Court filings for St. Bernard Parish cases are kept by the St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court, whose office sits at 1101 W. St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette, Louisiana 70043 (mailing: P.O. Box 1746, Chalmette, LA 70044). The Clerk’s office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Booking-side records — arrest logs and Sheriff’s reports — come from the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, a separate system with different visible fields. The Louisiana Department of Health’s provider directory lists the St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court as the county-level contact for district court criminal records. Leave your phone in the car before visiting the courthouse — phones are not permitted inside the building.
If someone you know was just booked tonight, our St. Bernard Parish inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.
If your person has a history in other states
A St. Bernard Parish Clerk search covers only cases filed in that parish’s district court — it won’t surface federal court cases, records from other Louisiana parishes, or arrests in states where the person may have lived before. A nationwide third-party database search may help fill gaps that local portals often leave, particularly for name variants, prior addresses, or cases predating the online records window. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account.
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How to look up arrest records in St. Bernard Parish
Pull the court docket and the booking record separately — they live in different systems and show different information. The Clerk of Court holds the official case file; the Sheriff’s Office holds the booking entry. Neither automatically updates the other in real time.
Clerk of Court — court-side records. The St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court is the custodian of district court criminal filings, including felony case dockets. The office is at 1101 W. St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette, LA 70043, open Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To request records in person, bring a state-issued ID — the Clerk requires a copy for certain requests. Call the (225) 342-9500 number listed for the Saint Bernard Parish Courthouse to confirm current fees and any form requirements before driving out. Public records requests can also be submitted via form through the St. Bernard Parish Government public records request portal.
Sheriff’s Office — booking-side records. The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office maintains arrest logs and booking entries separate from the Clerk’s docket. Visitors report minimal wait times at the Sheriff’s Office. Bring a state-issued ID; include a copy if mailing a written request. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections — St. Bernard Parish location page lists state-supervised offenders connected to this parish and can supplement a local records check.
Louisiana State Police background checks. For a statewide criminal history record, the Louisiana State Police processes name-based background check requests. This covers convictions reported to the state repository and may reach further back than the Clerk’s online window. The LSP check is the most comprehensive single-source option for Louisiana-only history.
DOC inmate lookup. If the person is or was in state custody, the the state prison inmate locator tool searches current and recently released state prisoners. Parish jail bookings are tracked separately by the Sheriff and do not always appear in the DOC system.
Mugshot release policy. St. Bernard Parish’s specific policy on releasing booking photographs is not posted online — call the Sheriff’s Office to confirm whether a mugshot is available for a given booking and what the request process requires.
Are St. Bernard Parish arrest records public?
Since Louisiana adopted its Public Records Law, court filings and arrest records have carried a default-public status — the statute is La. R.S. 44:1, and it applies to St. Bernard Parish the same as every other parish. Any person can request an arrest record without stating a reason.
Sealed and expunged records are the primary exception. Once a St. Bernard Parish district court grants an expungement under La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971, the record is removed from public view. The Clerk of Court will not confirm its existence to a member of the public. Law enforcement agencies retain access, but the general public — including background-check requesters — does not.
Juvenile records are handled differently. Arrests and adjudications involving minors are confidential under Louisiana law and are not accessible through a standard public records request to the Clerk or Sheriff.
Victim-protection redactions apply in certain cases. Identifying information for crime victims — particularly in sexual assault and domestic violence matters — may be withheld from the public copy of a record even when the underlying case file is otherwise accessible.
A practical note: the St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court does not currently offer a self-service online case search for criminal records. You need to request records in person at 1101 W. St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette, or submit a written public records request. Confirm current fees and turnaround by calling (225) 342-9500 before visiting.
What’s in a St. Bernard Parish arrest record?
Booking entries and court docket entries are generated at different moments and contain different fields — understanding which system you’re looking at tells you what to expect.
Sheriff’s booking entry (arrest side). When the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office processes an arrest, the booking record typically includes: full legal name and date of birth, booking date and time, arresting agency, charge description and statute citation, bond amount set at first appearance, and — depending on policy — a booking photograph. The St. Bernard Parish Courthouse at 1101 W. St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette, is the physical location where court-side records are held; the booking entry itself originates at the jail. For the Sheriff’s Office’s mugshot release policy, call the Sheriff directly — the policy is not published online.
Clerk of Court docket entry (court side). Once the District Attorney files charges, a case number is assigned and the St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court opens a docket. The docket shows: case number, filing date, charge(s) as formally filed, attorney of record (defense and prosecution), hearing dates, and disposition — guilty plea, conviction at trial, dismissal, acquittal, or nolle prosequi. Disposition data is the most important field for a records-checker: a booking entry with no matching docket disposition may mean charges were never filed, or that the case resolved without a conviction.
What the record does not show. Neither system automatically reflects an expungement granted after the fact. A sealed record will appear absent from the Clerk’s public index. The booking entry at the Sheriff’s Office is similarly removed from public access after a valid expungement order. If you’re checking your own record and believe an expungement was granted, ask the Clerk to confirm the order is reflected in the index.
Practical note on the St. Bernard Parish Courthouse. Phones are prohibited inside the St. Bernard Parish Courthouse. Plan to leave your phone in your vehicle or a secure location before entering. Free parking is generally available in the adjacent lot, but you will pass through security at the entrance.
