Search St. Tammany Parish Court Records

How to Search St. Tammany Parish Court Records

The St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court is the records custodian for filed case documents. Its online services page links to local eSearch tools and the statewide re:SearchLA case system. For court dates and division assignments, the 22nd JDC court calendar is the better source. Start with the Clerk for documents and the court for hearings.

Before you search, gather a case number if you have one. It is the cleanest way to find a single matter because party names repeat, get misspelled, or are sealed. If you only have a name, use the last name plus first name and try alternate spellings or a maiden name.

The statewide re:SearchLA portal is one of the main tools the Clerk links to, and it lets you filter by court location.

The re:SearchLA case search covers Louisiana courts and accepts a free search after you accept the terms.

Some documents on that portal are free to view, while others need an account or a purchase, so confirm access before you rely on it.

1. Decide the record type, since civil, criminal, family, and succession files may use different links.
2. Open the Clerk online services page and pick the matching search tool.
3. Search by exact case number if you have one.
4. If not, search by party name and add a date range or case type to narrow results.
5. Open the result and confirm the court, parties, filing date, and status.
6. Request a certified copy from the Clerk if you need the record for legal use.

St. Tammany Parish Court Records Search Fields

The Clerk and the statewide portal share a similar set of search fields. A case number returns the most precise result. A name search is broad and works best with a date range or case type. Court or location filters matter here because the 22nd JDC covers two parishes, so filter to St. Tammany when the tool allows it.

Types of St. Tammany Parish Court Records

The 22nd JDC produces most St. Tammany Parish court records, and the Clerk indexes them. Some categories are open to the public, while juvenile, adoption, and sealed files are not. The list below covers the main groups you can search.

City courts, municipal courts, and justice of the peace courts hold separate local records, so a traffic ticket or small claim may sit outside the district court system.

• Civil records, including suits, motions, judgments, garnishments, and liens.
• Criminal records, including bills of information, pleas, sentences, and dispositions.
• Family records, including divorce, custody, support, and protective orders.
• Succession records, including wills, inventories, and judgments of possession.
• Traffic and misdemeanor records, which may route to district, city, or municipal court.

What St. Tammany Parish Court Records Show

A public case index lists the core facts of a matter. You can usually see the case number, the court, the parties, the filing date, and the docket entries that track each event. Protected details, like Social Security numbers, minors' names, and sealed exhibits, are removed. The table shows the fields you can expect on a typical public record.

Online image access varies by portal and record. When a document is not free, the Clerk's copy process or the public terminals at the courthouse fill the gap.

Public Access Framework for St. Tammany Parish Court Records

Louisiana's public records law sits in Revised Statutes Title 44. It begins with a broad right to inspect and copy public records under La. R.S. 44:31, and it sets the custodian's duties for copying and fees under La. R.S. 44:32. You do not have to explain why you want a routine public record.

If access is denied or delayed, La. R.S. 44:35 lets a requester ask a court to review the custodian's decision. A valid denial should point to a statute, a court order, or an exemption, not just a preference. The Clerk's civil department handles many court-record requests at the counter.

The custodian matters. Court filings go to the Clerk, jail and incident records go to the Sheriff, and prosecution files go to the District Attorney. If a record holds both public and confidential parts, ask whether the office can release the public portion with redactions instead of denying the whole file.

Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in St. Tammany Parish

Several record types stay out of public view. Juvenile delinquency and child welfare files are confidential under the Louisiana Children's Code. Adoption records are restricted to authorized people. A judge can seal civil, family, or criminal filings under statutory authority or a protective order. Expunged criminal records leave ordinary public access but remain available to law enforcement and licensing bodies.

To view a sealed record, a party or lawyer usually files a motion and asks the court to unseal it. The court weighs privacy against the public interest. Personal identifiers stay redacted even when the rest of the file is open. For arrest and booking material, see the St. Tammany Parish arrest records page.

Copies and Certified St. Tammany Parish Court Records

Many people need more than a screen view. A plain copy works for personal reference, but a certified copy carries the Clerk's seal and is the version courts and agencies accept. Certified divorce judgments, succession judgments of possession, and money judgments often must be certified before they can be filed elsewhere or recorded against property.

The Clerk sets copy and certification fees by case type and page count, so the exact amount depends on the document. Ask for an estimate when a file is large. A screenshot or a portal printout is generally not a substitute for a certified copy from the custodian.

Older records may not be online at all. Successions and civil files from earlier decades are often searched by party name and may need staff help or an in-person request at the Clerk's counter.

In-Person Court Record Requests

You can request records in person at the Clerk's main office in the Covington Justice Center. Bring a photo ID, the case number or party names, and a payment method for copies. Verify department hours before you go, since not every Clerk function keeps the same daily cutoff.

Related St. Tammany Parish Record Searches

You may also need St. Tammany Parish court dockets, arrest records, traffic court records, public records, or the Clerk of Court page for forms and fees.