Orleans Parish Criminal Court Records

Orleans Parish criminal court records are maintained through a court structure that is unique in Louisiana: separate Criminal and Civil District Courts, each with its own clerk, plus a Municipal and Traffic Court for lower-level matters. This page explains how to search Orleans Parish criminal court records across these courts, what online tools are available, how to request documents in person or by mail, and what state and federal resources can supplement your search.

The Orleans Parish Criminal District Court

Orleans Parish does not use the standard Judicial District Court structure that the rest of Louisiana uses. Instead, the state constitution gives it a separate Criminal District Court for felony and serious misdemeanor cases, a separate Civil District Court for non-criminal matters, and additional lower courts for minor offenses. This means criminal and civil records are held in entirely different places with different clerks, fees, and contact information.

The Orleans Parish Criminal District Court is at 2700 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70119. The clerk can be reached at (504) 658-9000. As of November 2025, Calvin Duncan serves as the elected Clerk of Criminal District Court. This court handles all felony charges and serious misdemeanor cases filed in New Orleans. It is the primary source for Orleans Parish criminal court records involving major offenses.

The Orleans Parish Civil District Court is located at 421 Loyola Avenue, Room 402, New Orleans, LA 70112, phone (504) 407-0000. First City Court is also at 421 Loyola, Room 201, phone (504) 407-0400. Criminal and civil records are kept entirely separately. If you go to the Loyola Avenue address looking for criminal case files, staff will direct you to 2700 Tulane Avenue. Make sure you know which court handled a case before making the trip.

Appeals from Orleans Parish Criminal District Court go to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal. If a case reached the appellate level, the 4th Circuit holds those records separately from the trial-level files on Tulane Avenue.

Under La. R.S. 44:32(A), the clerk must make records available to any adult who requests them. You do not need a personal connection to a case or a reason for requesting records. Most adult criminal court records in Orleans Parish are public. Juvenile records are sealed and not accessible through any public tool.

How to Search Orleans Parish Criminal Court Records Online

The eClerks LA statewide portal also covers Orleans Parish criminal court records. It is free, requires no account for basic searches, and returns index-level data including charges, filing dates, and dispositions. eClerks LA is useful if you want one tool that covers all 64 Louisiana parishes including Orleans without switching between systems.

It is worth knowing that New Orleans has historically relied heavily on paper-based court records. Digitization of Orleans Parish Criminal District Court records has been ongoing but is not complete. Older records and some current matters may only be in paper form at the Tulane Avenue courthouse. In August 2025, court records were mistakenly discarded during a courthouse renovation and had to be retrieved from a landfill, which caused delays for some cases. If an online search turns up nothing for a case you know was filed in Orleans Parish, call the Criminal District Court clerk at (504) 658-9000 to confirm availability before assuming the record does not exist.

In-Person Access and Copy Fees at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court

To request criminal court records in person, go to 2700 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70119. Bring a government-issued ID and the name of the person you are researching, along with a case number if you have one. Staff can pull the file and make copies on request.

Copy fees at the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court differ from the standard Louisiana clerk rates used in other parishes. Standard copies cost $0.50 per page for uncertified documents. Certified copies cost $10 per document. A name-based background check from the Criminal District Court costs $20. These rates are specific to Orleans Parish Criminal District Court and do not apply to the Civil District Court, which charges $1 per uncertified page and $5 per certified document.

Under La. R.S. 44:36, felony records must be kept permanently. Misdemeanor records are retained for at least 10 years. Given the ongoing digitization effort and the August 2025 records incident, calling ahead to confirm availability before going to Tulane Avenue is a good practice, especially for cases more than a few years old.

Municipal and Traffic Court Records

Minor misdemeanors and traffic matters in New Orleans go through the Municipal and Traffic Court, which operates separately from the Criminal District Court. This court has its own records system and its own clerk. Cases that went through Municipal and Traffic Court will not appear in the Criminal District Court's records, and vice versa.

If you are searching for a minor offense and come up empty at the Criminal District Court, the Municipal and Traffic Court may hold what you need. Check the nola.gov site for current contact information, hours, and access options for that court. The two courts serve distinct jurisdictions, and knowing which one handled a case saves time and multiple trips.

Booking and arrest data is held separately by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. Pre-charge arrest information, jail rosters, and booking details are the sheriff's records, not the clerk's. The clerk only maintains records for cases formally filed in court.

Types of Criminal Court Records in Orleans Parish

The Orleans Parish Criminal District Court holds records for all felony and serious misdemeanor cases filed in New Orleans. These include charging documents, indictments, arrest warrants, bond orders, plea agreements, trial transcripts, verdicts, and sentencing orders. Docket sheets track the full case timeline from first filing to final disposition. Post-conviction filings, such as motions for new trial and post-conviction relief petitions, are also part of the case file held by the clerk.

Probation and supervision records are managed by state agencies rather than the clerk's office. For information on current or past supervision status, the Louisiana DOC Offender Search is the right tool. Arrest data that did not result in a formal court filing is held by the Orleans Parish Sheriff, not the Criminal District Court clerk.

State-Level Criminal Record Resources

State-level tools extend beyond what the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court clerk holds and can fill gaps in your search.

The Louisiana State Police maintains the central criminal record repository. Their background check portal costs $31 and provides an official statewide compiled record. Louisiana is a closed record state under La. R.S. 15:587, meaning the check covers convictions only, not arrests without conviction. It covers all 64 parishes including Orleans and is commonly required for employment and licensing.

The Louisiana DOC Offender Search is free and covers current and former DOC-supervised individuals statewide. Anyone from Orleans Parish who received a state prison sentence is likely in this database. The Louisiana Sex Offender Registry is also free and searchable by name or location, covering all registered sex offenders statewide including Orleans Parish registrants.

For federal criminal cases tied to Orleans Parish, use PACER. Orleans Parish falls under the Eastern District of Louisiana for federal court purposes. Federal charges are filed separately from state charges and do not appear in the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court's records. PACER charges $0.10 per page with a $3 cap per document and requires an account to search and view records.

Expungement in Orleans Parish

Expungement in Louisiana is governed by La. C.Cr.P. Art. 971 and related articles. To seek an expungement in Orleans Parish, you file a motion with the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court at 2700 Tulane Avenue. The required fees are: $200 to the clerk of court, $250 to the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, $50 to the district attorney's office, and $50 to the sheriff. Total mandatory fees run $550 before any attorney costs.

Orleans Parish has a public defender's office and several nonprofit legal organizations that help with expungement filings for those who qualify. Not all records are eligible. First-time non-violent offenders often meet the standard requirements. Arrests that did not lead to conviction are generally easier to expunge than convictions. Once an expungement is granted, the record is removed from public search tools including the Orleans Parish records portal and eClerks LA. Law enforcement can still access expunged records in certain circumstances set by state law, but they drop out of the public record. Juvenile records in Orleans Parish are sealed by default and were never part of the public criminal records system. The Louisiana Supreme Court self-help page has forms and guidance for those who want to handle the expungement process without an attorney.

Cities in Orleans Parish

Orleans Parish and the City of New Orleans share the same geographic boundaries. New Orleans is the only incorporated municipality in Orleans Parish, and it is the largest city in Louisiana. All Orleans Parish criminal court records, regardless of which neighborhood a case originated from, go through the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court at 2700 Tulane Avenue or the Municipal and Traffic Court for lower-level matters.

Nearby Parishes

Orleans Parish is bordered by parishes on the south shore and across Lake Pontchartrain. Each maintains its own criminal court records through separate clerks and judicial districts.