appeals go to the Court of Appeal, Second Circuit in Shreveport.
Visiting the Jackson Parish courthouse
The clerk is in Room 103, on the first floor of the Jackson Parish Courthouse in Jonesboro. The clerk's contact block gives the street address as 500 East Court Avenue, but the LCCA lists East Court Street and the clerk's own About page places the courthouse at 301 Jimmie Davis Boulevard, so call the office at 318-259-2424 to confirm before mailing anything to the street address. Mail sent to P.O. Box 730, Jonesboro, LA 71251, avoids the question.
The clerk's FAQ lists hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The assessor is in the same courthouse, in Room 101, according to the Louisiana Assessors' Association. The clerk's office also accepts passport applications, with a $35 clerk fee listed on its passport page (October 2026). Parking and entrance details are not posted on the site.
Other Jackson Parish offices
Brent Barnett is sheriff, and the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association lists the office at 150 Old Winnfield Road in Jonesboro, phone 318-259-9021; its website is jacksonparishsheriff.com. Property taxes in the parish are collected by the sheriff, who also runs the jail. See sheriff's offices and inmate search.
Walter "Glen" Kirkland is the assessor, at 500 East Court, Room 101, phone 318-259-2151, per the Louisiana Assessors' Association, with a website at jacksonassessor.org. The tax assessors guide explains assessed value and the homestead exemption.
The Jackson Parish Police Jury governs the parish from its Administrative Building at 160 Industrial Drive in Jonesboro. The parish government guide has more on police juries.