Making the Most of Louisiana Public Records

Find information on individuals or property with Louisiana public records

Making the most of Louisiana public records will require you to have a guide or referral. You can conduct Internet searches of many government agencies for free but you will spend a lot of time looking at irrelevant links and websites if you have no idea where to start.

You will first need to obtain some basic information on the individual or property for which you are seeking state of Louisiana public records. For example, if you are seeking information about an individual, it will be helpful to know some addresses where that person has previously lived.

There are three general types of public records in Louisiana:

1. Louisiana police records that include files on registered sex offenders, past convictions or information on current inmates in a particular prison. These records can help you perform a Louisiana background check on prospective employees.
2. Louisiana divorce records, census records, consumer protection information or legislation minutes. You may find these records helpful when researching a product or political candidate.
3. Real estate records like property appraisals, ownership and taxes. These types of records can be useful when buying or selling a home.
   

 

Find Louisiana criminal records from local government agencies

City and parish clerks in Louisiana can frequently provide a great deal of current information on an individual when you know their name and address.
Try: Louisiana Parish has links to websites grouped by parish. Perkins & Associates has a clickable map of Louisiana parishes that displays links to the courts associated with that parish.

Learn more about the laws regarding Louisiana public records

The records that are publicly available vary widely by state. You will want to have at least a general idea of what information you can expect to find before conducting your search.
Try: The Department of Environmental Quality provides instructions on making a public records request. The Louisiana.gov Services Directory provides a summary on obtaining each type of public record in Louisiana and a link to more detailed information.

Perform a search for a specific Louisiana criminal record

Many cities and counties in Louisiana maintain a variety of records on individuals and property that are freely available to the general public.
Try: The Desoto Parish Clerk of Court offers access to public records such as criminal, civil and real estate records. The Livingston Parish Clerk of Court provides an online public records search in exchange for a fee.

 

• Exhaust free sources of information before you consider paying for Louisiana court records. Sites that charge a fee may only provide information you could obtain elsewhere for free. Fortunately, libraries frequently subscribe to services that you would normally need to pay a fee to access. You should also bear in mind that many Louisiana arrest records are simply not available online.

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