Louisiana’s 64 parishes each maintain their own arrest and court records, so there is no single statewide trial-court portal that covers every case. Booking records sit with the parish Sheriff; case dockets live with the parish Clerk of Court. For anyone in state prison, the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections maintains an online inmate lookup at Inmate Information. Public access to these records is guaranteed under La. R.S. 44:1, Louisiana’s Public Records Law.
If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Louisiana inmate search page has phone-first contact info for locating them.
Search Louisiana Arrest Records by Name
A nationwide name search pulls criminal-history data from multiple states and can surface Louisiana arrest records alongside records from other jurisdictions. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires registration. Use it alongside the official Louisiana sources described below for the most complete picture.
Sponsored: Nationwide Criminal Background Check (we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you).
How to look up arrest records in Louisiana
Louisiana divides records responsibility across three distinct layers: the parish courts, the parish Sheriffs, and the state corrections agency. Understanding which layer holds what saves you from chasing the wrong office.
The parish Clerk of Court is the keeper of case dockets for the District Courts, which are Louisiana’s trial courts of general jurisdiction. Because Louisiana has no single statewide trial-court portal, you search each parish separately. Larger parishes — Orleans, East Baton Rouge, and Jefferson — offer online case search through their own Clerk of Court websites. For smaller parishes, you contact the Clerk directly by phone or in person to request a docket search. The Clerk’s record shows charges filed, hearing dates, dispositions, and the attorney of record.
The parish Sheriff runs the parish jail and maintains booking logs. A booking log entry shows the arrest date, the charges at booking, and the defendant’s identifying information. Booking data is a Sheriff-side record, separate from the Clerk’s docket. The two systems do not always sync in real time, so a charge that was reduced or dropped by the prosecutor may still appear at its original level in the Sheriff’s booking log until the record is updated.
For anyone serving a sentence in a Louisiana state facility, the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections inmate lookup is the right tool. It confirms current custody status, facility assignment, and projected release date for state prisoners. It does not cover parish jail detainees — those are tracked at the parish level.
The Louisiana State Police at LSP maintains the state’s criminal-history repository. Employers and licensing boards often request a Louisiana State Police background check rather than a court-by-court search. Individuals can request their own criminal-history record through the State Police to see what the repository shows.
Each of Louisiana’s 64 parishes has its own Sheriff’s Office and Clerk of Court with specific hours, fees, and online-access options. The county pages listed below this article carry that parish-level detail — the Clerk’s phone number, the Sheriff’s booking-inquiry line, and any online search links specific to that parish. If you already know the parish where the arrest occurred, go directly to that parish’s page for the local specifics.
Are arrest records public in Louisiana?
Louisiana’s Public Records Law, codified at La. R.S. 44:1, establishes a strong default: government records are open to the public unless a specific exemption applies. Arrest records and booking photos fall within that default-public category. Any person may request them from the Sheriff or Clerk of Court without stating a reason.
Expunged records are the primary exception. Once a Louisiana court grants an expungement under La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971, the record is removed from public view. Law enforcement agencies retain access to expunged records, but a member of the public — or a private employer running a background check — will not see them. The record does not disappear; it moves out of the public layer.
Juvenile records carry their own protection. Cases adjudicated in Louisiana’s juvenile courts are not public records and are not accessible through the standard Clerk of Court or Sheriff channels available for adult arrests.
Victim-identifying information is routinely redacted before records are released. Home addresses, phone numbers, and other details that could identify a victim are removed under Louisiana’s victim-protection provisions before a record is handed over to a requester.
Mugshot release practice is not uniform across all 64 parishes. Some Sheriffs post booking photos online; others release them only on written request; a few restrict release in certain circumstances. Check the parish page for your specific parish, or call the Sheriff’s Office directly to ask about their current practice.
What’s in a Louisiana arrest record?
A Louisiana arrest record is not a single document — it is a collection of entries spread across two different systems, each showing a different slice of the same event.
On the Sheriff’s side, the booking entry typically contains the arrest date and time, the arresting agency, the charges as written at booking, the defendant’s name and date of birth, a booking number, and — depending on the parish — a booking photo. This entry is created at the moment of arrest and reflects what the officer charged, not what the prosecutor ultimately filed or what the court decided.
On the court side, the Clerk of Court’s docket shows what happened after the arrest. You will see the case number, the charges as formally filed by the District Attorney, all hearing dates, any bond information entered into the record, the attorney of record, and the final disposition — guilty plea, conviction after trial, dismissal, acquittal, or nolle prosequi. The docket is the authoritative record of how the case resolved.
The gap between these two systems matters. An arrest that was never prosecuted, or that ended in dismissal, will still appear in the Sheriff’s booking log. The Clerk’s docket will show the dismissal or the absence of a filed case — but only if you search both systems. A background check that pulls only one source can give an incomplete picture.
Case numbers in Louisiana District Courts follow a parish-specific format. If you are searching the Clerk’s online portal for a larger parish like Orleans or East Baton Rouge, you will need either the case number or the defendant’s full name and approximate arrest date to locate the record.
How to seal or expunge an arrest record in Louisiana
Expungement in Louisiana is a routine legal procedure governed by La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971. Filing a petition does not require an attorney, though many people choose to use one. The petition is filed with the Clerk of Court in the District Court of the parish where the arrest or conviction occurred.
