| Clerk of Court | Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court |
|---|---|
| Clerk address | Ouachita Parish Courthouse, 300 St. John Street, Monroe, LA 71201 (courthouse address from the Fourth Judicial District Court; confirm the clerk's office location and room before visiting) |
| Phone | Listed on the clerk website |
| Hours | Confirm current hours with the clerk before visiting |
| Earliest records noted | Varies by court — older files may be on paper or microfilm |
| Plain copy fee | $1.00 per page (statutory maximum for district-court clerks under R.S. 13:841; a clerk may charge less) |
| Certified copy fee | $5.00 certification fee per copy under R.S. 13:841, on top of the $1.00 per-page copy charge; several parish clerks (for example Livingston and Tangipahoa) post $10.00, so check the parish schedule |
Ouachita Parish, home to Monroe and West Monroe in northeast Louisiana, shares the Fourth Judicial District Court with neighboring Morehouse Parish. The district has nine judges and holds court at the Ouachita Parish Courthouse at 300 St. John Street in Monroe, but — as everywhere in Louisiana outside New Orleans — the records belong to the parish, not the district. The Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court keeps every Ouachita civil suit, divorce, succession (probate), and felony file, plus the parish's mortgage, conveyance, and UCC records; a Morehouse Parish case is held by the Morehouse clerk in Bastrop even though the same judges hear it.
The clerk's website is organized by department, with pages for fees, notarial information, jury duty, and holiday closures, and the office participates in the statewide Clerk Connect platform for electronic filing of court documents. We were not able to confirm from an official page whether the Ouachita clerk also sells remote case-search access through Clerk Connect or another portal, so treat online access as unconfirmed and plan on contacting the clerk's office directly to look up or copy a district-court record.
Two city courts sit inside the parish and keep their own dockets. Monroe City Court at 600 Calypso Street hears ordinance violations, state misdemeanors, evictions, civil claims, and some juvenile matters for Wards 3 and 10, and West Monroe City Court on North 7th Street does the same for its side of the river. A Monroe or West Monroe traffic ticket, eviction, or misdemeanor will be in one of those courts, not in the parish clerk of court's district-court files.
Search Ouachita Parish court records online
Clerk of Court
Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court
- Coverage
- Civil, domestic, succession (probate), and criminal case records of the Fourth Judicial District Court for Ouachita Parish, plus mortgage and conveyance records
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate
The clerk's site is an application that loads its department, fee, and contact pages dynamically, so only the home page could be verified. Clerk Connect's portal lists Ouachita among its e-filing parishes but not among its record-inquiry parishes; whether a remote case-search subscription exists is unconfirmed. Copy and certification fees follow R.S. 13:841 maximums ($1.00 per page, $5.00 certification) unless the clerk's own fee page says otherwise.
Other courts
Monroe City Court
- Coverage
- City-ordinance violations, state misdemeanors, evictions, civil claims, and certain juvenile matters for Wards 3 and 10 of Ouachita Parish (the City of Monroe)
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Traffic
600 Calypso Street, Monroe, LA 71201; (318) 329-2580; open 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. except legal holidays. The court's website does not offer an online case search; contact the clerk of city court directly.
Other courts
West Monroe City Court
- Coverage
- Civil filings, judgments, evictions, and garnishments; ordinance violations; misdemeanors; and juvenile traffic, criminal, and child-welfare matters for the City of West Monroe
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Traffic
2305 N 7th Street, West Monroe, LA 71291; (318) 396-2600. The city's page lists Civil, Juvenile, Misdemeanor Criminal/Traffic, and Probation divisions but no online records search.
What is available online
Online access to Ouachita Parish district-court records could not be confirmed from an official page. The clerk of court's website loads its content dynamically, and Clerk Connect lists Ouachita only for electronic filing, not for public record inquiry. Until the clerk confirms otherwise, assume that case indexes and documents are available at the clerk's office in Monroe and by written request. Monroe City Court and West Monroe City Court keep their own records and neither posts an online case search.
Which clerk has your record
In Louisiana, the clerk who keeps a file depends on which court heard the case. Check the court name on the case notice, citation, or order, then use the office and coverage details above to identify the record holder. Court names and responsibilities differ by state; a county clerk may not keep court case files. For federal cases, see the PACER guide. The full court structure is on the Louisiana page.
| Court | Typical cases | Records kept by |
|---|---|---|
| District Courts | Felony criminal cases; Divorce, custody, and other domestic matters; Civil suits above the district court's minimum amount in dispute | Clerk of Court of the parish (in Orleans Parish, the Clerk of Civil District Court for civil/family/probate and the Clerk of Criminal District Court for criminal cases) |
| Family and Juvenile Courts | Divorce, custody, and child support (where a standalone family court exists); Juvenile delinquency and child-in-need-of-care cases | Clerk of the Family or Juvenile Court, or the parish clerk of court where no separate court exists |
| City Courts and Parish Courts | Civil suits up to the court's jurisdictional limit (commonly $35,000–$50,000); Misdemeanors and municipal ordinance violations within city limits; Small claims and traffic tickets | Clerk of the individual city or parish court |
| Justice of the Peace and Mayor's Courts | Small claims and minor civil disputes outside city limits; Municipal ordinance violations in towns without a city court | Justice of the peace or mayor's-court clerk for that ward or municipality |
Request records in person or by mail
Ouachita Parish clerk offices
Ouachita Parish Courthouse, 300 St. John Street, Monroe, LA 71201 (courthouse address from the Fourth Judicial District Court; confirm the clerk's office location and room before visiting)
Contact details were taken from the office's website and are re-checked on a schedule; confirm hours before visiting.
