St. Landry Parish Criminal Records Search

St. Landry Parish criminal records are kept by the Clerk of Court in Opelousas and cover all criminal cases, felony charges, misdemeanor offenses, arrests, indictments, and convictions filed through the 27th Judicial District Court serving the parish.

St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court

The St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court in Opelousas is the official keeper of all criminal case records for the parish. The mailing address is P.O. Box 750, Opelousas, LA 70571. The main phone is (337) 942-5606. All criminal filings from the 27th Judicial District Court are indexed and maintained at this office in Opelousas. The clerk's office is the first stop for anyone who needs to look up a criminal case, search for a criminal charge, or get a copy of a conviction record in St. Landry Parish.

Under Louisiana Revised Statute 44:31, the public has the right to inspect St. Landry Parish criminal records at no cost during business hours. You must have a valid photo ID to view St. Landry Parish criminal case files. No appointment is needed for most routine St. Landry Parish criminal record reviews, but calling ahead is wise if you are looking for a large number of criminal documents or very old case files. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. St. Landry Parish criminal records covering felonies, misdemeanors, arrests, and court judgments are all available to the public at no cost to inspect.

Copy fees follow the standard Louisiana schedule for St. Landry Parish criminal records. Plain copies are $1.00 per page. Certified copies cost $5.00 per document. A name-based search of the St. Landry Parish criminal records index costs $5.00 per name. For large copy jobs of St. Landry Parish criminal files, the clerk may ask you to return the next day if the volume is significant. Payment is accepted by check or money order payable to the St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court.

The Louisiana Clerks of Court Association at louisianaclerks.org provides a statewide directory and resources if you need help locating a specific St. Landry Parish criminal record or understanding the process for requesting public records across Louisiana parishes beyond St. Landry Parish.

Searching Criminal Records in St. Landry Parish

To search for St. Landry Parish criminal records at the St. Landry Parish Clerk's office, have the full name of the defendant you are searching and a date of birth if possible. A criminal case number also helps. The St. Landry Parish clerk can run a name-based index search and tell you what criminal cases are on file for that person in St. Landry Parish. Most St. Landry Parish criminal record searches take just a few minutes for the clerk to complete while you wait at the counter in Opelousas.

Mail-in requests are accepted for St. Landry Parish criminal records. Write to P.O. Box 750, Opelousas, LA 70571. Include the subject's full name, date of birth, the type of St. Landry Parish criminal record needed, and a check or money order for applicable fees. Do not send cash by mail. Turnaround time on mail requests for St. Landry Parish criminal records depends on the volume of requests the office is handling at the time. For time-sensitive St. Landry Parish needs, an in-person visit is faster.

St. Landry Parish does not currently offer its own public online criminal case search portal. For statewide criminal records, the Louisiana State Police Internet Background Check portal at ibc.dps.louisiana.gov provides name-based criminal history searches that pull from statewide data covering St. Landry Parish and all other parishes. That portal is the best remote option when you cannot come to the St. Landry Parish office in Opelousas.

The state portal is a useful starting point when you are not sure which agency holds the St. Landry Parish criminal record you need. It links to the courts, the State Police, the Department of Corrections, and other agencies involved in St. Landry Parish criminal records across Louisiana.

Note: St. Landry Parish criminal records from cases that were expunged or sealed will not appear in any clerk index search, so a search that returns no results does not necessarily mean there is no prior criminal history in St. Landry Parish.

St. Landry Parish Court System

St. Landry Parish is served by the 27th Judicial District Court. The 27th JDC covers St. Landry Parish alone and is based in Opelousas. It handles all felony criminal cases, major civil matters, domestic relations, and probate within St. Landry Parish. The 27th JDC is one of the larger single-parish district courts in the state given St. Landry Parish's population and geographic size. All felony indictments and serious criminal charges originating in St. Landry Parish go through this court.

Appeals from 27th JDC St. Landry Parish criminal decisions go to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal based in Lake Charles. The Third Circuit covers the central and southwestern parishes of Louisiana, including St. Landry Parish. Cases appealed beyond the Third Circuit go to the Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans. Appellate opinions can be found on the Louisiana Supreme Court website at lasc.org.

Traffic violations and minor criminal matters in St. Landry Parish may be handled at the justice of the peace level, depending on where in St. Landry Parish they occurred. The St. Landry Parish district court clerk can tell you which court holds the criminal record if you are unsure about a specific offense. Call (337) 942-5606 for guidance on where your St. Landry Parish criminal case was filed.

