Madison Parish Criminal Records Search

Madison Parish criminal records are filed with the Madison Parish Clerk of Court in Tallulah and are processed through the 6th Judicial District Court, covering all criminal charges, felony cases, misdemeanor cases, and criminal dispositions originating in Madison Parish; this page covers how to find and access Madison Parish criminal records in person or by mail and how Louisiana State Police criminal history data connects to what is available locally.

Madison Parish Clerk of Court

The Madison Parish Clerk of Court is the official custodian of criminal court records for the parish. The Madison Parish clerk's office is at 100 N. Cedar Street, Tallulah, LA 71282. The main phone number is (318) 574-0655. This is where Madison Parish criminal case files, minute entries, and certified copy requests for the 6th Judicial District Court are processed. Every Madison Parish criminal case, from the initial criminal charge through the final disposition, is recorded and maintained by the clerk's office in Tallulah.

Public inspection of Madison Parish criminal records is free under Louisiana Revised Statute 44:31. You can walk into the Madison Parish clerk's office during business hours, provide a defendant name or case number, and review a Madison Parish criminal case file at no charge. Standard hours at the Madison Parish Clerk of Court are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Bring a valid photo ID. If you are driving to Tallulah specifically for a Madison Parish criminal records search, call (318) 574-0655 first to confirm hours and make sure the criminal record is available on-site.

The 6th Judicial District covers three parishes: East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas. Each parish has its own clerk of court and maintains its own criminal records. If you are not sure which parish a criminal case was filed in, you may need to check more than one clerk. Madison Parish criminal records only include cases filed in Madison Parish. Cases from East Carroll Parish are filed with the East Carroll Clerk in Lake Providence. Tensas Parish criminal cases are filed with the Tensas Parish Clerk in St. Joseph.

Note: Madison Parish is a small parish. Confirm the clerk's office hours and criminal record availability before making the drive to Tallulah.

Searching Criminal Records in Madison Parish

Madison Parish does not have an online portal for public criminal record searches. The main way to access Madison Parish criminal records is in person at the clerk's office at 100 N. Cedar Street in Tallulah. Bring the full legal name of the defendant you are searching and any other details you have, such as a Madison Parish case year or docket number. The clerk's staff will search the Madison Parish criminal index and pull the relevant file. In-person access to Madison Parish criminal records is free during regular business hours.

Written mail requests for Madison Parish criminal records are also accepted. To request Madison Parish criminal records by mail, write to the Madison Parish Clerk of Court at 100 N. Cedar Street, Tallulah, LA 71282. Include the full name of the criminal defendant, the approximate year of the Madison Parish case, your return address, and a check for copy fees if you want copies sent back to you. Processing time for Madison Parish criminal record mail requests can vary, so call ahead to get an estimate if timing matters.

For a statewide criminal history that goes beyond Madison Parish, Louisiana State Police BCII has criminal records from all Louisiana parishes. Arrests in Madison Parish are fingerprinted and reported to BCII. Court dispositions from the 6th JDC for Madison Parish criminal cases are also submitted to the state system. A BCII report can show Madison Parish criminal activity and any other Louisiana parish where the person has a criminal record.

The Louisiana State Police website at lsp.org provides background check request information, links to the BCII division, and access to the IBC portal for criminal history self-requests covering Madison Parish and other parishes.

The LSP website is the starting point for both individual self-requests and authorized third-party criminal history requests covering Madison Parish and all of Louisiana.

Madison Parish Court System

The 6th Judicial District Court covers East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas parishes. For Madison Parish criminal cases, the court sits in Tallulah. The 6th JDC handles all felony criminal cases originating in Madison Parish. Criminal appeals for Madison Parish cases go to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport.

Every Madison Parish criminal case filed in the 6th JDC follows the same basic path through the clerk's office. When criminal charges are filed, a Madison Parish docket is opened. Every subsequent filing, including bills of information, motions, hearing minutes, plea agreements, criminal verdicts, and sentencing orders, is added to the Madison Parish criminal file. That file becomes a permanent public record once the Madison Parish criminal case is resolved, unless the court seals it or the defendant later obtains an expungement of the Madison Parish criminal record.

Some lower-level criminal matters in Madison Parish may be handled at the Justice of the Peace level or in a city court in Tallulah. Those Madison Parish criminal records may not be in the district court docket. If you do not find what you need at the 6th JDC clerk level for Madison Parish, ask whether the criminal case might have gone through a lower court in Tallulah or elsewhere in the parish.

