A Louisiana court docket search almost always starts at the parish level: identify the parish where the case was filed, then use that parish Clerk of Court’s online records system to pull the docket by case number or party name. Appellate cases have their own portals at each Court of Appeal and at the Louisiana Supreme Court, and federal cases sit in a separate system called PACER. There is no single statewide database that covers all of it.
Why Parish Comes First
Louisiana keeps court records on a decentralized system. Trial court files live with the Clerk of Court in each of the 64 parishes, and there is no unified state portal that reaches across all of them. Knowing which parish handled the case is the first thing you need, because it determines which website or courthouse you use.
District Courts are the main trial courts and hear felonies, property title disputes, probate, and succession matters, among others.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Constitution Article V, Section 16 – District Courts; Jurisdiction City Courts and Justice of the Peace Courts handle smaller civil disputes and misdemeanors within a parish. If you don’t know which parish, think about where the events happened. Criminal cases are usually filed where the alleged offense took place; civil suits are typically filed where the defendant lives or where the dispute arose.
Information to Gather Before You Search
The more specific your inputs, the fewer dead ends you’ll hit. Any one of the following can anchor a search:
- The parish or city where the case was filed. This decides which clerk’s system you use.
- The case or docket number. With this, you can usually skip every other field.
- The full legal name of a party. Nicknames and partial names rarely produce useful matches.
- An approximate filing date or year range. This narrows results when a common name returns too many hits.
Searching Parish Clerk of Court Records
Most parish Clerks of Court run their own web-based records search, typically found under a “Records Search” or “Public Records” tab. You enter a case number or party name and get back the case caption, docket number, and a chronological list of filings. Some parishes post full document images; others show only the docket index, and you request the underlying documents separately.
Older cases may not have been digitized. If the case predates the parish’s electronic system, plan on searching in person at the courthouse. Every Clerk of Court office allows public records searches on-site, and this remains the most reliable route for archived files. Calling ahead to confirm hours and terminal availability saves a wasted trip.
Multi-Parish Portals
Several parishes participate in Clerk Connect, a shared portal at clerkconnect.com that consolidates records from about ten parishes into one search interface.2Caddo Parish Clerk of Court. Web Access Accounts – Caddo Parish Clerk of Court Through it you can search civil suits, criminal cases, property records, and marriage records across those parishes without visiting each site individually.3Clerk Connect. Clerk Connect – a Multi-Parish Clerk of Court Online Access Portal The Louisiana Clerks Remote Access Authority runs a separate portal at laclerksportal.org for land and marriage records across participating parishes.4Louisiana Clerks Remote Access Authority. LCRAA – Louisiana Land and Marriage Records Search
Searching Appellate and Supreme Court Dockets
Appellate records are more centralized than trial records, which makes them easier to find. Each of Louisiana’s five Circuit Courts of Appeal maintains its own online docket search. The Fifth Circuit, for example, offers searchable dockets going back to 2006 with lookups by docket date or month and year.5Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. Docket Search – Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal – State of Louisiana The other circuits offer comparable tools on their individual websites.
If you aren’t sure which circuit handled a case, the five Courts of Appeal share an electronic filing platform called the EClerks Counter at eclerk2.la-fcca.org, which is a useful starting point.6Louisiana Court of Appeal. Louisiana Court of Appeal EClerks Counter The Louisiana Supreme Court’s docket, opinions, and oral argument calendar are posted at lasc.org.7Louisiana Supreme Court. Louisiana Supreme Court – Docket Appellate portals let you search by the appellate case number, a party name, or the trial court docket number the case came up on.
Searching Federal Cases
Federal court records sit in an entirely separate system. Louisiana has three federal judicial districts: the Eastern District in New Orleans, the Middle District in Baton Rouge, and the Western District in Shreveport. Federal cases include bankruptcies, federal criminal prosecutions, civil rights claims, and disputes between parties from different states.
All federal court records are searchable through PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records), the nationwide portal run by the federal judiciary. You need a free PACER account, which you can create at pacer.uscourts.gov. PACER charges $0.10 per page to view or download, capped at $3.00 per document.8United States Courts. Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule Each district also provides access through its own CM/ECF system.9Western District of Louisiana. CM/ECF / PACER – Western District of Louisiana
To avoid PACER fees, federal courthouses in Louisiana offer free public access terminals during business hours. The Middle District courthouse in Baton Rouge provides free terminals Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.10Middle District of Louisiana. Case Information and Public Access
What It Costs
Basic docket lookups on a parish clerk’s website are often free. Costs come in when you want copies or when a parish charges a subscription for full remote access.
Louisiana law caps the fees clerks can charge for common services: up to $2.00 for indexing a name, up to $1.00 per page for standard copies, and up to $5.00 to certify a copy.11Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:841 – Enumeration of Fees in Civil Matters; Miscellaneous Individual parishes may also charge additional fees to fund their online document access systems, so contact the specific clerk’s office for its current schedule. Clerk Connect and similar portals may require a paid account for full document images while allowing basic docket searches for free.
Cases You Won’t Find
Some records don’t appear in a public search no matter how well you search. If you’re looking for a criminal case and getting nothing, one of these restrictions may be the reason.
Expunged Records
When a Louisiana court grants an expungement, the arrest or conviction record becomes confidential and is no longer public. Only law enforcement, prosecutors, the person whose record was expunged, and people who obtain a court order on good cause can access it.12Justia. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 973 – Effect of Expunged Record of Arrest or Conviction
Juvenile Proceedings
Juvenile court records are confidential, with the exception of traffic violations. Courts can authorize limited disclosure to agencies serving the child, but the general public has no access.13Justia. Louisiana Childrens Code Art. 412 – Confidentiality of Records; Disclosure Exceptions; Sanctions Adoption records are even more strictly protected and cannot be released even to the former child.
Sealed Civil Records
A judge can seal a civil record through a protective order when a party shows good cause. Louisiana law prohibits sealing records tied to a public hazard, though, unless the information qualifies as a trade secret or confidential commercial data, and any contract meant to conceal a public hazard is void against public policy.14Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 1426 – Protective Orders
Reading What the Docket Shows You
Once you locate a docket, you’re looking at a chronological log of what was filed, when, and how the court acted. The docket itself isn’t the full text of any document; it’s a summary. Louisiana law requires courts to record all orders, judgments, motions, and judicial acts in minute books.15Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 254 – Docket and Minute Books Common entries include:
- Filing date. The date a document was officially submitted. The first entry’s filing date marks when the case began.
- Pleadings. Formal documents filed by the parties. The initial petition starts the case, the answer responds, and motions ask the court to take specific action.
- Minute entry. A brief record of what happened in court on a given day, including orders the judge issued. These entries are often the most informative part of the docket.
- Hearing settings. Scheduled future dates for trials, motion hearings, or status conferences. These tell you whether a case is still active.
- Judgment or disposition. The final outcome, such as a dismissal, verdict, or settlement. If this entry exists, the case has ended at the trial level, though an appeal may follow.
When You Need a Certified Copy
A docket search tells you what happened. It does not give you a document you can file elsewhere. If you need an official copy of a judgment, pleading, or other court document for legal purposes, request a certified copy from the Clerk of Court that holds the record.
Identify the exact document from the docket, then request it in person or by mail. Most clerks accept cash, checks, money orders, and credit or debit cards, with some transaction restrictions. Certification is capped at $5.00 under state law, plus copying charges of up to $1.00 per page.11Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:841 – Enumeration of Fees in Civil Matters; Miscellaneous For mail requests, direct your letter to the appropriate division of the clerk’s office, since criminal, civil, and property records are often handled separately.