In person. The Fourth Judicial District Court sits at the Ouachita Parish Courthouse, 300 St. John Street, Monroe. Call the clerk of court before visiting to confirm the office location, hours, and whether public search terminals are available. Bring the case number if you have it, or the party names and approximate filing year.
By mail. Write to the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court with the case number or party names and year, the specific documents you need, whether a certified copy is required, and either payment or a request for a fee quote. Louisiana law (R.S. 13:841) caps district-court clerk copy fees at $1.00 per page and certification at $5.00 per copy, but the clerk may charge less; the clerk's Fees page on its website lists the current schedule.
Online. We could not verify a public case-search portal for Ouachita Parish. Clerk Connect shows the parish for e-filing only. Ask the clerk's office whether a remote-access subscription is offered before paying for any third-party "records search" service.
City court cases. Monroe City Court (600 Calypso Street, (318) 329-2580) and West Monroe City Court (2305 N 7th Street, (318) 396-2600) keep their own tickets, misdemeanors, evictions, and small civil cases; contact them directly.
Fees
| Item | Typical cost in Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $1.00 per page (statutory maximum for district-court clerks under R.S. 13:841; a clerk may charge less) |
| Certified copy | $5.00 certification fee per copy under R.S. 13:841, on top of the $1.00 per-page copy charge; several parish clerks (for example Livingston and Tangipahoa) post $10.00, so check the parish schedule |
R.S. 13:841 sets the ceiling for district-court clerk fees in civil matters — copies $1.00 per page, certification of a copy $5.00, conformed copies $3.00 — and says each clerk's fee "may be less than, but shall not exceed" those amounts. In practice most parish clerks charge the full $1.00 per page; the certification fee varies from $5.00 to $10.00 by parish, and criminal-side copy fees are set separately. Many clerks also charge for a ClerkConnect or eSearch subscription to view records remotely. Confirm the current fee with the specific parish clerk before sending payment.
Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.
Sealed and restricted records
Louisiana's Public Records Law (Revised Statutes Title 44) presumes public records — including most court filings — are open, and R.S. 44:31 gives any adult the right to inspect, copy, or reproduce a public record unless a specific law says otherwise. Several categories are removed from public view:
The Louisiana guide lists every category of sealed and restricted record, and our guide to expunging or sealing a criminal record explains how to remove one from public view.
Frequently asked questions
Can I search Ouachita Parish court records online?
Not that we could confirm from an official source. The clerk of court's site loads its pages dynamically and Clerk Connect lists Ouachita only for e-filing, not record inquiry. Contact the clerk's office in Monroe to ask about remote access before paying a third-party site.
Which court hears felony cases in Ouachita Parish?
The Fourth Judicial District Court, which covers Ouachita and Morehouse parishes and sits at 300 St. John Street in Monroe. The Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court keeps the file for any case filed in Ouachita; Morehouse cases are kept by the Morehouse clerk in Bastrop.
Where do I find a Monroe traffic ticket or eviction?
At Monroe City Court, 600 Calypso Street, which covers Wards 3 and 10 of the parish, or at West Monroe City Court, 2305 N 7th Street, for the west side. Neither court's records are part of the parish clerk of court's district-court files.
How much does a copy of an Ouachita Parish court record cost?
Louisiana R.S. 13:841 caps district-court clerk fees at $1.00 per page for copies and $5.00 to certify a copy; the Ouachita clerk may charge less. Check the Fees page on the clerk's website or call before sending payment.
Sources
- Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court — https://www.opclerkofcourt.com/
- Fourth Judicial District Court — Directions, Ouachita Parish Courthouse — https://www.4jdc.com/directions-ouachita
- Fourth Judicial District Court — https://www.4jdc.com/
- Clerk Connect — Multi-Parish Clerk of Court Online Access — https://clerkconnect.com/
- Monroe City Court — https://monroecitycourt.com/
- West Monroe City Court — https://www.cityofwestmonroe.com/179/City-Court
- Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:841 — Enumeration of fees in civil matters — https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=78097
- Louisiana Supreme Court — Judicial Branch overview — https://www.lasc.org/
- Louisiana Supreme Court Case Search — https://www.lasc.org/Search
- Louisiana State Police — Bureau of Criminal Identification & Information — https://lsp.org/about/leadershipsections/support/bcii/fingerprints-and-background-checks/
- eClerks LA — Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority — https://www.eclerksla.com/about/statewideportal
- re:SearchLA — https://researchla.tylerhost.net/CourtRecordsSearch/Home
- Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 971 — Expungement, legislative findings — https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=919662
- Louisiana Revised Statutes 44:31 — Right to examine records — https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=99688
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana — https://www.laed.uscourts.gov/
- PACER — Federal court records — https://pacer.uscourts.gov/
See also: all Louisiana counties.