State Criminal Records Resources

The Louisiana State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information handles statewide criminal history records. BCII collects data from all Louisiana law enforcement agencies, including the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, and compiles it into a statewide criminal history repository. Requesting a BCII check is the best way to get a complete view of someone's criminal history across all Louisiana parishes rather than just St. Landry Parish criminal records alone.

The Louisiana State Police website at lsp.org provides details on how to request a background check, which forms to use, and what the fees are for criminal history searches. Name-based checks are available by mail. Fingerprint-based checks are more thorough and identity-confirmed. For many personal or legal purposes, a name-based check is sufficient, but some applications such as professional licensing or adoption require fingerprints and cover St. Landry Parish criminal records and records from beyond the parish.

The LSP homepage gives you direct links to BCII services, the IBC portal, and the forms needed to submit a manual background check request by mail to the State Police covering St. Landry Parish criminal records and all other parishes.

The Louisiana Department of Corrections offender search at doc.la.gov shows current custody status for people incarcerated in state facilities or on supervised release. If someone convicted of a St. Landry Parish criminal offense is serving time in a state prison, the DOC search will show where they are housed and when their criminal sentence is expected to end.

Expunging Criminal Records in St. Landry Parish

Louisiana's expungement process is governed by La. R.S. 44:9. Eligible individuals can petition the 27th Judicial District Court to have certain St. Landry Parish arrest records or criminal convictions removed from the public record. Not every offense qualifies for expungement in St. Landry Parish. Crimes of violence, sex offenses, and other specified categories are excluded by statute. Eligibility also depends on the outcome of the St. Landry Parish criminal case and how much time has passed since the sentence ended.

The total cost of a standard St. Landry Parish expungement is approximately $550.00. Of that, $300.00 goes to the St. Landry Parish clerk of court and $250.00 goes to the Louisiana State Police by USPS money order. All fees are non-refundable. Confirm eligibility before you pay. A Louisiana attorney who handles expungements can review your St. Landry Parish criminal record and give you a clear answer on whether you qualify before you spend money on fees that cannot be recovered if the petition is denied.

Waiting periods apply under R.S. 44:9. A St. Landry Parish misdemeanor conviction requires a two-year wait after sentence completion. A first-offense felony conviction set aside under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 893 requires a five-year wait. Arrests in St. Landry Parish that did not result in criminal conviction may qualify for expungement sooner. The St. Landry Parish clerk's office in Opelousas can provide forms, but they cannot advise on whether a specific St. Landry Parish criminal record is eligible. That question requires an attorney's review of the full St. Landry Parish criminal history.

Note: After a St. Landry Parish expungement order is entered by the court, the St. Landry Parish clerk updates its index and removes the criminal record from public view. Law enforcement agencies may retain access under limited conditions allowed by the statute.

Record Access and Copy Fees

St. Landry Parish public criminal records are free to inspect under R.S. 44:31. Anyone can come to the St. Landry Parish clerk's office in Opelousas during business hours and review St. Landry Parish criminal case files without paying a fee. You do not need to state a reason for your visit. Bring a valid photo ID. The St. Landry Parish clerk's staff will retrieve the criminal files you need and let you review them at the office.

If you need copies of St. Landry Parish criminal records to take with you, fees apply. Plain copies cost $1.00 per page. Certified copies are $5.00 per document. A name search of the St. Landry Parish criminal index costs $5.00 per name. For large copy jobs involving multiple St. Landry Parish criminal case files, budget extra time because the clerk may need to process the request in stages. Payment at the St. Landry Parish office is accepted by check or money order. Cash may be accepted for small amounts, but verify this with the clerk's office before you visit Opelousas.

For mail requests, send your written request and payment to P.O. Box 750, Opelousas, LA 70571. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope to speed the return of St. Landry Parish criminal documents. Mail turnaround varies but typically takes one to two weeks depending on St. Landry Parish office workload. For faster results, the in-person option or the LSP Internet Background Check portal are better choices for searching St. Landry Parish criminal records.

The BCII forms page lists the current versions of all forms needed to request a name-based or fingerprint-based criminal history check from the Louisiana State Police that covers St. Landry Parish and all other parishes.

Nearby Parishes

These parishes are near St. Landry Parish. Each has a separate clerk of court and court system for criminal records.