Getting Orleans Parish Court Records
Begin with three things. Know the court where the case started. Have the case number and the exact item you want. There is no unified statewide trial-court search that covers Orleans Parish. Civil District Court files run through the Civil Clerk. Criminal District Court files sit with the clerk's criminal-record function while a post-Act 15 transition plays out. Municipal and Traffic Court, First City Court, and Second City Court each keep their own records. A docket hit can tell you a filing exists. Only the clerk issues copies and certification.
- Identify the court, case number, party or defendant name, and document or docket event.
- Use the applicable online route, such as Civil Remote Access, Clerk Connect, or the Municipal and Traffic Court search.
- Ask the responsible clerk for a plain or certified copy through the documented counter, phone, email, mail, or online channel.
- Give the clerk copy count, delivery details, and payment information, and ask whether an older file is off site.
- Use the court reporter for a transcript and the separate agency custodian for prosecutor, sheriff, or other agency material.
No result online does not mean the file is gone. It may simply predate portal coverage, sit in warehouse storage, be closed by law, or belong to a different Orleans Parish court.
Orleans Parish Civil Record Access
For civil files, the Civil Clerk Online Records service is a subscription route rather than a free statewide search. Coverage runs from 1985 for data entry. Images start at 2010. Full clerk data entry plus images runs from December 14, 2015 forward. Published plans come in tiers. They cost $20 for 24 hours, $100 for 30 days, or $700 for 365 days. Printing or downloading takes a separate escrow account. The portal can fall short. The clerk office and its Record Room hold the physical files.
The Civil Remote Access login is the door to that account-gated portal. Case Information can display a case number, division or section, title, type, filed and entered dates, category, and remarks. Pleadings and Documents lists filings and can lead to an image when one exists. Write down the filing date and document title. Then ask the clerk for a copy.
Municipal and Traffic Court's records instructions lay out that court's own request route. They also cover the details its clerk needs from you.
That distinction matters: a civil portal search will not pull up a municipal or traffic case file.
Court Record Types
A court record is not one product. The docket is a dated index of filings, settings, and outcomes. The file holds what sits behind that index. That means the pleading, order, judgment, or exhibit. A certified copy is a clerk-issued copy stamped under the court seal. A transcript usually comes from the court reporter as a separate product. Ask for the specific item you need rather than every paper in the case.
- Civil case information, pleadings, documents, orders, and judgments held through the Civil Clerk.
- Criminal docket information, minute entries, dispositions, certified documents, and expungement materials.
- Municipal and traffic citations, case information, dispositions, and court records.
- Limited-civil records held by First City Court and Second City Court clerks.
- Succession, domestic, historical, land, and notarial materials held through the relevant Civil Clerk division.
Juvenile files, prosecutor files, sheriff or custody records, and federal files all sit with different offices under different access rules.
Orleans Parish Records by Custodian
Start with the right office. Ask the one that made the file or legally holds it now. Civil District Court and civil-probate matters go to the Civil Clerk. Act 15 moved the former criminal clerk's records and duties to the Clerk of Court for the Parish of Orleans. Criminal District Court stays a legally distinct court. It keeps its own sections and calendars. Municipal and Traffic Court runs its own portal and request route. The First and Second City Court clerks each keep their limited-civil dockets.
| Originating court | Record path | Key limit |
|---|---|---|
| Civil District Court | Civil Clerk Record Room or Remote Access | Online images use subscription and escrow controls. |
| Criminal District Court | Clerk criminal-record function and Clerk Connect inquiry | Office labels remain in transition after Act 15. |
| Municipal and Traffic Court | Its case search and clerk request channels | Online search excludes pre-2002 filings. |
| First or Second City Court | The relevant city-court clerk | No unified city-court online docket is documented. |
| Juvenile Court | Juvenile clerk | Not an ordinary public-search record. |
No single Louisiana public trial-court portal ties these offices together. The Orleans Parish case lookup route can help you pin down the right court before requesting a copy.
Inside an Orleans Parish Court Record
A docket entry is not the document behind it. Orleans Parish case information usually lists a case number. It also shows court and section, title, and type. Filed or entered dates, status, and dated events round it out. Civil Remote Access labels its screens Case Information and Pleadings and Documents. Criminal material may carry names like minute entry, daily docket, calendar summary, or case status. A docket line may be in view. The signed ruling, exhibit, or image can still take a separate request.
| Case number | The clerk-assigned identifier. Orleans systems do not publish one universal mask, so copy it exactly from the court paper. |
|---|---|
| Parties and attorneys | Names and roles in the case, with attorney data where the portal displays it. |
| Events and settings | Dated filings, motions, orders, hearings, pleas, continuances, and outcomes. |
| Pleadings and documents | Filed papers and scanned images when the originating system has made an image available. |
| Disposition | A judgment, dismissal, plea, conviction, acquittal, nonsuit, or another recorded result. |
| Access status | A restriction, redaction, sealed marker, or missing image can limit the public view. |
Note: Confirm any visible status or document title with the clerk before treating it as an official copy.