Note: The 6th JDC is a three-parish district, but Madison Parish criminal cases are filed separately with the Madison Parish clerk. There is no shared central criminal file for all three parishes in the district.

Louisiana State Criminal Records

Louisiana State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information is the central criminal history repository for the state. Arrests made in Madison Parish, along with criminal dispositions from the 6th JDC for Madison Parish cases, get reported to BCII. A statewide BCII report pulls together Madison Parish criminal records and records from all reporting agencies across Louisiana, making it more comprehensive than a single-parish criminal clerk search.

You can request your own Louisiana criminal history, including Madison Parish criminal records, online through the Internet Background Check portal. The IBC portal at ibc.dps.louisiana.gov allows self-requests only. You submit your information, pay by credit card, and receive the criminal history result electronically. This is much faster than the mail-in process for most people looking for criminal records that cover Madison Parish and other parishes.

The IBC portal is available around the clock and does not require a visit to any state office, which makes it convenient for people in rural parishes like Madison Parish who need to check criminal history records.

For people who received state prison sentences after criminal convictions in Madison Parish, the Louisiana Department of Corrections offender locator at doc.la.gov can show current custody status and facility location. The DOC database does not cover local Madison Parish jail inmates.

Expunging Records in Madison Parish

Louisiana Revised Statute 44:9 is the main expungement law in the state and applies in Madison Parish the same way it does everywhere else in Louisiana. The law defines which Madison Parish criminal offenses can be expunged, sets eligibility requirements, and lays out the petition process. Many Madison Parish criminal offenses do not qualify. Crimes of violence, sex offenses, and several other categories of Madison Parish criminal cases are excluded. Check the statute or talk to an attorney before paying any fees for a Madison Parish criminal record expungement, since no expungement fees are refunded.

A standard expungement of a Madison Parish criminal record in Louisiana costs approximately $550 in total. The filing fee goes to the Madison Parish clerk. A separate fee is paid to Louisiana State Police by money order. There may also be a Madison Parish sheriff's records review fee before filing. All of these costs are non-refundable if the Madison Parish criminal record expungement petition is denied. In a small parish like Madison Parish, the clerk and sheriff's offices may have shorter wait times than in larger parishes, but the process and costs are the same statewide.

To file a Madison Parish criminal record expungement, submit the expungement petition to the 6th Judicial District Court through the Madison Parish clerk's office at 100 N. Cedar Street in Tallulah. The clerk will provide the required forms and confirm the current filing fee for Madison Parish criminal record expungements. Once filed, the Madison Parish district attorney and law enforcement agencies have a response window. If there are no valid objections and the judge approves the petition, the Madison Parish criminal record is removed from public access. Many people choose to hire an attorney to handle the Madison Parish criminal expungement process, especially when the case involves multiple criminal charges.

Note: A Madison Parish criminal record expungement does not permanently destroy the record. Certain agencies retain access to expunged Madison Parish criminal records under conditions specified in state law.

Copy Fees and Record Access in Madison Parish

Looking at public Madison Parish criminal records in person at the Madison Parish Clerk of Court is free. La. R.S. 44:31 gives every person the right to inspect public Madison Parish criminal records at no cost during normal office hours. The Madison Parish clerk cannot charge you simply to look at a criminal file or to search the Madison Parish criminal index by name.

If you want copies of Madison Parish criminal records, fees apply. Plain paper copies run about $1.00 per page at most Louisiana clerk offices, including Madison Parish. Certified copies of Madison Parish criminal case documents cost more per page. A name-based Madison Parish criminal history search at the clerk level is typically around $20. Confirm the current Madison Parish fee schedule by calling (318) 574-0655 before you visit to search Madison Parish criminal records.

For Louisiana State Police background check fees covering Madison Parish criminal history and other parishes, the BCII forms page at lsp.org has the current schedule for name-based and fingerprint-based criminal history requests.

The BCII forms page has everything you need to submit a proper criminal history request to Louisiana State Police covering Madison Parish and all of Louisiana, including the correct form and payment instructions for money order payments.

Note: Pay the Madison Parish clerk's office and Louisiana State Police separately. They are different agencies with different payment requirements, and one payment will not cover both Madison Parish criminal record requests and statewide BCII criminal history.

Nearby Parishes

These parishes border or sit near Madison Parish. Each has its own clerk of court and independent criminal records. Use these links to search criminal records in a parish neighboring Madison Parish.