Eligibility depends on how the case resolved. If the arrest ended in dismissal, acquittal, or a refusal to prosecute, there is no elapsed-time requirement — you can petition immediately. If the arrest was never prosecuted and the prescriptive period has not yet run, you must wait for that period to expire before filing.
For convictions, the waiting period runs from the completion of the sentence, probation, or parole — not from the conviction date itself. A misdemeanor conviction carries a five-year wait. A felony conviction carries a ten-year wait. A first marijuana-possession conviction has a shorter path: eligibility begins ninety days after completion of the sentence.
One specific non-conviction does carry a waiting period. A DWI resolved through pretrial diversion requires a five-year wait from the date of arrest before the record is eligible for expungement. That rule is separate from the general no-wait rule for dismissed cases.
The petition itself must be served on the District Attorney’s office and the arresting agency, both of which have an opportunity to object. If no objection is filed within the statutory period, the court typically grants the expungement without a hearing. If an objection is filed, a hearing is scheduled.
Filing fees apply at the Clerk of Court. If you cannot afford the fee, ask the Clerk about an indigency waiver — Louisiana law provides a path to waive fees for qualifying petitioners. Check with the Clerk of Court in your parish for the current fee schedule.
After expungement, the public record is sealed. Law enforcement agencies, including the Louisiana State Police criminal-history repository, retain access. Private employers and the general public do not. For most licensing and employment purposes, you may legally state that the arrest did not occur.
If you want attorney assistance, the Louisiana State Bar Association Find Legal Help directory connects you with licensed attorneys by practice area and location. If you qualify for free representation, the Louisiana Public Defender office may be able to help with expungement petitions in some parishes.
| Resource | What it confirms | What it cannot confirm | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parish Clerk of Court case search (per-parish; no single statewide trial-case portal) | Case dockets, charges filed, dispositions, hearing dates, attorney of record | Booking-level data; cases in parishes without online search | Search the Clerk’s portal for your parish or call the Clerk directly |
| Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections | State prison inmates: facility, custody status, projected release | Parish jail detainees; pre-conviction defendants | Use the inmate lookup at doc.la.gov or contact the parish Sheriff |
| Louisiana State Police | Statewide criminal-history repository; background-check requests | Real-time booking data; parish-level docket detail | Submit a criminal-history request through the State Police website |
| La. R.S. 44:1 | Legal authority for public access to Louisiana government records | Individual record availability; exemptions by case type | Cite this statute when making a formal public-records request |
| La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971 | Expungement eligibility rules and petition procedure | Parish-specific filing fees; current court schedules | File a petition with the Clerk of Court in the parish where the case was heard |
| Nationwide Criminal Background Check | Multi-state arrest and criminal-history data in one preliminary scan | Real-time Louisiana court dockets; official certified records | Run the name search above |
Related Louisiana record searches
These sibling pages cover the other two statewide record types most often searched alongside arrest records:
- Louisiana warrant search — to check for an active warrant statewide.
- Louisiana inmate search — to locate someone in custody.
Arrest pages for each of Louisiana’s 64 parishes — with parish-specific Clerk contact information, Sheriff booking lines, and local online-search links — are listed in the index below this article.
Sources & official Louisiana records systems
This page was verified 2026-09-02. All sources below are official Louisiana government or legislative resources.
- La. R.S. 44:1 — Louisiana Public Records Law; establishes default public access to government records including arrest records.
- La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971 — Expungement of Criminal Records; governs eligibility, petition procedure, and post-expungement access rules.
- Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections — Inmate Information — official state prison inmate lookup for custody status and facility assignment.
- Louisiana State Police — maintains the statewide criminal-history repository; processes individual and employer background-check requests.
- Louisiana State Bar Association Find Legal Help — attorney directory for locating licensed Louisiana counsel, including expungement practitioners.
- Louisiana Public Defender — statewide public defender office; may assist qualifying individuals with expungement petitions.
If you find an error or outdated information on this page, please submit a correction. We review corrections and update the page within 48 hours of verification.
Frequently asked questions
How do I look up an arrest record in Louisiana?
Start with the parish where the arrest happened. For court docket records — charges filed, dispositions, hearing dates — contact the parish Clerk of Court or use that parish’s online case search if available. For booking-level data, contact the parish Sheriff’s Office. If the person is in state prison, use the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections inmate lookup at doc.la.gov. The Louisiana State Police criminal-history repository is the right channel for a certified statewide background check. Because there is no single statewide trial-court portal, you may need to search more than one parish if you are unsure where the case was filed.
How do I get a Louisiana arrest record sealed or expunged?
File a petition under La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971 with the Clerk of Court in the District Court of the parish where the arrest or conviction occurred. If the case ended in dismissal or acquittal, you can petition immediately — no waiting period applies. For a misdemeanor conviction, the wait is five years from the end of your sentence, probation, or parole. For a felony conviction, the wait is ten years. A first marijuana-possession conviction is eligible after ninety days. The petition must be served on the District Attorney and the arresting agency. If you need help, the Louisiana State Bar Association Find Legal Help directory lists attorneys who handle expungement, and the Louisiana Public Defender office may assist qualifying individuals.