Older Orleans Parish Civil Files
Not every older civil file rides the electronic path. The Civil Clerk arranges active records numerically in the Record Room. Completed hard-copy records generally sit in a warehouse. Exceptions cover inheritance rights, property title, or status. The Annex Record Room holds successions and domestic cases from 1918 through 2003. Retrieval from the Annex or warehouse can take extra time. Name the case type and date range when you request an older file.
Land records, mortgages, conveyances, notarial archives, and historical papers stand apart from the Civil District Court docket. The Civil Clerk points to historical material dating to 1735. Its Research Center & Historical Documents holds it. That office aids older property or succession research. It never substitutes for a request on an identified civil case file.
Fees and Certified Copies
Know which copy you need before you pay. A plain copy just lets you read the file. A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and official attestation. When you order a civil judgment, order, or docket from Orleans Parish, supply the case number, the document name and date, how many copies you want, and how you want them delivered. The clerk's Remote Access system offers a Certified Copies dialog with a mailing option, and the Record Room can handle a counter request in person. The Civil Clerk pages list Chelsey Richard Napoleon as Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Recorder.
| Orleans civil item | Published amount | Request note |
|---|---|---|
| Regular civil copy | $1 per page | Published by the Civil Clerk. |
| Certified civil copy | $3 per page | Identify the judgment, order, docket, or document. |
| Remote Access subscription | $20 daily, $100 for 30 days, or $700 yearly | Separate from copying; image print or download needs escrow. |
| Criminal or Municipal and Traffic copies | Fee not located in official sources | Ask the responsible clerk for current pricing. |
Clerk of Court for the Parish of Orleans
Civil District Court, Room 402
421 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 407-0000
Send civil public-record requests to cdcclerk@orleanscivilclerk.com. The Record Room also answers its phone at (504) 407-0036. Criminal current per-page pricing and turnaround times are not published.
Orleans Parish Criminal Records After Act 15
Act 15 of the 2026 Regular Session abolished the Office of Clerk of Criminal District Court for Orleans Parish at the end of May 3, 2026. Every record and duty from that office moved to the Civil District Court clerk, who now serves as Clerk of Court for the Parish of Orleans. The two courts themselves did not merge. Criminal District Court still runs its own sections, magistrate work, calendars, and judicial functions, while Civil District Court stays separate.
Criminal District Court's document-request page still routes state criminal record and certified-document requests to the clerk's record office at 2700 Tulane Avenue. Some of its older pages still carry the former criminal-clerk labels, so confirm the current routing before trusting an old office title or suite. For prosecution records, contact the District Attorney. The Sheriff keeps sheriff and custody records.
Sealed Records and Public Access
Louisiana law names the clerk as the legal custodian of court records. The public must generally be allowed to examine and copy them during office hours, unless a law or court order restricts a record. Ask the office that holds the document first. A clerk can hand you a plain copy, a certified copy, or a written explanation of why material is unavailable. If a response raises a question about public-record status, keep your request in writing.
Louisiana access rules: La. C.C.P. art. 251 identifies the clerk as custodian and permits certified copies. La. R.S. 44:31 protects inspection and copying rights for adult requesters. La. R.S. 44:32 addresses access, fees, and written reasons; La. R.S. 44:35 sets the judicial enforcement route.
Juvenile records are generally confidential. Expunged records are confidential under the applicable criminal rule. A sealed document, a protected address, an account number, or another identifier can be withheld or redacted. A missing result could stem from any of these, so ask the custodian for the legal basis.
Orleans Parish Federal Court Records
Federal cases run on a separate system entirely. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Eastern District Bankruptcy Court use PACER and CM/ECF rather than Orleans Parish clerk portals. Any federal docket or document request goes through the federal court itself or a PACER account. Federal case-number formats and access rules follow federal rules. They do not follow Orleans Parish civil or criminal ones. PACER's official pricing information lays out the federal fee framework that page sets for public access.
Federal fees work differently from a Louisiana state-court clerk copy request. The Eastern District Bankruptcy Court maintains its own case access and contact information.
Bankruptcy files must go through the federal channel, even when the parties or property have an Orleans Parish connection.