About the LaSalle Parish Clerk of Court
Steve Andrews has been the LaSalle Parish Clerk of Court for a long stretch; the LCCA directory dates the tenure to July 2008. The office is small, and its website reflects that. The homepage introduces the staff by first name (Steve, Terry, Mindy, Michele, Lori, Reba, and Kenslee) and lists the records the clerk keeps: civil, criminal, and probate court records, land records, and marriage licenses.
The duties come from the Louisiana Constitution and statutes. The clerk is elected for four years as clerk of the district court, serves as ex officio notary and as recorder of conveyances and mortgages, and is the parish's chief election officer. The LaSalle clerk's homepage adds more: custodian of voting machines and ex officio member of the jury commission and the board of supervisors of elections.
LaSalle is a twentieth-century parish. The clerk's site says it was created in 1910 from the western section of Catahoula Parish, and the 28th Judicial District Court's site says it was named for René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. The clerk calls it "The Heart of Louisiana." Catahoula Lake, which gave Catahoula Parish its name, now lies inside LaSalle, according to the State of Louisiana.
On size, the clerk's homepage cites a population of 14,974 and an area of 662 square miles, figures the site does not date. The Census Bureau's numbers are 14,802 residents in the 2020 base and 14,702 in its July 2024 estimate, with 624.9 square miles of land plus 37.7 of water, which together come close to the clerk's total.
The Louisiana Clerks of Court directory lists every other clerk in the state.
Court records in LaSalle Parish
All civil, criminal, and probate cases of the 28th Judicial District Court are filed with this office. The LaSalle clerk's website does not link an online civil or criminal case search, so contact the office in Jena for suit records. The statewide eClerks LA portal says it indexes civil suits for all 64 parishes, and anyone with an account can try it, but the clerk's own site only describes eClerks LA for land and marriage records.
The clerk posts a prices page, but it is undated, so this guide does not repeat its figures. Ask for the current charge when you request a copy. Louisiana's Public Records Law requires a custodian that charges for copies to post its fee schedule, and it forbids charging anyone simply to inspect a public record.
Two state rules affect what you can see. Records of juvenile proceedings are confidential, and an expunged arrest or conviction is removed from public access. When an expungement motion is filed in the 28th Judicial District Court, state law has the clerk serve notice of it on the district attorney, the State Police bureau, and the arresting agency. The clerk is also one of the offices the State Police name for anyone looking for a missing disposition on a LaSalle conviction, along with the district attorney. See the guides to court records and criminal records.
Land, mortgage, and property records
LaSalle moved its online land records to eClerks LA, and the clerk's Land Records page gives the date the new system went live: August 8, 2022. The page describes eClerks LA as a one-stop site for land records and marriages and says the older online system was to be phased out. eClerks LA's Statewide Portal index is free with an account, while viewing and printing document images through Parish Search requires a paid subscription.
For filers, the same page links an eClerks LA eRecording quickstart guide, which points to eRecording through the statewide authority's system. The clerk also records deeds and mortgages, issues mortgage and clear lien certificates, and accepts UCC filings, according to the prices page.
History matters for title work here. Because LaSalle was carved from Catahoula in 1910, a chain of title that runs back past that year may lead to the Catahoula Parish Clerk of Court in Harrisonburg; ask either office where the earlier volumes are kept. Current recordings follow the Civil Code rule that land is recorded in the parish where it lies. LaSalle shares lines with six parishes, so land near the edge may involve the Grant Parish Clerk of Court, the Rapides Parish Clerk of Court, the Avoyelles Parish Clerk of Court, or the Winn and Caldwell clerks. The Louisiana property records guide explains conveyance and mortgage books in general.
Marriage licenses and family records
The LaSalle clerk is the parish recorder of marriage licenses, according to its homepage. The website does not post a fee or a list of requirements for a license, so call the office before you go.
Statewide requirements give a good starting checklist. Under R.S. 9:225, each applicant brings a certified copy of a birth certificate (a Louisiana short-form card is acceptable) and a valid photo ID such as a driver's license or passport; covenant marriage paperwork is added if the couple chooses that form. The license is good for 30 days, and the ceremony cannot happen until 24 hours after issuance unless a judge or authorized justice of the peace waives the wait. The eClerks LA site offers an online marriage application for participating parishes; this guide could not confirm whether LaSalle participates, and eClerks LA says applicants must still finish at the clerk's office within 30 days.
Marriages licensed in LaSalle are indexed on eClerks LA along with the parish's land records, per the clerk's Land Records page. A certified copy of a marriage certificate comes from the LaSalle clerk, not the state, because the Louisiana Department of Health keeps marriage records only for licenses bought in Orleans Parish. Divorce decrees granted in the 28th Judicial District Court are also certified here. The marriage records and divorce records guides go further.
Courts that serve LaSalle Parish
The 28th Judicial District Court serves LaSalle Parish alone. It is a single-judge district; the court's website lists Judge J. Christopher Peters, with the court's office in Room 4 of the courthouse at 1050 Courthouse Street in Jena. The court's site also has a FINS page. Outside the four parishes with special juvenile courts, Louisiana district courts hold original juvenile jurisdiction, so LaSalle juvenile matters also belong to the 28th.
No city court was identified in LaSalle Parish during research for this page.
Decisions of the 28th are reviewed on appeal by the Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, seated in Lake Charles. Two of LaSalle's neighbors, Winn and Caldwell, are assigned to the Second Circuit instead under R.S. 13:312, so a case decided in Winnfield and one decided in Jena go to different appellate courts.
Visiting the LaSalle Parish courthouse
The clerk's office is in the LaSalle Parish Courthouse at 1050 Courthouse Street in Jena. Several other offices share the building: the district court's office is in Room 4, and the assessor's office is in Room 19, according to the court and assessor websites.
The clerk's website does not list office hours. Louisiana law sets a default of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays for clerks' offices, and lets a clerk open earlier or stay later, so call ahead to confirm before driving in. The website itself works only over plain http; a browser may warn about the secure version of the address, which is another reason to keep the phone number handy.
The clerk's mailing address is a post office box in Jena. The clerk's site offers a contact form instead of a published email address.
Other LaSalle Parish offices
The Louisiana Sheriffs' Association lists "Lane" Windham as sheriff of LaSalle Parish, and the office's site is lasalleso.com. Property taxes in LaSalle are collected by the sheriff, who outside Orleans serves as ex officio tax collector, and the sheriff also keeps the parish jail. The sheriff's offices guide has more.
Tom Kendrick, CLA, has been the LaSalle Parish Assessor since January 2013, according to the assessor's website, with the office in Room 19 of the courthouse. The tax assessors guide explains assessment and the homestead exemption.
The LaSalle Parish Police Jury is the parish governing body. The research for this guide did not verify an official website for it.