About the West Carroll Parish Clerk of Court
Karen Jones spent 31 years working in the West Carroll Parish clerk's office before becoming its clerk on July 1, 2020, according to the clerk's website. The 2020 Census base counted 9,753 West Carroll residents and the July 2024 estimate was 9,254, spread over about 360 square miles of land along the Arkansas line, where it borders Chicot County.
The parish exists because of a split. When the Legislature divided the original Carroll Parish in 1877, the western half became West Carroll. The name honors Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Oak Grove is the parish seat. Epps, Forest, Kilbourne, and Pioneer are villages.
The clerk's duties come from Article V, Section 28 of the Louisiana Constitution, which provides for a clerk of the district court elected in each parish for four years, serving also as ex officio notary public and recorder of conveyances, mortgages, and other acts. In West Carroll the clerk keeps the parish's share of 5th Judicial District Court records and its land records, and also runs elections as the parish's chief election officer under R.S. 18:422. Local candidates qualify for office with the clerk, and the clerk holds the annual training course for poll commissioners.
Notary service at the clerk's counter has a limit. The clerk's Court Info page says the office notarizes only documents that will be filed in the clerk's office. For anything else, it points to notaries in the Sheriff's Office, the Tax Assessor's Office, and the Registrar of Voters Office, all in the same courthouse.
All 64 parish offices are in the Louisiana Clerks of Court directory.
Court records in West Carroll Parish
The office files civil suits and probates, with civil advance deposits posted on its Forms and Fees page. Adoptions are confidential. Criminal filings come from the 5th Judicial District Attorney's office, and the clerk's Services page sends questions about criminal court dates to the District Attorney at 318-428-3213. Juvenile matters are confidential, and criminal non-support cases are handled here as well.
Traffic citations are filed with the clerk, but the office does not set or collect fines. The Services page directs fine questions to the West Carroll Parish Sheriff at 318-428-2331 or the District Attorney at 318-428-3213.
Two online systems, and a conflict
The clerk's website presents two ways to search, and they do not fully agree. Its home page links Clerk Connect, a subscription service, with separate inquiries for civil records, criminal records, recorded land records, and marriage records. The same home page also carries an announcement saying records and marriage license search are available through eClerks LA "only," while a line in that announcement still points to civil inquiry on Clerk Connect. Both are on the site as of October 2026. Until the office clarifies which is current, call 318-428-3281 before paying for a subscription, and ask which system holds the records and date range you need.
eClerks LA is the portal of the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority. Its Statewide Portal searches land, marriage, and civil, family, and probate indexes across parishes without charge once you have an account, and parish images are sold by subscription. It does not describe a statewide criminal case search.
The Forms and Fees page posts several do-it-yourself forms: protective order petitions, an answer and judgment for the Clerk's Docket, assumed business name registration, cancellation forms, and a birth or death certificate application. For more on how court files work, see the guides to court records and criminal records.
Land, mortgage, and property records
The clerk's Recording Department files conveyance, mortgage, miscellaneous, and UCC documents, and its Services page says originals become part of the parish archives and are not returned. The Mortgage Department issues mortgage, non-lien, and UCC certificates on written requests, which may also arrive by fax or email. For electronic recording, the home page links a Clerk Connect e-recording service, while the announcement says e-recording is accepted through eClerks LA. As with searching, confirm which route the office wants before you submit. State law required every district clerk to facilitate electronic recording through the LCRAA portal by January 1, 2026.
Article 3346 of the Civil Code sends a sale or mortgage of land to the records of the parish where the land sits. West Carroll shares lines with three Louisiana parishes. A field or tract near those lines may also call for a search with the Morehouse Parish Clerk of Court in Bastrop, the Richland Parish Clerk of Court in Rayville, or the East Carroll Parish Clerk of Court in Lake Providence.
The 1877 split matters for older title research. Until 1877 this land was part of the original Carroll Parish, so for earlier instruments, ask the clerks in Oak Grove and Lake Providence where those books are now kept. A conveyance recorded today must name the person responsible for property taxes and an address for tax notices (R.S. 9:2721). The property records guide has the statewide rules.
Marriage licenses and family records
The West Carroll clerk's Services page (viewed October 2026) lists the marriage license cost as $32.50, payable in cash. Both applicants need certified birth certificates and Social Security numbers. The clerk also asks for proof when either applicant was divorced or widowed within the past six weeks, so bring the judgment or death certificate if that applies. A home page announcement says couples may fill out the application online through eClerks LA, but the license is processed only in the office.
The Services page says to buy the license at least 24 hours before the ceremony and that it expires 30 days after issue. Both points follow state law: R.S. 9:241 bars the ceremony until 24 hours have passed since issuance, a judge or authorized justice of the peace may waive the delay, and R.S. 9:235 limits a license's life to 30 days.
The office also issues certified birth certificates for $34.00 and death certificates for $26.00, both in cash and in person with identification, and the death certificates are available from 2012 forward, according to the Services page. Recorded West Carroll marriages stay with the clerk; Louisiana's Vital Records Registry holds marriage records only for licenses bought in Orleans Parish. A certified copy of a divorce granted here also comes from this clerk. The marriage records and divorce records guides explain the statewide side.
Courts that serve West Carroll Parish
West Carroll, Richland, and Franklin parishes form the 5th Judicial District Court (R.S. 13:477). The court's website lists the West Carroll Parish Courthouse at 305 East Main Street in Oak Grove, with the clerk's phone and fax numbers, and also lists courthouses in Rayville and Winnsboro. Each parish's clerk keeps its own case files.
There is no city court in West Carroll in the Louisiana Supreme Court's 2025 Guide to Louisiana Courts. Juvenile cases fall to the district court, which the Children's Code gives original juvenile jurisdiction outside the four parishes with special juvenile courts.
The Court Info page includes a few details for anyone called to serve. Jurors are paid $25.00 per day, and cell phones are not allowed in the courtroom.
Appeals leave the parish for the Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, which sits in Shreveport.
Visiting the West Carroll Parish courthouse
The West Carroll Parish Courthouse in Oak Grove dates to 1917; construction began in 1916, and the building opened in January 1917. The clerk's home page places the office in Suite 101 at 305 East Main Street. The Louisiana Clerks of Court Association calls the same space Room 101.
Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except legal holidays, according to the clerk's site. The phone is 318-428-3281 and the fax is 318-428-9896. The clerk's site gives only the street address, while the 5th JDC's website and the LCCA directory list P.O. Box 1078 for mail. The site does not publish a general email address and does not describe parking or entrances.
Because the sheriff, assessor, and registrar of voters are in the same courthouse, one trip can often cover a recording, a tax question, and voter registration. The registrar's number, per the clerk's site, is 318-428-2381.
Other West Carroll Parish offices
The sheriff is the parish's chief law enforcement officer and jailer and, everywhere except Orleans, the collector of property taxes. The Louisiana Sheriffs' Association lists Scott Mathews as West Carroll Parish Sheriff, at westcarrollsheriff.net. See Louisiana sheriff's offices.
The Louisiana Assessors' Association lists DeAnna K. Smith as assessor, at 305 East Main Street in Oak Grove, phone 318-428-2371; the clerk's contact page lists the same number. No assessor website was found. The assessors guide explains how property is valued.
The West Carroll Parish Police Jury governs the parish. No official website for it was found. The parish government guide explains how police juries work.