Search St. Martin Parish Criminal Records

St. Martin Parish criminal records are filed with the Clerk of Court in St. Martinville and cover all criminal cases, felony charges, misdemeanor offenses, arrests, indictments, and convictions processed through the 16th Judicial District Court, which also covers Iberia and St. Mary parishes.

St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court

The St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court in St. Martinville is the official keeper of all criminal court records for the parish. The mailing address is P.O. Box 308, St. Martinville, LA 70582. The main phone is (337) 394-2210. All criminal cases filed through the 16th Judicial District Court for St. Martin Parish are maintained at this office. The clerk handles criminal record lookups, copy requests, and certified document orders for felony cases, misdemeanor cases, arrest records, and criminal convictions from St. Martin Parish.

Louisiana Revised Statute 44:31 gives the public the right to inspect criminal records at no cost during regular business hours. You must show a valid photo ID. No explanation is needed for a criminal records inspection request. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. For routine searches of St. Martin Parish criminal cases, the clerk's staff can pull criminal case files while you wait at the counter in St. Martinville.

Copy fees use the standard Louisiana schedule for criminal records. Plain copies cost $1.00 per page. Certified copies are $5.00 per document. A name-based criminal history search through the St. Martin Parish clerk runs $5.00 per name. Mail-in requests are accepted at P.O. Box 308, St. Martinville, LA 70582. Include a check or money order payable to the St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court along with a description of the criminal records you need.

The Louisiana Clerks of Court Association at louisianaclerks.org maintains a directory of all parish clerks and can help you identify the correct office for a specific criminal records request across Louisiana parishes beyond St. Martin Parish.

Searching Criminal Records in St. Martin Parish

To search criminal records at the St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court, bring the full name of the defendant you are looking for and a date of birth if you have one. The clerk's staff can search the criminal index by name and pull up any matching criminal case records from St. Martin Parish. For a faster search, bring a case number if you already have it from a prior court filing or criminal docket sheet.

In-person visits during business hours are the fastest way to get St. Martin Parish criminal records. Mail requests are also accepted. Send your written request to P.O. Box 308, St. Martinville, LA 70582, with payment for applicable fees. Include the subject's full name, date of birth, and a description of what criminal records you need. Allow one to two weeks for the office to process and return the criminal documents by mail.

For remote access to criminal history, the Louisiana State Police Internet Background Check portal at ibc.dps.louisiana.gov is a good option. It pulls criminal history data from across all Louisiana parishes, including St. Martin Parish, and is available online without visiting any clerk's office in person. This is useful when you need to check criminal records across multiple parishes or cannot travel to St. Martinville.

The LSP background checks page explains what forms to use, what information to include, and what fees apply for both name-based and fingerprint-based criminal history checks submitted to BCII covering St. Martin Parish cases.

Note: A search at the St. Martin Parish Clerk covers only St. Martin Parish criminal cases. For records from other parishes, you must contact those clerks directly or use the statewide BCII option at the LSP to search beyond St. Martin Parish.

St. Martin Parish Court System

St. Martin Parish is part of the 16th Judicial District. The 16th JDC covers three parishes: Iberia, St. Mary, and St. Martin. The court rotates judges among the three parish seats. For St. Martin Parish, the district court operates out of St. Martinville. All felony criminal cases originating in St. Martin Parish are handled through the 16th JDC. The St. Martin Parish clerk in St. Martinville maintains the criminal case files for all cases arising in St. Martin Parish, including felony indictments, misdemeanor charges, and criminal convictions.

Appeals from 16th JDC criminal decisions involving St. Martin Parish go to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles. The Third Circuit handles appeals from the central and southwestern parishes of the state, including St. Martin Parish. Beyond the Third Circuit, St. Martin Parish criminal cases can appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Opinions from the Louisiana Supreme Court are available at lasc.org.

Traffic offenses and misdemeanors in outlying areas of St. Martin Parish may go before justices of the peace. For St. Martin Parish criminal records from those matters, the relevant justice of the peace court rather than the district court clerk may hold the file. Call the clerk's office in St. Martinville for guidance on where specific minor criminal offense records are kept within St. Martin Parish.