How to expunge an arrest record in St. Bernard Parish
An arrest that never led to a conviction — dismissed, acquitted, refused by the DA — is often the clearest path to expungement in St. Bernard Parish.
The controlling statute is La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971, which governs expungement of criminal records statewide. You file a Petition to Expunge with the District Court through the St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court at 1101 W. St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette, LA 70043. The Clerk’s civil forms page lists forms available for filing.
No-conviction cases (dismissal, acquittal, refusal to prosecute). An arrest that ended without a conviction carries no elapsed-time waiting period under Louisiana law. You can petition to expunge as soon as the case closes. The exception is an arrest that was simply never prosecuted — in that situation, you wait for the prescriptive period to run before filing.
Conviction cases — waiting periods. Louisiana law sets the waiting period from the completion of the sentence, probation, or parole — not from the conviction date itself. For a misdemeanor conviction, the wait is five years after completing the sentence. For a felony conviction, the wait is ten years. A first marijuana-possession conviction has a shorter path: ninety days after completing the sentence. A DWI resolved through pretrial diversion carries a five-year wait from the date of arrest, even though it is not a conviction.
Filing the petition. Bring or mail the completed Petition to Expunge to the Clerk of Court at the Chalmette address. A filing fee applies; call (225) 342-9500 to confirm the current amount. If you cannot afford the fee, ask the Clerk about an indigency waiver — Louisiana courts have a process for fee waivers in civil filings.
Self-petition vs. attorney-assisted. Louisiana allows self-represented petitions under the same statute. The forms are available through the Clerk’s office. An attorney is not required, but the process involves serving multiple agencies — the Sheriff, the DA, the arresting agency, and the Louisiana State Police — and tracking their responses within the statutory window. If the case involved a felony or a contested disposition, attorney assistance from the Louisiana State Bar Association attorney finder or the Louisiana Public Defender is worth considering.
What remains visible after expungement. Law enforcement agencies retain access to expunged records. The Louisiana State Police criminal history repository retains the record for law enforcement purposes. The public — including most background-check databases — does not see it. The Clerk of Court will not confirm the record’s existence to a public requester after the order is granted.
Quick-contacts: St. Bernard Parish records resources
| Resource | What it confirms | What it cannot confirm | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court | Case number, charges filed, docket entries, disposition, attorney of record | Booking details, mugshot, sealed/expunged records | Visit 1101 W. St. Bernard Hwy, Chalmette, Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., or submit a public records request form |
| St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office | Booking date, charges at arrest, bond amount | Court disposition, sealed records, mugshot policy (call to confirm) | Call (225) 342-9500 or visit in person with state-issued ID |
| Louisiana DOC Inmate Information | Current and recent state prison custody status | Parish jail bookings, court docket entries | Search by name at the DOC inmate information tool |
| Louisiana State Police | Statewide criminal history (convictions reported to state repository) | Federal cases, out-of-state records, expunged records | Submit a name-based background check request through the LSP |
| St. Bernard Parish Government — Public Records Request | Parish government records; routes requests to appropriate office | Court docket entries (those go directly to Clerk of Court) | Submit the online form or contact the Parish Government office |
| Nationwide third-party database | May surface records from other states, federal cases, prior names, or older records outside the Clerk’s online window | Cannot guarantee completeness; not a substitute for official records | Use the search form above; preliminary scan is free |
Sources verified 2026-08-31:
- St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court — Louisiana Department of Health directory listing — contact and address for district court criminal records
- St. Bernard Parish Government — Public Records Request — parish-level public records request process
- Randy Nunez, St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court — Civil Forms — expungement petition and civil filing forms
- Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections — St. Bernard Parish — state corrections presence in the parish
- Louisiana DOC Inmate Information — state prison custody lookup
- Louisiana State Police — statewide criminal history background checks
- St. Bernard Parish Government — Council — parish governance and office hours reference
- Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, Title 15 — Louisiana State Legislature — statutory basis for expungement (La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971) and public records (La. R.S. 44:1)
- the state bar lawyer directory — attorney referral for expungement assistance
- Louisiana Public Defender — public defender locator for eligible petitioners
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Frequently asked questions: St. Bernard Parish arrest records
How long does it take to get a St. Bernard Parish arrest record, and will it show up at a hearing?
An in-person request at the St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court — 1101 W. St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette, open Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. — is typically the fastest route. The Clerk can pull a docket on the spot for cases in the system; certified copies take longer and may require a fee (call (225) 342-9500 to confirm current amounts). For a hearing, the court itself will have the official docket, but if you need a certified copy for your own preparation, request it well before the hearing date. Written or mailed requests add processing time. The Sheriff’s booking record is a separate request from the same address area but a different office — plan to contact both if you need the full picture.
How do I get a St. Bernard Parish arrest record expunged?
File a Petition to Expunge with the District Court through the St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court at 1101 W. St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette, LA 70043. The governing statute is La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971. An arrest that ended in dismissal, acquittal, or a refusal to prosecute carries no waiting period — you can petition as soon as the case closes. A misdemeanor conviction requires five years after completing the sentence; a felony conviction requires ten years. A first marijuana-possession conviction qualifies after ninety days. Forms are available through the Clerk’s civil forms page. If you cannot afford the filing fee, ask about an indigency waiver. After the court grants the order, the record is removed from public access — law enforcement retains access, but the general public does not.
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