State Criminal Records Resources

The Louisiana State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information manages statewide criminal history records. BCII compiles data from law enforcement agencies across all 64 parishes, including criminal arrests and convictions from St. Martin Parish. A BCII check gives a broader view of criminal history than any single parish clerk can provide. The LSP website at lsp.org explains the full process for requesting a state background check, what forms to use, and the fees involved for name-based and fingerprint-based submissions.

The Louisiana Department of Corrections at doc.la.gov runs an online offender search for people serving state prison sentences or on parole or probation supervised by DOC. If someone was convicted of a criminal offense in St. Martin Parish and sent to a state facility, the DOC search will show their current status, location, and projected release date. The search covers all Louisiana parishes, including St. Martin Parish criminal convictions that resulted in state incarceration.

The DOC offender search is free and does not require registration. You can search by name or DOC number to find current inmates and those on supervised release throughout Louisiana, including those convicted in St. Martin Parish.

The Internet Background Check portal at ibc.dps.louisiana.gov allows Louisiana residents to run a name-based criminal history check on themselves online. The IBC portal is also a faster alternative to mailing a form to the State Police when you need a quick statewide criminal history result that covers St. Martin Parish and other parishes.

Expunging Criminal Records in St. Martin Parish

Louisiana's expungement law at La. R.S. 44:9 lets eligible individuals petition the court to remove certain criminal records from public view. In St. Martin Parish, expungement petitions are filed through the 16th Judicial District Court via the St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court in St. Martinville. The first step is confirming eligibility under the statute. Not all criminal offenses qualify for expungement. Crimes of violence, sexual offenses, and other specified categories cannot be expunged from the criminal record.

The standard cost for a Louisiana criminal expungement is approximately $550.00. The $300.00 portion goes to the parish clerk and the $250.00 portion goes to the Louisiana State Police by USPS money order only. None of these fees are refundable if the criminal expungement petition is denied. For that reason, it is strongly advisable to confirm eligibility with a licensed Louisiana attorney before you submit payment and paperwork to the St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court.

Waiting periods under R.S. 44:9 vary by criminal case type. Misdemeanor convictions require a two-year wait after the end of the sentence. First-offense felony convictions set aside under Article 893 require five years. Arrests in St. Martin Parish without a conviction may be eligible for St. Martin Parish expungement sooner than convictions. An attorney can tell you exactly where your St. Martin Parish criminal record stands and when you are eligible to file the petition.

Note: Once a court grants an expungement in St. Martin Parish, the clerk removes the criminal record from the public index. The record may still be visible to certain law enforcement agencies in specific circumstances permitted under R.S. 44:9.

Record Access and Copy Fees

Viewing public criminal records in St. Martin Parish is free under R.S. 44:31. You can come to the clerk's office in St. Martinville during business hours and review criminal case files without paying anything. Bring a valid photo ID. Tell the clerk what criminal case or defendant name you are looking for, and the staff will retrieve the criminal file for you to review at the office. No fee applies to simple inspection of St. Martin Parish criminal records.

If you need paper copies of criminal records, the per-page fee is $1.00 for plain copies and $5.00 for certified copies. A name search through the criminal index of St. Martin Parish cases costs $5.00 per name searched. These fees are the same as most other Louisiana parish clerks. For large copy requests involving multiple criminal case files, ask whether you need to return the next business day to pick up the documents. The clerk may need extra time to process a high-volume criminal records copy job.

Mail requests for St. Martin Parish criminal records are accepted. Send your request and payment to P.O. Box 308, St. Martinville, LA 70582. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for faster return. Allow about a week or two for the office to process and mail back your criminal record request. For time-sensitive situations, the in-person option at the St. Martinville office is always the quickest route to St. Martin Parish criminal records.

Nearby Parishes

These parishes border or are near St. Martin Parish. Each has its own clerk of court for criminal records that is separate from the St. Martin Parish criminal court system.